Jan. 12 – Jan. 25, 2025
Welcome to issue four hundred and fifty-seven of the Sports Doing Good newsletter. This week’s 10 stories include:

1. How Jocks and Mathletes Are Alike (Pocket)
2. Next Is Now Women’s Sports Docuseries Wants More Brands on Its Team (Adweek)
3. NFL’s ‘Rug Guy’: The artist behind Lamar Jackson and C.J. Stroud’s custom keepsakes (ESPN)
4. Vikings’ Kevin O’Connell is quintessential modern NFL coach (ESPN)
5. A.J. Brown Turned A Self-Help Book Into a No. 1 Bestseller (Front Office Sports)
6. New sports decade: America’s chance to lead on the global stage (SBJ)
7. Lakers, Dodgers, LA Sports Teams Pledge $8M Donation to Wildfire Relief Efforts (Bleacher Report)
8. Paris 2024 Paralympics help IPC set record digital engagement (SportsPro)
9. Men in Blazers rolls toward World Cup with $15M in funding (SBJ)
10. Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama returns to France, childhood gym as NBA star: ‘It’s like two worlds meeting’ (The Athletic)


10+
Help Support LA Youth Sports Recovery (Good Sports)
https://support.goodsports.org/campaign/restore-play-la/c654853
U.S. Professional Sports Sector Supports California Wildfire Relief Efforts (Beyond Sport)
https://beyondsport.org/2025/01/17/us-professional-sports-unite-to-support-la-wildfire-relief-efforts/
One More, Then Forever (by Jack Sawyer) (The Players’ Tribune)
https://www.theplayerstribune.com/jack-sawyer-ohio-state-buckeyes-ncaa-football
David Beckham Backs Campaign Supporting Ex-Footballers with Dementia (Beyond Sport)
https://beyondsport.org/2025/01/17/david-beckham-backs-campaign-supporting-ex-footballers-with-dementia/
Call for inputs: United Nations Report on Human Rights in Sport (Sport and Dev)
https://www.sportanddev.org/latest/news/call-inputs-united-nations-report-human-rights-sport


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!

This Girl Can celebrates 10th birthday (Sport England)
https://www.sportengland.org/news-and-inspiration/girl-can-celebrates-10th-birthday
Clemson frat opens its arms to student with special needs
https://youtu.be/A8sgnffPAFM?si=PkP_8y5mQPG2Q-XN
Sports Fan Trends Set to Dominate 2025 (CES)
https://www.ces.tech/videos/2025/january/sports-fan-trends-set-to-dominate-2025/
405: Howard Handler on building brands and his love of music
https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/405-howard-handler-on-building-brands-and-his-love-of-music/id1073489617?i=1000684325747


Introduction
Multiple times in the past two weeks I had a conversation with friends about the need to stay “mentally sharp,” or “fresh,” as it relates to aging, but the topic is relevant even if you are not a member of Gen-X.

There is SO MUCH out there that it can feel overwhelming when it comes to finding ways to improve in a specific area, or just when wanting to feel better about oneself. Books, websites, podcasts, seminars, conferences. It is endless. And it has entered both our personal and professional lives.

What does this have to do with sports and Sports Doing Good? Well, in an act that caught a lot of people off guard and generated a lot of discussion, Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown was seen reading a self-help book during their playoff game against the Green Bay Packers. The game was played outdoors in the (very) cold.

Now, reading at work makes sense for a lot of jobs but hasn’t really come up when it comes to professional sports. Many offices in the general workplace have bookshelves filled with subject matter books and the occasional “self-help” resource. When asked about the book, Brown was not defensive but rather extolled the virtues of Jim Murphy’s Inner Excellence: Train Your Mind for Extraordinary Performance and the Best Possible Life. According to the article, “A.J. Brown Turned A Self-Help Book Into a No. 1 Bestseller,” by Front Office Sports,

“It gives me a sense of peace,” Brown told reporters. “That’s a book I bring every single game. … It’s something like how I refresh every drive regardless if I score a touchdown or drop a pass, I always go back to that book every drive and just refocus.”

Will Brown’s act of self-improvement spark a trend? Not likely. The assumption is that a coach will want you to pay attention to the game at hand or see you speaking with your teammate about what can be done to be better. But maybe if we do see it again, we won’t act so surprised. And there may be an uptick of discussion and coordinated efforts off the field when it comes to athletes finding ways to better themselves. Teams are already spending a lot of time considering the health and wellness of their most important constituency, i.e., the players, whether that deals with nutrition, sleep, or mental health. Everyone is trying to be better. So, shout out to A.J. for doing it in a way for all to see.

Please continue to send along your stories. You are both our audience and the best source of stories. Our Twitter handle is @sportsdoinggood, and you can find us at www.facebook.com/sportsdoinggood and on Instagram.

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.

How Jocks and Mathletes Are Alike (Pocket)
https://getpocket.com/explore/item/how-jocks-and-mathletes-are-alike

Next Is Now Women’s Sports Docuseries Wants More Brands on Its Team (Adweek)
https://www.adweek.com/convergent-tv/next-is-now-womens-sports-series-brands/

NFL’s ‘Rug Guy’: The artist behind Lamar Jackson and C.J. Stroud’s custom keepsakes (ESPN)
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/43353374/viral-custom-nfl-rugs-baltimore-ravens-fan-gordon-cartnail-112-rugs

Vikings’ Kevin O’Connell is quintessential modern NFL coach (ESPN)
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/43322013/nfl-vikings-coach-kevin-oconnell-sam-darnold-rams-playoffs

A.J. Brown Turned A Self-Help Book Into a No. 1 Bestseller (Front Office Sports)
https://frontofficesports.com/aj-brown-eagles-inner-excellence-bestseller/

New sports decade: America’s chance to lead on the global stage (SBJ)
https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2025/01/13/opinion-travis-murphy-american-sports-decade

Lakers, Dodgers, LA Sports Teams Pledge $8M Donation to Wildfire Relief Efforts (Bleacher Report)
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10150730-lakers-dodgers-la-sports-teams-pledge-8m-donation-to-wildfire-relief-efforts

Paris 2024 Paralympics help IPC set record digital engagement (SportsPro)
https://www.sportspro.com/news/ipc-paralympics-paris-2024-social-media-digital-engagement-video-views-january-2025/

Men in Blazers rolls toward World Cup with $15M in funding (SBJ)
https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2025/01/20/finance-men-in-blazers

Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama returns to France, childhood gym as NBA star: ‘It’s like two worlds meeting’ (The Athletic)
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6075519/2025/01/20/victor-wembanyama-france-return-nba-spurs/

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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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