July 13 – July 26, 2025
Welcome to issue four hundred and seventy of the Sports Doing Good newsletter. This week’s 10 stories include:

1. Inside the glowing legacy of Jim Abbott (ESPN)
2. From sleeping on a golf course to turning pro: How Issa Nlareb rediscovered his love of the game after illness (CNN)
3. The Cosmos return – with a new home, new league and old ideals (The Guardian)
4. How Bo Jackson united Alabama after a record-breaking storm (ESPN)
5. He ran from Cape Town to London to challenge racism (CNN Sports)
6. NFL Placekicker Zane Gonzalez Honored with Award for OCD Advocacy (IOCDF)
7. Competitive Sport and Business Are a Winning Pair, Say Women Investors in London (Women’s Wear Daily)
8. Hank Aaron’s legacy still brings former Black baseball players together (Andscape)
9. Why Amanda Anisimova’s emotional post-match interview was a masterclass in handling failure (The Athletic)
10. Before he was the best golfer of his generation, Rory McIlroy was an East Tennessee State commit (ESPN)


10+
Serving Hope and Unity through Table Tennis: A Testament of Inclusion on World Refugee Day (ITTF Foundation)
https://ittffoundation.org/news/details/serving-hope-and-unity-through-table-tennis-a-testament-of-inclusion-on-world-refugee-day
Pioneer, athlete, leader: IOC Member Anita DeFrantz inducted into USOPC Hall of Fame – IOC President Coventry there to congratulate her (IOC)
https://www.olympics.com/ioc/news/pioneer-athlete-leader-ioc-member-anita-defrantz-inducted-into-usopc-hall-of-fame-ioc-president-coventry-there-to-congratulate-her
The crisis between Palestine and Israel as a model of sporting transformation (Sport and Dev)
https://www.sportanddev.org/latest/news/crisis-between-palestine-and-israel-model-sporting-transformation
Upskilling for Impact: Strengthening NGOs to Fuel Progress (Beyond Sport)
https://beyondsport.org/2025/07/08/upskilling-for-impact-strengthening-ngos-to-fuel-progress/
The Inspiring Story of the Afghan Cycling Championships: Sport as Resistance and a Message of Peace (Peace and Sport)
https://www.peace-sport.org/news/the-inspiring-story-of-the-afghan-cycling-championships-sport-as-resistance-and-a-message-of-peace/


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!

Meet three African footballers bringing excitement to Major League Soccer in the United States (CNN Sports)
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/06/17/world/video/african-voices-playmakers-major-league-soccer-african-players-benteke-thiare-tolo
The Players’ Tribune & AEW Present Two In One: The Briscoe Story (AEW/TPT)
https://youtu.be/QAOE_DYMRD4?si=gh3IZTztLJdL99Oh


Introduction
So many good things come from doing the Sports Doing Good newsletter. There is basically no downside…except one. And that is the good chance I will read or watch something that forces me to sit back, take off my glasses, and wipe the tears from my eyes. The stories that get me the most are those of individuals and teams overcoming a variety of challenges. While the moment may be fleeting, its impact, the legacy, can and does live in those who follow.

Two stories this week explicitly mention “legacy,” though you can find an element of the idea in every story. “Inside the glowing legacy of Jim Abbott,” from ESPN and “Hank Aaron’s legacy still brings former Black baseball players together, from Andscape both demonstrate the enduring power of legacy, a key idea being that it is not about you, but rather how you impacted someone and changed their life, in ways big and small. Narcissists don’t leave legacies as it is all about them. They suck all the air out of the room. People’s recollection of those folks is most often negative. This is not the case with Hank Aaron and Jim Abbott. They are difference makers that we can all appreciate.

One of the takeaways from the articles and previous knowledge gained in reading about these guys is that this was not an easy journey. Overcoming a bevy of obstacles to achieving success is beyond impressive. But to do it facing the stares and remarks of the unenlightened, explicit and implicit racism, and their own self doubt sets these guys apart and give us inspiration to fight whatever battle we are facing.

Another takeaway that came to light, especially in the Abbott article and in this video, is that success comes with responsibility. Being the person that so many people look up to, when you yourself are just finding yourself, can be difficult. It is hard enough to be a great baseball player, let alone be the inspiration for so many people, especially kids. We are blessed that each of these guys, and so many others in different situations, persevered and found a way to inspire others, the ultimate legacy.

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.

Inside the glowing legacy of Jim Abbott (ESPN)
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/45709530/inside-glowing-legacy-jim-abbott

From sleeping on a golf course to turning pro: How Issa Nlareb rediscovered his love of the game after illness (CNN)
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/07/12/sport/issa-nlareb-paragolf-journey-intl-spt

The Cosmos return – with a new home, new league and old ideals (The Guardian)
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/jul/13/new-york-cosmos-paterson-usl-return

How Bo Jackson united Alabama after a record-breaking storm (ESPN)
https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/45746376/bo-jackson-bo-bikes-bama-auburn-football-alabama-football-tornado

He ran from Cape Town to London to challenge racism (CNN Sports)
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/07/12/sport/video/cape-town-london-run-racism-spc-digvid

NFL Placekicker Zane Gonzalez Honored with Award for OCD Advocacy (IOCDF)
https://iocdf.org/blog/2025/07/13/nfl-placekicker-zane-gonzalez-honored-with-award-for-ocd-advocacy/

Competitive Sport and Business Are a Winning Pair, Say Women Investors in London (Women’s Wear Daily)
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/news/competitive-sport-and-business-are-a-winning-pair-say-women-investors-in-london/ar-AA1IALs2

Hank Aaron’s legacy still brings former Black baseball players together (Andscape)
https://andscape.com/features/hank-aarons-legacy-still-brings-former-black-baseball-players-together/

Why Amanda Anisimova’s emotional post-match interview was a masterclass in handling failure (The Athletic)
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6494335/2025/07/15/why-amanda-anisimovas-emotional-post-match-interview-was-a-masterclass-in-handling-failure/

Before he was the best golfer of his generation, Rory McIlroy was an East Tennessee State commit (ESPN)
https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/45039271/rory-mcilroy-open-east-tennessee-state-commitment


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