Category Archives: Blog

White Paper on Cost of Conflict in Sports

When a university receives a call about a bullying, hazing, or sexual assault incident on the part of one of their coaches or athletes, the wheels of a crisis are set in motion. A scan of the sports headlines shows situations like these are far too common and the cycle of events that follow is predictable if unfortunate. A new white paper by the Sports Conflict Institute addresses the cost of conflict for incidents both on and off the field. The paper uses a framework for analyzing the likely costs of an incident and compares the costs of proactive versus reactive responses to behavior issues.

Read the full white paper here

Incidents in Sports are Wide Spread

Incidents of bullying, hazing, and sexual violence in sports are not isolated, nor are they reserved for the most visible athletic programs. At the end of 2014 there were 94 colleges and universities undergoing Title IX sexual violence investigations alone, ranging from Division I powerhouses to Division III ivies. These incidents and investigations have many associated costs, though not all are obvious.

“We wanted to shed light on the range of costs these incidents create, particularly in the university setting,” said Joshua Gordon, SCI Founder. “What becomes clear is that costs go beyond dollars and really start to affect reputation and performance.”

Types of Costs

The paper groups the fallout from an incident into three categories: direct costs, such as staff time, legal fees, and settlements; reputation costs, such as lost ticket sales, sponsorship withdrawal, donor erosion, and compromised recruiting ability; and performance costs, such as fewer wins and less team cohesion.

Adding together all three categories paints a picture of the total cost of an incident to an organization. In an example of a head coach hazing incident, the paper suggests that a reactionary response could be upwards of one hundred times more expensive than a proactive approach that avoids the incident.

Intangible But Important

The paper’s authors acknowledge that while it is difficult to put dollar figures on reputation, brand, and performance, it is worth thinking hard over these impacts. A negative impact in these areas can stymie potential and put a team or athletic department in rebuilding mode for several years.

“Getting in front of these issues is really the goal,” Gordon said. “It’s not easy to maintain alignment between all the stakeholders in a university department, but being proactive is the best way to limit these costs and achieve potential.”

Katharine Nohr Discusses Risk Management in Sports

More than most public figures, elite athletes capture the limelight for better or worse. With constant media attention personal issues become public affairs and can damage or ruin careers. In a recent episode of SCI TV, industry expert Katharine Nohr discusses how to approach risk management in sports, covering high profile athletes Justin Gatlin and Michael Phelps. With a background in insurance defense litigation, Nohr’s love of triathlon led her to start her own company, Nohr Sports Risk Management. She is the author of the industry leading book “Managing Risk in Sport and Recreation” and speaks around the world on these topics.

What is Risk Management in Sports?

Nohr advises professional and Olympic athletes on ways to prevent personal issues from affecting their brand and marketability. The issues she encounters range from performance enhancing drugs, relationship troubles, and substance abuse.

“There are so many areas where an athlete could have problems,” Nohr said. “Risk management occurs before and after incidents. You’re always working on it.”

When elite athletes minimize the personal risks in their life it can help the conversation with prospective teams and sponsors. Sometimes issues need deeper intervention such as counseling and life coaching.

“You’re looking at who they hang around with, what they’re doing in their lives to make them the most viable, attractive product essentially,” said Nohr. “The bottom line is that everyone is a brand. It’s important to understand what brand everyone is.”

Different Approaches from Sponsors

Nohr believes that no matter the sport, public perception of an athlete’s character is important. Sponsors vary on their approach to risk management in sports however. In 2009 when photos of swimmer Michael Phelps using marijuana became public Kellogg’s canceled his sponsorship because they thought the incident would damage their brand and target audience.

“The public does appreciate athletes that provide a very positive example for children,” Nohr said.

Nike has come under recent scrutiny for signing track star and convicted doper Justin Gatlin. The former Olympic Champion served a drug ban from 2006 to 2010 and has returned to the sport winning medals and setting records, but not without controversy.

“Nike has made a business decision,” Nohr said. “If most of the press is regarding his drug use, it could backfire. On the other hand if he gets gold medals and is the hero of the Olympics then it could go well.”

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Sports Documentary with James Earl Jones and In America

High profile issues in sports always capture public attention. Recent domestic abuse, sexual assault, and bullying incidents have raised important questions about our sports culture. What lessons can we learn from these destructive incidents and how can we use sports to positively impact society? A new documentary for public television will offer fresh perspective on these issues. The production company In America, hosted by industry veteran James Earl Jones, is partnering with the Sports Conflict Institute to bring together thought leaders from around the industry to discuss challenges in competitive sports and how sports can be used to make a positive impact.

James Earl Jones on Important Issues in Society

Hosted by James Earl Jones, In America specializes in producing high quality programming to public television stations nationwide on a wide range of timely, public interest topics. Episodes use key subject matter experts to illuminate the pressing issues on a variety of education, health, the environment, and business topics. Past guests include former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, President George H. W. Bush, and Barbara Moser of the FBI.

“This project will really give voice to why conflict in sports matters in society,” said Joshua Gordon, Founder of SCI. “Negative incidents usually write headlines, but we want to highlight what’s being done to resolve these issues and transform sports for the better.”

In America and James Earl Jones decided to focus on issues in competitive sports in part because of recent high profile incidents of negative off field behavior from star athletes. The documentary will cover domestic abuse, sexual assault, bullying and hazing incidents, and how these issues have and should be addressed.

 High Profile Thought Leaders

In addition to SCI experts, special guests for the episode will include thought leaders from all aspects of the sports industry, ranging from respected coaches, agents, athletes, scholars and public officials. These leaders have used their influence and humility to positively influence the organizations they’ve worked in and the wider industry.

“We are excited to welcome very respected leaders to the project and to work with James Earl Jones and the expert team at In America to deliver a first class documentary,” Gordon said.
The segment will be featured on public television and distributed across a wide variety of social media channels. Production is scheduled for the summer with an air date to be announced later.

Forgiveness In Sports

Sports are a multi-billion dollar industry comprised of athletes, coaches, trainers and business men and women. These people, athletes more often than the rest, are role models for society. They live in the spotlight whether they like it or not and receive a variety of criticisms, especially when they make mistakes in either their professional or personal life. Mistakes punctuate the sports pages – some seemingly more forgivable than others.

How can forgiveness be better utilized in the sports?

SCI Advisory Board member, James E. McGuire, Esq. recently wrote about how the act of forgiveness can be effective in mediation, but it must start with an apology from the one that made the mistake.

“Apology is an important part of the mediation process in helping parties deal with conflict and resolve disputes,” wrote McGuire.

He notes that forgiveness is not meant to forget what happened and it doesn’t always lead to reconciliation. McGuire presents the question, then why forgive anyone for anything? His own response is simple but impactful. “To be happy,” McGuire said.

Due to the spotlight that many athletes are engulfed in when they do make a mistake media, fans and hecklers add additional pressure. Mistakes made can lead to additional stress for athletes and can take a toll on individual athletic performance as well as team performance.

The act of forgiving refers to acknowledging what happened and understanding where wrongs were committed. Then one can reflect and eventually learn from those mistakes in order self improvement. It can be beneficial for athletes because forgiveness can relieve stress and provide much needed support.

Asking for forgiveness, allowing others to forgive us and most importantly forgiving ourselves is vital in the process to achieve success. So how can forgiveness be beneficial for athletes like Josh Hamilton, Ray Rice and Richie Incognito?

Mayo Clinic On Forgiveness

According to research at the Mayo Clinic, letting go of grudges and forgiving can make way for happiness, health and peace. Forgiveness can lead to:

  • Healthier relationships
  • Greater spiritual and psychological well-being
  • Less anxiety, stress and hostility
  • Lower blood pressure
  • Fewer symptoms of depression
  • Stronger immune system
  • Improved heart health
  • Higher self-esteem

Not only can athletes benefit from forgiving others’ mistakes and their own mistakes, but fans can also reap the benefits. Fans have the power to forgive and allow athletes a second, just as many of them have been given second chances in their respective professional or personal lives.

Kerry Gillespie on Gender Determination in Sports

Gender determination has becoming an increasingly heated and debated topic in sports. What does it truly mean to have a level playing field in sports? What role should gender determination have in this overarching goal?

The Case of Dutee Chand

Some countries have started their selection process for the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in August, located in Beijing, China. One country in particular – India – faces a dilemma with teen sprint-sensation Dutee Chand, who is currently appealing a ban from the sports international governing body. The IAAF had not allowed Chand to compete as a female due to her body’s natural ability to produce unusually high levels of testosterone. What is a fair process for gender determination in sports?

On preserving athletes privacy

Gender in society used to be thought of as much more black and white – male or female. “In the 1960s, female athletes that looked male were forced to strip during gender testing,” Gillespie said. However, as society changes its views the IAAF must adapt. “Now, the IAAF is trying to have a more scientific approach for gender testing. However, these new tests are proving to be just as harmful for the athletes.”

On fairness

Not everyone gets tested. There aren’t random gender tests as there are for performance enhancing drugs. “The IAAF only tests people “when someone complains and says ‘that person is not a woman,'” Gillespie said.

Can we level the playing field?

“Everyone wants a leveled playing field, but then why are we only doing gender testing for women?” Gillespie said. “There could be men with unusually high levels of testosterone too. There could also be males with unusually low levels of testosterone, so would we then allow them to compete as women? People have genetic advantages. I don’t think we can ever 100% level the playing field.”

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Danny Mackey on Coaching Styles

What are critical considerations when working with elite athletes? How might a coach alter their coaching style to the needs of an athlete? What challenges exist to build a winning culture? Danny Mackey, Head Coach of the Brooks Beasts Track Club in Seattle shares his thoughts on coaching styles.

Danny Mackey on Team Structure

The Beasts have about 10 athletes, but this small group is making waves on the international scene. Several have qualified for international championship meets. Part of that success has been valuing each person’s positive qualities and thoroughly developing each individual, instead of recruiting many athletes with just a handful running well. Each person brings something unique to this newly-formed club. “I’m very humanistic with how I approach the athletes,” Mackey said. “I talk with each person differently, depending on what their needs are. Our approach is very team-focused; it’s very synergistic”

Dedication and Team Matter

For Mackey, getting the right athlete isn’t simply a function of picking the flat-out fastest collegians. The recruiting process is getting accomplished athletes with specific criteria.

“I first like to know how dedicated to this sport the athletes are,” Mackey said. “I want to know that they are ready to work hard and maximize their potential. Adaptability is really important to me too. There are so many variables outside of your control in the sport, so how have they dealt with those variables in the past.”

Mackey is also curious with how the athletes have excelled in a team environment. “I look at the athletes’ relationship with teammates and coaches. They need to be able to speak positively about people they work with on a daily basis. Even if there were issues, how did they manage those issues and get them resolved?”

How do you deal with conflict on your team?

“I have an open door policy,” Mackey said. “I do give a lot of credit to the older athletes on the team. They help manage some of the day-to-day issues that may come up.”

Keeping the little things in check is important to Mackey. The team has had a lot of success with cohesion, but Mackey thinks that it’s vital to always be aware of small conflicts. “You need to resolve issues quickly before they turn into major problems.”

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Vinnie Iyer on Character Concerns in the NFL

The NFL draft season is here and teams are making choices about which type of players to add to their rosters, both for their skills on the field and their character off the field. In an episode of SCI TV, Vinnie Iyer of Sporting News discusses The Dallas Cowboys’ recent acquisition of Greg Hardy given increased attention on off-field conduct in the NFL. The Cowboys’ signing comes less than a year after the Ray Rice scandal brought media scrutiny, once again, to behavior off the field and the role the League and teams might have in addressing those behaviors.

Vinnie Iyer on Talent vs. Character

Vinnie Iyer has been covering the NFL for many years and sees the current character and off-field news as part of a much larger mentality in the league where talent often trumps behavior.

“Guys with more talent seem to have more leeway off the field,” Vinnie Iyer said. “I don’t think that’s right, but that’s the reality of the business of getting talented players. It makes the hypocritical things we hear about the NFL make a lot of sense.”

There can however, be a difference between public perception and reality within the league. By focusing on the negative, figures like Ray Rice and others garner lots of media attention while other players’ positive actions go unnoticed.

“Guys just doing normal things and being good people, that doesn’t interest us,” Vinnie Iyer said.

Character’s Effect on Draft Decisions

So how does character fit into a team’s draft calculus? There are some teams that don’t want to take on high risk players, while others like The Dallas Cowboys give second chances and are willing to manage more off-field risk. For the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, that choice could be looming with Jameis Winston.

“You have to have value on the field to overcome these bad things,” Vinnie Iyer said. “Jameis Winston is going to be a lightning rod figure. Is the NFL going to empower him to do something a little bit more?”

Minimum Character Standard?

In the future Vinnie Iyer sees some version of a minimum character standard for players in the NFL, but teams will always have a choice to make.

“I think it’s on the league to have a little more defined policy, be a little more in front of it, not be reactionary,” Vinnie Iyer said. “Fans have to be involved too, then we’ll see the policies change.”

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Smart Drugs, the Brain and Sports with Anjan Chatterjee

Doping has been around sports for years and stars such as Lance Armstrong and Alex Rodriguez continue to capture the public’s imagination. But the future of doping may be radically different. So-called smart drugs and cosmetic neurology present a new frontier in performance enhancement along with new ethical considerations. In an April episode of SCI TV, accomplished neuroscientist Anjan Chatterjee of Pennsylvania Hospital and the University of Pennsylvania talks about the ethics and dangers of smart drugs and other enhancements in sports.

Neuroscience and Sports

Anjan Chatterjee studies the intersection of cognitive neuroscience and sports, looking at how developments in our understanding of the brain can impact performance. He focuses on two main questions around performance enhancement.

“What are we able to do as far as enhancing our abilities, and what are the potential ethical implications?”

Ethics of Enhanced Performance?

Traditional methods of improving performance are simple yet nuanced: physical training, enough rest and proper nutrition. Drugs such as steroids, EPO and stimulants have been used for years to gain an edge, and the arms race between users and enforcement is ongoing.

Yet as a culture, some types of enhancement we seem to accept as permissible. Beta blockers are used by musicians, public speakers and golfers to reduce tremors and anxiety. Retinal surgery is used by baseball players and others to improve vision better than 20/20.

“There is a long tradition of different types of doping,” Chatterjee said. “Where you draw the line on that seems to be a cultural thing. At the end of the day whether that bears out on a principled account is not so clear.”

The Future: Smart Drugs

The future of performance enhancement may not involve traditional drugs at all. Smart drugs and non-invasive brain stimulation, which Chatterjee calls “cosmetic neurology,” are in the early stages of helping people learn certain tasks quicker.

Smart drugs or cosmetic neurology work by using devices on the skull to inhibit or stimulate parts of the brain via magnetic pulses or direct current stimulation. This can be beneficial if used while trying to learn a task. Lab studies have shown participants were quicker at learning certain motor skills than their control counterparts, and showed improved function up to three months later.

“It’s not so difficult to conceive that this could become part of people’s training regimens,” Chatterjee said.

No Way to Detect

Since smart drugs and cosmetic neurology have no signal or biological marker, there is no way to detect them and likely wouldn’t be.

“If it helps (performance) and there is no way to detect it, how do we deal with that?” Chatterjee said. “If you can’t enforce it, if you can’t govern it, how do we as a sports culture address that?”
These enhancements will continue to test the boundaries of ethics, safety and enforcement.

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David Steele Discusses Locker Room Culture

Sports controversies continue to revolve around issues of abuse and violence. These issues occur within team confines, as was the case with the Miami Dolphins and Richie Incognito, or off the field and away from the team as seen in the Ray Rice domestic abuse case. David Steele of Sporting News discusses the implications of locker room culture on SCI TV. He examines what worked for the Dolphins in their response and what other teams should do to improve the locker room as a work place.

David Steele on Off Field Issues

David Steele has been covering the NFL for many years and has focused more on off-the-field issues such as the impact cases like the Dolphins bully scandal and the Ray Rice domestic abuse case.

“I get to dig into the issues that affect the players as individuals,” David Steele says. “The interactions between players and management and players and coaches has given me insight into where sports and athletes fit into society.”

Locker Rooms as Work Places

On the challenges of addressing team culture, David Steele thinks that the unique interdependence of teammates creates a work environment unlike other professions, bringing out the best and the worst in athletes. That can also mean education on what life will be like after their career is over.

“You can’t act the way that you’re allowed to act within the team confines out there in the real world,” David Steele said. “There is an adjustment in the athlete’s life that they have to make once this sport is over.”

Improving the Locker Room

So what can be done to change the locker room into a different kind of work place? Organizations have to change their mentality to understand and support respectful team camaraderie. The Miami Dolphins’ response to the bullying scandal is a prime example of what other teams can learn.

“The biggest thing they did was they got the toxic element out of the locker room,” David Steele said, referring to Incognito. “Then they really developed a theme that went top to bottom, from ownership down through management, the coaching staff and the players, that there can’t be any of the clicks and divisiveness that was being formed in that locker room.”

Learning From the Best

David Steele points to the Seattle Seahawks, New England Patriots and San Antonio Spurs as models for professional locker rooms. They are able to bring people from different cultures and backgrounds together to succeed as a team.

“They are good examples because even as players come and go, these guys really do care for each other,” David Steele said. “They somehow come together, to not only win a lot but to want to stay together and succeed together.”
More teams could learn from their example.

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Will Leitch Discusses Chris Borland Case

Former 49ers linebacker Chris Borland turned more heads with his sudden retirement announcement than during his first year of a promising NFL career. In a March episode of SCI TV, Sports on Earth Senior Writer Will Leitch explores the curious case of Borland and the potential impact on the league. Leitch talks about the decision making process that Borland and other football players will likely use when choosing the preservation of health over a large paycheck, and what impact, if any, he thinks this case will have on the NFL and the sport of football in general.

Health Effects of Football

As the founder of Deadspin, Leitch enjoys finding interesting sports angles outside the mainstream. Chris Borland’s unique retirement, and the flurry of social commentary around it, provide a platform for discussing the larger health effects of football and how we think about the NFL.

“Nothing happens in a vacuum in the NFL,” Leitch said. “You can’t just be an independent actor, you have to stand for this larger organization.”

Leitch thinks that in many ways Borland’s decision cuts to the core of the league because of the type of player he was.

“You have a player that in a lot of ways represents what the league stands for, this gritty, fighter of a guy who’s tough and smart and everything the league should be promoting,” Leitch said. “He made what he saw was a rational decision. The ripples in that wake speak to the potential enormity of what Borland could stand for.”

Not Your Typical Rookie

At the same time Borland is not your typical rookie, coming from a family with more privilege and perhaps more perspective, than many NFL recruits. Either way, commentators and scouts are already watching how players weigh the long term risks of playing football.

“There’s a definite sense in the NFL that this is worrisome,” Leitch said. “This is something that’s becoming not just a ‘journalist problem,’ but a talent problem.”

But none of this seems an imminent threat to the league. Ratings are still sky high and the NFL is more profitable than ever. Leitch thinks Borland’s case and the concussion issue is a problem for the league in the long run; in the short run, business as usual.

Moral Habits vs. Viewing Habits

“There’s less pressure on (the NFL) to change than maybe there should be,” Leitch says, noting that for fans, “there is a disconnect between people’s moral habits and their viewing habits.”

In the end, Leitch thinks the discussion around the future of football needs to be more nuanced than simply great entertainment versus grave health danger.

“You have to be honest about the enjoyment of the game and what people get out of it rather than just scolding,” Leitch says. “That makes for a more honest conversation and a more complex one that doesn’t have easy answers.”

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