How We Can Save Sports

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


According to Ken Reed, sport allows people of all ages to transcend their day-to-day lives in ways that enliven the human spirit. Reed’s passionate love of sports informs every page of his book and explains the depth of his criticism of the commercial culture that is corrupting sport from the little league level to the pros. I have never read a book that better explains how commercialism, when out of control, diminishes the joy of sport for fans and participants alike.
— Allen Sack, University of New Haven, author of Counterfeit Amateurs: An Athlete’s Journey Through the Sixties to the Age of Academic Capitalism; played on Notre Dame’s 1966 National Championship Football Team


The American sports institution and school-based physical education programs are in crisis. The rising tide of red ink burdening elite collegiate sports programs, the lockouts, strikes, and in some instances, the outright fiscal chaos stalking some professional franchises and leagues, are all hallmarks of current circumstances. Ralph Nader's League of Fans project potentially focuses, escalates, and expands the dialog and debate concerning the core questions at issue here and holds the promise of bringing the broadest spectrum of sports stakeholders into the discussion. On these grounds alone, the League of Fans initiative is not only welcome and needed, it is a national service.
— Harry Edwards, professor emeritus, University of California, Berkeley


More than ever in this new gilded age of sports we need Ralph Nader's cold, clear-shooting eye and a game plan for taking back the birthright of athletics. The League of Fans is our best hope.
— Robert Lipsyte, American sports journalist, ESPN Ombudsman, and author of An Accidental Sportswriter

Provides essential background information on ten pressing sports problems—from scandals in college sports to the ramifications of the latest concussion research

Shares concrete steps that readers can take to work for change that matters to them—from asking for more PE in their child’s school to pressing for community change regarding publicly financed stadiums and arenas.

Highlights success stories of teams and communities that have successfully pushed for change

Recommends resources and organizations for readers interested in working for change in sports at any level