With the baseball playoffs getting ready, the NHL about to get started, college sports and the NFL in full swing, the Ryder Cup just finished, MLS going down the stretch, the WNBA going to its finals, NASCAR finishing its chas.and the NBA ready for camp, there is probably no busier sports month than October. Athletes from almost every sport will have some kind of forum with the media this month, and the sucesses and the failures will be very well documented in our 24/7 world. So with the financial crisis and the election a little over a month away, we still see athletes who have a chance to use their platform to speak about social change reluctant to do so. However those who are socially conscious may get the support of their brands and their fans to speak their mind in a well informed and positive forum. Granted, political interest among elite athletes may b.lower on the interest scale than even it i.amongst their peers, but one would think this election would garner more interest from elite athletes. Maybe we will see that in the next month, and it will be interesting to see how athletes can become influencers in a very tight election. We have seen some, like the Trail Blazers Greg Oden step up to coice support for Senator Obama, while we have also seen Senator McCain do the photo op. with many NASCAR drivers. Where it goes this month remains to be seen. However, one athlete who has never had a wont for a lack of an opinion did step up this week, and used his platform, promoting a new book and telling positive life stories, to chime in with college students to voice his support for Senator Obama. Alonzo Mourning. The former Heat star and Georgetown alum used part of his book tour on Florida campuses this week to endorse Senator Obama, and he used a well thought out and dignified public speaking platform to do.It garnered his book tour extra publicity and could make a difference in a key state with the average sports fan and college student who may have been on the fence. Now should every athlete take a stanc.? No.?No one should ever be asked to step out of their comfort zone. But many atheletes have a real social conscienc.and have views that can be well thought out and influential, and with the right guidence can influence social change.Nice move by Mourning to speak his mind in a thoughtful way and try and influence the young to get out and make a statement, regardless of which candidate they support..
Some other good reads…for those looking into the startup sports business, we would encourage you to read Sam Caplan's.column on CBSsports.com on how to succeed or fail in the sport of MMA…very well thought out and some good framework for any startup sport…the LA Times business section has another good read on how Disney uses its interns to get feedback about their parks and makes changes accordingly…great way for a mega brand to stay fresh, and something that applies to any sports or entertainment property…the Maneater has an interesting look at the problems with camping out for Missouri football tix…AP has a good piece on Dodgers Assistant GM Kim Ng being considered for the Mariners GM job.
