Wendell Phillips Academy, a Chicago Public School has recently made history by becoming the first public school to win a state championship. However funding for the program was minimum after such an accomplishment for the team. Troy McAllister, head coach of Wendell Phillips has asked the public for help in raising money for its needs such as pre-game meals. "Due to the lack of funds our school and our boys have, their pre-games diets are either non-existent or devoid of nutrition," the fundraising page reads. " ... It seems obvious, but having enough energy to play 4 quarters of football could mean the difference between making history or not", says McAllister "CPS Sports Teams Forced To Use GoFundMe To Pay Basic Costs | HBCU Sports Forums," n.d.). A new and popular tool that has been used to help receive public funding is GoFundMe. Coach McAllister mentions that "Being a football program at a Chicago public school... you are under-resourced, you are underfunded," he said "CPS Sports Teams Forced To Use GoFundMe To Pay Basic Costs | HBCU Sports Forums," n.d.). "GoFundMe has been great because it can get the word out to so many people. Due to the lack of coaching stipends, you're at a competitive disadvantage. But we make no excuses here""CPS Sports Teams Forced To Use GoFundMe To Pay Basic Costs | HBCU Sports Forums," n.d.). He went on to say; "All these Catholic League and private schools have their own stadiums, and that's not the case with a lot of Public League teams. It's not an excuse — you have to overcome it — but it is a big disadvantage," he said (Breen, 2014). In the past year, McAllister has raised over $5,000 using GoFundMe and has contributed to the team's new needs. References: Breen, J. (2014, November 6). Wendell Phillips Academy Football Coach on State Finals: 'Truly a Blessing' - Bronzeville - DNAinfo Chicago. Retrieved from https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20141126/bronzeville/wendell-phillips-academy-football-coach-on-state-finals-truly-blessing CPS Sports Teams Forced To Use GoFundMe To Pay Basic Costs | HBCU Sports Forums. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.hbcusports.com/forums/threads/cps-sports-teams-forced-to-use-gofundme-to-pay-basic-costs.127611/
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Since 2007, the NFL has hosted at least one game per in London in order to reach out to a wider audience much like the NBA has done, globally. L.A Rams and Arsenal Owner Stan Kroenke stated, “Over the next three years while we’re building the stadium, we will be in London or we will be in one of those international games,” he said. “It’s good for us because we’re in the Coliseum."(Klein,2016). Until the stadium in Inglewood is built in 2019 the Los Angeles Rams will host 7 homes games at the "Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum" (home of the USC Trojans) and either one "home" game in London or another location as a part of the NFL International Series. As mentioned earlier it is good for the NFL to expand its target audience as it has with London and Mexico City, which will host its first game this year. This brings in more revenues for the NFL and connects people worldwide. The NFL is trying to rebrand its image much like the NBA has done with the Euro League and Chinese League being highly competitive and popular overseas. However, in 2016 the NFL has opted AGAINST live streaming its London games and instead they will focus on live streaming every Thursday Night Football game. Not live streaming the International Series will be a test for the NFL this year. According to Reuters, "The league has been experimenting with live streaming games as more consumers are watching shows online and canceling their cable subscriptions. Last year, the NFL partnered with Yahoo to live stream a London game as part of an effort to gain more international viewers" (Reuters, 2016). With 800 million+ worldwide registered and non-registered Twitter Users, the NFL suffered a popularity hit by not providing free publicity of American Football to its growing international fan base. The NFL has not ruled out, live streaming its International Games in the future. The NFL has much interest in expanding its reach to the International Market fan base. As stated by Reuters, “The NFL was happy with the game on Yahoo last year and about one-third of that audience was international,” Ganis said. “There is an international market for these games” (Reuters, 2016). There is an established market waiting for the NFL to take advantage of the potential fan base and profitability. References: Klein, G. (2016, March 11). Rams to play international games the next three seasons - LA Times. Retrieved from http://www.latimes.com/sports/rams/la-sp-los-angeles-rams-international-games-20160311-story.html Reuters. (2016, April 11). NFL Opts Against Live Stream of London Games Next Season. Retrieved from http://fortune.com/2016/04/11/nfl-london-games-stream/ STAY TRENDY!...That is the motto for those who use social media to keep up with the standards of society. Social media in sports has been completely revolutionized over the past years on all levels. From fans to players, coaches and executives social media sites such as; Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram are the most popular ways to stay connected. World class athletes are highly encouraged to use social media wisely to broaden their image. Believe it or not, social media is a tool for players to promote an athletes fan appeal contrary to the negative connotation media receives.
We all know LeBron James, world class athlete, 3x NBA Champion and how active he is on social media, whether it's Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram or now the popular, Periscope, a live streaming video chat app. LeBron has managed to incorporate social media into his daily and professional life allowing for Nike to take notice and invest huge amounts of money into LBJ, including a first ever lifetime contract that is set to be worth more than half a BILLION dollars. "James remains the biggest endorsement star in the sport with estimated earnings of $44 million this year off the court and he is still the king when it comes to moving product. Nike sold $340 million worth of James’ signature shoes in the last 12-months through January, up 13% from the prior year, according to SportScanInfo. It is nearly double the amount of the NBA’s second best seller, Kevin Durant of the Golden State Warriors" (BadenHausen, 2015). LeBron has worked hard to rebuild his image after "The Decision" he made on national television in 2010 which caused an uproar across the country, specifically Cleveland. Star athletes are subjected to more media exposure than teammates who do not have as much clout. Kevin Durant and Marshawn Lynch are two players who come to mind when it comes about notoriously avoiding press conferences with the media. We all remember the comical interview post-Super Bowl with "Beast Mode" when he mockingly made fun of the NFL fining him for avoiding talking to the media. ( Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmABbHSOTqQ ) Social Media is made for the players to broaden their image but who can blame them for not wanting to speak to the media after a big win or a crucial lost. MLB players get the benefit of the doubt of being able to opt out of an interview, whereas NFL and NBA players are required to speak to the media. "In the first five decades of the 20th century, when baseball reigned supreme, writers watched the game, wrote their stories, and went home, or to the bar. It wasn’t until the 1940s that a New York Daily News writer named Dick Young began to invade clubhouses in order to extract some postgame thoughts that the practice became common" (Ryan, 2015). Imagine if Hall of Fame caliber players such as Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Larry Bird or Dr. J were able to tweet their thoughts and were able to connect with their fans in their day as athletes do today. What would they say? Would they be as anti-media as Marshawn Lynch or as media friendly as LeBron James. I use Larry Bird as an example because he once was very optimistic of the media. However, he soon realized it was part of the game, something he could not avoid. “Once I got into the pros, I felt it was part of the deal,” he explained. “You have to do your share. But it works both ways. You have to set your parameters" (Ryan, 2015). References: BadenHausen, K. (2015, March 18). Forbes Welcome. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2015/03/18/lebron-james-is-nbas-top-shoe-salesman-with-340-million-for-nike-in-2014/#2326e1c92859 Ryan, B. (2015, March 1). Why do media need to talk to athletes? - The Boston Globe. Retrieved from https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2015/03/01/why-media-need-talk-athletes/gBpkicUJOc2UC17vmgr9PN/story.html |
AuthorMyles Jackson is from Cincinnati, OH. Where he grew up playing Baseball, Basketball and Football. Myles attended Tiffin University and played for the Tiffin Dragons as a middle infielder. Myles graduated from Tiffin in 2016 with a Bachelors in Sports Administration and is currently completing his Masters. Archives
June 2017
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