How do you know if your college or university really cares about gender equity? How can parents make sure their child's youth coach isn't a predator looking to abuse their child? For Olympic gold medalist Nancy Hogshead-Makar, these are some of the most critical questions facing parents of athletes today. Add in her desire to reform the way the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee operates and the CEO of Champion Women is a legal force working to make the future better for athletes everywhere.
Hogshead-Makar qualified for two Olympics – the 1980 Games in Moscow that the U.S. boycotted and the 1984 Games in Los Angeles, where she won three gold and one silver medal swimming the 100m freestyle and as part of the 400m freestyle and 400m medley teams. Her silver was in the 200m IM. After earning her undergraduate degree at Duke, Hogshead-Makar earned her law degree where she represented student-athletes and universities in Title IX matters. She was on the board of trustees for the Women’s Sports Foundation and in 2014 founded Champion Women.
Hogshead-Makar is now advocating for reforms to the US Olympic & Paralympic Committee to bring integrity back to the organization as well as holding colleges and universities accountable for complying with Title IX.

GlobalSport Matters: Nancy Hogshead-Makar wants to make sports equitable

If you are a fan of the NFL, have watched or listened to a game over the past 30 years, you have seen the Emmy-Award winning work of Andrea Kremer. Kremer was the first female correspondent at ESPN, where she reported on issues ranging from the abuse of Toradol in the locker room to violence and sexual assault issues for both Sunday NFL Countdown and Outside the Lines. In 2006, Kremer left ESPN to join the NBC Sunday Night Football crew with Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth and contribute to Football Night in America.
While at NBC she also reported on the summer and winter Olympics for the network and was the first person to interview swimmer Michael Phelps when he became the most decorated Olympian ever. She has been a correspondent for HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel where she uncovered shocking sexual assault cases in Bikram Yoga.
But 2018 and 2019 were clearly great years. In 2018, Kremer was selected the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award winner and was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. She was the second woman after Lesley Visser, but the first working mother. In 2019, Kremer along with ESPN’s Hannah Storm, became the first all-female booth calling NFL games for Amazon Prime Video.
Kremer sat down with GlobalSport Matters’ executive editor Kathy Kudravi at the annual Association for Women in Sports Media conference in Tampa, Florida.

GlobalSport Matters: Andrea Kremer on the NFL, breaking barriers and working mothers

Pregnancy is a natural part of life. Yet female athletes — in particular those in individual sports like track and field — are penalized by their sponsors for getting pregnant.
U.S. Olympian Alysia Montaño, working with the New York Times, took issue with Nike's #DreamCrazy ad campaign and created a parody video with the #DreamMaternity hashtag. Nike's campaign was meant to be inspirational, showing girls and women competing and succeeding despite social norms that said they couldn't. Montaño and others including Allyson Felix, called out sponsors who drop or reduce pay and benefits to female athletes when they get pregnant.
The activism of athletes like Montaño, Allyson Felix and Serena Williams are bringing a spotlight on how female athletes are penalized for having children.

GlobalSport Matters: Montano's outrage sparked change

Former Birmingham City youth player Jack Rutter suffered a brain injury when he was attacked outside a night club in 2009. His traumatic brain injury ended his goal of a professional career.

But Rutter wasn't done with football. He was able to transition to parafootball, playing for the East Midlands Cerebral Palsy team, a team that has players with neurological conditions.

In 2016, his skill and enthusiastic leadership earned him the captaincy of the Paralympics GB (Great Britain) side at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio.

Rutter recently spoke with Dr. Scott Brooks, the Global Sport Institute's director of research on the process of being signed to a pro academy, which can happen as young as age 4.

Rutter, who is now a coach of para athletes, also delved into the para athlete competition.  He is now a coach of para athletes but is getting the global coaching certifications to coach able bodied football.

Why GlobalSport Matters with Kenneth Shropshire: Jack Rutter and parafootball

The intersection of Islam and women's athletics, particularly in France, can be a study in the complicated relationship between a place and a culture. Dr. Scott Brooks examines this issue with Haifa Tlili, a professor at Paris Descartes University.
They discuss how a place and a cultural or familial background can cause conflict around body image and a desire to be athletic.

Why Sport Matters with Kenneth Shropshire: Muslim women athletes

After two thrilling 2019 NCAA Tournament final games, what's next for the men and women completing their collegiate athletic careers? How do they make that transition from regimented and structured life of an athlete to the "real world?"
Kenneth Shropshire is joined by Dr. Scott Brooks to examine this issue. Both were collegiate athletes themselves and had to make that transition too.

Why Sport Matters with Kenneth Shropshire: Special athlete transition edition

We learn many lessons from sport and two events jump out of March Madness that many of us can learn from. What does Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo yelling and gesturing at Aaron Henry say about coaching today? How much is getting in a player’s face is too much for a coach?
And for those parents in the unique situation of coaching their children, what is the right approach to take. How should we coach our kids? Legendary player Johnny Dawkins is now coaching his son. Should parents coach our own kids and if so, how should we do it?
Kenneth Shropshire is joined by Global Sport Institute's director of research Scott Brooks as they shoot from way downtown and take you into the Sweet 16.

Why Sport Matters with Kenneth Shropshire: Coaching dilemmas

Three legal stories this week all collide in the sports arena after the U.S. women's national soccer team filed suit against the sport's governing body for gender discrimination, a judge rules the NCAA can't limit student compensation when it comes to education and the government indicts some rich and famous families for using fake sports scholarships to get their children into prestigious universities. Kenneth Shropshire and his guest, Arizona State University sports historian Victoria Jackson examine how these stories can have far reaching impacts.

Why Sport Matters with Kenneth Shropshire: Legal move impacts

On March 8, the U.S. women's national soccer team filed a class action lawsuit against US Soccer, the governing body, alleging "institutionalized gender discrimination" in pay, treatment and coaching.
In this week's Why Sport Matters with Kenneth Shropshire, Shropshire examines the importance of filing the suit on International Women's Day, how the near boycott of the world championships by the U.S. women's hockey team set a precedent and why lawyer Jeffrey Kessler could be a key to the lawsuit.

Why Sport Matters with Kenneth Shropshire: USWNT lawsuit

Five years after coming out publicly, former football player Michael Sam recently spoke at Arizona State University on "Masculinity, identity and moving forward: I am Michael Sam."
Sam spoke with Global Sports Institute director of research Dr. Scott Brooks, who was at Missouri as a professor at the same time Sam played football for the school. Missouri is a conservative atmosphere on campus and in the town, yet Sam said he felt comfortable coming out there because of head coach Gary Pinkel. "He was a huge, huge factor in that," Sam said.

Why Sport Matters with Kenneth Shropshire: Michael Sam

Why aren’t star college athletes paid? Why does the NCAA have such restrictive rules? How long have these rules existed? One cannot understand much of what occurs in sport without understanding amateurism. To make informed policy decisions understanding the history of amateurism and why the rules, particularly NCAA rules, have evolved to where the are, a grasp of the history of amateurism is essential. This conversation with Dr. Victoria Jackson on Why Sport Matters with Kenneth Shropshire is the first in a series seeking to help us all be better informed on this important issue.

Why Sport Matters with Kenneth Shropshire: Why does the NCAA cling to amateurism?

For former athletes or former military members, the transition from the extreme fitness they had when they were active or after an injury can feel like taking steps back health-wise. At Sparta Sports, CEO Dr. Phil Wagner says the company focuses on data to help them determine optimal movement for former athletes wanting to stay healthy.
Using force plates, Sparta uses software with data from nearly a million other people with similar injuries to help determine the proper recovery plan for injured athletes or military members.

Why Sport Matters with Kenneth Shropshire: Jump to health

As fans and family mourn the loss of Frank Robinson Kenneth Shropshire gives a personal reflection on the behind the scenes work of Robinson to make a difference in the diversity in baseball. It’s a reflection on the short lived affinity group The Baseball Network and Frank Robinson’s leadership.

Why Sport Matters with Kenneth Shropshire - Frank Robinson

Even professional athletes get nervous. One way for them to cope with the mental stress of sports is through superstitions and pre-game rituals. Recently, Washington State football coach Mike Leach said he didn't want his players watching sad or scary movies before a game. Why Sport Matters with Kenneth Shropshire is joined by reporter Ross Andrews who examines the impact of superstition, pregame ritual and coping with stress in athletics. Andrews spoke with former NFL punter Chris Kluwe and three-time Olympic gold medalist Wyomia Tyus about their personal experiences with rituals and Kristin Hoffner, professor of kinesiology and sports psychology at Arizona State University.

Why Sport Matters with Kenneth Shropshire: Superstitions

Join Kenneth Shropshire for a very special podcast as he is joined by Olympic legends John Carlos and Wyomia Tyus and former Minnesota Vikings punter and social advocate Chris Kluwe from Mexico City. The Olympic legends were in Mexico City to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the athletes seminal protest from the medal podium for human rights.

Why Sport Matters with Kenneth Shropshire: Return to Mexico City

When we think of diversity in sport we need to expand the concept and consider the transformational aspects rather than focus on just race issues. This week, Kenneth Shropshire is joined by Dr. Scott Brooks of Global Sport Institute and Stellenbosch University's Dr. Gustav Venter, Research Coordinator, Center for Human Performance Sciences; Jerry Laka, Deputy Director, Support Services, Maties Sport; Sean Suron,  Head of High Performance, Maties Sport; and Ilhaam Groenewald, Chief Director of Maties Sport.

Why Sport Matters with Kenneth Shropshire: Transforming sport

On this week's Why Sport Matters with Kenneth Shropshire, Kenneth is joined by Dr. Scott Brooks from Global Sport Institute and Ilhaam Groenewald, chief director of Maties Sport, Stellenbosch University, South Africa and Sean Suron, head of high performance, Maties Sport, Stellenbosch University, South Africa. They stopped by the Global Sport Institute offices to explain the differences between collegiate sport in South Africa and the United States.

Why Sport Matters with Kenneth Shropshire: Global collegiate athletics

When an athlete seeks breakthrough medical treatment to extend or resume a career, should that be considered performance enhancing? What about the use of medical marijuana?
This week, Kenneth Shropshire is joined by Dr. Victoria Jackson to discuss what could happen if science fiction becomes reality for athletes.

Why Sport Matters with Kenneth Shropshire

Athletes' social media use can sometimes put them in hot water. Recent cases in point - Josh Hader and Ryan Lochte. This week, Kenneth Shropshire is joined by Social Victories founder Whitney Holtzman to discuss best practices for athletes.

Why Sport Matters with Kenneth Shropshire: Athletes and social media

As the World Cup comes to a close how is sport made available to society around the globe as compared with US? Professor B. David Ridpath’s book examines the issue. He joins Kenneth Shropshire on this week's edition of Why Sport Matters with Kenneth Shropshire.

GlobalSport Matters with Kenneth Shropshire

GlobalSport Matters with Kenneth Shropshire

Get Started

Download the App