Sports Doing Good Newsletter, #307

Feb. 24 – March 9, 2019

Welcome to issue three hundred and seven of the Sports Doing Good newsletter. This week’s 10 stories include:

  1. Breakdancing has been proposed as a new Olympic sport, and this absolutely needs to happen (SB Nation)
  2. Nevarez Blazing Latina Trail at West Coast Conference (Portada)
  3. Soccer Roots Grow Deeper in The Town (East Bay Express)
  4. ‘Professor Cope’: NFL linebacker’s offseason job? Teaching ‘Life 101’ (ESPN)
  5. Hillary Allen Found Inspiration Online After Falling off a Cliff (SportTechie)
  6. Players associations are bolstering assistance programs to help active and retired players pursue education (SportsBusiness Journal)
  7. In her shoes (ESPN)
  8. A female cyclist shut down a race by catching up to the men (GOOD)
  9. Esports Gets Its Next Stamp of Approval — From Hip-Hop Stars (OZY)
  10. Slow Enough to Be a Sponsored Runner (New York Times)

10+
Taking part in sport within an inclusive education setting (Sport and Dev)
https://www.sportanddev.org/en/article/news/taking-part-sport-within-inclusive-education-setting      International Women’s Day 2019 (The Players Tribune)
https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/collections/womens-history
Coaches Across Continents & Pathfinder International Partner on Women’s Health (Beyond Sport)
http://www.beyondsport.org/articles/coaches-across-continents-pathfinder-international-partner-on-women-s-health/
U.S. Soccer Joins IF/THEN Initiative to Promote Women in STEM (Beyond Sport)
http://www.beyondsport.org/articles/us-soccer-joins-if-then-initiative-to-promote-women-in-stem/
Moroccan climber inspires girls to conquer fears (Peace and Sport)
https://www.peace-sport.org/moroccan-climber-inspires-girls-to-conquer-fears/

We present again our “Featured Video” offering(s). With the explosion of video content out there highlighting the good in sport, we want to showcase such content for your enjoyment and learning. This will be an ongoing effort.

4 Year Old Mic’d up at Hockey (YouTube)
https://youtu.be/A3-L3YwU-iQ
Roller Skating Is Back, and It’s Got Moxie (Great Big Story)
https://www.greatbigstory.com/stories/putting-the-moxie-in-roller-skating

Introduction
One of the benefits of doing the Sports Doing Good newsletter for as along as we have is that we get to see changes in the marketplace, some good and some not so good (we, of course, focus on the former). One of those “goods” is the emergence of new or oft-forgotten sports and activities.

This week our first story is sort of a dream come true, or at least on the way to possibly becoming true. Breakdancing, a cherished but overlooked activity, has found its way into consideration for the Summer Olympics 2024 in Paris. We are thrilled. For those who may snicker at this, they are missing the bigger picture. The Olympics are a living entity that must evolve (remember, there was a time when women were not allowed to compete.) Sports that were looked down upon, e.g. snowboarding, have become some of the most popular on the Olympic docket. Our prediction: breakdancing is not picked for Paris but instead makes its grand debut in one of the meccas of hip-hop culture, Los Angeles, in 2028.

The other stories we are happy to feature this week include: pioneering sports administrator Gloria Nevarez, the first Latina commissioner of a Division I collegiate athletic conference; Devante Dubose, one of the first players for new National Premier Soccer League team, the Oakland Roots; NFL player and part-time professor (seriously), Brandon Copeland; the incredible ultrarunner Hillary Allen and her recovery from devastating injuries; how professional player associations are bolstering assistance programs to help active and retired players pursue higher education; a photo essay of young and fierce female athletes; a bike race with a staggered start ending up having some of the women catch up with the men’s race; how hip-hop stars are adding a bit of flavor, and coolness, to the world of esports; and how non-elite, but incredibly inspirational athletes, are being sponsored by sports brands that want to tell stories different from what has been done in the past.

Finally, if you think others would like to receive the newsletter, please feel free to forward it on or have them contact us directly at sab@sportsdoinggood.com. (If you do not want to receive the newsletter anymore you can use the Unsubscribe button at the end of the email)

So, enjoy. And have a good week.

Breakdancing has been proposed as a new Olympic sport, and this absolutely needs to happen (SB Nation)
https://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2019/2/21/18234857/breakdancing-olympic-sport-2024-paris

Nevarez Blazing Latina Trail at West Coast Conference (Portada)
https://www.portada-online.com/2019/02/14/nevarez-blazing-latina-trail-at-west-coast-conference/

Soccer Roots Grow Deeper in The Town (East Bay Express)
https://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/soccer-roots-grow-deeper-in-the-town/Content?oid=25060834

‘Professor Cope’: NFL linebacker’s offseason job? Teaching ‘Life 101’ (ESPN)
http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/26047951/professor-cope-nfl-linebacker-offseason-job-teaching-life-101

Hillary Allen Found Inspiration Online After Falling off a Cliff (SportTechie)
https://www.sporttechie.com/hillary-allen-found-inspiration-online-after-falling-off-a-cliff/

Players associations are bolstering assistance programs to help active and retired players pursue education (SportsBusiness Journal)
https://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2019/03/04/In-Depth/Main.aspx

In her shoes (ESPN)
http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/page/190308-espnw/in-shoes-photos-kate-t-parker

A female cyclist shut down a race by catching up to the men (GOOD)
https://www.good.is/articles/female-wins-male-bicycle-race

Esports Gets Its Next Stamp of Approval — From Hip-Hop Stars (OZY)
https://www.ozy.com/the-huddle/esports-gets-its-next-stamp-of-approval-from-hip-hop-stars/92982

Slow Enough to Be a Sponsored Runner (New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/06/sports/amateur-runners-sponsorships.html

 

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Our goal is to have Sports Doing Good be a portal housing original content and excerpts from and links to the increasing number of articles, websites, video, and other media that showcase the good in sports and society. We aim to celebrate those concepts, activities, events, and individuals by highlighting them for a wider audience. Much of the news today, whether sports- related or not, is incredibly negative and increasingly polarizing, biased, and quite annoying. We are trying to refocus some of the discussion on the good, with a focus on sports.

Our mission is to have Sport Doing Good be a consistent, and significant, contributor to the areas of sports, social responsibility and development. We look forward to partnering with other stakeholders in producing content, in creating and/or sponsoring athletic and service events, knowledge sharing, and conferences/seminars, and even having a commercial arm that could be the source of innovative social businesses.

We invite you to send in news, press releases, and guest pieces for possible publication, and email us with suggestions about the content and format of the newsletter and Sports Doing Good website.

Contact Information

Sarbjit “Sab” Singh
sab@sportsdoinggood.com
516-287-7141