April 6 – April 19, 2025
Welcome to issue four hundred and sixty-three of the Sports Doing Good newsletter. This week’s 10 stories include:

1. I played with hundreds of teammates in the NFL. Why Drew Brees was the best leader (The Athletic)
2. Pistons, worst in NBA last season, clinch playoff berth (ESPN)
3. Grant Fisher: American runner on his ‘super, super rare’ back-to-back world records (CNN)
4. Arlington Renegades QB Luis Perez still chasing NFL dream (ESPN)
5. Paris 2024 Paralympics broadcast records tumble with 763m hours of live coverage consumed (SportsPro)
6. Boise State’s Ahmed Hassanein is on the verge of NFL history (ESPN)
7. How Togethxr’s ‘Everyone Watches Women’s Sports’ Is Changing The Game (Forbes)
8. More than the game: Dawn Staley’s impact on the places she has called home (ESPN)
9. Brighton’s Carlos Baleba: ‘My dad said if I learn acrobatics it will help my timing’ (The Guardian)
10. Why Travis Hunter Is the Biggest Fish (and Fisherman) in the Pond (SI)


10+
Kynisca Innovation Hub to Join U.S. Soccer’s Soccer Forward Foundation, Advancing Research, Development and Global Standards in Women’s Soccer (US Soccer)
https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2025/04/kynisca-innovation-hub-to-join-us-soccers-soccer-forward-foundation
Detroit vs. Everybody (Malik Beasley) (The Players’ Tribune)
https://www.theplayerstribune.com/malik-beasley-nba-detroit-pistons-basketball
New Balance Foundation & Beyond Sport Launch “Futures in Motion” (Beyond Sport)
https://beyondsport.org/2025/04/04/new-balance-foundation-beyond-sport-launch-futures-in-motion/
Building inclusive cities through sport: Supporting refugee youth through community-based recreation (Sport and Dev)
https://www.sportanddev.org/latest/news/building-inclusive-cities-through-sport-supporting-refugee-youth-through-community
Here’s To The Unsung Heroes – Laureus Sport for Good Award Shortlist (Laureus)
https://www.laureus.com/news/here-s-to-the-unsung-heroes-laureus-sport-for-good-award-shortlist


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!

Behind The Scenes Of The Top Sports Tech Accelerator with Jenna Kurath (Vetted Sports)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xadIBsycBeo
Meet the football grannies of Africa (BBC Africa)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mfq5BRPaqag
SBJ Inside the Industry: Growth of Women’s Sports (SportsBusiness Journal)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wc5_JsoRn4


Introduction
One of the beautiful things about sports is watching a player and/or team develop into a winner. As it works in sports games, there is one winner and one loser. Sometimes the “loser” is predictable, as a player or team will find themselves in a losing streak or not playing well and not helping the team like he or she wants. But it’s normal. It’s part of the essence of sports. Hopefully, fortunes will turn, and that struggle will turn into lessons learned and turned into winning ways.

I was fortunate to never be on a team that lost a lot. Just the opposite. It was great going out on the soccer field and feeling that you were likely going to win the game. But at every level, including the professional ranks, it does not work that way, and your losing is not just your own, but is shared by the fans. And that is maybe the worst part. Having fans put their hopes in your success and it not come through.

One team in the NBA that struggled mightily over a two-year period were the Detroit Pistons. They struggled so much that they did not win over a couple of months, losing 28 straight games. Let me repeat that, 28 straight losses. Losing like that does not go unnoticed. Even casual fans of a team know that they haven’t won in “forever.” And we are talking about grown men, professionals, whose struggles are on full display on television and then rebroadcast over and over on social media. It can’t be fun. And while the players are encouraged to keep working hard because things will get better, the proof just isn’t there.

This year, somewhat surprisingly, the Pistons made the playoffs. Let me repeat that. Made the playoffs after winning a total of 14 games last year. While I don’t follow the Pistons closely, I could not help but notice that “winning” and “Pistons” was becoming a regular refrain. I am a die-hard Knicks fan, but of course, was happy for the Pistons’ team’s players, coaches, staff and of course, their fans. I offer two stories in this week’s Sports Doing Good newsletter that shed light on the Pistons winning.

Interestingly, while I was never on a team that lost a lot, I do follow multiple teams who have not won consistently for about 50 years. For the last time, let me repeat that. Losing is what my teams do. Maybe not 28 games in a row losing, but losing nonetheless. I have not given up hope, but it is tough to go through. What the Pistons have shown, along with their brethren the Detroit Lions, is that things can turn around and the feeling for everyone is awesome. So, I wish the Pistons the best starting next year, as they are playing the Knicks this year and I gotta go with my squad. Go Knicks!

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.

I played with hundreds of teammates in the NFL. Why Drew Brees was the best leader (The Athletic)
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6287376/2025/04/18/i-played-with-hundreds-of-teammates-in-the-nfl-why-drew-brees-was-the-best-leader/

Pistons, worst in NBA last season, clinch playoff berth (ESPN)
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/44539659/pistons-worst-nba-last-season-clinch-playoff-berth

Grant Fisher: American runner on his ‘super, super rare’ back-to-back world records (CNN)
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/04/04/sport/grant-fisher-running-usa-spt-intl/index.html

Arlington Renegades QB Luis Perez still chasing NFL dream (ESPN)
https://www.espn.com/united-football-league/story/_/id/44507987/arlington-renegades-quarterback-luis-perez-ufl-nfl

Paris 2024 Paralympics broadcast records tumble with 763m hours of live coverage consumed (SportsPro)
https://www.sportspro.com/news/paris-2024-paralympic-games-coverage-viewership-ipc-april-2025/

Boise State’s Ahmed Hassanein is on the verge of NFL history (ESPN)
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/44480104/nfl-draft-ahmed-hassanein-boise-state-history-egyptian-prospect

How Togethxr’s ‘Everyone Watches Women’s Sports’ Is Changing The Game (Forbes)
https://www.forbes.com/sites/cherylrobinson/2025/04/04/how-togethxrs-everyone-watches-womens-sports-is-changing-the-game/

More than the game: Dawn Staley’s impact on the places she has called home (ESPN)
https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/44507889/dawn-staley-road-tampa-philadelphia-south-carolina-women-basketball-ncaa-tournament

Brighton’s Carlos Baleba: ‘My dad said if I learn acrobatics it will help my timing’ (The Guardian)
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/apr/18/carlos-baleba-brighton-premier-league-interview

Why Travis Hunter Is the Biggest Fish (and Fisherman) in the Pond (SI)
https://www.si.com/nfl/why-travis-hunter-is-the-biggest-fish-and-fisherman-in-the-pond


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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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