March 12 – March 25, 2023
Welcome to issue four hundred and ten of the Sports Doing Good newsletter. This week’s 10 stories include:

1. ‘An old soul’: High school hoops phenom is grandson of ABA Pacers Hall of Famer Roger Brown (MSN)
2. Meet The Wrestling Club, 2023’s Viral Sensation Representing a New Generation of Fans (Bleacher Report)
3. Publishers like ESPN and agencies are seeing more investment in women’s sports coverage (Digiday)
4. How 20-year-old HBCU student Rajah Caruth went from virtual racing to NASCAR (USA Today)
5. The many layers of Stanford’s Cameron Brink (Just Women’s Sports/Favorito)
6. A soccer match geared to inclusion (BBC/Sports and Social Change)
7. Winning Coach. Equity Advocate. ‘Dream Merchant.’ (SBJ)
8. USL enters new era of developing the next generation of U.S., Mexico talent (ESPN)
9. ‘We could feel the gravity of it. It was electrifying’: 50 photographs that reshaped sport (The Guardian)
10. How Mikaela Shiffrin Won More World Cup Races Than Anyone (New York Times)

10+
IPC publishes new Strategic Plan to advance the Paralympic Movement (IPC)
https://www.paralympic.org/news/ipc-publishes-new-strategic-plan-advance-paralympic-movement
Activist Judy Heumann led a reimagining of what it means to be disabled (NPR)
https://www.npr.org/2023/03/04/1161169017/disability-activist-judy-heumann-dead-75
Amplifying democracy in and through sport (Sport and Dev)
https://www.sportanddev.org/en/article/news/amplifying-democracy-and-through-sport
Analysis | Sports diplomacy — the United States must do better (Institute for the Study of Diplomacy)
https://medium.com/the-diplomatic-pouch/analysis-sports-diplomacy-the-united-states-must-do-better-5baaea5c3d5
Endeavor and the Women’s Sports Foundation Announce New Partnership to Accelerate Gender Equity and Representation in Sports (WSF)
https://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/press_release/endeavor-and-the-womens-sports-foundation-announce-new-partnership-to-accelerate-gender-equity-and-representation-in-sports/

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!

Giannis Antetokounmpo – The Charles Antetokounmpo Family Foundation | The Daily Show
https://youtu.be/a_xABD2f90k
Ice-Breaking: Immigrantly Goes Live with Sway Bhatia at NHL Event (Immigrantly)
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/immigrantly/id1440233951?i=1000604281141
Blue Stars Sign with Cadbury (Chelsea)
https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/article/chelsea-and-cadbury-extend-partnership-to-kick-off-sweet-new-chapter-of


Introduction
In the previous 409 issues of the Sports Doing Good newsletter, I don’t believe I ever wrote about someone who was not known, at least in part, for their connection to sports. It is called Sports Doing Good, you know. ? But there is a first time for everything and in this issue, I want to highlight someone we all should know about and be inspired by, Judy Heumann, who passed away on March 4 at age 75.

Descriptions of Judy alternated between “mother of the disability movement,” advocate, activist, and a word we often use in sports, champion. According to Webster’ Dictionary, definitions of “champion” include: warrior/fighter, and one that does battle for another’s rights or honor. Going with that definition, Judy is certainly more than worthy of being included in a sports-related discussion. For much of Judy’s work for the general population of disabled Americans worked its way to the playing fields of this country. Judy’s drive, motivation and efforts, brilliantly captured in the documentary, Crip Camp, and her autobiography, Being Heumann, reflected that of our country’s most celebrated athletes, especially in team sports. Judy was fighting for her “teammates,” who absolutely were marginalized to the point, in multiple situations, of not having basic rights.

The fight for the rights of the differently-abled is an important part of our country’s history, even though much of it is something that we may look back on with shame. But past shame only defines the future if we let it. As I heard last week at SXWS in Dr. Dolly Chugh’s great presentation regarding how we can love a country with a complicated past, we don’t hide from history, we acknowledge it, and commit to being better. I never had a chance to speak with Judy Heumann but I have to believe she had that type of mindset as well. She was living this country’s complicated history with the disabled as it was happening. Judy was that history. And that meant she had no idea how all her and her brethren’s efforts would turn out. That takes incredible courage, resilience, and fortitude, all the marks of a great champion.

Our country today is making great progress when it comes to disability rights and opportunities, including in the world of sports. (See the 10+ story above, “IPC publishes new Strategic Plan to advance the Paralympic Movement (IPC)”) I am lucky to know folks in that world who follow Judy’s lead in working for the rights of others. The sport industry should continue to honor these athletes, and their families, friends, and supporters, by identifying cracks in the system and shoring it up, and building it better, so that we have a vibrant future for them. Thank you Judy Heumann.

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.

‘An old soul’: High school hoops phenom is grandson of ABA Pacers Hall of Famer Roger Brown (MSN)
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/other/an-old-soul-high-school-hoops-phenom-is-grandson-of-aba-pacers-hall-of-famer-roger-brown/ar-AA182gSU

Meet The Wrestling Club, 2023’s Viral Sensation Representing a New Generation of Fans (Bleacher Report)
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10066390-meet-the-wrestling-club-2023s-viral-sensation-representing-a-new-generation-of-fans

Publishers like ESPN and agencies are seeing more investment in women’s sports coverage (Digiday)
https://digiday.com/media/publishers-like-espn-and-agencies-are-seeing-more-investment-in-womens-sports-coverage/

How 20-year-old HBCU student Rajah Caruth went from virtual racing to NASCAR (USA Today)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nascar/2023/02/19/rajah-caruth-hbcu-student-iracing-launch-nascar-trucks/11285277002/

The many layers of Stanford’s Cameron Brink (Just Women’s Sports/Favorito)
https://justwomenssports.com/reads/cameron-brink-stanford-womens-basketball-mental-health/

A soccer match geared to inclusion (BBC/Sports and Social Change)
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/64688864

Winning Coach. Equity Advocate. ‘Dream Merchant.’ (SBJ)
https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Journal/Issues/2023/03/06/In-Depth/march-madness.aspx

USL enters new era of developing the next generation of U.S., Mexico talent (ESPN)
https://www.espn.com/soccer/usl-championship/story/4900177/usl-enters-new-era-of-developing-the-next-wave-of-us-mexico-talent

‘We could feel the gravity of it. It was electrifying’: 50 photographs that reshaped sport (The Guardian)
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/mar/11/we-could-feel-the-gravity-of-it-it-was-electrifying-50-photographs-that-reshaped-sport

How Mikaela Shiffrin Won More World Cup Races Than Anyone (New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/11/sports/skiing/shiffrin-stenmark-world-cup-record.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.

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