NO HOLDS BARRED

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with Jens Sejer Andersen, the international director of Play the Game.

This year's conference, the 11th of Play the Game's biannual events, will be the first one taking place outside Europe and in the U.S. It will take place October 13-16, 2019, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Colorado Springs.

This is THE major world event advocating sport reform. More details on the conference can be seen here.

We spoke with Jens Sejer Andersen by Skype Monday.

World sport has been beset by a seemingly endless and growing number of scandals, including the FIFA corruption and bribery scandals, the Russian state-sponsored doping scandal, the rape and sexual assault scandals in many sports, and countless more. But there has been "one very interesting impact of the combination of scandals," Jens Sejer Andersen noted.

"It is that athletes now, especially elite athletes of course, are starting to speak up. They are starting to say, 'Hey, we do not really feel protected by our top leaders. We do not feel our interests are represented well,'" he said.

"And that is a trend, a global trend now, that more and more elite athletes organize in unions, or they form interest groups, or they form independent committees to take care of their interests vis-a-vis their national and international federations.

"And that's why we have called our conference this time, the subtitle is 'Athlete Power On The Rise'."

We discussed this trend of the rise of athlete activism, why this year's conference is in the U.S., what may happen with the re-opening of the Russian state-sponsored doping scandal due to new allegations of tampering with the data retrieved from the Moscow lab, the effect of these scandals on the future of the Olympic Games and movement, how the fight against sports corruption has broken some "taboos", and much, much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link does not work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is available at Google Play Music.

Also, No Holds Barred is available at Apple Podcasts.

You can also listen to No Holds Barred via Stitcher through iOS or Android devices or on the web here.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player app is available for free, both for Android at Google Play, and for iOS on the App Store.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is sponsored by:

The Catch Wrestling Alliance, resurrecting and promoting the sport of authentic catch-as-catch-can wrestling. The Catch Wrestling Alliance provides tournaments, seminars, and training as well as education about catch wrestling. Join the movement and keep real wrestling alive. For more information, go to CatchWrestlingAlliance.com.

Skullz Double-End Bags, the perfect bag for your combat sports training. Skullz Double-End Bags provide a realistic striking target, and help improve timing, distance, and hand and eye coordination. Hang it and hit it right out of the box! No pump required. For more information, go to SkullzDeBags.com.

Labels: athlete activism, boxing, corruption, doping, Eddie Goldman, IOC, Jens Sejer Andersen, No Holds Barred, Olympics, Play the Game, Russia, sport, sports, wrestling

by Eddie Goldman

In a sports world infested with corruption, exploitation, bigotry, chicanery, fraud, and swindling of every type, there are still a few people remaining trying to do something positive, ethical, progressive, and liberatory. Athlete Ally is one of those groups, even though it still believes the mainstream sports organizations are not beyond repair.

Founded in 2011 by Hudson Taylor, who was a three-time All-American wrestler at the University of Maryland, Athlete Ally is a non-profit organization which says its "mission is to educate and activate athletic communities to eliminate homophobia and transphobia in sports and to exercise their leadership to champion LGBTQ equality." Some staff and supporters are from the LGBTQ community, while others, including Hudson Taylor, who is described as its "founder, executive director & board member," are not. Hence, all "stand in solidarity with the LGBTQ community" whether they are part of it or an ally.

On Monday, December 17, Athlete Ally held a public event, a panel discussion entitled the Annual State of Sports Conversation, at The Phluid Project, a gender-free retail clothing store in lower Manhattan.

Moderating the panel was Anne Lieberman, the director of policy and programs at Athlete Ally, and a Muay Thai fighter and coach, again showing how the combat sports, seen by some as the backwater of world sports, are well-represented at Athlete Ally.

The two panelists were Casey Legler, a former Olympic swimmer, model, activist, author, and Toni Smith-Thompson, an organizer with the New York Civil Liberties Union. After their presentations, a few questions from the audience were answered.

The event was live-streamed on Facebook, and can be seen (although the audio is not great) at https://www.facebook.com/AthleteAlly/videos/2290369794570411.

While Athlete Ally has made some gains in the fight against anti-LGBTQ bigotry, discrimination, and repression in mainstream sports, there is still a long way to go. For example, in a video interview just posted December 14 on the web site of the U.K. tabloid The Sun, boxer Amir Khan, a former unified light-welterweight champion, who is trying to get a lucrative fight with former IBF welterweight champ Kell Brook, called Brook "gay" and challenged him to "come out".

This is in a sport, boxing, and a country, the U.K., where there is far more acceptance of LGBTQ people than most places. Two-time Olympic gold medalist Nicola Adams, now 5-0 as a pro, is openly bisexual, highly popular in the U.K., and the recipient of many honors and endorsements. Boxing manager and promoter Kellie Maloney, once known as Frank Maloney, and who had managed then-heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis, announced in 2014 that she was transgender and would be undergoing gender reassignment surgery, which was completed the following year.

More recently, the first openly male trans boxer, Patricio "Pat" Manuel, won his first pro fight December 8 on the undercard of a Golden Boy Promotions card in Indio, California. This received widespread positive media coverage, especially for a fight involving a boxer making his pro debut and an opponent with a 0-5 record. On my Facebook and Twitter accounts I linked to articles about this, with approving reaction through many "likes". One person noted how this reaction was far different from the ones I received from my numerous interviews with Fallon Fox, the first openly female trans MMA fighter who is now retired, a few years back. The MMA world, in the main, is still a sewer of bigotry, ignorance, and hate.

As noted above, Athlete Ally also faces the obstacles of the virulent and sometimes deadly anti-LGBTQ practices and laws in many countries whose prominence in world sport is growing, including Russia and Saudi Arabia, plus other countries in the Middle East. Even in countries where LGBTQ equality is more accepted and more political and legal rights exist, there is a seemingly endless and growing list of scandals and horrors from Olympic, professional, college, and so-called amateur sports organizations. More and more upholders of justice, fairness, and decency in world sport believe the major existing sports organizations cannot be fundamentally reformed, and instead a new, grassroots-based sports movement must be developed.

As the crisis in world sport deepens, how will Athlete Ally respond? Already many LGBTQ athletes and supporters and many women have been playing a critical role in fighting injustice in sport on many fronts. The old sports world is in great disorder, with a new one yearning to be born, so the challenges ahead must be faced head on.

Below are some photos I took at this Athlete Ally event.

Anne Lieberman introducing the panel.

Casey Legler speaking.

Toni Smith-Thompson speaking.

Anne Lieberman and Eddie.

Labels: Anne Lieberman, Athlete Ally, Casey Legler, Eddie Goldman, Hudson Taylor, LGBTQ, No Holds Barred, sport, sports, Toni Smith-Thompson

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with Jade Magnus Ogunnaike, co-director of the organizing department at Color of Change.

Color of Change is the largest online racial justice organization in the U.S.

To support the growing number of athletes in the U.S. who are part of a movement calling for racial justice and an end to police violence, they have designated November as Athletes and Activism Month.

We spoke with Jade Magnus Ogunnaike by phone Monday.

Much of what is currently being done has been inspired by former San Francisco 49ers' quarterback Colin Kaepernick. In August 2016, he began protesting against police brutality and racist police killings of Black people during the pre-game playing of the American national anthem before NFL games by taking a knee instead of standing. While no NFL team has signed Kaepernick this season, leading to a lawsuit charging collusion of the NFL owners against him, his protest has spread, with numerous other NFL players, athletes from other sports, and non-athletes likewise either kneeling or sitting during the playing of that song.

"Last year, when Colin Kaepernick initially took a knee, that was the jumping off point for a new era of athletes and activism," she said.

"And since that happened, we've seen a groundswell of activism, both local, national, and all sports, from tennis to basketball to football, of athletes really taking a stand, and taking a stand against white supremacy.

"So this month, we decided to celebrate November as Athletes and Activism Month, especially because the NFL Players Coalition asked Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner, to designate November as a month of racial equity and criminal justice reform. Because Roger Goodell did not implement that, Color of Change took up the charge, and we have a lot of things going on this month in celebration of Athletes and Activism."

We discussed their activities both online and offline for Athletes and Activism Month; how these are protests "against systematic oppression of Black folks" and not against the American flag or military members; how many athletes are in a precarious position which prevents them from joining these protests; how the U.S. Department of Defense began paying millions of dollars to sports leagues like the NFL to play the national anthem with the athletes on the field and stage patriotic displays; the attacks on Black journalists such as Jemele Hill of ESPN and others in the media who have supported these protests; the role of athletes in combat sports such as boxing and MMA; what people can do to support these activities, and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link does not work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is available at Google Play Music.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

You can also listen to No Holds Barred via Stitcher through iOS or Android devices or on the web here.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player app is available for free, both for Android at Google Play, and for iOS on the App Store.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is sponsored by:

The Catch Wrestling Alliance, resurrecting and promoting the sport of authentic catch-as-catch-can wrestling. The Catch Wrestling Alliance provides tournaments, seminars, and training as well as education about catch wrestling. Join the movement and keep real wrestling alive. For more information, go to CatchWrestlingAlliance.com.

Skullz Double-End Bags, the perfect bag for your combat sports training. Skullz Double-End Bags provide a realistic striking target, and help improve timing, distance, and hand and eye coordination. Hang it and hit it right out of the box! No pump required. For more information, go to SkullzDeBags.com.

Labels: Athletes and Activism Month, Colin Kaepernick, Color of Change, Eddie Goldman, Jade Magnus Ogunnaike, NFL, No Holds Barred, sport, sports

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman presents the audio from the teleconference of the December 9 London press conference with Professor Richard H. McLaren, law professor at Western University in London, Ontario, Canada.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) enlisted Prof. McLaren to lead the investigation and to issue a report about media reports of state-sponsored doping in Russia in sport. This is the second and final part of that report, and was made public Friday. The first part was issued on July 18, 2016.

Key Highlights of 2nd Report

Institutionalised Doping Conspiracy and Cover Up

1. An institutional conspiracy existed across summer and winter sports athletes who participated with Russian officials within the Ministry of Sport and its infrastructure, such as the RUSADA, CSP and the Moscow Laboratory, along with the FSB for the purposes of manipulating doping controls. The summer and winter sports athletes were not acting individually but within an organised infrastructure as reported on in the 1st Report.
2. This systematic and centralised cover up and manipulation of the doping control process evolved and was refined over the course of its use at London 2012 Summer Games, Universiade Games 2013, Moscow IAAF World Championships 2013, and the Winter Games in Sochi in 2014. The evolution of the infrastructure was also spawned in response to WADA regulatory changes and surprise interventions.
3. The swapping of Russian athletes’ urine samples further confirmed in this 2nd Report as occurring at Sochi, did not stop at the close of the Winter Olympics. The sample swapping technique used at Sochi became a regular monthly practice of the Moscow Laboratory in dealing with elite summer and winter athletes. Further DNA and salt testing confirms the technique, while others relied on DPM.
4. The key findings of the 1st Report remain unchanged. The forensic testing, which is based on immutable facts, is conclusive. The evidence does not depend on verbal testimony to draw a conclusion. Rather, it tests the physical evidence and a conclusion is drawn from those results. The results of the forensic and laboratory analysis initiated by the IP establish that the conspiracy was perpetrated between 2011 and 2015.

The Athlete Part of Conspiracy and Cover Up

5. Over 1000 Russian athletes competing in summer, winter and Paralympic sport, can be identified as being involved in or benefiting from manipulations to conceal positive doping tests. Based on the information reported to International Federations through the IP to WADA there are 600 (84%) summer athletes and 95 (16%) winter athletes.

London Summer Olympic Games

6. Fifteen Russian athlete medal winners were identified out of the 78 on the London Washout Lists. Ten of these athletes have now had their medals stripped.

IAAF Moscow World Championships

7. Following the 2013 IAAF Moscow World Championships, 4 athletics athletes’ samples were swapped. Additional target testing is in progress.

Sochi Winter Olympic Games

8. Sample swapping is established by 2 female ice hockey players’ samples with male DNA.
9. Tampering with original sample established by 2 [sport] athletes, winners of four Sochi Olympic Gold medals, and a female Silver medal winner in [sport] with physiologically impossible salt readings.
10. Twelve medal winning athletes (including the above 3) from 44 examined samples had scratches and marks on the inside of the caps of their B sample bottles, indicating tampering.
11. Six winners of 21 Paralympic medals are found to have had their urine samples tampered with at Sochi.

The complete McLaren Independent Investigations Report into Sochi Allegations - Part II can be read and downloaded here.

Plus, we open with a commentary on how once again this is evidence of the corrupt nature of the Olympics and the Olympic movement, and how those interested in developing sport for its positive values should have nothing to do with this movement and its organizations and stay out of it.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link does not work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is available at Google Play Music.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

You can also listen to No Holds Barred via Stitcher through iOS or Android devices or on the web here.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player app is available for free, both for Android at Google Play, and for iOS on the App Store.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is sponsored by:

The Boxing Tribune, boxing's independent media. Unlike every other major boxing website, The Boxing Tribune is not funded or owned by promoters, managers, or networks, and is fully independent and free to write the truth. For independent boxing news and views, go to http://boxingtribune-news.com.

The North American Catch Wrestling Association, a grassroots organization designed to help rebuild the sport of catch-as-catch-can-wrestling. For more information, go to their Facebook page at facebook.com/NorthAmericanCatchWrestlingAssociation.

Labels: Eddie Goldman, IOC, No Holds Barred, Olympics, report, Richard McLaren, Russia, sport, state-sponsored doping, WADA

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with former pro soccer player, current politics professor at Pacific University in Oregon, and author Jules Boykoff.

His latest book is Power Games: A Political History of the Olympics.

We spoke with him by phone Wednesday.

"I really wanted to raise a number of themes that I felt haven't been illuminated that much in the histories that have been written about the Olympics," he said.

One was class privilege.

"Class privilege was a big part of the Olympics even from the beginning, when it started by a French aristocrat named Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who basically got together a bunch of his dukes and counts and princes to start the International Olympic Committee (IOC). That kind of class privilege has threaded all the way through today," he said.

Another was the long history of "athlete activists, who had either taken a political stand or they stood for something transformative." And there is the "activism that's outside of the Olympics," including indigenous people, environmentalists, taxpayers, and others who have fought against all sorts of abuses done in the name of the Olympics. Still another goal was to help people learn about how capitalism works through the various predatory, unfair, and discriminatory practices of the IOC.

All this was discussed with the opening of the Rio Olympics almost upon us, on August 5. We discussed the mass displacement of people from their homes and especially the favelas, how like other Olympics this one is being used as a way for real estate interests to grab enormous profits, the environmental disasters facing the Rio Olympics, the phony promises made by politicians, and the mass movement and activities against the Olympics going on right now in Rio.

The book also reviews the history of several attempts at creating alternative games, including the Women's Games and Workers' Olympiads, which took place before World War II. We discussed those and why alternative games are not as strong today as they once were.

With many cities from Boston to Krakow to Toronto and others declining to bid on hosting Olympic Games, and the seemingly endless doping and embezzlement scandals facing both the IOC and numerous international federations, we discussed the prospects for reform of this Olympic monster.

With all these scandals and this growing opposition to the Olympics, he argued that the Olympic movement was "weaker" now than it had been in a long time, meaning conditions were ripe for fighting for basic changes right now. Fighting to reduce the size of the Olympics, demanding that resources be used for the people such as creating social housing out of Olympic facilities, and advocating an open voting process in the IOC were just some of the reforms discussed. But we also considered whether it is possible to reform the kind of huge money-making machine which the IOC has become.

And we discussed more on the Russian state-sponsored doping program, the dangers facing Los Angeles should that city be chosen to host the 2024 Olympics, the need for intellectuals and progressives to support sports programs for the people, and much, much more.

Power Games: A Political History of the Olympics is an entertaining and informative read, and is highly recommended in order to understand the historical and social roots of the growing crisis in the Olympic movement, and how to move forward.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link does not work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is available at Google Play Music.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

You can also listen to No Holds Barred via Stitcher through iOS or Android devices or on the web here.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player app is available for free, both for Android at Google Play, and for iOS on the App Store.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

The Boxing Tribune, boxing's independent media. Unlike every other major boxing website, The Boxing Tribune is not funded or owned by promoters, managers, or networks, and is fully independent and free to write the truth. For independent boxing news and views, go to http://boxingtribune-news.com.

The North American Catch Wrestling Association, a grassroots organization designed to help rebuild the sport of catch-as-catch-can-wrestling. For more information, go to their Facebook page at facebook.com/NorthAmericanCatchWrestlingAssociation.

The National Registry for Wrestling, whose mission is to increase wrestling's fanbase, to build a registry of all wrestling fans, to serve as a connecting point for all wrestling fans, and to provide TV and Internet listings for wrestling. For more information, go to NR4W.com.

Labels: corruption, doping, Eddie Goldman, IOC, Jules Boykoff, No Holds Barred, Olympics, Power Games, Rio, sport

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses the decision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to allow Russian athletes to compete at the 2016 Rio Olympics, which start August 5, despite unimpeachable evidence of Russia having a massive state-sponsored doping program. In light of this historic scandal, and the failure of the IOC to take appropriate measures, we officially crown both the IOC and Russia as the world champions of sport corruption. Also discussed are some of the lessons from this scandal, including that silence is consent; that no athletes, especially among the youth, or organizations should pursue the path of becoming part of these discredited and dirty Olympics; and that the emphasis instead should be on building grassroots sports.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link does not work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is available at Google Play Music.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

You can also listen to No Holds Barred via Stitcher through iOS or Android devices or on the web here.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player app is available for free, both for Android at Google Play, and for iOS on the App Store.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

The Boxing Tribune, boxing's independent media. Unlike every other major boxing website, The Boxing Tribune is not funded or owned by promoters, managers, or networks, and is fully independent and free to write the truth. For independent boxing news and views, go to http://boxingtribune-news.com.

The North American Catch Wrestling Association, a grassroots organization designed to help rebuild the sport of catch-as-catch-can-wrestling. For more information, go to their Facebook page at facebook.com/NorthAmericanCatchWrestlingAssociation.

The National Registry for Wrestling, whose mission is to increase wrestling's fanbase, to build a registry of all wrestling fans, to serve as a connecting point for all wrestling fans, and to provide TV and Internet listings for wrestling. For more information, go to NR4W.com.

Labels: Bach, corruption, Eddie Goldman, IOC, McLaren, No Holds Barred, Olympics, Putin, report, Russia, sport, state-sponsored doping, WADA

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman presents the audio from Monday's teleconference of the Toronto press conference with Professor Richard H. McLaren, law professor at Western University in London, Ontario, Canada.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) enlisted Prof. McLaren to lead the investigation and to issue a report about media reports of state-sponsored doping in Russia in sport. The 103-page Independent McLaren Investigation Report was also made public Monday.

The three key findings of this report are:

1. The Moscow Laboratory operated, for the protection of doped Russian athletes, within a State-dictated failsafe system, described in the report as the Disappearing Positive Methodology.

2. The Sochi Laboratory operated a unique sample swapping methodology to enable doped Russian athletes to compete at the Games.

3. The Ministry of Sport directed, controlled and oversaw the manipulation of athlete’s analytical results or sample swapping, with the active participation and assistance of the FSB, CSP, and both Moscow and Sochi Laboratories.

Unlike the many well-known situations where athletes decide to dope on their own, this was a state-sponsored doping program where failure to participate could harm an athlete's career.

While Prof. McLaren indicated that it was not part of the mandate for this report to investigate whether or not Russian athletes had been forced into the doping programs, he did say that they found evidence that "athletes who didn't participate in the program didn't get access to the best coaches, did not have the opportunity to compete at the highest levels of the national competition structure, etc. And in that sense they might feel forced into the system because if they didn't participate in the doping programs then they wouldn't have access to those different things I just described."

The complete McLaren Independent Investigations Report into Sochi Allegations can be read here.

Following the issuance of this report, the WADA Executive Committee made the following recommendations to the International Olympic Committee regarding Russian participation in the Rio Olympics, which start August 5:

"Given that the Russian Ministry of Sport orchestrated systematic cheating of Russian athletes to subvert the doping control process; and that, the evidence shows such subversion in 30 sports, including 20 Olympic summer sports and Paralympic sports, the presumption of innocence of athletes in these sports, and in all Russian sports, is seriously called into question.

"Accordingly, WADA recommends to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to consider, under their respective Charters, to decline entries, for Rio 2016, of all athletes submitted by the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) and the Russian Paralympic Committee. Furthermore, any exceptional entry of a Russian athlete should be considered by the IOC and IPC for participation under a neutral flag and in accordance with very strict criteria."

The crisis in the Olympic movement continues to worsen, and there will surely be many more developments to come.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link does not work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is available at Google Play Music.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

You can also listen to No Holds Barred via Stitcher through iOS or Android devices or on the web here.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player app is available for free, both for Android at Google Play, and for iOS on the App Store.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

The Boxing Tribune, boxing's independent media. Unlike every other major boxing website, The Boxing Tribune is not funded or owned by promoters, managers, or networks, and is fully independent and free to write the truth. For independent boxing news and views, go to http://boxingtribune-news.com.

The North American Catch Wrestling Association, a grassroots organization designed to help rebuild the sport of catch-as-catch-can-wrestling. For more information, go to their Facebook page at facebook.com/NorthAmericanCatchWrestlingAssociation.

The National Registry for Wrestling, whose mission is to increase wrestling's fanbase, to build a registry of all wrestling fans, to serve as a connecting point for all wrestling fans, and to provide TV and Internet listings for wrestling. For more information, go to NR4W.com.

Labels: Eddie Goldman, IOC, No Holds Barred, Olympics, report, Richard McLaren, Russia, sport, state-sponsored doping, WADA

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses the ballooning series of scandals and crises in world sport and the combat sports, including doping in pro and amateur boxing, the state-sponsored doping program in Russia, the Rio Olympics debacle, the Minnesota wrestling Xanax scandal, and more. Highlighted is the need to combat not only each instance of corruption and the structures which allow and profit from such outrages, but also the common win-at-all-cost amoral attitudes which are prevalent in world sport today.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is available at Google Play Music.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

You can also listen to No Holds Barred via Stitcher through iOS or Android devices or on the web here.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player app is available for free, both for Android at Google Play, and for iOS on the App Store.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

The Frank Gotch World Catch Wrestling Tournament. On Sunday, July 3, 2016, catch wrestlers from all around the world will compete in Humboldt, Iowa, the hometown of the legendary world champion wrestler Frank Gotch. Organized by the Catch Wrestling Alliance and co-sponsored by IAWrestle, the Frank Gotch Statue Committee, and the Frank Gotch Kids Wrestling Club, the event will take place at Humboldt High School. For more information, go to CatchWrestlingAlliance.com.

The North American Catch Wrestling Association, a grassroots organization designed to help rebuild the sport of catch-as-catch-can-wrestling. For more information, go to their Facebook page at facebook.com/NorthAmericanCatchWrestlingAssociation.

BJJ Eastern Europe, for the latest Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu news, articles, interviews, competition calendar, European belt rankings, academy directory, and more. For more information, go to BJJEE.com.

The National Registry for Wrestling, whose mission is to increase wrestling's fanbase, to build a registry of all wrestling fans, to serve as a connecting point for all wrestling fans, and to provide TV and Internet listings for wrestling. For more information, go to NR4W.com.

Labels: amorality, boxing, corruption, doping, Eddie Goldman, No Holds Barred, Olympics, Povetkin, Rio, Russia, sport, sports, world, wrestling

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with Jens Sejer Andersen, the international director of Play the Game.

This is another in a series of discussions celebrating the tenth anniversary of this No Holds Barred podcast, which began in March 2006. These interviews will focus both on the legacy and issues raised over the years on this show, as well as contemporary issues and the future of the combat sports and martial arts.

We spoke with Jens Sejer Andersen by Skype Thursday.

The list of scandals and exposures of corruption in world sport continues to grow. The Olympics were once the world's most respected and prestigious sporting event. Now the people of many cities around the world are opposing hosting the Olympics. There have been mass demonstrations against the Olympics and major events like the FIFA World Cup in usually sports-positive places like Brazil. Discussions about bribery, match-fixing, doping, and the role of organized crime in sport now get as much or even more attention than analyses of the sporting events themselves.

"I think one of the main reasons that we have reached this low point for international sport is that the sports organizations themselves have for too many years oppressed and neglected this problem. They have tried to tone them down. They have denied that they existed. They have told critics that they were just negative people focusing on isolated individual incidents, etc., etc.," he said.

"There has been no power that could hold from the outside," he said, "the international sports bodies accountable. And they have been subject to no competition at all."

Such a monopoly situation and bureaucratic top-down control have inevitably resulted in a world of corruption.

"Lack of challenge from the outside, lack of challenge from the inside. Lack of understanding that critical questions are necessary if you want to progress. That, I think, has been sort of the cardinal sin of the sports organizations."

One tired defense of the growth of these elite sports organizations and events is that there is a trickle-down effect which benefits youth and grassroots sports. Yet the facts speak otherwise, as grassroots sports programs are often neglected and even discontinued.

"If you want mass sport, if you want grassroots sport and participation in sport, you just have to invest in it. Don't invest in elite sport if what you wish is grassroots sport. And don't invest in grassroots sport if what you wish is elite sport. Those are two worlds apart. They both deserve respect," he said.

"I think there is a growing recognition and understanding, slowly but surely, that hosting the Olympics will not increase physical activity in a country. On the contrary, there is a big risk that money will be diverted from grassroots sport to elite sport during the preparations."

We discussed how after the 2012 London Olympics youth participation in sport actually declined in the U.K., the many potential disasters facing the 2016 Rio Olympics, the need for strategies to make sure that all children are provided physical activity, the international fight against sports corruption, and much, much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

You can also listen to No Holds Barred via Stitcher through iOS or Android devices or on the web here.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player app is available for free, both for Android at Google Play, and for iOS on the App Store.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

The Frank Gotch World Catch Wrestling Tournament. On Sunday, July 3, 2016, catch wrestlers from all around the world will compete in Humboldt, Iowa, the hometown of the legendary world champion wrestler Frank Gotch. Organized by the Catch Wrestling Alliance and co-sponsored by IAWrestle, the Frank Gotch Statue Committee, and the Frank Gotch Kids Wrestling Club, the event will take place at Humboldt High School. For more information, go to CatchWrestlingAlliance.com.

The North American Catch Wrestling Association, a grassroots organization designed to help rebuild the sport of catch-as-catch-can-wrestling. For more information, go to their Facebook page at facebook.com/NorthAmericanCatchWrestlingAssociation.

BJJ Eastern Europe, for the latest Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu news, articles, interviews, competition calendar, European belt rankings, academy directory, and more. For more information, go to BJJEE.com.

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Labels: corruption, Eddie Goldman, grassroots, IOC, Jens Sejer Andersen, No Holds Barred, Olympics, Play the Game, sport, sports

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with investigative journalist, academic, and expert on match-fixing in international football, Declan Hill.

We have just seen the arrests on corruption charges of numerous top officials of FIFA, the international governing of football, the world's most popular sport, which is known as soccer in North America and elsewhere. More arrests and indictments are expected, all of which has led to the resignation of FIFA president Sepp Blatter, just four days after having been re-elected for a fifth term.

The ongoing public exposures of FIFA's wrongdoing and the subsequent arrests have raised the questions of where else in sport is corruption so rampant, and what needs to be done to fight it.

To discuss all this, we spoke with Declan Hill by phone Thursday.

"We definitely need an international anti-corruption agency for sport," he stated.

A number of combat sports athletes in recent years have said they have been approached to fix fights and matches "for large sums of money" but have turned these attempted bribes down, he said.

"But they've almost inevitably never gone forward, because they don't trust the authorities in their own sport, not to either be behind it, or who would in some ways try to punish them for blowing the whistle," he noted.

"We need an agency where good, honest fighters can go and report what's happened, where an honest administrator working for a sports organization can go and blow the whistle on something. And also an agency that can set the standard, set the standards of transparency, say, 'This is what a good sports organization should do. Here are the basic protocols, just the basic business practices, here's the basic guidelines of what a true sporting organization should do.'

"It's not all that difficult. There have been a lot of studies on it. There have been a lot of reports and a lot of stuff. But this is what needs to happen."

We discussed more on the "surreal" story of FIFA's widespread corruption scandal and the arrests last week; the crucial role of freelance and independent journalists like Andrew Jennings and Jens Weinreich in relentlessly exposing FIFA's corruption, and the failure of the mainstream media in this regard; the "desperate" need for an international anti-corruption agency for sport; the crisis in SportAccord and the pressure from the IOC which led to the resignation of SportAccord president Marius Vizer, also shortly after being unanimously re-elected; the crisis in world sport, which is reaching a boiling point where open rebellions are taking place against sporting institutions which were once viewed as untouchable and revered; and much, much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

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Labels: Andrew Jennings, anti-corruption agency, arrests, Declan Hill, Eddie Goldman, FIFA, football, freelance, Jens Weinreich, journalists, Marius Vizer, No Holds Barred, scandal, Sepp Blatter, soccer, sport, SportAccord

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with Jens Sejer Andersen, the international director of Play the Game.

Based in Denmark, Play the Game is an international conference and communication initiative aiming to strengthen the ethical foundation of sport and promote democracy, transparency, and freedom of expression in sport.

The Play the Game 2013 conference was held October 28-31, 2013, in Aarhus, Denmark, with 148 speakers addressing many of the burning issues in world sport. All the conference presentations are now online.

We spoke with Jens Sejer Andersen by Skype on Tuesday.

Among the many key areas of interest and issues which he identified as being focused upon at this conference were: match-fixing, especially in international football (soccer); "mega-events: what are they good for?"; "the quality of sports governance, the quality of the sports leaders, their honesty"; "doping as a permanent item on the international agenda"; and the "whole concern about which interests is sport serving".

Describing this as "the best conference we've had so far," he also explained that there is more "public involvement" in the fight for good governance and against the various forms of corruption in sport than ever before. One of the many examples of this was the popular uprising in Brazil earlier this year against the corruption and massive government spending on the 2014 FIFA World Cup while the needs of the people were not being met.

We also discussed how the "sports-business complex" uses mega-events to their advantage and often against the interests of the majority of people; the issue of rights for LGBT people in Russia and the upcoming 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics; who are the new and current "superpowers" in world sport; the exposure in the media of horrific working conditions for those involved in the construction of facilities for the 2022 Qatar World Cup; the lack of democracy and good governance in many of the international federations which are affiliated with the International Olympic Committee; how it is "outrageous" that safety for athletes is not the number one issue in many sports; allegations of corruption in some of the lower-profile sports such as weightlifting and wrestling; the growing problem of many youths not being involved in sports at the grassroots level and having sedentary lifestyles; the role of the sports media; and much, much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

LenneHardt.com, the web site of the world's greatest ring announcer, Lenne Hardt. Need a unique and cool combat sports-related gift? At LenneHardt.com, you can order personalized messages, wedding calls, ringtones, phone answering messages, and more, all recorded by Lenne herself, in the style of your choice. For more information, go to LenneHardt.com.

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Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at http://defensesoap.com.

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Labels: conference, corruption, democracy, doping, Eddie Goldman, FIFA, football, IOC, Jens Sejer Andersen, LGBT, match-fixing, No Holds Barred, Olympics, Play Game, soccer, Sochi, sport

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with David Rowe, a professor of cultural research at the University of Western Sydney in Australia.

In February, he wrote an article, first for The Conversation and then republished by Play the Game, which has gained much attention around the world: "On scandal after scandal, sports journalists drop the ball".

In this article, he noted that while sport is rocked by numerous scandals, those who are supposed to be covering them, the sports journalists, "are looking more than a little dishevelled", and that most good investigative sports journalism "happens outside the mainstream institutional media". This should certainly be understood by those who are familiar with what tries to pass as "journalism" in the combat sports.

We spoke with David Rowe by Skype Wednesday (Tuesday New York time) about the many issues facing sports journalists and journalism.

He discussed in this interview what he called "a very basic question".

"What is a sports journalist? What is sports journalists for? What do they do? Now, I have a kind of old-fashioned idea of journalism as being about the Fourth Estate, that is, a watchdog on behalf of the citizenry, speaks truth to power, etc. That's what we expect of people who call themselves journalists. Now I guess if they want to call themselves something else, then that's OK, as long as they don't, I suppose, pretend to be journalists."

We discussed how sports journalists have dealt with such issues as the Lance Armstrong doping scandal and match-fixing. He said about their coverage, "Generally I'd have to say, that it's been pretty lamentable, but on the whole, with some distinguished exceptions", with many of these journalists acting like fans and getting too close to the sports organizations than they should.

We also discussed the many types of difficulties facing freelance sports journalists who do aspire to act as watchdogs on behalf of the public, how the main target of bad sports journalism has to be the big media companies which too often act as unofficial public relations agencies, the training of sports journalists, what fans can do to pressure the media, some positive signs with the emergence of a new generation of sports journalists, and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.

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Labels: David Rowe, Eddie Goldman, journalism, journalists, media, No Holds Barred, Play Game, professor, scandal, sport, sports, Sydney

Labels: Battlecade Extreme Fighting, Eddie Goldman, John Perretti, mixed martial arts, MMA, No Holds Barred, spectacle, sport, UFC

Labels: amateur, boxing, Eddie Goldman, FILA, grappling, John Perretti, Luis Alejo, mixed martial arts, MMA, No Holds Barred, Pankration, Paul Johnson, spectacle, sport, World Championships

Labels: Battlecade Extreme Fighting, Eddie Goldman, John Perretti, mixed martial arts, MMA, No Holds Barred, spectacle, sport, UFC

Labels: boxing, Catherine Ordway, corruption, doping, Eddie Goldman, integrity, MMA, No Holds Barred, Olympics, sport