Aug. 15 – Sept. 4, 2021
Welcome to issue three hundred and seventy-one of the Sports Doing Good newsletter. This week’s 10 stories include:

1. From homeless to head of a sneaker empire, Jaysse Lopez is the ‘Sole Survivor’ (The Undefeated)
2. ‘It’s all shifting:’ Women’s sports pays for those who are now investing (Yahoo News)
3. How The National Lottery has inspired nearly three million women and girls to be more active (The Telegraph)
4. An Olympian Sold Her Silver Medal To Fund A Boy’s Surgery. The Buyer Let Her Keep It (NPR)
5. How This Paralympic Archer Found a Bull’s-eye Without an Arrow (New York Times)
6. Olympian Andy Potts Finds New Spark as Guide for First-Time Paralympian Kyle Coon (Triathlete)
7. NCAA Rules J.R. Smith Eligible to Play Golf for North Carolina A&T (SI)
8. ‘This is our final’: the team who led athletes’ escape from Afghanistan (The Guardian)
9. The WNBA players’ union has a new strategy to get its players paid and increase investment in women’s sports (Insider)
10. From Industrial Engineer to the Architect of Clemson’s Offense: The Tony Elliott Story (SI)


10+
Meet the athletes of the Refugee Paralympic Team (Sport and Dev)
https://www.sportanddev.org/en/article/news/meet-athletes-refugee-paralympic-team
Raising the bar: Advancing human rights through good governance in the world of sport (Centre for Sport & Human Rights)
https://www.sporthumanrights.org/library/raising-the-bar-advancing-human-rights-through-good-governance-in-the-world-of-sport/
Superhumans in Tokyo – part one (Sport and Dev)
https://www.sportanddev.org/en/article/news/superhumans-tokyo-part-one
Rowing Advocates Are Bringing the Sport to Underserved Communities Across the U.S. (Global Sport Matters)
https://globalsportmatters.com/youth/2021/08/06/rowing-advocates-united-states-george-pocock-foundation/
Paralympics In Focus: Ikkaido supporting people with disabilities through karate (Beyond Sport)
http://www.beyondsport.org/articles/paralympics-in-focus-ikkaido-supports-people-with-disabilities-using-karate/

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. And now we add podcasts!

Surprise wedding proposal melts hearts on the track at 200m | Tokyo 2020 Paralympics | NBC Sports
https://youtu.be/mE87FVLLQNk
Relive more Tokyo 2020 moments here (Olympics.com)
https://oly.ch/3iDfgCs

Introduction
Maybe no word has taken on such as prominent place in our daily discussion as “resilience.” It certainly makes sense as we deal with this powerful pandemic and its health and economic impact. We hear it again as too many parts of our country are dealing with natural and man-made disasters. And we have heard it as athletes and many others detail mental health issues that are plaguing them. Yes, we are collectively shouldering a lot during this time.

The story we lead off with today is one of resilience and hope, creativity, and hustle. When you read about Jaysse Lopez, you will want to root for him, and all those folks who find themselves in a tough predicament now but still have hope, or at the very least, potential to change their circumstances. As Jaysse so powerfully states, “your starting point doesn’t define you, or your starting point doesn’t have to be your endpoint.”

We have had stories of homelessness multiple times in Sports Doing Good over the years. Several pro athletes have experienced homelessness and have committed themselves to addressing the issue. Others, even though not experiencing the struggle personally, have engineered efforts to help those struggling so that even if they don’t think so, that they are “resilient,” and that things can change.

I loved Jaysee’s story and will surely visit Urban Necessities if I find myself in Vegas. I am not sure I will buy $500 sneakers, but I will surely shake his hand and congratulate him on fighting the fight and staying resilient.

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.

From homeless to head of a sneaker empire, Jaysse Lopez is the ‘Sole Survivor’ (The Undefeated)
https://theundefeated.com/features/from-homeless-to-head-of-a-sneaker-empire-jaysse-lopez-is-the-sole-survivor/

‘It’s all shifting:’ Women’s sports pays for those who are now investing (Yahoo News)
https://news.yahoo.com/shifting-womens-sports-pays-those-120018185.html

How The National Lottery has inspired nearly three million women and girls to be more active (The Telegraph)
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/olympics/supporting-team-gb/this-girl-can-initiative/

An Olympian Sold Her Silver Medal To Fund A Boy’s Surgery. The Buyer Let Her Keep It (NPR)
https://www.npr.org/2021/08/19/1029380896/toyko-olympics-poland-silver-medal-javelin-auction-infant-heart-surgery

How This Paralympic Archer Found a Bull’s-eye Without an Arrow (New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/25/sports/olympics/paralympics-lia-coryell.html

Olympian Andy Potts Finds New Spark as Guide for First-Time Paralympian Kyle Coon (Triathlete)
https://www.triathlete.com/culture/people/ex-olympian-andy-potts-finds-new-spark-as-guide-for-first-time-paralympian-kyle-coon/

NCAA Rules J.R. Smith Eligible to Play Golf for North Carolina A&T (SI)
https://www.si.com/nba/2021/08/24/jr-smith-golf-eligible-nc-a

‘This is our final’: the team who led athletes’ escape from Afghanistan (The Guardian)
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/aug/29/afghanistan-special-report-athletes-escape-kabul

The WNBA players’ union has a new strategy to get its players paid and increase investment in women’s sports (Insider)
https://www.insider.com/wnba-players-deal-parity-boosts-sponsorship-opportunities-womens-sports-investment-2021-8

From Industrial Engineer to the Architect of Clemson’s Offense: The Tony Elliott Story (SI)
https://www.si.com/college/2021/09/03/clemson-tony-elliott-michelin-daily-cover