Hats for the Hatless

The Washington Post recently reported on a heart warming story about an organization dedicated to getting sports uniforms and equipment to underprivileged children.

Max Levitt founded the Silver Spring, MD area Leveling the Playing Field in 2013.  Levitt said, "I wanted to start something on my own, to hopefully change a systemic problem.” Leveling the Playing Field 

takes donations of gently used sports equipment, uniforms, and caps, and makes them available to groups such as Dynamic Works Program Support, a D.C. area youth sports organization run by Kevin and Tondrea Giles.

Said Mr. Giles: "In my mind I’m saying, ‘God, you are faithful'...This is almost unbelievable. You cannot overstate how much this is needed.”

Youth sports participation has increased in some areas in recent years. However, as Michael S. Rosenwald reports, "There is a concern that the uptick appears limited to children in higher income families." 

He continues, "A 2014 study by the University of Florida showed sports participation rates for children among families earning more than $100,000 per year is 33 percent. For those below $25,000, it's 15 percent."

Many of the life-long lessons imparted by team sports can be lost to young people who don't have these opportunities, and this can in turn create a self-perpetuating cycle, in which the very people who would benefit most from the structured atmosphere of team sports are the people who don't get the chance to participate.

This comes amidst reports that

youth sports participation on the whole is dropping. Rosenwald tells us, "More than 26 million children ages 6 to 17 played team sports in 2014, down nearly 4 percent from 2009, according to a widely cited survey by the Sports and Fitness Industry Association. Total sports played have plummeted by nearly 10 percent."

Many factors are suspected to be behind this trend, including a focus on sport-specialization, increasing economic stratification, and the pull of screen-based entertainments such as tablets, cell phones, and video games. Rosenwald finds much of the fault with the parents of youth sports, who often often pressure their children to focus on winning and competing at ever higher levels, even when this means the young athletes get less satisfaction and ultimately quit sooner.

Still, few dispute the net positive impact sports participation can have on development, and the many parents, coaches, teachers, and administrators involved will continue to strive to give as many kids as possible the best experience they can. The more kids who have the sports team uniforms and equipment they need, the better experiences they will have, and ultimately the more growth their communities will have as a result of their experiences. 

By Any Other Name

Americans tend to think of themselves as uniquely troubled when it comes to race relations and few cases exemplify this quite like the controversy swirling around the National Football League's Washington Redskins.  

Founded in 1932 as the Boston Braves, and playing in Washington as the Redskins since 1937, the team name now stands as a hold out from another era. While many other similar names have been changed in the past few decades, current owner Dan Snyder has repeatedly refused to change the name, despite widespread protests and calls that it is culturally insensitive at best and out right racist at worst.  

Some respected reporters, such as Sports Illustrated's Peter King and HBO's Bill Simmons, have even instituted policies to refer to the team as simply "The Washington Professional Football Team" when writing and speaking about them as a small means of protest.

What many Americans may not know, however, is that controversies like this are not unique to the United States.  

The Canadian Football League's Edmonton Eskimos name dates back to the early part of the 20th century, when reporters in Edmonton and rival city Calgary would toss gently insulting nicknames for each other back and forth in the press. The name refers to the indigenous people of the Canadian arctic, now more commonly known as Inuit. 

Edmonton was also home to a hockey team and a baseball team going under the name Eskimos in the past. Still, many Canadians think it's time for a change. As writer Ben Freeland put it, "The name has nothing do with Edmonton. This is traditional Cree territory. We might as well call ourselves the Edmonton Navajo or the Edmonton Aztecs. It's about as close a connection as that."

Only time will ultimately tell about names like these, but there are more than you might expect. According to fivethirtyeight.com, there are over 2,128 Native American themed mascots in the United States alone.  Names like this can have an emotional effect when emblazoned across the front of 54 football uniforms in a packed stadium. 

Team names like the Cleveland

Indians may not be as inherently offensive, but their branding has been redesigned in recent years to keep up with modern sensibilities. 

This bloggers's alma mater, Indiana University of Pennylsvania, was nicknamed the Indians for many years before changing to the Crimson Hawks in 2005.  Our mascot in the later years of the Indians was a bear named Cherokee.  

This is an issue that won't be going away any time soon, as sports fans, owners, and managers grapple with the balancing act between appreciating tradition and being welcoming to fans of all backgrounds.

Pinstripes and Patriotism on 84th Street

Here at TSP HQ in the birthplace of America, Philadelphia, we’ve always appreciated the unique relationship between baseball and this great country of ours. Like warm apple pie and cold vanilla ice cream, acoustic guitars and sad songs about mama, few things go together in the summer time as well as baseball and America.

Unfortunately for us, our hometown Phillies haven’t exactly been lighting the National League on fire in the summer of 2015.  So we’ve been looking elsewhere for our baseball-inspired patriotism fix. Luckily for us, one of our very own Team Sports Planet-outfitted teams has got that covered and then some.

Based out of Byron Center, Michigan, and sponsored by the 84^th Street Pub & Grille, each of the young players on the 84^th Street Sliders baseball team has found a unique way of showing their pride and appreciation for the land they love. While Camo uniforms are all the rage in baseball these days, these jerseys represent something much more than band-wagon, trendy uniforms.

Seen here in our exclusive design-your-own Camo Rilla baseball jersey, featuring a pin stripe body and camo sleeves, the Sliders chose to go the extra mile to show off their pride in playing America’s pastime in the heartland of America.  They opted for player numbers with an American flag design and our red, white and blue Pro Trucker Hat that speaks for itself. But they didn’t stop there.

Each member of the team also honors a fallen soldier by wearing his or her name on the back of their jerseys in place of their own name.

Nick Fedwa, pictured above, chose to honor Petty Officer Third Class Walter Scot Blakey with his jersey. Blakey was killed while serving on the battleship USS Iowa in the North Atlantic near Puerto Rico in 1989.

Scot was killed when 550 pounds of gunpowder exploded inside of the number 2, 16 inch gun turret on the battleship USS Iowa in the North Atlantic near Puerto Rico on April 19, 1989Scot was killed when 550 pounds of gunpowder exploded inside of the number 2, 16 inch gun turret on the battleship USS Iowa in the North Atlantic near Puerto Rico on April 19, 1989Scot was killed when 550 pounds of gunpowder exploded inside of the number 2, 16 inch gun turret on the battleship USS Iowa in the North Atlantic near Puerto Rico on April 19, 1989Scot was killed when 550 pounds of gunpowder exploded inside of the number 2, 16 inch gun turret on the battleship USS Iowa in the North Atlantic near Puerto Rico on April 19, 1989Scot was killed when 550 pounds of gunpowder exploded inside of the number 2, 16 inch gun turret on the battleship USS Iowa in the North Atlantic near Puerto Rico on April 19, 1989

These patriotic sluggers recently finished another successful season, capturing championships in four tournaments: the All-American Slugfest, the Windmill Super Regional, the Backyard Blast, and the Battle for the Beach. 

For a little more information on how these folks are honoring America’s fallen heroes while scoring success on the baseball diamond, check out this video.

And to keep up with all things Sliders, be sure to like and follow their Facebook page HERE.

We’d like to salute their success on the field and even more importantly, their class in showing appreciation and respect for America’s heroes.