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Steering Into the Skid: How Leaders Handle Crisis Without Making It Worse
When leaders come under fire, the first mistake is often the one that compounds the crisis. In this episode of Leaders Under Fire in Sports, Bob Boland, Jeff Chatterton, and Dr. Jeremy Piasecki unpack how coaches, executives, and public figures should respond when they’re under investigation, facing allegations, or dealing with public scrutiny. From the…
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When the Beautiful Game isn’t Beautiful Anymore
The 2026 World Cup has been underway since June 11, when Mexico opened the tournament at Estadio Azteca against South Africa in Mexico City. Every 4 years, the World Cup captures the attention of sports fans worldwide for a full month of soccer. Yet this year has been about more than just pitchside action. Despite…
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New York Knicks NBA Finals Victory delivers a new Identity
Winning an NBA Championship Validates a franchises entire competitive existence, delivering the ultimate validation, financial, windfalls, and cementing a legacy in basketball history. For the New York Knicks, wining the NBA Finals ended a staggering 53-year championship drought, transforming from a history of heartbreak into a monumental, unifying cultural celebration across the city. This Monumental…
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The Greatest Athletes the World Has Never Seen
Sports are often framed as the ultimate meritocracy. But long before the games begin, some athletes inherit opportunity while others are simply trying to survive long enough to dream.
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A Huge Week for Women’s Soccer Around the Globe
Women’s soccer had another busy week, ranging from record-breaking news to season-ending injuries. One of the biggest stories comes from Boston Legacy FC and its remarkable turnaround story. Boston is starting to find its rhythm after a rough beginning to its inaugural season. The club has recently put together a strong win streak and is…
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The Impact of Increasing Women’s Sports Visibility
The 30th season of the WNBA tips off next Friday, May 8th and a record 216 games will be nationally televised. This increase in visibility isn’t just a win for the league or its fans. It is a win for women as a whole. This is the first season under the league’s new collective bargaining…
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The Theater of the NBA Playoffs
The NBA Playoffs transform basketball into a high-stakes battle, showcasing drama and teamwork. With sixteen teams competing, the playoffs unfold like a gripping narrative, revealing each team’s true identity through seven pivotal games. Each game serves a distinct purpose: from establishing identity in Game 1 to the pressure cooker of Game 7, where reputations are…
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The Hidden Layer of Sport
From the outside, this layer of sport is almost invisible. But from within, one thing becomes clear very quickly: match manipulation is not rare. It exists in plain sight, but few notice it.
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A New Identity for the Chicago Sky
Just hours into the first day of free agency, it was announced that Angel Reese was traded from the Chicago Sky to the Atlanta Dream in exchange for the Dream’s 2027 and 2028 first-round picks (WNBA, 2026). Reese had expressed frustrations with the Sky franchise in an interview with the Chicago Tribune near the end…
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Sport Has To Be Fun
Most, if not all, sports are still games at their core. That matters. Before trophies, scholarships, contracts, or status, sport should be fun first, especially for the players. It should not matter whether you are in the World Cup final or in a pickup game at the neighborhood court. We owe it to ourselves to…
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How Wearable Fitness Trackers Are Changing Athlete Performance and Recovery
Wearable fitness trackers have become a staple in everyday wear, but more noticeably in professional sports, promising real-time insights into performance, recovery, and injury risk. Before the development of wearable trackers, coaches had to monitor athletes on the field to make conclusions about their performance and overall well-being. Today, some wearable trackers report on over…
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The Overlooked Dimension of Performance in Women’s Sport: The Menstrual Cycle
Sometimes one’s period shows up right before a match or during a training session with full main character energy and suddenly everything feels just a little more overwhelming than it should. And this often times reflects a shared reality for many female athletes, not just an isolated experience. Research shows that 41%–66% of female athletes…
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How Does Leadership and Organizational Culture Shape Success, Performance, and the Long-Term Wellbeing of Athletes?
Across every level of sport, from recreational sports to professional organizations, leadership and organizational culture dictate how teams operate, athletes are treated and perform, and how organizations respond to success, pressure, and adversity. For decades, many organizations, leaders, coaches, support staff, athletes, and fans have celebrated performance while overlooking the cultural systems that produce it.…
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Embracing the Journey of Self-Development in Sports
In the fast paced and competitive realm of sports, the focus is often on developing athletes, strategies,and teams to achieve peak performance. However, an area that demands equal attention, yet isfrequently overlooked, is the self-development of individuals within this dynamic environment. Theconcept of developing self transcends the mere acquisition of new skills or knowledge. It…
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Investing in the Growth of Coaches and Staff: The Key to Sustained Organizational Success
In the dynamic world of sports, the development of coaches and staff is as crucial as the training ofathletes. It is an investment that not only enhances the capabilities and effectiveness of the team butalso contributes to the sustained success of the organization. What are the strategies and benefits of prioritizing the professional development of…
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Identifying Opportunities for Collaboration and Teamwork in Sports Coaching
Collaboration and teamwork are indispensable in the world of sports coaching. An organization wheremembers function harmoniously as a team can effectively leverage individual strengths, mitigateweaknesses, and achieve collective success. As John C. Maxwell famously said, “Teamwork makes thedream work” (2002). This quote underscores the power of collaboration and the integral role it plays inachieving an…
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The Prevalence of Eating Disorders in Young Athletes
Disordered eating is defined as potentially harmful and disruptive eating behaviours. This can include behaviors such as abnormal dieting, increased attention to food intake, and weight watching. Disordered eating can sometimes, not always, develop into Eating Disorders (ED) (Mancine et al., 2020). This is a subgroup of diagnosable psychiatric disorders that centre around clinically concerning…
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The WNBA at a Crossroads: What the Labor Talks Reveal About Women’s Sports
The WNBA is facing a critical moment. Negotiations over the league’s collective bargaining agreement (CBA) remain stalled, with players pushing for fair pay, better benefits, and improved working conditions. Sophie Cunningham recently called the league the “laughing stock of sports,” reflecting the frustration of players pushing for equity in a league that has grown in…
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Synergizing Leadership Styles for a More Effective Coaching Team
Diverse leadership styles can create a dynamic, efficient coaching team when adequately managed.Research shows that a one-size-fits-all approach to leadership is insufficient; the best leaders adapt their styles to their teams’ needs (Northouse, 2018). However, it is also essential that the coaching team’s leadership styles align cohesively to benefit the whole team. Different coaches bring…
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Gronk’s Legacy
Nine seasons, three Super Bowls, three rings. Rob Gronkowski was an exhilarating player and a lively character on the field, bringing pride to all Patriots fans. He wants to show how once a Patriot, always a Patriot. Gronk signed a one-day contract with the Patriots on November 12, 2025. He decided he wanted to officially…
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Inside Ferrari’s 2025 Struggles: Lessons on Leadership, Accountability, and Trust in Formula 1
The Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 team carries one of the richest histories in motorsport. With legendary drivers such as Nikki Lauda, Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel, and now in 2025, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. Ferrari has been defined by iconic drivers and championship-winning moments. Yet, in recent years, this legacy has come under scrutiny following…
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College Sports: Bringing Community Together
Crowds. Tailgates. Never-ending amounts of people waiting behind stadium doors. Ready for a day of chants, screams, scoffs, grunts, and tears (sadness or joy). College sports contain everlasting emotions, generational pride, a drive to win, and a hunger not to lose. These sports never fail to unleash the competitive spirit in each soul, echoing across…
