NFL sports leadership comes from head coaches
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - OCTOBER 17: Head coach Sean McVay of the Los Angeles Rams during a game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on October 17, 2021 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
Events Culture

GSM Live: Hits & Misses in Sports Leadership

Why this matters

Though Global Sport Institute Field Studies over the years have highlighted disparities in hiring and the lack of a pipeline for women and people of Color, some signals of progress and change have reverberated through the industry. What do they tell us about where sport is headed in 2022?

This event took place on 1/28/2022. To stay up to date on upcoming events, sign up for our newsletter.

Global Sport Institute CEO Kenneth Shropshire and Director of Research Scott Brooks were joined by journalists Greg Moore of the Arizona Republic and Yahoo! columnist Shalise Manza Young, as well as sports lawyer Michael Huyghue to discuss the triumphs and failures of a slowly diversifying sports leadership in recent years, and how the beliefs of fans will impact leagues and teams in the year to come.

Guest Panel:

Kenneth Shropshire | CEO at the Global Sport Institute 

Professor Shropshire is the adidas Distinguished Professor of Global Sport at Arizona State University. He took on this current leadership role following a thirty-year career as an endowed full professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. There he was also Director of the Wharton Sports Business Initiative, Professor of Africana Studies, and Academic Director of Wharton’s sports-focused executive education programs. He also guided the launch of the non-profit Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality (RISE) in 2016 and serving on its board. As a sports-industry leader he is former President of the Sports Lawyers Association, the largest such organization in the world.

Scott Brooks, PhD | Director of Research at the Global Sport Institute

Dr. Brooks is Director of Research for the Institute where he acts as campus liaison, assists in the allocation of research grants, and coordinates the Institute's research agenda and projects. As a scholar, Brooks is primarily interested in: youth and sport; inequality in sport, coaching and leadership; and community based sports interventions. His book, Black Men Can’t Shoot (University of Chicago, 2009), tells the importance of exposure, networks, and opportunities towards earning an athletic scholarship.

Greg Moore | Columnist at the Arizona Republic

Greg Moore has worked for the The Associated Press and The Kansas City Star, covering politics and government in the U.S. and Kenya from the desk and the field. Moore uses his prior experiences covering issues outside of sport for issues when sports stories cross into politics, crime, business, free speech, social equality and race.

Shalise Manza Young | Award-winning Sports Columnist

Shalise Manza Young is an award-winning sports writer with the Providence Journal and Boston Globe with experience in television broadcasting who has spent over 10 years covering the New England Patriots and NFL. She currently writes for Yahoo Sports.

Michael Huyghue | Sports lawyer & former commissioner of the United Football League

Michael Huyghue is the founder of Axcess Sports & Entertainment. Previously, he was the commissioner of the UFL, a legal assistant at the NFLPA, and a senior vice president of football operations at the Jacksonville Jaguars.