Category: Making A Difference

Josh Brown DV scandal draws different responses from media, social groups

Brandon King

Over the past few days, it came to light that New York Giants’ kicker Josh Brown has a history of assaulting his wife. The comparison has been made to that of the Ray Rice incident, however what I found rather interesting was the reaction of the sports media, certain organizations, and that of the NFL was in stark contrast to his case.  When the news broke over the Ray Rice assault, it seemed that nearly every news outlet from The View to Sportscenter ran the video of the incident and…

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Reactions to Kaepernick’s Protest Confirms why he is right

Brandon King

Ever since Colin Kaepernick refused to stand for national anthem, it has somewhat kicked off a national discussion. I say somewhat because the detractors of Kaepernick’s stance, rather than engage in an intellectual dialogue on the issues he is raising, deflects into merely expressing their distaste for his method of protest or would use contrived “disrespect” of the troops as a shield as a tactic to attempt to silence and contaminate the protest.  Almost universally, those who choose to speak out against the action,from the man on the street to…

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Virgin’s First Class Sneakers are a techie’s dream come true

Brandon King

Virgin America, in a joint effort with advertising agency Eleven Inc and SearchnDesign, a Milan based design firm, has put a new spin on high tech footwear. The groundbreaking is not in the vein of new upper material or cushioning system but in the bells and whistles the shoe features, which includes built in Wi-Fi, a USB port, mood lighting and a video display on the tongue(yes, you read that right). None of the aforementioned features lend themselves to performance, so if you are looking for a sneaker to help…

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NCAA rules Army vet ineligible to play basketball

Brandon King

You have to love the National Collegiate Athletic Association. They continually strive to operate in the vein of what is best for student athletes, both current and future.  I submit the case of Isaiah Brock as an example.  Brock, a member of the armed forces, and has served in Afghanistan for the past four years. As a member of the Quartermaster Mortuary Affairs company, his job was to retrieve the bodies of fallen comrades in order to return them home to their loved ones. Brock said of his job: ”…

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The Swoosh blesses youngster who gave his teacher his favorite Air Jordans 

Brandon King

Last week , Coronado High School student Hector Montez made news, when video of him surprising his teacher  an football coach, Thomas Walser with a pair of Taxi Air Jordan XII’s. Apparently the folks out in Beaverton got wind of Hector’s kind act and decided to return the favor by sending him some Jordans this week. The package included a note that read: “Your teacher inspired you, You inspired us. Continue to be the change you want to see” https://twitter.com/chayes2bars/status/780440175880962049

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Could we be in the Genesis of renewed sports activism?

Brandon King

The 1960’s were a golden age for athlete activism. Bill Russell, Jim Brown, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Muhammad Ali and many others used their platforms to speak out against injustices that affected the black community. Tommie Smith and John Carlos used the worldwide stage of the 1968 Olympic Games as a platform to make a statement of pride and power of their people ( much to the chagrin and drawing the ire of then IOC president Avery Brundage). They all did this at major risk of their careers and even their…

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Detractors willing to attack Kaepernick to avoid having real discussion on race

Brandon King

It is well-known that during the San Francisco 49ers’ preseason game against the Green Bay Packers, that 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick did not stand up during the playing of the national anthem. By taking a stand by sitting down, Kaepernick has become a lightning rod, drawing support from those who agree with his stance and the ire of those who do not. I have found the vitriol that has come Kaepernick’s unsurprising , yet saddening and enlightening. It seems that some in the public and media only get angry when…

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Michael Jordan surprises fan in a big way

Brandon King

Jeffrey Harrison is a huge Micheal Jordan fan. Last month a viral video of the 33-year old autistic man playing pickup basketball in full Micheal Jordan Chicago Bulls regalia got the attention of the maanger of the man himself. Micheal Jordan’s manager showed him the clip, the basketball legend sent Jeffrey a letter and a few boxes of Jordan Brand apparel and kicks and surprised him even further with a personal phone call. https://youtu.be/TqBOI4OWjbw

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Be Fans, not Fanatical

Brandon King

The passion of the fans is one of the many things that make sports great. It’s what causes us to do things like plan vacations around our team’s games, not go to work during the first few days of the NCAA tournament, drive hours and pay exorbitant amounts of money just to see your team one time per year( in some cases one time ever) and engage in copious amounts of smack talk all year long. For years we have enjoyed the thrill of every win and the agony of…

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Tim Duncan retiring after 19 seasons

Brandon King

2016 is the year of legends and all-time greats hanging them up. This year has seen Peyton Manning, Kobe Bryant, Calvin Johnson, and soon to be Tony Stewart all call it careers.  We can now add Tim Duncan to that list. Arguably the greatest power forward to play the game , and surefire first ballot Hall of Famer, announced his retirement after a stellar 19 season career that included 15 All-Star teams, 2 regular season MVP awards, 3 Finals MVP awards, and 5 NBA Championships.  Duncan was voted to the…

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