Overview

Many sports fans are conflicted—they may love the games, the players, and their communities, but may be alarmed by issues including academic corruption, athlete health, and the overarching emphasis on winning and profit at all costs. From disturbing new research about the long-term impact of sports concussions to publicly financed stadiums that drive profits to team owners but not communities, author Ken Reed argues that much of our sports culture is broken, driven by ego and greed. How We Can Save Sports is written to inform and empower sports stakeholders who care deeply about the impact of sports today on individuals and society as a whole. Reed, sports policy director for the League of Fans, introduces readers to ten of the most pressing problems in sports today and shows how they largely derive from the mentalities of profit-at-all-costs and win-at-all-costs. Chapters dig into issues such as concussions, overzealous adults in youth sports, the disappearance of PE from many school curriculums, the focus on profit objectives in college sports, discrimination in sports, and more. Each chapter outlines key challenges and provides concrete steps that readers can take to work for change. The book includes lists of helpful resources for readers interested in change at various levels—from youth and high school sports, to AAU and college athletics, to professional sports.

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9781442242647

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Reviews

If you see yourself as a citizen more than a spectator, this book provides a game plan for organizing and preserving sports that are ethical, fair, and humane. Beyond identifying the major challenges confronting sports today, Ken Reed outlines strategies that will revive and sustain sports as a source of pleasure and meaning in our lives. His call to action is hard to ignore if you care about sports. -- Jay Coakley, professor emeritus of sociology, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, author of Sports in Society Reed's litany of problems and issues besetting American sport - from grassroots to professional levels - is not new. What is new and worthy of a careful read, are the author's compelling ideas on what individuals can do about them and why such actions are important. Those with power and a financial self-interest in sport will not be the engineers of reform. Rather, the only hope for a return to good sport will be the activism of those with a moral compass and love of sport who are willing to step forward in their own communities to make change happen one small action at a time. -- Donna Lopiano, President, Sports Management Resources; Former CEO, Women's Sports Foundation Ken Reed's book How We Can Save Sports is reformer's guide to cleaning up sports in America. His prescriptions are worth attention if America is to put sports competition back into perspective. The book takes on the tough questions surrounding the commercialization of sports in America and raises provocative questions about the proper role of sports in our society. -- C. Thomas McMillen, Former Congressman; College, NBA, and Olympic athlete We know that organized sport in America is out of control. Reed's concept of citizenship through sports activism is a much-needed clarion call for all of us to do something about it. More important, he provides a thorough action plan with specific strategies and actions that any citizen who cares deeply about the role of sport in our country can undertake. It's time for all of us to get in sports reform game and Reed has provided us with a game plan to do so. -- John R. Gerdy, Author of Ball or Bands: Football vs. Music as an Educational and Community Investment With How We Can Save Sports, Ken Reed has described in straightforward, no-nonsense language how we can make our sports, from the playgrounds to the pros, better for all of us. Now it is up to everyone-athletes, coaches, administrators, kids, parents, and, yes, sportswriters-to get to work. As Reed explains, there is a lot to do. -- Fred Bowen, Washington Post Sports Columnist for Kids, author of Touchdown Trouble How We Can Save Sports is an ambitious book with thoughtful responses to virtually every ill facing sports in the U.S. Ken Reed has written a valuable book that is both a challenge and a joy. A must read for anyone who cares about what sports could be. -- Jim Thompson, Founder & CEO of Positive Coaching Alliance How We Can Save Sports: A Game Plan by Ken Reed, with a Foreword by Ralph Nader, is a must read for anyone who wants to right the ship we call SportsWorld which has so many current crises. I want to share it with all my students in the DeVos Sport Business Management Program. -- Richard Lapchick, Chair of DeVos Sport Business Management Program, University of Central Florida

If you see yourself as a citizen more than a spectator, this book provides a game plan for organizing and preserving sports that are ethical, fair, and humane. Beyond identifying the major challenges confronting sports today, Ken Reed outlines strategies that will revive and sustain sports as a source of pleasure and meaning in our lives. His call to action is hard to ignore if you care about sports. -- Jay Coakley, professor emeritus of sociology, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, author of Sports in Society Reed's litany of problems and issues besetting American sport - from grassroots to professional levels - is not new. What is new and worthy of a careful read, are the author's compelling ideas on what individuals can do about them and why such actions are important. Those with power and a financial self-interest in sport will not be the engineers of reform. Rather, the only hope for a return to good sport will be the activism of those with a moral compass and love of sport who are willing to step forward in their own communities to make change happen one small action at a time. -- Donna Lopiano, President, Sports Management Resources; Former CEO, Women's Sports Foundation Ken Reed's book How We Can Save Sports is reformer's guide to cleaning up sports in America. His prescriptions are worth attention if America is to put sports competition back into perspective. The book takes on the tough questions surrounding the commercialization of sports in America and raises provocative questions about the proper role of sports in our society. -- C. Thomas McMillen, Former Congressman; College, NBA, and Olympic athlete We know that organized sport in America is out of control. Reed's concept of citizenship through sports activism is a much-needed clarion call for all of us to do something about it. More important, he provides a thorough action plan with specific strategies and actions that any citizen who cares deeply about the role of sport in our country can undertake. It's time for all of us to get in sports reform game and Reed has provided us with a game plan to do so. -- John R. Gerdy, Author of Ball or Bands: Football vs. Music as an Educational and Community Investment With How We Can Save Sports, Ken Reed has described in straightforward, no-nonsense language how we can make our sports, from the playgrounds to the pros, better for all of us. Now it is up to everyone-athletes, coaches, administrators, kids, parents, and, yes, sportswriters-to get to work. As Reed explains, there is a lot to do. -- Fred Bowen, Washington Post Sports Columnist for Kids, author of Touchdown Trouble

If you see yourself as a citizen more than a spectator, this book provides a game plan for organizing and preserving sports that are ethical, fair, and humane. Beyond identifying the major challenges confronting sports today, Ken Reed outlines strategies that will revive and sustain sports as a source of pleasure and meaning in our lives. His call to action is hard to ignore if you care about sports. -- Jay Coakley, professor emeritus of sociology, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, author of Sports in Society Reed's litany of problems and issues besetting American sport - from grassroots to professional levels - is not new. What is new and worthy of a careful read, are the author's compelling ideas on what individuals can do about them and why such actions are important. Those with power and a financial self-interest in sport will not be the engineers of reform. Rather, the only hope for a return to good sport will be the activism of those with a moral compass and love of sport who are willing to step forward in their own communities to make change happen one small action at a time. -- Donna Lopiano, President, Sports Management Resources; Former CEO, Women's Sports Foundation Ken Reed's book How We Can Save Sports is reformer's guide to cleaning up sports in America. His prescriptions are worth attention if America is to put sports competition back into perspective. The book takes on the tough questions surrounding the commercialization of sports in America and raises provocative questions about the proper role of sports in our society. -- C. Thomas McMillen, Former Congressman; College, NBA, and Olympic athlete We know that organized sport in America is out of control. Reed's concept of citizenship through sports activism is a much-needed clarion call for all of us to do something about it. More important, he provides a thorough action plan with specific strategies and actions that any citizen who cares deeply about the role of sport in our country can undertake. It's time for all of us to get in sports reform game and Reed has provided us with a game plan to do so. -- John R. Gerdy, Author of Ball or Bands: Football vs. Music as an Educational and Community Investment With How We Can Save Sports, Ken Reed has described in straightforward, no-nonsense language how we can make our sports, from the playgrounds to the pros, better for all of us. Now it is up to everyone-athletes, coaches, administrators, kids, parents, and, yes, sportswriters-to get to work. As Reed explains, there is a lot to do. -- Fred Bowen, Washington Post Sports Columnist for Kids, author of Touchdown Trouble How We Can Save Sports is an ambitious book with thoughtful responses to virtually every ill facing sports in the U.S. Ken Reed has written a valuable book that is both a challenge and a joy. A must read for anyone who cares about what sports could be. -- Jim Thompson, Founder & CEO of Positive Coaching Alliance

Author Information

Ken Reed is sports policy director for the League of Fans, a sports reform project started by Ralph Nader. Reed is a long-time sports marketing consultant, sports studies instructor, sports issues analyst, columnist and author. He holds a doctorate in sports administration and created the Center for the Advancement of Physical Education (CAPE) for the non-profit PE4Life, devoted to cardiovascular-based physical education for all students, K-12. He blogs on sports issues for the Huffington Post.

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