Legend Blues

In Pursuit of the Jordan 11 Legend Blues; A Sociological Perspective on the Culture of an in-person Shoe Drop.

By Thomas Orr

I arrived at the parking lot thirty minutes early and noticed a young man tenting outside the door of the sports store Scheels with a line of at least a dozen people behind him waiting for the store to open and the highly anticipated Jordan Legend Blues to “drop”. I watched two men walk to the front of the line past me and many others to greet a friend who was towards the front of the line. Everyone looks down when they walk by them. They are not avoiding eye contact, they are examining the size of their feet. In a nearly humorous ritual everyone sizes up their sizes to see if the budging will significantly impact their odds of winning the chance to buy the pair they coveted. A lady behind me blurts out, “hell no” they can’t be doing that as the two men settle into line in the manner that would alert even the least vigilant kindergartner in a lunch line. The man behind her says, “It happens in every town”. At that point I realized (later confirmed) that they both wore my same size 11 and my slim hopes were in fact slimmer. 

Why were all these people competing to pay $230 dollars for a pair of basketball shoes and camp out to ensure their success? Why can even a nasty, smelly, and beat up pair of used basketball shoes from 1985 still be worth 10,000 dollars to the right person? It is also important to answer the question of why a middle aged Sport Management Professor/Assistant Hockey Coach (we wear skates not high tops) would want to buy a pair of Jordans and enter such an environment. The question of why does such an environment exists as well as best practices for managing these situations will be addressed. 

In order to continue this ethnography and show some validity it is important to introduce the researcher, as my methods and approach will be the instrument in which we examine this social phenomenon. My attempts to form relationships with students and try to present a “hipper” look came to fruition over a decade ago when my son Lyndon gave me an old pair of his Legend Blues that he had wore out and already fit me, telling me I should wear them to teach in. The first day several of my students including many of diverse background gave me huge smiles and started long conversations with me that started with shoes and went to all kinds of important or just fun topics. I enjoyed getting to know more about shoes and went about studying them and appreciating their relationship to my professional education in sport marketing. Reading books on Nike, Michael Jordan, Business, and of course the research I have conducted that led to my text books and other scientific writing on the topic of sport culture including my PhD dissertation that was influenced by Gary L. Fine’s sport ethnography; “With the Boys, Little League and Preadolescent Culture.”  (see: https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/W/bo5957083.html )

As a young boy in the 1980’s I begged my parents for the Air Jordan 1 and was very pleased when they bought me the entire Jordan 1 Flight Suit for Christmas. I loved the Nike commercials for Michael Jordan, Bo Jackson, Ken Griffey Jr. and others that Nike presented. Like most people in America, I thought Michael Jordan was and still is; the coolest. The Last Dast Documentary recently reminded many and introduced more people to the legends of Michael Jordan. His shoe drops are just one indicator of how cool MJ still is. Miley Cyrus sang with several wrappers in the song “23” that peaked at number 11 on the Billboard top 100 that features Air Jordan sneakers as just one example of the many hip hop and popular culture references. Space Jam 11’s are featured in the video and pay homage to the popular movie Space Jam, that allowed Michael and later Lebron James to crossover into new audiences with their personal brand as well as further ignite the brand growth of Nike with the help and endorsement of none other than Bugs Bunny himself. This nostalgic and current interest in the Jordan Brand has created an economic system where that same flight suit and a pair of Jordan 1’s in a box new with tags would buy a nice house for a family. 

Simply put scarcity is a key economic factor in the equation. Just like baseball cards a generation before, parents, kids and house cleaners did not appreciate the potential future value of the shoes. That created a lack of supply as their was only a finite number of each pair produced. In terms of demand, the growth of sports, the NBA, Nike, as well as introducing American culture and products to the entire world, coupled with the natural increase in the world population and you have a situation that inflates the price of shoes. As shoes consistently show value, like an asset they become more acceptable as having value so people also collect them as an investment. Investment firms and groups of investors consistently trade and sell shoes at auctions and other markets with even some of the top investors and firms having equity tied up in used tennis shoes.

The status and social symbol of the Jordan logo has significance for not just investors but everyday people. Despite being overpriced, Jordans are still less expensive than many consumer items and thus people can find room in their budgets even if they don’t have money for other things. They become a priority and often the investment side allows people to justify the purchase. Middle school girls to NFL tight ends like Travis Kelce with their own shows and popular girlfriends like Taylor Swift love to show off their cool  Jordans. 

In the words of Malcolm Gladwell, we have passed the tipping point. The social contagion of shoes has spread like an epidemic and I am now in one of the many lines throughout America waiting for the shoe drop.  According to the person who manages the shoes for the store the boy in the tent had been their since 4:30am and his phone was ringing at 7:15 am with people asking him to open the store because they were in line even though the store and shoe drop opened at 9am which also coincided with the online shoe drop from Nike. I had been about 14th in line and now with the two “budders” my math was not fun as I imagined them only having one or two shoes in each size and it appeared everyone in line wanted my size. The door opened and an associate attempted to hand out price cards for each shoe and that is when law and order disintegrated. Like a Civil War charge our back row pulled off a maneuver that allowed them fold back towards the associate and just like that our line was broken and chaos appeared to be underway as peoples murmuring grew louder as they realized what was happening. The group of shoe enthusiasts had become a small mob who demanded their sizes. 

The original associate was joined by the Men’s Footwear Manager Chad Wallin, who entered as if he were the Sherriff in the old west, and instantly seemed to calmly bring in some order. He had anticipated this situation and knew his customers. A young man who had been there early and had been pushed towards the back was given service when they knew that there would be bullying and issues like this. They quickly sorted things out and made sure people knew that they would be taken care of and many other associates funneled people in. 

With several tills going people were concerned about not getting their sizes as some were going faster then others. My line was held up by a man paying in ones which I later was told happens all the time at these drops. It took several associates to count multiple piles and it was followed by some bantering about how much was really in the piles. This irritated many people as the other lines were quickly distributing shoes while our line was not moving. For this drop as opposed to a Kobe limited edition there ended up being enough shoes for all who came early or close to 9pm with only a couple having to size up or down a half size to make it work. People who “won” the chance to pay for them had huge smiles for the most part. Many would resell them to make a profit while others would either wear them or put them away. Regardless of the motive the joy was felt as one young man held them up like they were the Stanley Cup. 

I had some great conversations knowing that my purpose was to be a part of the moment and experience this as a sociologist and author. When I talked to the man who budged in front of me I did not mention the budging in line and just appreciated his story and found it ironic that he mentioned he wished these thing ran smoother and things were more fair. I chuckled and did my best not to blow my cover as a researcher but made a careful note. I thanked the manager as well as the other employees for keeping this a relatively safe experience and doing their best to keep the customers happy. While talking to the security officer we found out he is a student at the university where I teach and is a big fan of shoes as well. In my follow up conversation with associates they told me these events can get loud and need to be managed for risk. The boy in the tent had been there since 4:30am and they mentioned that the lines have been growing for these type of events and they were ready and waiting for December 14th, just like “us”.

Should checking be allowed in Women’s Hockey?

By Jocelyn Orr, Student- St. Olaf University

Edited by Dr. Lynn Jamieson & Dr. Thomas Orr

Women's hockey has been around since the late 1800s. The first documented organized women's hockey game was played in 1889 at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, Canada. Up until World War II women were allowed to compete for the Eastern and Western Canada titles. During this time period people would pay to watch these women's teams, most famously the Preston Rivulettes, who have the all-time best ratio in men’s or women’s hockey history with 348 wins and only 2 losses (1). Despite successes of this league, women were criticized by the media saying their bodies were “too delicate” or that the chest protector would cause “flat chests.” (12) Body checking was originally banned in a misguided attempt to protect women’s frail bodies and considered unwomanly enabling females to not learn checking(19). In the early times of women’s hockey, it was believed that if a woman was hit hard her uterus could dislodge from her body (19) After and during WW2 women’s sports declined significantly due to the push to keep them in the kitchen. This sent the trajectory of women’s hockey on a decline until the late 1900s. It wasn't until 1998 that women's hockey was approved to be an Olympic sport (2). There are few differences between men’s and women’s hockey; however, the largest difference is the disallowance of body checking (2).

The official ruling of body checking at the Olympic and collegiate level defines, “Body checking is not permitted in any area of the ice. Body checking occurs when a player attempts to gain possession of the puck by separating the puck carrier with a distinct and definable moment of impact using overt(blatant) hip, shoulder, arm, or torso action,” A penalty whether minor, major, or a disqualification is left to the discretion of the referee. Women are supposed to evoke a skill called angling instead of checking (3, pg.88). Which has the same goals as body checking, even with the expectation to make contact with the opponent (4). In 1990 the first world championships checking was allowed within a few games it was removed (2) Cammi Granato, a former US Olympian recalls the checking being successful as checking was allowed for the first few games, “We were psyched, then we faced some of the European teams and said wow these guys are strong and know how to hit. There were a couple head injuries and right away they took it out. It was kind of trial and error, and they took it out entirely (18). While other countries have not yet caught up to USA and Canada on an Olympic level they have improved as programs and can dish out some competitive games. Zuzana Tomcikova, a Slovak goalie who lost 18-0 to Canada in the 2010 Olympics says. “It’s gotten a lot better where other countries are giving the U.S. and Canada a hard game, but I don't think we can say that they’re not the favorites, Europe is coming. It’s getting there, and, if you look at it one way, slowly because it’s going to take years until other countries are going to be able to compete with the U.S. and Canada (5). This quote demonstrates that women's hockey is a growing game with many elite and capable players. Body Checking should be allowed in women's hockey as without it there is other illegal play, increases viewership, and could decrease risk of concussions. 

Many critics argue that checking is responsible for the violence that plagues men's hockey (12). And that with a lack of checking women are allowed to play more skillfully (11). However, the no checking rule opens the playing field for other severe dirty plays. It is argued as long as these sanctions are in place that introducing body checking will not lead to an increased incidence of other undesirable features of men's hockey (18). Instead without checking it is shown there is more illegal stick work (12) Checking is an aggressiveness and a technique. It’s a technique you can showcase, and you’ve learned to complete. Checking is a skill in a hockey player’s toolbox, when it is not available players resort to other tactics to accomplish their goal which could be illegal practices such as hooking or tripping. Some players said there was an inevitable trade off as you've got to slow your opponent down somehow and since you can’t hit them or take a piece of them your last resort is your stick (12). The counter argument that many females in the NWHL (former professional women's program) gave is that checking would take away from the sheer grace of the game and that the talent and skill is best showcased with its current rules(20). Illegal stick work would still be seen if checking was allowed however it could be reduced, and skill and grace can still be displayed.

A second major concern for most people is that there could be an increase in concussions if checking was allowed. However, we could see a decrease in concussions if women learn how to hit and get hit at a younger age. Currently women’s hockey is a leading sport in concussion rates. As of the 2014-2015 collegiate season the NCAA injury survey determined that women’s hockey has the highest concussion incident rate across all female sports (6) Most frequently in women’s hockey player to player collisions accounts for 50% of all head impacts; and falls to the ice or boards resulting in head impact only accounts for 30% of all head impacts. The differences in rules between males and females does not support why there is an increasing concussion reporting in female players (6). One study specifically found that 44.1% of reported concussions were a result of player-to-player contact. Demonstrating that the checking disallowance in women’s hockey is not doing anything to protect the athletes from concussions (21). In fact, it could be hurting them more as young female hockey players are not taught how to take body contact.  Many coaches and players believe the main reason for eliminating body checking is to reduce the risk of injury. However, females believe they are protected by the no checking rule, checking at some point of the game is inevitable (7). Since females aren’t trained on how to take a hit or safely deliver a hit more injuries are likely to occur such as concussions. The person giving the hit might come in with their stick or elbow up or the person taking the hit might try to get further off the boards or straighten up- all the displays are more likely to injure, and early things men's hockey players learn when they are introduced to body contact (10). NCAA head Richard believes the high concussion rate between men’s and women’s hockey is due to the fact there are more high impact collisions that women are not prepared for and when they happen, they are so obvious that the female athletes are checked on right away while in men's hockey the repercussions from a big hit might go unnoticed (8). So, despite the ruling body checking is still happening and since that number is so high this suggests more research to determine why these contacts are so detrimental in concussions (9).

Other females want the physicality and see it as the way to grow the game and that the addition would increase the pace of the game and girls would become stronger and wiser. “I feel like that always kind of has been something people said about the women’s game: ‘Oh, they can’t hit,'” said Montreal forward Jillian Dempsey, a former Harvard captain who was the all-time leading scorer in the Premier Hockey Federation, a PWHL predecessor. “And it’s like, ‘Well, we really do.’ “But now it’s nice that it’s more within the rules to be able to do it,” she said. “It just kind of gives us that freedom to go out there and display the strength and the power that that many players have (22).” Despite checking enabling girls to become stronger that won’t happen right away and due to the physiology difference between men and women there should be an aspect of neck training. Strength training necks to withstand the constant checking just like soccer players building up their knees to prevent ACL tears (10).

Women have been pushing for checking since the early days of women’s hockey and now they can be strong enough to protect themselves. The PWHL in its young age has shown no increase in injuries with the introduction of hitting (21) “The fans like it, too, which helps to kind of build some of that attention,” said Dempsey, who at 5-foot-4 and 135 pounds is more likely to be receiving hits than dishing them out. “I don’t enjoy being on the wrong end of those a few times, but, yeah, it’s a fun aspect of the game that we get to do now (11).” One female hockey player, a member of the 1997 Blades said,” When you're playing a sport, you don't go out there saying, "OK, I'm a woman. OK, I have to play like one." You go out there and you play aggressive, you play your game and that's that, whereas people are trying to give the image that it's just an all-skill game and it's a woman's game kind of thing. Basically, they were saying that you know women don't compare to men. Which is true, when you get to the older ages. I mean there's no NHL caliber women in the game right now and that's fine. Strength factor and everything, I mean people are going to know that no matter what. But you don't have to go around saying that this is a woman's sport, there's no contact, its total skill, and make it sound like it's a nothing sport either. I think that's part of the reason why women's hockey went nowhere for so many years (12). She said this in 1998, now we’ve had a few NHL equivalents that didn’t make it that long and that leads to questions of why.

Many fans say they do not enjoy women's hockey as much because they lack the hard hits men's hockey has (13). Which would contribute to the lack of viewership women's hockey has in general compared to men’s hockey. The women's sports that contain the most viewership are tennis and professional basketball (14). Most recently in sports we’ve seen the Caitlin Clark effect in action. Clark is challenging stereotypes and breaking ground in a male dominated industry. Clark is selling out stadiums and showing she can play with just as much passion and skill as the men (15). Both sports contain no major rule differences between the men and women (16). Which could correlate to the fact that women's hockey is not well supported as there is a major rule difference between genders. We can see a difference with the creation of the PWHL where more checking is allowed to be written into their rules, “The girls say that checking gives them the leeway to show their skills and restores the traditional balance between finesse and physicality familiar to hockey fans everywhere (17).” So far in the first year of the PWHL the crowds have been sold out and attendance records are constantly being broken. Already the league is more successful than the NWHL. A part of this success could be attributed to the addition of body checking. This is the major rule difference between men’s and women’s hockey. Fans love to see big hits from big players. Now that women’s hockey players are showing how skilled they are in a so far successful league (PWHL), viewership might only rise with an increase in physicality.

The times are changing for women in sports across the world. Every year the gap between women’s sports and men’s sports grows a little closer (17). It’s time for hockey to get on the same page and leave the archaic sexist ideals in the past. Introducing body contact in women's sports at a youth level could decrease concussions, reduce illegal stick penalties, and increase viewership and prominence for women’s hockey. In the early stages of the PWHL the introduction of body checking is shown to be a positive thing in terms of more viewership and no increase in injuries. Now that young girls can dream of a future playing professional hockey, they need to be prepared by allowing checking around bantam age to maximize their potential. Women’s hockey has come a long way. Now it’s time to close the gap. 

Bibliography:

(1)Taylor, R. L. (2019, September 11). A glorious game: The history of women’s hockey: Women’s hockey life. Womens Hockey Life. https://womenshockeylife.com/womens-hockey-history/ 

(2)IIHF - 25 years ago, women joined the Olympics. IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation. (n.d.-b). https://www.iihf.com/en/news/42099/25_years_ago_women_joined_the_olympics 

(3)Ice hockey. (2021.). https://www.achahockey.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/2020-22-NCAA-Rules.pdf 

(4)Body checking in ice hockey: What are the risks?. Caring for kids. (n.d.). https://caringforkids.cps.ca/handouts/safety-and-injury-prevention/bodychecking_in_ice_hockey_what_are_the_risks#:~:text=The%20defensive%20player%20does%20not,player%20on%20the%20other%20team https://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/17/sports/olympics-women-s-hockey-contact-is-a-hard-hitting-question-to-consider.html 

(5)Blinder, A. (2022, February 15). A fast-moving sport slogs through two-nation dominance. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/15/sports/olympics/hockey-us-canada.html 

(6)Kosziwka, G., Champoux, L., Cournoyer, J., Gilchrist, M., & Hoshizaki, T. B. (2021). Risk of head injury associated with distinct head impact events in Elite Women’s Hockey. Journal of Concussion, 5, 205970022110588. https://doi.org/10.1177/20597002211058894 

(7)Orr, T., & Jamieson, L. M. (2020). Sport and violence. Sagamore. https://sagamorepub.com/products/sport-and-violence 

(8)Extensive study on concussions in youth sports finds “culture of resistance” for self-reporting injury: Nata and NATA Foundation participated in and provided funding. NATA. (2015, November 11). https://www.nata.org/press-release/103013/extensive-study-concussions-youth-sports-finds-culture-resistance-self 

(9)Complete Concussions. (2022, August 24). What sport has the most concussions?: Concussion rate. https://completeconcussions.com/concussion-research/concussion-rates-what-sport-most-concussions/ 

(10)Warrior girls: Protecting our daughters against the injury epidemic in women’s sports: Sokolove, Michael: 9780743297561: Amazon.com: Books. (n.d.-b). https://www.amazon.com/Warrior-Girls-Protecting-Daughters-Epidemic/dp/0743297563 

(11)Moneypuck. (2017, September 28). Breaking the barriers: Hitting in women’s hockey. Bleacher Report. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/249797-breaking-the-barriers-hitting-in-womens-hockey 

(12)Theberge, N. (1997). “It’s Part of the Game”: Physicality and the Production of Gender in Women’s Hockey. Gender and Society, 11(1), 69–87. http://www.jstor.org/stable/190226

(13)Hunter, M. (2017, October 3). Top 5 reasons why hockey is the most exciting sport. Bleacher Report. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/39652-top-5-reasons-why-hockey-is-the-most-exciting-sport 

(14)Stoll, J. (2024, April 25). Most watched women’s sports in the U.S. 2024. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1418843/most-watched-women-sport-us/ 

(15)NCAA.org. (2024, February 15). The Caitlin Clark effect. https://www.ncaa.org/news/2024/2/15/media-center-the-caitlin-clark-effect.aspx 

(16)Reasons, F. (2023, May 2). Basic differences between men’s & women’s basketball. Five Reasons Sports Network. https://www.fivereasonssports.com/news/basic-differences-between-mens-womens-basketball/ 

(17)Suzuki, M. (2017, March 19). SL interview: Michael Sokolove examines the prevalence of injuries in girls’ sports. LA84 Foundation. https://la84.org/sl-interview-michael-sokolove-examines-the-prevalence-of-injuries-in-girls-sports/ 

(18)Lapointe, J. (2002, February 17). Contact is a hard-hitting question to consider. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/17/sports/olympics-women-s-hockey-contact-is-a-hard-hitting-question-to-consider.html 

(19)Weaving C, Roberts S. Checking in: an analysis of the (lack of) body checking in women's ice hockey. Res Q Exerc Sport. 2012 Sep;83(3):470-8. doi: 10.1080/02701367.2012.10599882. PMID: 22978197.

(20)Oliver, N., Kim, Bwaahaha, C, K., & Mona aka Callum’s trainer. (2021, September 2). Hitting in women’s hockey: Why not? - The Hockey Writers Women’s Hockey Latest News, analysis & more. The Hockey Writers. https://thehockeywriters.com/hitting-in-womens-hockey-2/ 

(21)Brook EM, Kroshus E, Hu CH, Gedman M, Collins JE, Matzkin EG. Incidence of Sports-Related Concussion Among NCAA Women's Ice Hockey Athletes. Orthop J Sports Med. 2017 July 11;5(7):2325967117714445. doi: 10.1177/2325967117714445. PMID: 28812036; PMCID: PMC5528947.

(22)Golen, J. (2024, May 23). The New Pro Women’s Hockey League allows more hitting. Players say they like showing those skills. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/womens-hockey-physical-hitting-fighting-b47fbf82b349d5a2c9508964688b2119 

Pictures;

https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/pwhl/pwhl-physicality-officiating-2024-1.7076009

https://www.nydailynews.com/2022/02/03/us-hockey-star-brianna-decker-appears-to-suffer-severe-leg-injury-in-olympics-opener/ 

The Swim Race of the Century

                                                                                 By Jamison Ness

The first finals of the 2024 Paris Olympics was nothing short of legendary. The 400m women’s Freestyle finals were a highly anticipated race. With some of the best swimmers in the world including American legend Katie Ledeckey, Canada's young bull Summer McIntosh, Australia's Ariane Titmus, and Erika Fairweather, product of New Zealand. From races in previous years setting the stage of intensity and motivation, up until the finals, these swimmers made the races ones to remember with upsets, records, and one of the greatest female swim races of all time. The talent in the pool was truly unbelievable and unmatched. 

It started in the 2023 World Championships. During this race, Titmus broke the race open and made the race her own. In this race, Titmus broke Summer McIntosh’s previous record in this event of 3:55.58. . Beyond that, Ledecky ended up with a silver, and Erika Fairweather came in with a massive upset to beat Simmer McIntosh for bronze in an event that she had previously set the record for. 

A race full of upsets and surprises in 2023 set the stage for the race in the 2024 Olympic Games. Another part of what makes this race so interesting is the range of experience and age. Katie Ledecky is 27 years old and has all the experience and legendary performances behind her. Ledecky went to Stanford and won eight NCAA titles, and set 15 NCAA records in her time there. Beyond that, Ledecky has 12 Olympic medals. Summer McIntosh is a seventeen year old swimmer for team Canada. From Toronto Ontario, Summer is truly just getting started in her Olympic journeys. In the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Summer was the youngest athlete on team Canada at fourteen years old. In those games, she finished fourth individually at 400m freestyle, and was the lead off swimmer for the 200mx4 relay, which placed fourth. As she geared up for the 2024 Olympics, she was one to watch. Ariane Titmus won 4 medals at her previous Olympics in Tokyo. Her rivalry with Katie Ledecky has become infamous since the 2020 Tokyo games when she was quite a ways behind Ledecky, and came back to win. At only 23 years old, Titmus has solidified herself as one of the fastest female swimmers in the world. Additionally, after the 2023 World Championships, she was the one to beat. Lastly, Erika Fairweather out of New Zealand has Olympic experience also from Tokyo 2020. Fairweather upset Summer McIntosh for the bronze medal in 2023, and was hoping to upset again in the 2024 Olympic Games. This mix of age and experience, along with tense rivalries, makes these races all the more exciting. 

When the finals for the 2024 Olympic 400m Women’s Freestyle finally happened on Sunday, July 28, it was nothing short of a storybook race. The race ended up with Ariane Titmus taking gold, and being three seconds ahead of Ledecky. Summer McIntosh ended up with silver for Canada's first medal of the games, and her first Olympic medal ever, and Ledecky won her first ever Olympic Bronze Medal. The race was fierce, and full of talent. Women’s swimming has immense talent in the pool right now; and we will have the opportunity to see these athletes grow and compete for many years to come. 

References

https://www.forbes.com/sites/sophiekaufman/2024/07/22/2024-paris-olympics-swimming-races-to-watch/ 

https://www.nbcwashington.com/paris-2024-summer-olympics/katie-ledecky-is-the-goat-here-are-the-superlatives-shes-earned-that-prove-it/3680592/#:~:text=Ledecky%20made%20her%20Olympic%20debut,medals%2C%20including%20Wednesday's%201500m%20victory 

https://olympic.ca/team-canada/summer-mcintosh/ 

https://olympics.com/en/athletes/ariarne-titmus 

https://www.npr.org/2024/07/27/g-s1-13875/paris-olympics-womens-400m-freestyle-ledecky-titmus-mcintosh 

How Nijaree Canady Broke Ground In College Softball

                    How Nijaree Canady Broke Ground In College Softball

                                                                                           By Jamison Ness

The transfer portal has been impacting all collegiate sports in the NCAA for the last five years, with softball being no exception to this. Especially over the past three years, softball fans have seen players, pitchers especially, enter the portal each summer looking for a new home. The difference between softball and say football players entering the portal has been that softball players were not transferring for NIL deals. The money oven to collegiate softball players simply was not enough for this to be a factor in the transfer portal. This all changed with Nijaree Canady’s recent transfer from Stanford to Texas Tech. 

Who is Nijaree?

Nijaree Canady is a right handed pitcher from Topeka, Kansas. Clocking in at throwing 75mph multiple times in this Junes Women College World Series, Canady uses her speed and epic changeup to keep batters on their toes. Canady made an immediate impact during her freshman season. Playing for Stanford, She held a 17-3 record with a showstopping 0.57 Earned Run Average. In 135 innings pitched that season, Canady also had 218 strikeouts. Perhaps above all of this, Canady led Stanford Softball to their first Women's College World Series since 2004. Not only this, but she showed out when she arrived. In the 2023 WCWS, the true freshman pitched 18.2 innings with a 0.16 ERA. In those innings, she also racked up twenty five strikeouts. This domination by Canady carried on to 2024. Leading Stanford to yet another WCWS, Canady pitched just short of two hundred and thirty three innings with a 0.73 Earned Run Average . In the WCWS,  Canady pitched twenty six  innings with a 0.19 Earned Run Average. All of these statistics prove Canady is a force to be reckoned with in collegiate softball. 

Entering the Portal

On June 17th of this year, Canady announced that she was entering the transfer portal, leaving many Stanford and softball fans alike shocked. All eyes immediately went to the dynasty of Patty Gasso and Oklahoma softball. After their fourth championship in a row just a few weeks before Canady entered the portal, this seemed like the most likely decision. Canady left fans speculating where she would go for over a month. On July 24th, 2024, Canady announced on social media that she is “Excited for what's ahead” with Texas Tech. Texas Tech has never been a true WCWS in softball, so fans immediately wondered what was going on. That is when the NIL deal came to light. 

The NIL Deal

The contract of this NIL deal is for one year, and an eye opening amount of $1,050,024. Texas Tech explained that the 24 is for Canady’s jersey number, the $50,000 is for living expenses, and 1 million dollars are simply for Canady. In the same article, Texas Tech expressed that if anyone deserves this groundbreaking deal in college softball, it is Canady. She truly can change programs and take a team straight to the WCWS.

What Doors Does This Open

Although amazing for herself, Canady has done a huge favor to all of college softball with this deal. A door that was previously closed, is now wide open. Texas Tech and Canady set an example for what college softball players could be getting. With this iconic deal as an example, the next year in the transfer portal will be very interesting. Softball fans will all watch to see what blockbuster NIL deal is next. These softball athletes work just as hard as all others, so seeing them finally get the financial compensation than other sports are amazing. That being said, this could go bigger than softball. Other women's sports that currently don’t have these types of NIL deals like rowing, field hockey, and lacrosse ,may start to look at what softball is doing and follow suit. Overall, this deal is so much bigger than Nijaree Cnaady and Texas Tech and it is exciting to see what the future holds for collegiate women's sports, and softball specifically. 

https://gostanford.com/sports/softball/roster/season/2024/player/nijaree-canady 

https://x.com/CanadyNijaree/status/1816208502844711296 

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5664181/2024/07/29/nijaree-canady-texas-tech-nil-million-dollar-contract/ 

Sport Media Television Series Review: RECEIVER

As sport fans can order up specialized programs to meet their varied interests, traditional sport movies have been funneled to us in a variety of new ways. Over the past 3 years, Netflix has come out with several outstanding sports documentaries that have received a great deal of popular attention and is available to watch anytime. Shows like “Swamp Kings' ' featuring the Florida Gators Football dynasty, “Colin in Black and White”, telling a story of Colin Kapernicks road to the NFL, and “Quarterback”, produced by Peyton Manning set the stage for Netflix’s newest docuseries, “Receiver”. Manning passed the torch to Randy Moss for this series and had the documentary follow five of the greatest receivers in the NFL throughout the 2023-2024 football season. Randy lets Payton know the show is in “good hands” and then takes the lead as narrator. Justin Jefferson, Devonte Adams, George Kittle, Amon Ra St. Brown, and Deebo Samuel, were all followed in detail through their past football season. After watching the truly interesting show, I was intrigued to see where these allstars were going into the 2024 NFL season, and what storylines were surrounding these players going into the season. The show did a great job of promoting the upcoming NFL season and several top players to a wide audience. 

Justin Jefferson is a wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings going into his fourth NFL season with the purple and gold. Over this offseason, Jefferson signed a robust four year, 140 million dollar deal. This deal that large for a wide receiver opened the conversation around wide receivers salaries, and why they deserve these types of large contracts. Throughout the documentary, it was shown that Jefferson had two major injuries in the 2023 season. He missed nearly seven weeks with a hamstring injury, and also internal lung bruising in his first game back from the primary hamstring injury. Jefferson looks to solidify his role as the best wide receiver in football this season by staying healthy, and living up to the hype of his new immense deal. 

Devonte Adams is a wide receiver currently with the Las Vegas Raiders. That being said, trade talks are very prevalent with Adamas. Throughout the 2023 season, the documentary highlighted frustrations that Adams had with the Las Vegas Raiders team. After head coach Josh Mcdaniels was fired, Adams seemed to have a spark that reignited. Amidst all of the trade talks, Raiders General Manager Tom Telesco, stated “He’s a Raider”, referring to Devonte. Although this may seem promising to Raiders fans, it will be interesting to see if Devonte Adams keeps hope in the future for the Raiders, or decides to trade in for a higher success team with a quarterback he may gel more with. That being said, wherever Devonte Adamas ends up he is undoubtedly one of the best, most consistent receivers in football and his legacy will continue on through the 2024 season. 

George Kittle is a San Francisco 49ers Tight End. Currently, he is on a 75 million dollar contract that is going through this season and next. The biggest talk surrounding George Kittle is the constant restructuring of his contract. It has also been discussed that he could be at an age where we may start to see some decline in Kittles performance, and his playoff production may not be what the 49ers need when they are a true SuperBowl team. Going into this upcoming season, everyone is waiting patiently to see if Kittle can continue to be the all star he has been in the past, or if this contract reconstruction is a way of the 49ers predicting a decline in performance of a legendary tight end. Kittle is by definition a tight end, however his exciting personality combined with his great hands make him a great fit for this show.

Amon-Ra St. Brown, for the Detroit Lions, 77 million in guarantees for his contract. Additionally, if he stays on through 2026, his 27.5 million dollar contract stays and is guaranteed.St. Brown has expressed he is going to work as hard as ever to prove that his believers are right, and his doubters are wrong. During the 2023 season, St. Brown was snubbed from the Pro bowl at the end of a remarkable season, and he did not take that lightly. Amon-Ra looms to prove his worth after his new extension, and said “I told everyone, I’m going harder now”. Additionally, Amon-Ra expressed love for the fans of Detirot constantly throughout the 2023 season. He brought success back into the city and team, and because of that his connection with the city is truly special. It will be exciting to watch Amon-Ra look to continue his greatness and prove his believers right this season.

Lastly, Deebo Samuel is a receiver for the 49ers. Deebo has a contract running through 2025 with an average annual value of 23.850 million dollars. Samuel will look to continue success by staying healthy this season. He has had a tough run with upper body injuries and he looks to stay healthy to establish himself as one of the best. He is versatile, fast, and strong. All of these qualities are amplified this year at training camp, because he has been described to be in the best shape he has been in since 2021. This gives hope to the entire organization that Deebo is ready to hit the ground running and have an outstanding season. This new spark may be just the leadership that the 49ers need from an experienced, talented vet. 

Overall, “Receiver”, from Netflix has given us many storylines to follow going into the 2024 NFL season. The look into personal lives and day to day life of these players in this documentary make them even more interesting to follow. Like Quarterback the focus on wives and families draws more than just the hard core NFL fan. The talent, dedication, and passion of these players was amplified throughout the show, and they will all being great things to the field through this 204 season. Watching them all compete to be the best will be amazing, and a once in a lifetime display of talent. 

1 https://www.espn.com/nfl/insider/story/_/id/40305773/nfl-wr-salaries-next-justin-jefferson-140-million-contract-future-market-vikings 

2 https://www.tsn.ca/nfl/las-vegas-raiders-star-wr-davante-adams-isn-t-going-anywhere-for-now-at-least-1.2152868 

3 https://www.si.com/nfl/49ers/news/were-the-49ers-smart-to-restructure-george-kittles-contract 

4 https://www.marca.com/en/nfl/detroit-lions/2024/05/03/66341508e2704ec2938b45cf.html 

5 https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10118548-lions-amon-ra-st-brown-on-120m-contract-i-told-everyone-im-going-harder-now 

6 https://www.playerprofiler.com/nfl/deebo-samuel/contract/#:~:text=Deebo%20Samuel%20signed%20a%203,signing%20bonus%20and%20%2441%2C000%2C000%20guaranteed. 

7 https://www.si.com/nfl/49ers/news/why-49ers-wr-deebo-samuel-will-have-a-resurgence-in-2024-01j2es8rpfsr#:~:text=And%20now%20Samuel%20seems%20to,unstoppable%20players%20in%20the%20NFL. 

A preview to the 2024 Paris Olympics USA Gymnastics Squad

The Olympics is an exciting time for all sports fans alike. That being said, gymnastics is one of the most exciting events leading up to the Olympics. While many other Olympic sports like Basketball or Soccer can be watched and are accessible outside of the Olympics, besides college gymnastics, it does not follow suit. Because of this, the Olympics is the truest stage for us all to enjoy gymnastics on. For the upcoming 2024 Paris Summer games, Jade Carey, Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, Hezly Rivera, and Simone Biles will look to use their experience in these high pressure situations to achieve a gold for their country. 

Jade Carey 

From Philomath, Oregon, Jade Carey will be competing in her second Olympic games in Paris. The product of Oregon State College Gymnastics, finished fourth overall in the 2024 Olympic Trials.  Carey is used to being the underdog. In an unconventional road to the Olympics, Carey started competing in elite gymnastics at 17, rather than the average age of 12-13. That being said, once she was in, there was no stopping her. At only 24 years old, she has accomplished a great deal. Carey carries the accolades of PAC-12 Gymnast of the Year in 2022 and 2023, PAC-12 Freshman of the year in 2022, an individual and a team gold in the 2018 Pan American Championships, second all around and on floor in the 2024 NCAA championships, and most recently the all-around title at the 2024 American Classic, only 3 days after her NCAA season ended. Carey’s strongest events include floor and vault. She achieved six perfect tens on the floor in her time in the NCAA. The mix of talent and experience from Carey make her an exceptional addition to this Olympic squad.

                                                    Suni Lee

Suni is from St. Paul, Minnesota. Her first big break was making the U.S junior national team at 14 years old. From there, she competed in the 2019 City of Jesolo Trophy in Italy. In this competition, Suni won the all around title individually, and with team USA. Suni was also the superstar of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Gymnastics team. She won a gold all around, and a bronze on bars. To cap off her collegiate career after the Olympics, Lee also became the NCAA beam champion and the SEC bars champion. . Although all of this was great for Suni, in early 2023 she was faced with major health issues. She had symptoms including swelling and gaining weight quickly, and it ended up being a kidney disease. Because of this, Lee had to prematurely end her Sophomore season at Auburn, and withdraw from the World Championships and Pan American Games. Although it did threaten her Olympics 2024 dream, Suni pulled through in the Qualifiers and will compete with Team USA in a few weeks. 

                                                      Jordan Chiles

 Product of UCLA Gymnastics, Chiles is originally from Vancouver, WA. All around, Chile is very strong in every event. Her strength throughout her college career was her dynamic floor routines, but she has Nationally and Internationally won in all of the events. Chile's first International win came in 2014 with a 2nd on Vault in the City of Jesolo Trophy. Chiles also joined the Olympic squad in 2020, like Lee and Carey.  In the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, Chiles did not win any individual events. That being said, since the Tokyo Olympics, Chiles won the floor event in the 2022 Paris World Challenge Cup, got second on vault and floor at the 2022 World Championships, and got second on vault and third all around at the 2023 Pan American games. Chiles' confidence, energy, and showmanship is an excellent addition to this Team USA roster.

                                                               Hezly Rivera 

Perhaps the most exciting fact about Rivera is that she is only 16 years old. Rivera is the 2-23 junior all-around national champion. . She made her senior debut in June, and moved to Texas to train with gymnastics legend Valeri Liukin (father of Nastia Luikin). Nastia won the Olympic all around in 2008, so this is a huge advantage for Rivera as she makes her Olympic debut. A key factor to Rivera’s success on this team is her difficulty on bars. She has a 6.1 on difficulty for bars, and a 6.0 on beam. These two difficulty scores truly set her up for success and high scores. From Oradell, New Jersey, Rivera began gymnastics only in 2013. An article by USA gymnastics reveals that Rivera won the 2023 Winter Cup in Louisville, the 2023 Xfinity U.S Gymnastics Championships in San Jose, and the 2024 WIntercup again. Rivera will use her new confidence, energy, and difficulty of her routines to hang with such an experienced group of teammates.

                                                        Simone Biles

Last but certainly not least, gymnastics legend Simone Biles. Simone is the most decorated gymnast in history. Born in Columbus, Ohio, Simone broke into the gymnastics world fast. And once she entered, she never stopped. In 2013 at the Antwerp Championship, Simone introduced “the Biles”. This skill she introduced on the floor was a double layout with a half twist. This was only the starting line of the iconic things Biles would do for gymnastics. Biles went to her first Olympic games in Rio, in 2016. This was following her four World Championship golds in 2014, and another four just one year later. At the Rio games, Biles received gold in all around, team, vault, and floor. And the beam? Still a bronze. Fast forward to 2019, the Biles II was created. A double tucked backflip with a triple twist.  Biles also became a huge advocate for mental health during the 2020 Tokyo games. After pulling herself out of the Olympics that year, Biles made her mental health a priority. There are so many good things to be said about Simone. Simones wins and medals speak for themselves, but Simone is also recognized as a great leader. With her undeniable talent, energy, and leadership, this team is in great hands. 

The 2024 Paris Olympics USA Women's Gymnastics Team is undeniably a force to be reckoned with. With a mix of talent, energy, showmanship, confidence, and experience, this team has it all. 

The Mental Health Epidemic of College Athletics

By Jamison Ness

To the naked eye, it is easy to assume that college athletes are living the dream. From “running the school”, to NIL deals, and picking classes first, it may be hard to understand where any struggle would come in. That being said, the high stress environment may lead to many mental health struggles. Anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and other issues are among the most discussed struggles that college athletes have been diagnosed with in the last few years. With recent mental health struggles in athletics, it is important to understand where these athletes are coming from. By removing the stigma around the conversations of athletes' mental health, lives are being saved. 

The statistics 

• In 2022, 4 collegiate athletes committed suicide

• From 2002 to 2022, 128 NCAA athletes took their own lives

• Among USA college athletes, suicide is the second most common cause of death (following accidents)

• Contrary to a general population percentage of 5.0%, 15.6% to 21.0% of college athletes have depression

• 29.1% of female collegiate athletes report having “overwhelming anxiety” daily

• Up to 84.0% of collegiate athletes have engaged in disordered eating.

These statistics are simply daunting. The mental health of these collegiate athletes is struggling immensely. It may leave people asking, what may we do to help? It all starts with breaking the stigma

Breaking The Stigma Around Athlete Mental Health

Essentially, breaking the stigma means to make a topic that is viewed as “hush hush” or not talked about enough into a topic that people may talk about freely and openly. This is so important because the sad, permanent decisions that student athletes are making could possibly be prevented if they felt like they could reach out for help.The mental health conditions that these athletes experience combined with the stigma said conditions within the athletics world may make athletes feel like they should be embarrassed or ashamed of these struggles. Dealing with anxiety, depression, or eating disorders is already extremely difficult for them. On top of that, if they feel like it is a taboo subject that they may not talk about, these negative experiences and emotions may pile up. The piling up of this negativity is what leads to these tragic decisions. This is why breaking the stigma is so important. To have a chance to save these athletes, we need to make sure that they feel safe to express their experiences. In order to save these athletes, starting at the root by breaking the stigma around athlete mental health, and opening up to talk about these struggles is crucial and pivotal. 

Although these mental health issues may not be completely prevented, there are undoubtedly things that may help college athletes through these issues. I surveyed 6 college athletes with one question: “What do you want the general public to know about athlete mental health struggles?”. I wanted to ask this question because breaking down the barrier of public to student athletes is important for the student athlete to be able to feel supported and understood. In breaking down this barrier, athletes may be seen as more human, and therefore feel more comfortable to reach out for help in times of need. These were the responses I recorded

“Being a college athlete has pros and cons. Sometimes, the pros may make us feel ungrateful when we are struggling mentally”.

“The stress of being a collegiate athlete may spiral very fast, that is why it is essential to watch for personality changes”. 

      “We fear being viewed as weak, which is the biggest reason we do not reach out”.

“Having your body changed for the type of athlete you are may be very difficult to deal with and leads to eating disorders. Commenting on athletes' bodies may seem harmless but it is not”. 

“We fake being happy because we believe we should be because of how awesome the experience is supposed to feel ''. 

“ Our time as college athletes has positives and negatives, but the negatives may feel never ending”. 

“Being comfortable to talk about our mental health struggles may stop mental health issues from spiraling to the extreme”. 

Essentially, this is what the college athletes I interviewed want us to know. In order to break the stigma and this barrier between student athletes and others, these conversations are vital. Although these mental health problems are not fully preventable, it is important to recognize steps that may be taken to minimize the extreme effects that these problems may have and to help student athletes not feel alone. 

References

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-04-suicides-college-student-athletes-years.html 

https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/10/health/student-athlete-suicide-rates-doubled-study-wellness/index.html 

https://www.charliehealth.com/post/athlete-depression#:~:text=While%20it's%20estimated%205%25%20of,from%2015.6%25%20to%2021%25 

https://kindbridge.com/mental-health/common-mental-health-issues-in-college-student-athletes/ 

Is the CHL to NCAA Pipeline Realistic? If so, when and how?

By Dr. Thomas Orr and Jamison Ness.

Background Knowledge

The Western Hockey League (WHL), Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) and the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) are the premiere junior ice hockey leagues, within the CHL (Canadian Hockey League) as they are classified as major junior hockey for players under 21. The WHL features teams as eastern as Manitoba, Canada and as far south and west as the Portland area while both the OHL and QMJHL are geographically closer to their province but can and do include American teams. Major Juniors is technically described as an amateur league, but the players do receive a small stipend for their efforts in the league. Additionally, the scholarship program basically ensures that for every one year played in the CHL for that player, they will receive one year of tuition and books paid for at any time. Some players begin post secondary courses online with this scholarship while they are still active in the CHL, while others wait until they are done. If they wait until they are done in the CHL, often they play hockey at a Canadian university and participate in the Usports league while they use their CHL scholarship. 

WHL logo.

What Is The Problem?

Essentially, because you have to be an amateur to compete in NCAA athletics, the stipend that WHL players receive stops them from being able to participate in NCAA hockey after they have signed a standard Player Agreement for the OHL, QMJHL or WHL. Another issue the NCAA has with Major Juniors is that it is common for players to get drafted to the National Hockey League in the middle of their junior career, sign an entry level contract, then be reassigned to their same Major Junior team to develop. Because of this, the NCAA believes it is extremely hard to vouch for these players as amateurs. An issue that a lot of CHL advocates have about this is, “Whether a player dresses in 200 CHL games or one pre-season game, they lose their eligibility for NCAA hockey. That means a player who never gets their shot at the CHL level, playing sporadically as a 16- to 19-year-old, would have no opportunity to establish themselves in the NCAA despite never playing meaningful minutes in the CHL.”. This is a large area of controversy because many people believe that there is a gray area for those players that do not play consistently throughout the CHL, but the rule is a blanket rule that covers all players; no matter how different their situations may be.

Why Spark Change Now?

The NIL deals within the NCAA are essentially what sparked this conversation. Primarily, people are arguing that if NCAA players can make piles of money off of NIL deals and still be deemed amateur, why can't the NCAA look past the Western Hockey Leagues modest stipends? 

OHL Logo.

What Progress is Being Made?

Although the conversation has become much more lively within the last 9 months in the sports world, concrete changes have not been made. An article by SportsNet revealed that a meeting was held in Florida around May 5th with the American Coaches Association, and only about “15-20% of college coaches were interested in changing the bylaw”. Although this may not seem promising for those who want Major Junior players to play NCAA, the conversation around this decision seems to not be “will this happen?” anymore, but actually “when will this happen?”. Because the NCAA is allowing athletes to make large salaries off of NIL deals, it is very hard for them to make a sound argument that the amateurism of Canadian Hockey League players is not legitimate enough to participate in the NCAA. CHL teams know that Macklin Celebrini, Adam Fatntilli and Cale Makar skipped their league for the NCAA and also have reason to think hard about their current model. 

What Next?

As the conversation around this topic continues to be a huge hot spot in the junior hockey world, a decision could be further than we think. If the NCAA and CHL both decide they want to do this, it will take some time and rigorous planning to figure out the legitimate details of it. Things like What age of players can come? How many players at once? How do we honor players already committed to NCAA schools? These and many more questions will need to be answered before the decision is made, and publicized however that is not always how things have worked. Given the many problems that have arisen for the NCAA when it makes changes such as the NIL and transfer deals many unintended consequences and collateral damage can occur. If the NCAA were to allow instant eligibility in the same sudden manner it would be a shock to the system and would displace many student athletes who would not have the talent needed to play in a league where they were originally recruited to play in prior to the presumed influx of elite talent. NCAA opportunities are fairly rare in hockey compared to some other sports so more players competing for these spots would create a trickledown with players either quitting or finding other places to go. American players and Canadien players would be competing for CHL rosters in hopes of going to the United States for college while tier 3 options in the United States and even some tier 2 teams may struggle to find relevancy if very few players from their leagues have a future in hockey. NAHL players and even some lower level Major Junior players will be competing for ACHA rosters with the few NCAA D1 teams choosing between the absolute elite. 

With that in mind the experts at HockeyPhD (www.hockeyphd.com ) have proposed the following ideas;

1. Americans can play Majors and Canadiens can play in the US so its important to remember that when making rules. We do not restrict rosters on nationality in the NCAA but our concern is on how many “major junior players” can be on each roster. 

2. 3 Major junior players allowed per NCAA roster during the first year of allowing them to play would make sense. During the year it was announced each school could add the players they felt fit them best and make any lineup changes to create room by the fall. A team could add a few good players and this would not be a drastic change but certainly allow for some upper talent. A team could go goalie, forward and defense or load up. This is common in junior hockey where both imports and also age out players are often limited. For example the CHL limits teams to three twenty year old players so teams often play figurative chess to figure out their lineups. 

3. In year two each team could add up to 2 more players and have a roster limit of 5 major junior players. Teams would now have more talent and we would hypothesize that teams like Michigan would have OHL talent while teams like North Dakota would have WHL talent added. 

4. Each subsequent year two more players could be added. In year 3 a team could now be at 7 players. By this time many young American skaters would be developing in the WHL with hopes to come back to the US for college. 

5. After this time it should be evaluated again. If things are working well we could continue on for the next decade until a team could be all Major Junior Players if so desired. If not, perhaps a cap could be placed such as 10 players total. If more restrictive measures are called for, it could be 5 or back to three even. One factor would be how junior hockey teams are faring and the other would be the success of developing these student athletes. Did opportunity grow for both Americans and Canadiens. Another variable to watch beyond our control would be what would happen to the NIL deal as other NCAA sports are asking for reform. If the NIL deal changes, this entire line of thought changes.  

6. Finally, grandfathering current players in by protecting them from losing their scholarships is also critical as these are students.

Final Thoughts;

To conclude, the Canadian Hockey League is full of talented, well rounded athletes who would love the chance to be a NCAA athlete. The stipend they are making is nowhere near the potential NIL money that NCAA players come into contact with. Because of this, it is likely that the barrier between the CHL and NCAA will be broken down, we just do not know when. This is very exciting and also very scary for many kids and families involved in junior hockey, as the NCAA is an amazing experience to allow these kids to continue to play hockey, while receiving a top notch education so changing who may have access to this affordance is going to be controversial. Whenever this decision does reach a close, it will be monumental in the junior hockey world and it needs to be done right. 

Baseball Color Line

 Baseball is described as America's pastime. From the outdoor stadiums to the tradition of the game, people love it. When it comes to the tradition associated with it, sometimes that can be as small as coaches wearing uniforms but unfortunately, it can also be as large as racism associated with the sport. African American players have always had a huge impact on baseball, but it was not always recognized. This blatant display of racism was often just chalked up to honoring tradition, or avoiding change. But how did they get away with this? And more importantly, how did this change come about?

Tradition in Baseball

Baseball is undoubtedly known as a sport with fans who do not want to promote change. Things like the pitch clock, pitching rules, and any sort of change drives the MLB fan base crazy. That being said, this revolt against change goes much deeper than this. Essentially, The Color Line, or Color Barrier, is a term used to describe the rule that excluded African American players from playing in the Major and Minor baseball leagues until 1947. Although this was not a witten rule, people referred to it as the “Gentlemen's Agreement” . This unspoken rule referred to teams just simply not picking up or drafting black players. That was their way of keeping them out of the league. In the early 20th century, a vote in the high minors came into effect that decided that new contracts with black players are prohibited.

The strong signal from this caused a trickle down pressure, affecting all the way down to the low minors, and soon there were hardly any African American players left in the minors. Because of the strong message of this act, black baseball clubs started to be established.

When DId It Change

In 1945, MLBS newest commissioner at the time, Happy Chandler, signed Jackie Robinson to a contract. This was with intent for him to play for the Dodgers. Robinson was a monster in the minors, and it did not take him long to get called up to the big stage of Major League Baseball. This did not come easy though. When news got out, Robinson received death threats, and received extreme pressure when he did not start off too hot. That being said, he ended up being rookie of the year, which is now an award named after him. Although Jackie Robinson’s introduction to the big leagues is what originally sparked change, there was a long way to go at this point. One major problem was that the amazing efforts of the black baseball leagues were not included in statistics and record books, or anything along those lines.

Statistics from the black baseball leagues inclusion

 On May 29th 2024, Major League Baseball announced that they will include statistics of “more than 2,300 Negro League ballplayers from 1920 to 1948 have been officially incorporated into MLB’s historical records”. This is huge for inclusion in baseball because it is essentially recognizing the amazing things that these athletes did, all while they were being excluded. By allowing these statistics to count, it is validating the performances of these athletes. For example, Ty Cobb was previously recognized as the statistical batting average leader. After the inclusion of these statistics, it is now John Gibson. Gibson’s career batting average of .372 narrowly passes Cobb’s of .367

Although it does not take away from what happened in the past, it is a necessary step towards recognizing these men as athletes, and giving them the praise and recognition that they deserved at the time, even more than now. Another perspective is that this actually makes the records mean more even to the guys who are already in the record book. Whether somebody surpasses them after this change or not, it means that they were or are actually the best of ALL TIME, rather than just the best within their league excluding the black leagues. Additionally, the induction of these statistics will promote youth to learn about this era in baseball. There is immense talent from this era that some kids have no idea about because they would never have known by looking at the record books.

Overall, this transition is late, but extremely necessary. The induction of the statistics from the black leagues not only honors the African American players who deserve it immensely, but also all players by making the records more realistic. Although the MLB can not take back the past, this is a way to show that they honor the athletic talent of those who played in the black baseball clubs. Aditionally, MLB is celebrating Negro League this week with a night of celebrations for this historical league. These recent efforts by the MLB are going to make a difference in the future  of baseball, and how all players of the league are not only tolerated, but appreciated and respected. Baseball would not be the same without its African American players, and the MLB is beginning to recognize that. Although there is still a ways to go, this is undoubtedly a step in a positive direction.

References

https://www.marintheatre.org/press-release-details/232/gentlemans-agreement-a-brief-history-of-negro-league-baseball-in-america-from-the-playbill

https://eji.org/news/major-league-baseball-seeks-to-repair-some-of-the-harms-of-racial-segregation/

https://www.mlb.com/news/josh-gibson-supplants-ty-cobb-atop-mlb-career-average-leaderboard

Caitlin Clark Olympian OR NOT?

By Jamison Ness

Edited by Dr. Thomas Orr

In the summer Olympics, men’s basketball has consistently been around since 1936. After that, women’s basketball in the summer Olympics was introduced in 1976. In 2017, the Olympic committee decided to make 3x3 basketball an official summer Olympic sport for men’s and women’s, starting in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Since then, the growth of the WNBA and women’s basketball in general throughout the USA has been immense. Because of this growth, roster releases for the Olympics are always an interesting time. With so much talent from coast to coast, it is difficult to predict who will be asked to be on the 3x3 Team USA roster. That being said, the 2024 Paris Olympic roster for women's 3x3 basketball has been released, and everyone is talking about Caitlyn Clark’s snub. For example, Women's Basketball Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie went as far to say, “I don’t know how you leave the country without her ''.

Overall, Caitlin Clark's last few months have not been the fairytale all of her fans were hoping for, like her Iowa days. Caitlin has undoubtedly shown physical signs of being beat down these first few months in the WNBA. While she is still showing amazing talent and putting up good numbers, she just simply is a rookie. Because of that, the adjustment to the WNBA is very real, even for a talent phenomenon like her. There has been intense social media buzz around the treatment of rookies in the league this season specifically. There are storylines circling the web that people believe that older players may be jealous of the attention that these new rookies have brought to the league. That obviously involves Caitlin, as she has played a massive part in increased coverage and funding for the WNBA. Caitlin has dealt with devious pushes and shoves, and it has all been chalked up to just being a part of the rookie treatment. While that may have some truth to it, the star is undoubtedly showing signs of needing some time and recovery to get back to her A game. An invite to the 2024 Summer Olympics women's basketball 3x3 team surely would have boosted Caitlin Clarks satisfaction with her last couple months of basketball. So the question a lot of fans have is “why not take her?” and beyond that, people are advocating for the fact that Caitlin Clark definitely would not hurt the roster, but even if she is not playing the best basketball of her life, she is still pretty amazing. Additionally, having her on that roster brings an extensive amount of media and attention along with it. So why not bring her on? 

Rebecca Lobo explains that Clark was unable to attend any of the major training camps for the event because of the WNBA season. Although the league honors a break for the Olympics in the summer, it simply is not feasible to do that for every training camp. In the same article, Rebecca Lobo goes on to explain that Caitlin Clark undoubtedly has amazing talent, but that does not change the fact that if she were to jump into the Olympics with no practice or bonding with the team, it could be an “uphill battle” That being said, she could be a top choice for an injured player replacement. 

Although this “excuse” of rookies not being able to effectively make a difference on these roster because of the camps and heavy physical wear and tear of the WNBA season, this argument does have evidence against it. In the past, mens basketball legend Christian Laettner made the USA basketball team for the 1992 Olympics, and had impressive performances to help them bring home gold. The “Dream Team” of the 1992 Olympics would not have been the same without him. That being said, he did not get to attend camps the way the rest of that roster did because he was still in college at the time. SO if he can do it, why can’t Caitlin?

Aside from just the basketball perspective of all of this, this is a huge marketing and money fumble by Basketball USA. We have learned over the past year and a half that the media follows Caitlin Clark. Her storyline is wholesome and she is someone America loves to root for. Because of that, having Caitlin Clark at the Olympics to play for Team USA would increase the coverage of Team USA Women's Basketball immensely. The games would be more discussed, analyzed more thoroughly, and their victories would be celebrated more intensely. Having Caitlin there even if she's not going to be your number one benefits the USA women's Basketball program immensely. Additionally, Caitlin would be able to learn lessons from the greatest people that she is going to take after.

The shock and sadness of this snub to Clark fans may leave them wondering if there are any positives to this. And, there may be. For example, Caitlin’s body is struggling. Like I mentioned above, she has struggled with some intense pushes and just overall gotten beaten up. She is visibly bruised, and not in her peak physical state. In order to allow Caitlin to be the star that she is, and do that for a long time, she needs time to let her body adjust to this. If we are looking for a positive from this, one would definitely be giving her body the chance to get where it needs to be. Another exciting thing for Clark fans to hear, is at a press conference for the Indiana Fever, Clark expressed that by not being selected for their roster, team USA has “woke a monster”. This quote helps show that Clark is a competitor to the bone, and this snub will only drive her to prove team USA wrong, and become even more of a star.

Overall, Caitlin’s talent speaks for itself. Although she may struggle less than others being added to a roster with no practice or preparation, it still would be hard. Team USA’s job is to bring home gold, and if Caitlin can not be there with the team to prepare (even though it is not her fault), that jeopardizes the mission of the team. That being said, there is obviously still a shock factor that arguably the best women's basketball player, and most followed, in years will not be representing team USA. From a financial standpoint of basketball USA, it was totally a miss. Will the USA Women's Basketball still be able to bring home gold without her?

References

https://athlonsports.com/ 

https://www.si.com/olympics/rebecca-lobo-explains-why-caitlin-clark-didn-t-make-olympics-roster#:~:text=But%20sports%20are%20not%20played,front%20if%20she%20were%20selected 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/wnba/fever/2024/06/09/caitlin-clark-fever-olympics-snub-woke-monster/74037580007/