Running Things with Donovan Bailey

On this episode, the hosts, Donovan Bailey and Simon Jain get frank with the opiod crisis in sport. Las Vegas Golden Knight's goalie Robin Lehner uncaps the lid on a growing issue of opiates in Hockey and a massive debate erupts across the NHL. Is this the first we are hearing of this? No, in recent years the tell-tale sign of pain killers and sedatives in sports has been trickling out, only to be supressed by the organizations and the leagues themselves. It appears now, across the globe, in multiple sports, we are reaching critical mass, and the story can be contained no longer. Our hosts dissect the issue and look for who should be leading the charge in the fight against it.

In this episode, the hosts Donovan Bailey & Simon Jain start by launching into the steadfast and determined performance of underdog Heavyweigh boxer Oleksandr Usyk, as he stunned the boxing world with an upset defeat of Anthony Joshua. The conversation then turns into the moral ambiguity of sports as it pertains to discipline and intolerance of racism and sexism; is it even remotely enough at this point? The discussion draws to to light recent events in sport such as the racist taunting incident involving Jalen Smereck in the Ukrainian hockey league, and the anti-abortion petition signed by 500 + women athletes to illuminate the on-going abortion issues in the United States.

In this episode, the hosts Donovan Bailey & Simon Jain, get into the very real topic of idolatry as it pertains to public perception. Have we as a culture, made the dream of sports stardom seem too attainable, too desireable and altogether too unrealistic? Have we made sports 'icons' so larger than life, that a normal life, simply won't suffice? The hosts weigh in on what this could mean for the average athlete, and how much of it is social media driven, or if in fact it was always this way.

In this episode, our hosts tackle the emerging and fantastic talent in Tennis; highlighting the US Open's recent final, and breaking down the makings of what we estimate as a future great, poised to launch. The show continues into the relevant, but exhausting complications of trying to create a vaccine mandate across sport; more specifically, in the top 4 North Amercian leagues. Does it truly inhibit an athletes civil rights? Or is this part and parcel to their role in society?

In this episode, the hosts breakdown the long-time sports mythology of Heroes and Villians, and the influence they may have on how fans and audiences treat the athletes themselves. The conversation shifts to the ever-present dangers social media now present to sports, by way of continued abuse and lack fo respect for the game itself. In this context, the hosts touch on how some professional players are turning away from their biggest promotional tools, maybe as possible sign of things to come.

On this week's episode of Running Things, the hosts, Donovan Bailey and Simon Jain, dig into the NCAA's new student atheletemonetization rules, the ways in which they think it should structure the new influx of student athlete income, and making ammends with former students they penalized becasue of it. As well, we dig into Shaq's business ventures and what this means for young athletes; and the profound effect this could have on them, and more specifically; on those that come from marginalized communities.