Sports Doing Good Newsletter #348

Welcome to week three hundred and forty-eight of the Sports Doing Good newsletter. This week’s 10 stories include:
1.  Heat’s Bam Adebayo is embracing his name and his Nigerian heritage (TheUndefeated)

2.  Meet the Man Who Makes Your Favorite Announcer Sound Smarter (The Ringer)

3.  How Olympic marathoner Molly Seidel found a way to run again (ESPN)

4.  No One Plays the Game Like Billie Jean King (Yahoo/Glamour Magazine)

5.  Doris Burke on the Importance of Women In Sports Broadcasting (The Ringer)

6.  50 years ago, one amazing month put Atlanta in the national sports spotlight (TheUndefeated)

7.  The Rise of Philosopher-Athletes (Positive Coaching Alliance)

8.  ‘Loving Sports When They Don’t Love You Back’ Is an Ethical Guide for Fans(TexasMonthly)

9.  Lamar Jackson Among 32 NFL Players to Partner with Lowe’s to Support Communities(Bleacher Report)

10. Cause, Social Responsibility And Brand Play… (JoeFavorito)

10+   Professional Bull Riders to Stage Event on Aircraft Carrier (Sportico)https://www.sportico.com/leagues/other-sports/2020/vent-onprofessional-bull-riders-on-an-aircraft-carrier-1234613562/Peace and Sport Awards 2020 – A Digital Edition (Peace and Sport)https://www.peace-sport.org/news/peace-and-sport-awards-2020-a-digital-edition/Beyond Sport House from Home (Beyond Sport)https://www.eventinterface.com/beyond-sport-house-2020/Raising Awareness and Funds for PeacePlayers One Pedal at a Time (PeacePlayers International)https://www.peaceplayers.org/raising-awareness-and-funds-for-peaceplayers-one-pedal-at-a-time/ Sport: A global accelerator of peace and sustainable development for all (Sport and Dev)https://www.sportanddev.org/en/article/news/sport-global-accelerator-peace-and-sustainable-development-all

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.
Brendan Lawlor: Irish trailblazer paves the way for disability golfers (CNN)https://www.cnn.com/videos/sports/2020/09/22/brendan-lawlor-disability-golfer-european-tour-edga-golf-spt-intl-lon-orig.cnnWebinar: Sport for protection: How can sport address challenges faced by refugees? (Sport and Dev)https://youtu.be/j0BnBuzk3io

Introduction
I want to start off by making you aware again of two events coming up in October that are certainly worth your attention.
The Aspen Institute Project Play Summit 2020, October 13-16https://www.aspenprojectplay.org/summit
Sports Philanthropy World 2020, October 26-27https://sportsphilanthropynetwork.org/2020-sports-philanthropy-world/
When I came across the article, “‘Loving Sports When They Don’t Love You Back’ Is an Ethical Guide for Fans,” I first thought, “I need to read this article. It will probably be about fans like me who follow teams in pro and college sports that refuse to win anything (Mets, Jets, Knicks, Hoyas MBB).” Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it has been a relatively hard 40+ years of failures when it comes to sports fandom for me and I could certainly benefit from reading a guide to help me deal with that consistent underperformance of the teams I follow. Turns out, I was wrong. The article was not about that but rather an interview with the two authors of a book that deals with issues more important than my frustration with my teams’ won/loss records.   Authors Jessica Luther and Kavitha A. Davidson tackle an array of tough issues that are present in the world of sports, “homophobia, domestic violence, doping, racist mascots, brain injuries, corruption, and the controversy over whether to pay student athletes.” To be (very) clear, many of these are issues prevalent in the non-sports world as well. Understanding the essence of what the book is about would not surprisingly lead to the question, “Why is this being included in a newsletter about sports doing good?” It did for me, and I did reflect on whether to include the article. The reason I ultimately did is that Sports Doing Good has never been about denying that there are some negative issues in sports. I just feel there are a lot more positives out there. But I am not afraid to highlight articles that say we must do better. If you truly love some thing or someone, you owe it to them to be honest about what you see, and if there is some not-so-good, well, then let’s deal with it. I coincidentally also include two great opinion pieces that deal with sports, self-reflection, and public discourse, one by Jack Bowen and the other by Joe Favorito. Taken together, these two articles speak to athletes and sports entities being more honest about issues that are taking place in their worlds and taking that message to their fans, customers, and the general public. The public discussions taking place can take many forms, including in sports or “cause” marketing, as Joe highlights in his piece. These three articles, at least to me, recognize the great value and power of sports and as the saying goes, “with great power comes great responsibility.”
Please continue to send along your stories. You’re both our audience and best source of stories. Our Twitter handle is @sportsdoinggood, and you can find us at www.facebook.com/sportsdoinggood and on Instagram. 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.

Top Stories of the Week

Heat’s Bam Adebayo is embracing his name and his Nigerian heritage (TheUndefeated) For full story, please click here.

Meet the Man Who Makes Your Favorite Announcer Sound Smarter (The Ringer) For full story, please click here.

How Olympic marathoner Molly Seidel found a way to run again (ESPN)  For full story, please click here.

No One Plays the Game Like Billie Jean King (Yahoo/Glamour Magazine)For full story, please click here.

Doris Burke on the Importance of Women In Sports Broadcasting (The Ringer) For full story, please click here.

50 years ago, one amazing month put Atlanta in the national sports spotlight (The Undefeated)  For full story, please click here.

The Rise of Philosopher-Athletes (Positive Coaching Alliance) For full story, please click here.

‘Loving Sports When They Don’t Love You Back’ Is an Ethical Guide for Fans (TexasMonthly) For full story, please click here.

Lamar Jackson Among 32 NFL Players to Partner with Lowe’s to Support Communities (Bleacher Report)For full story, please click here.

Cause, Social Responsibility And Brand Play… (JoeFavorito)  For full story, please click here.

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.
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Contact Information
Sarbjit “Sab” Singhsab@sportsdoinggood.com
516-287-7141Associate Professor/ChairpersonSport Management Department Farmingdale State College