Aug. 13 – Aug. 26, 2023
Welcome to issue four hundred and twenty-one of the Sports Doing Good newsletter. This week’s 10 stories include:

1. College Athlete Learns His Teammate Donates Plasma to Afford School–So He Gave Him His Scholarship (Good News Network)
2. The role Kobe Bryant and the Lakers played in Pau Gasol’s transformation (ESPN)
3. Maryland ‘Let’s Play’ program teams up with schools to tackle the access challenge (Soccer America)
4. The Powerhouse Project: Empowering Women Through Sports (Forbes)
5. Science of Sport program gets creative to keep students engaged (Spectrum News)
6. Spain, Carmona Celebrated by Fans for Win vs. England in Women’s World Cup 2023 Final (Bleacher Report)
7. Inside one B-girl’s quest for U.S. Olympic gold in break dancing (ESPN)
8. One Long Reporting Trip Around the World (New York Times)
9. Jalen Hurts Is the Most Intentional Superstar in Sports (SI)
10. Teenage Sprint Sensation Erriyon Knighton is Quietly Making History — On His Own Terms (Team USA)

10+
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce: Athletes have power to change the world (Sport and Dev)
https://www.sportanddev.org/latest/news/shelly-ann-fraser-pryce-athletes-have-power-change-world
OFC and Laureus Foundation to Work Together (Oceania Football Confederation)
https://www.oceaniafootball.com/ofc-and-laureus-foundation-to-work-together/
NWSL’S Mana Shim Mobilizes Maui Relief Efforts (Beyond Sport)
https://www.beyondsport.org/articles/nwsl-mana-shim-leads-maui-relief-effort/
The Story of a Polish Introvert (by Iga Swiatek) (The Players’ Tribune)
https://signature.theplayerstribune.com/iga-swiatek-tennis
LeagueApps’ Goldberg: Tech and advocacy matter (Project Play)
https://projectplay.org/news/jeremy-goldberg-leagueapps

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!

Footsteps Short Film (Hana Kuma)
https://youtu.be/w6QZlaSPuH4
Women’s Soccer Brings the Soul Back to Oakland (The San Francisco Standard)
https://youtu.be/rbpkypml2YU
How this rodeo keeps a forgotten part of Black history alive (CNN)
https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2023/08/18/black-cowboy-rodeo-suffrage-orig-af.cnn

Introduction
It has been a very fun last few months as many in the world celebrate the 50th anniversary of the “birth of hip hop.” News articles, documentaries, videos, and of course, amazing concerts are celebrating this cultural phenomenon which has defined multiple generations. As a kid growing up in New York in the 1980 and ‘90s, it was, as they say, “all good.”

If you know anything about hip-hop, it is not just about the music. It is a mind-set, a style, a way of life for many. It has impacted art, music, literature, and fashion. And while the overlap of hip-hop and sports is abundantly clear – just check out all the rappers with front row seats at NBA games – the idea of hip-hop “changing” how sports are actually played can be debated. But in a way, hip-hop has its own sport, and that is breaking/breakdancing. Of course, breaking is a form of movement and dance, but the sheer athleticism of its participants has always been recognized. And today, it is so recognized that it has a place in next years’ Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

One of the articles featured this week, “Inside one B-girl’s quest for U.S. Olympic gold in break dancing,” published at ESPN just so you know, deals with Sunny Choi, one of the top breakdancers in the world. Her story is a mix of 1st generation educational and professional expectations, the growth of hip-hop and breaking, and the sometimes-difficult balancing of maintaining the “integrity” of an art form or sport and the spreading of that activity to broader audiences. The Olympics is not new to this, as surfing and skateboarding and snowboarding have been added to its roster over the past few years.

How will things turn out for breakdancing? We’ll have to see. But I am a big fan of the spread of culture, and fun, and excellence, and finding ways to express yourself. It seems that Sunny Choi is embodying all of that, and I wish her the best as she pursues her Olympic dreams.

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.

College Athlete Learns His Teammate Donates Plasma to Afford School–So He Gave Him His Scholarship (Good News Network)
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/college-athlete-learns-his-teammate-donates-plasma-to-afford-school-so-he-gave-him-his-scholarship/

The role Kobe Bryant and the Lakers played in Pau Gasol’s transformation (ESPN)
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/35793029/pau-gasol-lakers-transformation-playing-kobe-bryant

Maryland ‘Let’s Play’ program teams up with schools to tackle the access challenge (Soccer America)
https://www.socceramerica.com/publications/article/97188/maryland-lets-play-program-teams-up-with-school.html

The Powerhouse Project: Empowering Women Through Sports (Forbes)
https://www.forbes.com/sites/vitascarosella/2023/08/16/the-powerhouse-project-looking-to-change-the-game-for-women-in-soccer/?sh=758971547ae3

Science of Sport program gets creative to keep students engaged (Spectrum News)
https://spectrumnews1.com/ca/la-west/education/2023/08/16/science-of-sport-program-gets-creative-to-keep-students-engaged

Spain, Carmona Celebrated by Fans for Win vs. England in Women’s World Cup 2023 Final (Bleacher Report)
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10086660-spain-carmona-celebrated-by-fans-for-win-vs-england-in-womens-world-cup-2023-final?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial

Inside one B-girl’s quest for U.S. Olympic gold in break dancing (ESPN)
https://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id/38079698/break-dancing-olympics-sunny-choi

One Long Reporting Trip Around the World (New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/19/insider/one-long-reporting-trip-around-the-world.html

Jalen Hurts Is the Most Intentional Superstar in Sports (SI)
https://www.si.com/nfl/2023/08/21/jalen-hurts-philadelphia-eagles-qb-super-bowl-intentions-mindset-daily-cover

Teenage Sprint Sensation Erriyon Knighton is Quietly Making History — On His Own Terms (Team USA)
https://www.teamusa.com/news/2023/august/16/teenage-sprint-sensation-erriyon-knighton-is-quietly-making-history-on-his-own-terms


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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.

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