The Athlete & the NARP

The rapid rise of sports streaming services has allowed fans to access almost any sporting event with just a few clicks — and, usually, a few hundred dollars. Every major streaming service, from Netflix to Amazon Prime to Hulu, has managed to grab a slice of the pie. The diversification allows leagues to reach new audiences and reap the benefits of hefty media rights deals, but it also means that tuning into all the events for some major leagues can require subscriptions to multiple platforms. Whether sports executives are simply selling to the highest bidder or curating a strategy that will boost ratings, they all have a vested interest in partnering with services that produce high-quality live event coverage. The question is whether fans are willing to buy in as well.

Plus, on this week’s Fun Friday, Jenna has Claire match the NFL playoff quarterbacks to their middle names.

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Sports and politics are deeply intertwined, but not always in ways that are obvious, or intentional. Sportswashing, the practice of using sports to redirect public attention away from unethical conduct, is purposeful, calculated and often weaponized on a global scale. We’ve seen it with the Olympics - think China in 2022 - occupying a solid chunk of the F1 calendar - think the Abu Dhabi, Azerbaijan, Bahrain and Qatar Grands Prix - and in the NBA’s new forays into creating partnerships with Middle Eastern stakeholders. The hope is that sportswashing acts as a positive public relations rehabilitation for the countries that weaponize it, but sometimes drawing the spotlight leads to the opposite effect. It’s natural to have national pride when it pertains to sports, and in many instances, the line between nationalism and sportswashing is clear-cut. However, it’s the grey areas between them that allow atrocities to be committed while the general public remains ignorant.

Plus, on this week’s Fun Friday, Claire and Jenna build their ideal Thanksgiving day with athletes of their choosing.

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With sports betting, the odds, at least in the long term, are never in your favor. Sports betting companies and casinos lure sports fans in by touting how easy it is to get involved. According to the bookies, as long as you understand the concept of the over-under, you’re on your way to the easiest money you’ll ever make. In reality, the increased accessibility of online sports books after sports betting became legal in 2018 has put many Americans on the fast-track to a costly addiction — and can you blame them? Sports organizations have sold their souls to grab a cut of the $120B industry that has been shoved down sports fans’ throats via commercial breaks, team merchandise, social media and any other available avenue they can think of. What was once a fun addition to game day is spiraling out of control. For the average sports fan, being inundated with sports betting terminology is an inconvenience that detracts from the viewing experience.

Plus, on this week’s Fun Friday, Claire and Jenna play ‘Wavelength’ and try to guess what number the other is thinking through sports-based clues.

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The free-for-all NIL market that college athletes have gotten used to for the past four years is likely ending. The NCAA recently agreed to settle for nearly $3 billion in an antitrust lawsuit, the payout of which will go to current and former collegiate athletes. The NCAA’s framework involves establishing a clearinghouse to review NIL deals for legitimacy, eliminating scholarship limits in favor of team roster limits and forcing Power Five schools to cough up tens of millions of dollars each year. How the stipulations will play out in practice given that just a handful of athletic departments turn a profit each year is still up in the air. At the same time, the case progression has hit a snag, as the presiding judge has asked the NCAA to clarify multiple points before moving forward. In a case that almost certainly will reshape the landscape of college athletics, linguistic accuracy is everything — as we’ve seen in the past with the initial NIL ruling and the “Wild West” of the NIL market, the NCAA thrives on turning ambiguity into exploitation.

Plus, on this week’s Fun Friday, Claire provides a higher or lower quiz for Jenna based on major sports teams’ valuations.

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The Olympics are a show-and-tell for the cities that win the honor of hosting them. Sure, audiences tune in to witness the world’s greatest athletes competing for a coveted gold medal, but host cities can take advantage of the increased media coverage to promote their culture, lure potential tourists and prove that they are capable of hosting global events — at least, that’s the idea. The myriad problems that plagued the 2024 Paris Olympics, ranging from the inconvenient (AC-less living quarters) to the downright hazardous (fecal matter in the Seine), may have done more harm than good to Paris’ reputation. Dumping millions of dollars into the Olympics and hoping it will result in a quick fix of a city’s infrastructural and economic woes is a far from foolproof plan. The fallout from previous Olympic games should be a warning to the International Olympic Committee to be discerning in their choices, and to the host cities to be careful what they wish for.

Plus, on this week’s Fun Friday, Claire and Jenna create podiums of their favorite moments from the Paris Olympics.

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What do Nike, Bose, State Farm, Chipotle, AT&T, CVS, American Eagle, SKIMS, Ulta Beauty and Kellogg’s all have in common? They are brands that have partnered with college athletes since the floodgates of NIL opened in July 2021. Taking on sponsorships has become the new normal for student-athletes. The new market is especially beneficial for elevating women’s sports and allows athletes to reap the financial compensation of which they were robbed in years past. At the same time, the lack of regulation has led to abuse of the transfer portal, what coaches have called “transactional” recruitment processes and inequality in the types of NIL resources schools can provide their athletes. Few would argue that NIL has no place in college athletics, but its current state is clearly far from perfect. Moving forward, the NCAA and its member schools have the unenviable task of helping college athletes navigate professional-level opportunities in a sports landscape designed for amateurs.

Plus, on this week’s Fun Friday, Claire and Jenna play a blind rankings game with categories of various sports topics.

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“Shut up and dribble.” Laura Ingraham’s self-righteous criticism of Kevin Durant and LeBron James’s decision to publicly express their political views in 2018 embodies the distaste that surfaces when sports and politics collide. Some sports fans view athletes as monoliths whose comments on personal issues and social justice advocacy disrupt their entertainment. For some athletes, the fact that they command the attention of millions imbues them with a responsibility to use their platform to combat racial injustice, gender inequality, injustices against the LGBT community and more. Brands face a difficult choice when their athletes are embroiled in the inevitable controversy: support them wholeheartedly, as Nike did with Colin Kaepernick, or cut ties with them. People may argue that sports are supposed to be a form of escapism free from political conversations, but it can’t come at the cost of keeping athletes under lock and key when they try to stay true to their identity outside of competition.

Plus, on this week’s Fun Friday, Claire and Jenna use the Sweet Sixteen portion of last year’s men’s NCAA March Madness bracket to crown the team with best team mascot.

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Sin City is quickly becoming a sports city, and shows no sign of slowing down. Since the Golden Knights became Las Vegas’s first major professional sports team in 2017, Vegas has gained two additional major teams, 10 minor professional teams, a Formula 1 Grand Prix, a Super Bowl and is on track to receive two more major teams in the near future. On one hand, Vegas is a city with spectacle and extravagance built into its DNA, making it uniquely equipped to accommodate large-scale sporting events. However, that is also its weakness: Vegas is everything for everybody all the time, making it nearly impossible to define an authentic sports culture. The reactions to the city’s recent endeavors are mixed at best, which begs the question: Is Vegas capable of polishing its reputation, or have they played all their cards too soon?

Plus, on this week’s Fun Friday, Claire and Jenna play a game of 20 Questions where the category is famous athletes.

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Place a bet on your own team and face a two-year suspension. Assault someone, however, and you can be back on the field six games later. These specific policies belong to the NFL, but the league is by no means an outlier. Sports organizations have displayed a concerning level of antipathy toward domestic violence and sexual abuse for decades. Sweeping allegations and evidence under the rug has become second nature to teams seeking to avoid a public relations nightmare when one of their players is in the hot seat. As a result, abuse has become a part of sports culture. It’s a systemic issue that starts when athletes are young and is perpetuated by upper management who are complicit in letting accused athletes walk away unaffected. Drastic reform in the handling of such incidents must be a priority for leagues moving forward, for the sake of the survivors and the integrity of sport itself.

Plus, on this week’s Fun Friday, Claire and Jenna build their ideal Super Bowls, looking at the on-field matchups and the off-field theatrics.

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It’s no secret that sports are a business. Governing bodies and team executives seek to maximize their financial gains, and for a good reason: the sports industry can be lucrative, but it’s also expensive. Part of that expense involves taking care of the athletes that make it all possible, prioritizing their physical health and putting regulations in place that ensure their safety — even when it isn’t financially beneficial to do so. In recent years, athletes have been forced to play in hostile sociopolitical situations, temperatures exceeding 140º and equipment that increases their risk of injury despite their objections and calls for change. Sports authorities have a responsibility to protect their athletes, yet it’s often more convenient for them to neglect it until the damage becomes irreversible.

Plus, on this week’s Fun Friday, Jenna prepares a quiz for Claire that tests her on the four big sports leagues’ team logos, locations and mascots.

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