Russia Banned From Winter Olympics by I.O.C. : https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/05/sports/olympics/ioc-russia-winter-olympics.html
Discussion Question(s):

President VladimirPutin expected a boycott of the 2018 olympics by other countries. Should other countries boycott or no? Why?

Should clean Russian Athletes be allowed to compete? Does it lessen the punishment to let some athletes compete?

Are the neutral jerseys that significant of a punishment if it means the athletes wearing them are from Russia? Or is the more significant punishment that the national anthem will not be played and no medals will be on record for Russia?

Because a doping case has never been this extensive and serious, the I.O.C. has never had to tender a punishment like this. Do you think that the punishment fit the crime? 

Article Title: Article Link: Discussion Question(s):

Article Link: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2639506-how-the-nfls-catch-rule-became-the-worst-rule-in-sports

Questions:
1. What can the NFL do to "fix" the rule?


2. Is the catch rule hurting the NFL and its officiating in anyway?


3. What do you think the NFL rule for catch or no catch should be?


4. Should all catches be reviewed from the booth, or only when the challenge flag is thrown?

Super Teams

Article Title: Article Link:

https://bustingbrackets.com/2017/07/19/nba-super-team-mentality-trickling-down-college-basketball/

https://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/2016/7/21/12243850/duke-basketball-superteam-recruiting-rankings-jayson-tatum-harry-giles

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2738402-michael-jordan-on-nba-superteams-28-teams-that-are-going-to-be-garbage

Questions:

Do you feel like superteams are hurting the NBA?


Do you feel like super teams are hurting  NCAA basketball?


Will people stop watching because of super teams?


How should the NBA and NCAA handle this situation?

Article Title: Yuli Gurriel Tips Helmet to Yu Darvish after Racist Controversy


Article Link: http://nypost.com/2017/11/01/yuli-gurriel-tips-helmet-to-yu-darvish-after-racist-controversy/


Discussion Question(s):

1. Is the Yuli Gurriel incident a true act of racism, or something else? Why?

2. Is racism only still prevalent in baseball, or is it still active in other sports? Explain.

3. Do you think the MLB did a good job responding to the accident? If yes, why?

4. If no, what should they have done differently?

Article Title:
Should The Washington Redskins Change Their Team Name?
Article Link:

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/at-eagles-game-natives-and-allies-protest-redskins-name-20171023.html

 Discussion Question(s):
1. Should the Redskins change their team name? Why or why not?
2. If yes, what does that mean for other controversial team names (ex. Blackhawks)?
3. If the term only offends a small amount of people, is that enough to make them change the name?
4. Does it matter whether the use of a disparaging term has good intentions?

Jacob and Casey

Article Title:

NBA Teams Are Resting Players Earlier And Earlier

Article Link: https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/nba-teams-are-resting-players-earlier-and-earlier/
Discussion Question(s):
1. Should the NBA be able to take away player’s right’s to rest?

2. Will resting really prevent injuries in the playoffs or future games?

3. What should be the penalty, if any, for resting players?

4. Does this process of resting players help or hurt business in the NBA, why or why not?

Nick D. and Jonny M.

Article Title:

Yankees Incident Revives an Old Question: How Responsible Are Teams for Foul Ball Injuries?

Article Link: https://www.si.com/mlb/2017/09/21/new-york-yankees-netting-ballpark-injury

Discussion Question(s):

1. Should the teams be reliable for the injuries done to the fans in the stands, or is the warning given before the game enough?

2. Should there be more protection added to the stadiums in order to further protect fans?

3. Should this apply to other sports like basketball, hockey or football where objects can be flung into the stands.

4. Should there be more protection in places where foul balls are commonly hit?

5. What legal action are the fans allowed to take when injured, based off the fact that the stadiums do give warnings about foul balls and other projectiles.

Cam Newton Draws Rebuke for Mocking Female Reporter 

By Vanessa, Lily, and Juliet

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/04/sports/football/cam-newton-reporter.html 

Discussion Questions (answer one or as many as you would like):

1. Do you think the circumstance would be different if it were a male reporter?

2. How do you think this reflects the US as a whole? (this ties into sports & politics)

3. What does this form of discrimination play for Cam Newton? Since he is African American and made comments about a woman (who is also a minority).

Ethan and Swami Article of the Week

Article Titles:

N.C.A.A. Coaches, Adidas Executive Face Charges; Pitino’s Program Implicated

4 Coaches, Adidas Executive Charged in College Bribe Scheme

 Article Links:

Read one or both of the articles:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/26/sports/ncaa-adidas-bribery.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fsports&action=click&contentCollection=sports&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront

https://www.usnews.com/news/sports/articles/2017-09-26/ncaa-coaches-among-10-charged-with-fraud-and-corruption


Discussion Question(s):

Answer one or any amount of questions:

• How can we stop something like this from ever happening again?
• Should the NCAA be responsible for not finding this out sooner?
• Should Adidas be fined for their employee cheating the system?
• Since some athletes are being paid under the table anyways, should all college athletes be allowed to be paid legitimately?

Article Links:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2734848-monday-morning-digest-making-the-nfl-great-again

Instructions:
Please read the 1st segment of the article posted above. Please answer at least one of the questions below.
Answers should be around 1 paragraph in length.

Discussion Questions: 

Do you believe it is disrespectful for players to kneel during the national anthem? Why or why not?


Do you think the protesting will hurt the NFL's reputation?


Should sports have any business in politics at all?


Can you think of another way athletes can protest without starting so much controversy?

Article Links:
http://www.businessinsider.com/alex-smith-new-helmet-reduces-concussions-2017-9
https://www.digitaltrends.com/health-fitness/vicis-zero1-lab-nfl/

Above are the two article links that you should read this weekend. Below are the discussion questions which we will go over in class:

Discussion Questions:
- Why do some coaches, like Jerry Jones, reject the idea that CTE exists?


- What injuries are similar to CTE in other sports teams?


- Why has it taken so long for safety technology to develop?


- What else should be done to help protect athletes in other sports?


- What are the challenges that lay ahead for the Vicis company and their Zero1 helmet?

Please answer at least one, you don't have to answer them all, but one paragraph in total should be the length.

Article Title:

Football Favoritism at F.S.U.: The Price One Teacher Paid

Article Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/01/sports/ncaafootball/florida-state-football.html?mcubz=3

Discussion Question(s):

- What may cause issues of academic integrity to go unreported at big time sports schools?

-What can be done to deter issues like this from occurring? 

- Ms. Suggs, the teacher in question, was a graduate student at the time of these events.  If you were in her position, what would you have done?

-Does this damage FSU's reputation?  To what degree?