We’re in the midst of both a COVID-19 pandemic and a childhood physical inactivity epidemic. That creates a dilemma for young athletes and their parents: Is the risk of playing organized sports during the pandemic greater than the risk of the negative physical and mental impacts of not playing? Young people need to move their…
Why is the Cleveland baseball team waiting until 2022 to make the change? Let the healing begin now
Finally, Cleveland’s Major League Baseball (MLB) team says it plans to replace its racist Indians nickname. That’s great news. The Indigenous shouldn’t be used as nicknames and mascots for sports teams in the same way lions, bears and other animals are. Period. But why is the Cleveland organization waiting until 2022 to make the change?…
The policy appears to be ‘the show must go on,’ no matter what the health consequences are
U.S. college basketball’s March Madness is one of my favourite sporting events of the year. The upsets are fun. The one-loss-and-you’re-gone format of the national championship tournament is much more exciting than the long playoff season the National Basketball Association gives us. The bands. The crazy student sections. Switching back and forth between tournament games…
Mental health challenges also negatively impact sports performance
Anxiety and depression are common mental health issues among college students. According to Daniel Eisenberg, an associate professor at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, one in three American college students experience significant symptoms of depression, anxiety or other mental health conditions. College athletes certainly aren’t immune to these mental health challenges. In…
According to a study from researchers at the Boston University CTE Center, each year a person endures repetitive head collisions from playing football the risk of developing degenerative brain disease increases by 30 per cent. In addition, for every 2.6 years of play, the risk of developing chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) doubles. This study quantifies…
Despite what Vince Lombardi said, if winning’s the only thing in sports, you’re going to be miserable a lot of the time
From time to time while flipping through a magazine or surfing the Internet, you’ll run across a list of Best Sports Quotes. These lists can be somewhat entertaining, as the quotes run the gamut from inspiring to funny. While glancing at one of these lists recently, I saw the Vince Lombardi quote that always seems…
This athlete-led movement needs a face – or two. Ideally, we have one Black sports figure and one white sports figure taking the lead
I was driving home recently and listening to a talk show about the social unrest in my country, the United States. The host was white and the guest was Black. After a couple minutes of discussion, the guest asked the host a powerful question. “Have you ever woken in the morning and started to worry…
Norway has a successful youth sports system, accessible to all. The national lottery earmarks millions for youth sports every year
I’ve been a youth sports coach for 17 years. For the most part, it’s been very rewarding. However, one of the hardest aspects has been watching kids drop out of sports because they no longer can afford to pay to play. It’s heartbreaking. Social injustice is a hot topic these days. However, there’s one area…
There simply is no ethical justification for colleges calling athletes back to campus while telling other students to stay home
A group of U.S. college football players (#WeAreUnited) have presented a set of demands to Pac-12 athletic conference administrators. The demands vary from COVID-19-based health and safety concerns to economic and racial justice issues. Big Ten football players, through a group called College Athlete Unity, followed with a similar list of demands. It’s clear to…
Americans need to start acting like they’re mature enough to responsibly handle the freedoms they’ve been blessed with
Across the United States, from the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) to Major League Baseball (MLB), sports fans have looked on as athletes have chosen to stand, kneel or raise a fist during the playing of the American national anthem. Both the kneelers and standers have been attacked on social media in recent days. Some…
Culture change is a messy process. We need to stand up to the ignorant in this fight for social justice
I truly think this time is different. I think as a society, we’re fed up with lingering racial injustice. It’s been heartening to see white leaders in government, corporate America and the sports world step up in a strong way toward social justice in the days since George Floyd died. But this movement toward real…
All of a sudden, the National Football League tells us it’s seen the light. The league’s leaders tell us their draconian reaction to players kneeling during the U.S. national anthem in protest of police brutality and social injustice was all wrong. That they’re very sorry. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell even appears to be trying to…
Anger and deep frustration over racism are appropriate responses. Setting fires, breaking windows and looting aren’t
America is clearly broken. We Americans have struggled from the beginning of the nation to live up to our ideals. From our Pledge of Allegiance: “… with liberty and justice for all. …” From our Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. …” From our Constitution:…
The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us how connected and interdependent we truly are as a global community
I’ve been blessed with many great sports experiences in my life. Since I was seven years old, I’ve loved playing and watching sports. I enjoy many aspects of sports but what I love the most is the camaraderie. More specifically, it’s the sense of fulfilment that comes from being part of something bigger than myself,…
The man who is trying to give college athletes their due inexplicably doesn't appear in Chicago Bulls documentary
Sonny Vaccaro is to basketball what Marvin Miller was to baseball. They both have had a profound impact on their games; they both fought valiantly for athletes’ rights; and each of them had to deal with a power establishment that tried to rub them out. The latest example is ESPN’s The Last Dance documentary about…