Category Archives: Blog

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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Former College Athletes Discusses Student-Athlete Experience

Lately the student-athlete experience has undergone scrutiny in the media regarding recent changes and proposals around the NCAA. In a March episode of SCI TV, current and former collegiate student-athletes across a spectrum of universities and sports shed light on their experiences and reflect on common challenges. The special panel consists of athletes who have competed for universities across the country in sports ranging from football, track and field, baseball, and volleyball. They discuss the value of their experiences, the challenges of balancing competing priorities as college athlete, and the differing support at their universities.

Balance is Key

While the five person panel largely described their student-athlete experiences as overwhelmingly positive, all agreed that balancing athletics and academics is a major hurdle. There is often an implicit choice on where to put your primary focus, affecting which major one chooses and the likelihood of a post collegiate athletic career.

Ian Dobson, who ran track and field and cross country at Stanford and went on to run professionally in the 2008 Olympics, spoke about choosing a major that fit with athletics and watching teammates decide whether to pin their post-collegiate hopes on running or academics.

“At some point in the middle of your college experience people would decide whether or not they thought a professional career was realistic,” said Dobson, who chose to focus on running professionally. “That was one of the hardest things for me, knowing that I’m making a conscious decision to miss out on all these amazing opportunities that school provides.”

Husband and wife Stetzon and Bethany Bair, who played football and volleyball respectively at the University of Oregon, say that finding a life balance between all the tasks of a student-athlete is difficult, but manageable with the right support and mentality.

“It definitely is a challenge, but being married and having a family really puts your priorities in line,” Stetzon said. “For us the big picture is more than sports, and that’s been a big help.”

Future Matters

When deciding on a future career path Dobson and Zach Daeges, who played baseball at Creighton before joining the Red Sox, were glad to have the extra time that their professional careers allowed to figure out what they wanted to do after sports.

“I have a much better understanding of what I want to do now,” said Daeges, who is pursuing an MBA at Oregon. “In a lot of ways it’s been beneficial to have had that period where I got to play a sport and figure things out later in life.”

Resources Taken for Granted

While the group cited parents, older siblings, teammates, and alumni as common support structures, almost all of the athletes said they did not use official academic and career resources as much as they should have, and at the time even rolled their eyes at the resources.

“I didn’t really want to accept the fact I wasn’t going to be a student athlete anymore. In hindsight it backfired because I had a really hard time after I was done with volleyball; I didn’t have plan, didn’t really utilize those resources to help plan the next step,” said Bethany Bair.

Partly because of the difficult balance between athletics, academics, and social life, there is a segregation on many college campuses between athletes and other students. Teammates and fellow student-athletes become natural friends through daily schedules and shared goals.

“There’s this conventional wisdom that you can only do two of the three well, and you solve that problem by combining two. I chose to combine my athletics and social life, and by default that’s what most of us end up doing,” Dobson said.

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Legal Issues in Sports | Paul Greene

From the Olympics to the collegiate level Paul Greene of Global Sports Advocates has seen his share of sports cases, representing elite athletes and governing bodies around the world. In a recent episode of SCI TV, Greene discusses major sports law issues including anti doping, Title IX liability, trademark and contract cases, and more with SCI Founder Joshua Gordon. Greene is recognized by Chambers USA and Super Lawyers as one of America’s leading sports lawyers.

Saving Careers

Greene found his way into sports law after a decade in broadcasting and wanted to make a larger impact in the field. The athletes he represents often come to him in last ditch efforts to save a season or career, and emotions can run high.

One of his first cases involved an Olympic hopeful who was wrongly barred from the Games. “That’s what I like about these sports law cases, it’s how meaningful they are to the people you’re representing,” Greene said.

Since much of sports law takes place in the public eye, appropriate messaging can be more critical than in other areas of law to manage the impact on reputation.

Control the Message

“I always tell clients, no matter which side they are on, you have to control the message. You have to control how you disseminate information, how you speak, everything has to be disciplined and thought out.”

Doping cases attract special media attention, but many cases are more nuanced than the public is led to believe. Greene doesn’t have sympathy for the clear cut cases where athletes were intentionally cheating, but other situations are not so simple.

“Most people assume that every athlete that tests positive has culpability when that isn’t the case,” Greene said.

Proactive Approaches for Institutions

Sports law also encompases issues at the institutional level, and Greene works to help organizations and governing bodies approach emerging issues proactively.

In the collegiate world there can be uncertainty around the implications of Title IX, especially sections on sexual harassment and sexual assault. Green helps institutions make sure they have systems in place to protect themselves from the errant actions of students and employees.

“You can’t be indifferent. If you see something happen, if something gets reported, you have to jump on it right away, you have to take action, you have to be transparent, and you have to make sure the person’s rights are protected,” Greene says. “Institutions get in trouble when they don’t do things by the book. When you’re trying to just react, that’s generally a recipe for disaster.”

Greene thinks that the institutions getting it right are those that handle issues with outside assistance. People unconnected to an organization bring credibility in a time of crisis and can identify issues before they become major legal and media relations problems, which is more cost effective in the long run.

“People never want to spend money on lawyers unless they have to, but when you talk about doing things on the front end it’s always less expensive than doing things on the backend when everything blows up.”

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Controlling the Olympic Moment

In this episode of SCI TV, researcher and former professional runner Dr. Anne Shadle discusses her study that searched for commonalities in the stories of three Olympic gold medal-winning athletes in Track and Field. Shadle wanted to explore the key factors, beyond talent, physical ability and technical training that impacted athletes’ success and helped win the Olympic gold. The mental and emotional traits she uncovered seem not only critical to peak athletic performance but to any major life endeavor. How do athletes go about controlling the Olympic moment?

How Do the Best Think and Prepare?

Shadle became interested in athlete psychology as a student athlete at the University of Nebraska where she was an NCAA champion in the mile and 1500 meters. She pursued a professional running career but it was in her graduate work at the University of Missouri that she really started asking questions about how the best think and prepare.

Mind-Body Connection

“I’ve always been curious about the mind-body connection,” Shadle said. “I’ve had a curiosity about what do the best athletes in the world do, how do they think, and how does that impact their performance?”

That interest led her to research how the best athletes stay focused on the biggest stage. Shadle interviewed several Olympic gold medalists to uncover their narratives and understand pieces of their success story. She describes her findings as ‘Controlling the Olympic Moment.’

Key Traits

There were several commonalities and key traits among the athletes. They were intrinsically motivated, had the ability to self-regulate, possessed grit or perseverance over time, and had a support system filled with positive relationships.

“These athletes remained focused on their mission and were able to block out all these distractions to deliver their best performance,” Shadle said. “They were very good at emotional control and composure.”

Such traits allowed them to “navigate the crazy” at big meets, including the many internal and external distractions that can throw athletes off their game.

“A characteristic of a very elite athlete is that they spend almost all of their time focusing on the things that they can control which is their own mind, their own performance, their own preparation,” Shadle said.

Innate or Learned?

So are these characteristics innate or can they be learned? Shadle thinks it’s a little of both. Listening to their early athletic experiences, Shadle found that while the athletes had the beginnings of singular focus, they also learned and improved on these skills throughout their professional career. In short, everyone can get better.

Shadle thinks that the lessons from elite athletes can be applied at all levels, and not just in sport.

“Controlling the Olympic moment doesn’t necessarily mean every four years,” Shadle says. “It’s being able to respond in these critical moments, and in our personal relationships; how to ask for that promotion, make a proposal, prepare for these big moments in our lives whatever that may be.”

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Duncan Fletcher Explains the Importance of Athlete Development and Player Engagement

What is athlete development? What does it entail? Why should administrators, coaches, athletes, and supports invest in off-field growth?

SCI TV

In a recent episode of SCI TV, Duncan Fletcher of Game Change Athlete Development Services and Consultancy talks with Joshua Gordon and Shannon Leinert about the benefits of athlete development and player engagement during and after their careers. He underscores some of the unique challenges that athletes face and how off-field activities are a critical component of on-field and future success.

Duncan Fletcher | Game Change

Fletcher became involved in athlete development issues while in graduate school coaching Division I hockey at Quinnipiac University. He has since worked with the NHL, the NHL Players Association and other groups on issues around player performance and athletic transition.

Not Just Physical Development

Athlete development is often thought of in physical terms like running faster, throwing farther, and jumping higher. Fletcher and his colleagues think about development in much broader terms.

“It’s dealing with issues from the neck up,” Fletcher says. “Peak performance is derived not only from what’s taking place physically, but what’s taking place mentally. We view athlete development from a holistic perspective.”

It Is About Performance

Fletcher’s goal is to help athletes improve their performance, effectively leverage their career, and be able to transition out of sport when the time comes. But addressing life after sport can be tricky.

“No athlete wants to talk about their funeral; they are living a dream in this particular moment,” Fletcher said. “What we really advocate is giving the athlete tools that allow them to succeed now, be a better performer, but also allow them to be introduced to what may be beyond their sport.”

Transitions Are Inevitable

Fletcher sees athlete development as a way to compresses the time between when an athlete leaves the game and when they can start having a meaningful impact in another area.

“Athletes are developing a very unique skill set, but in a lot of ways they are punished for it,” Fletcher said. With the right approach, “You’re empowering these folks to be more successful coming out of the game and more effective for their family, themselves, and the community.”

The Myth of a Singular Focus

There can also be performance advantages to off-field activities that reduce stress and build versatility and resiliency.

“Focusing all the time on one thing is exhausting,” Fletcher said. “On multiple occasions I’ve had athletes engaged in courses that had massive performance spikes in a very short time frame.”

Skills for Now and for Life Beyond Sport

Fletcher thinks the next frontier for athlete development is at the college and university level, helping student athletes identify and develop transferable skills while still encouraging them to perform on the field at the highest level.

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Assess Your Program’s Athlete Development Approach

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History and Culture | Dr. Scott Brooks

On this episode of SCI TV, Dr. Scott Brooks, Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Missouri, discusses black athletes and the inherent myth about natural talent and the hard work that black athletes put in to get where they go. Dr. Brooks sees sports as a means of investigating issues and myths around race.

About Dr. Brooks

Associate Professor of Sociology Scott Brooks was trained in urban sociology, race and class inequality, and qualitative research methods, while earning his Ph.D. in Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania. He also completed degrees at California State University – Hayward (M.A.) and the University of California – Berkeley (B.A.). Though some find race and ethnicity to be delicate topics, Brooks finds them “as American as apple pie.” He says, “I have always been intrigued by American culture and society generally, and we are a country of displaced natives, slaves, and immigrants. What could be more American than studying race and ethnicity?”

There is an old adage that says that for a happy and healthy career, you should get involved in a subject that you will love. Brooks took that advice to heart, combining his love of sports, particularly basketball, with his interest in sociology. Brooks sees sports as a way to investigate issues and myths of race, particularly popular myths involving race and athletic ability. His book, Black Men Can’t Shoot (University of Chicago Press, 2009), examines the careers of basketball players, beginning as youths, and traces how they evolve from good players to great players, and in some cases to college prospects. What he learned goes beyond the basketball floor and into people’s daily lives, emphasizing planning and hard work. The findings offer a theoretical perspective on how to understand career trajectories and mobility.

Brooks’ work offers insights into social dynamics across various settings and he has been interviewed and referenced by prominent news sources, including NPR and the Wall Street Journal, and published numerous scholarly articles and a book. Dr. Brooks is also engaged in mentoring college and high school students and has been recognized for his teaching and mentoring.

Check out a recent book interview: http://newbooksinsports.com/2011/09/19/scott-brooks-black-men-cant-shoot-university-of-chicago-press-2009/

Dr. Brooks’ book: Black Men Can’t Shoot

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Oregon Ducks’ Cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olumu Discusses Social Networking on SCI TV

In this episode of SCI TV, Oregon Ducks’ Cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olumu discusses some of the challenges presented by social media in college athletics.

With Monday’s Inaugural College Football Playoff National Championship between the University of Oregon Ducks and the Florida State University Seminoles, the importance of mitigating off-field distractions is a critical component of on-field success.

Social media will be humming with stories that for better or worse shape the image of teams and their student athletes. In an episode of SCI TV, the Ducks’ Cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olumu shares his thoughts on the challenges of social media for college athletes, and how best to use that influence.

As a student athlete, “People really care about what you have to say,” Ekpre-Olumu said. “You have to at least make sure you’re sending a positive message.”

Student athletes today face a much different standard of scrutiny than previous generations. Conversations and actions that used to be private now go viral on YouTube and Twitter, creating news where there was none before.

“You have to make sure you’re doing things in public that you want to show,” Ekpre-Olumu said. “When you post something, the whole team is represented by it.”

While the Oregon football program takes first year players aside to guide them on social media usage, coaches don’t impose limits or authorization on what can and can’t be said. Ekpre-Olumu agrees that education is the best approach for managing the team’s social media use.

“The coaches trust us to live up to what they expect,” he said. “At this age, especially college students, they’re going to do whatever they want. But if they are informed, that’s the biggest thing that can help.”

If the conversation on social media usually revolves around brand building or avoiding gaffes, there is also the good that a simple message can spread.

“Making people happy with what you post,” Ekpre-Olumu says. “Give a little kid a retweet (and) he’s the happiest kid in the world the next day when he goes to school.”

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About SCI:

SCI supports competitive goals in athletics through understanding, preventing, and resolving destructive conflict both inside and outside the lines. SCI serves as a knowledge center and provides a range of services to help ensure student-athlete experience is part of a healthy university culture while optimizing performance on and off the field of play. Conflict is inevitable, but how we respond determines whether success follows or costs mount. SCI Founder, Joshua Gordon, has over 20 years of conflict management experience.