Via The Athletic, a report on the Milwaukee Admirals’ Luke Prokop who became the first openly gay player to appear in AHL game:
Milwaukee Admirals defenseman Luke Prokop made his AHL debut Friday against the Rockford [...]
November
13,
2023
Via Semafor, a look at the NBA's push across Africa:
Victor Williams is the CEO of NBA Africa. In May 2021, he oversaw the launch of NBA Africa as a standalone entity that conducts the league’s business in Africa, including [...]
Via The Washingtonian, a look at how - amid the boiling racial tension and desegregation battles of the late 1960s and early ’70s - a group of young Black women teamed with a DC civil-rights leader to break the color barrier on [...]
November
11,
2023
Via Financial Times, a report on how - as the World Cup enters its concluding stages - India's Prime Minister is shaping a sport in his image:
In recent years, as Hindu nationalists have risen to power in Indian politics, the [...]
November
10,
2023
Via The Washington Post, a look at Saudi Arabia’s tightening grip on sports and how, to understand Saudi Arabia’s takeover of the sports world, one needs to look to its hold on professional wrestling — and a long, strange [...]
November
10,
2023
Via The Diplomat, a look at how the 2023 Pacific Games, hosted by Solomon Islands, underscore China’s growing role in the Pacific Island countries:
A delegation from Solomon Islands’ prime minister’s office tour the [...]
ABOUT
MORE THAN A GAME
Refusing to “just shut up and play,” more and more athletes are stepping off the court, the field, the pitch, or the ice to leverage their voices and platforms to push for social change. This blog - More Than A Game - is a forum dedicated to the inspirational convergence of athletics, politics, leadership, and social change.
Muhammad Ali. Billie Jean King. John Carlos and Tommie Smith. Maya Moore. Colin Kaepernick. Megan Rapinoe and the United States National Women’s Soccer Team. Francois Pienaar. LeBron James. These are but a few of the accomplished athletes who have also demonstrated leadership in sports and social change, contributing to movements such as Black Lives Matter, the Civil Rights movement, anti-war protests, gender equality, LGBTQ rights and other critical issues.
But the role of athletes in leadership and social change is not limited to the pages of history books, nor is the connection between sports and social change only driven by individual athletes and teams. Inspirational organizations like Athlete Ally, Peace Players, Grassroots Soccer, and others are using sports as a way to pull people together behind a common cause, to bridge divides or to promote public health today.
Whether you are an athlete yourself or have never picked up a ball, More Than A Game will provide a forum to learn about brave athletes, teams, and sports-related organizations which exercised their leadership to foster a better understanding of social causes, advocacy, and changemaking for important causes throughout history.