Global Sport Matters

Before the Varsity Blues scandal dominated the headlines, there was Jerome Allen, a beloved ex-pro basketball player turned head coach at Penn. In 2018 he pleaded guilty to accepting bribes in exchange for Morris Esformes’ admission into the Ivy League. In this episode of the Global Sport Matters podcast, part 2 of The Jerome Allen Interview, with Kenneth Shropshire of the Global Sport Institute & Bill Rhoden of ESPN’s The Undefeated, and joining from the NBA bubble, Jerome Allen.

Jerome Allen's path has not been an easy one. From growing up in the Philadelphia projects, to becoming an NBA coach, to pleading guilty to bribery and testifying in billion-dollar lawsuit, he decided to tell his story his way. Part 1 of our conversation with Jerome talks about life inside the NBA Bubble.

As America was settling in this past Wednesday evening, one team was about to embark on what would quickly become a night that would send waves around the world of sport and beyond. A day later, most had agreed that they would return to their respective games in short order. But the lingering effect of the impromptu cause has left many wondering what comes next? We’re joined by Ken Shropshire, CEO of the Global Sport Institute, Bill Rhoden writer at large for The Undefeated. And Marques Johnson, former five-time All-Star for the Milwaukee Bucks and current analyst for the Bucks on Fox Sports Net.

It was late January when the Shenzhen Vanke Rays opened their phones to a text alert on WeChat. A staff member had just sent a photo of two people in hazmat suits carrying a body. The text message read: “...there’s a virus...”. Here to talk about the nomadic journey of the victorious Vanke Rays is sports and travel writer, Lucas Aykroyd.

Roberto Clemente left us too soon, but as Julio Ricardo Varela writes in his recent piece for Global Sport Matters, “What Would Clemente Do?” his legacy continues to be a source of inspiration for us all as we battle the roots of racism that still prevail today. And we lead the conversation off about baseball’s unwritten rules and could this week’s "rule-breaker," Padres player, Fernando Tatis, just be the inspiration that baseball needs?

Nearly 3 out of every 4 American families had at least one child enrolled in youth sports, but rising costs reaching upwards of $2000 and busy game schedules have forced many lower-income families to just opt out altogether. The pandemic has brought to light the fact that our most vulnerable are the hardest hit. Could this pause be just the thing we need to re-evaluate and prioritize all kids into youth sport? Allison Torres Burtka joins the Huddle to talk about the crisis in youth sports and the fight for equity in the industry.

Roller Derby is not for the faint of heart. It’s a loud, sweaty, bloody, where teams work together to get their jammer, or point scorer, down the track to victory. It’s like the Tour de France, but on skates...and probably more blood. We talk with Devoney Looser, professor, author and roller derby athlete about her recent article, “Roller derby in a pandemic.”

There are a growing number of athletes who are taking a stand against the use of performance-enhancing drugs and competing clean by signing onto the Clean Sport Collective pledge. Will they be able to win the war against banned substances? On the show today, we talk with Jeff Burtka, about his recent article, “Athletes push for brands and competitors to commit to clean sport.”

Brian David Johnson is a Professor of Practice at Arizona State University’s School for the Future of Innovation in Society, and a Futurist and Fellow at Frost & Sullivan, a visionary innovation company that’s focused on growth. He works with governments, militaries, trade organizations, sports leagues, and startups to help them envision their future.

We sit down with Andrés Martinez, editorial director of Future Tense and a professor at ASU about his research on the globalization of sport and his article, “Can Sports Globalization Survive a Pandemic?” out now on our Global Sport Matters website and current issue exploring "COVID-19 and Sport."