All Articles by Donald C. Collins, J.D.

Best and Worst of Youth Sports: January to June 2011

There were plenty of bad acts to choose from for the first half of 2011, but on the good side of the ledger was a lesson in sportsmanship from a 5th grader at Evansdale Elementary School in Atlanta, Georgia, which earned him first place in the National Sportsmanship Day Essay Contest, Elementary Division in March. 

Best and Worst in Youth Sports: July to December 2010

There were plenty of bad acts to choose from for the second half of 2011, but on the good side of the ledger was Alfreda Harris, who was awarded the Mannie Jackson Award for lifelong accomplishments on behalf of her community by the Basketball Hall of Fame.  A Boston school board member and former JC basketball coach, Harris runs an SAT Prep program, after-school basketball programs, and has worked with Reebok to bring computers and tutors into areas sorely lacking in educational essentials.

Title IX, Harassment and Sportsmanship

Title IX comes up in a sports context so often that we tend to forget that Title IX bars sex discrimination in any educational program that receives federal funds.  Sports is not a prerequisite for a Title IX claim; it just seems that way.

Approaching Officials During Game: A Bad Idea for Parents and Spectators

The commissioner of an interscholastic sports league says it is never appropriate for a parent to approach a game official during a break in the action.

West Virginia Poised to Criminalize Assaults on Sports Officials

West Virginia is on the verge of becoming the 20th state to pass legislation criminalizing batteries upon sports officials.  MomsTeam contributor, Don Collins, who oversees high school sports in the San Francisco area, says the sad fact is that assaults on sports officials are all too commonplace.

Home-Schooled Students: Should They Be Able to Play School Sports?

Indiana is moving towards passage of a bill that would bring home-schooled students one step closer to gaining interscholastic athletic eligibility.  If the bill is enacted into law, Indiana would be the twenty-second state to allow home school students to play for a high school sports team.  MomsTeam contributor Don Collins says opponents and proponents both make good arguments. 

California Goes To Bat For Safety

Following a near fatal injury, the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) announced that it will require metal bats to meet the Batted Ball Coefficient of Restitution Test Performance Standard (BBCOR) and ban composite bats effective immediately.

NFHS Tightens Concussion Rules

The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) is implementing a new concussion rule for the 2010-11 academic year which not only requires immediate removal of any athlete suspected of having suffered a concussion but bans his return until cleared to play by an appropriate health-care professional. This rule also covers youth leagues that play under high school rules or modified high school rules, but does not apply in those states where even stricter concussion laws have been recently passed.

Bad Acts In Youth Sports: First Quarter 2010

A Nashville basketball player reacted to a dispute with his coach by threatening to kill the coach … literally! But wait a minute. The player issued the threat on Facebook, writing, "I’ma kill em all." The player was expelled, triggering a debate over whether a threat is really a threat, and whether people who threaten on Facebook are really threatening or just venting

Competitive Cheer Does Not Count As Sport under Title IX, Court Rules

In rejecting the argument that competitive cheer at Quinnipiac Univeristy was a sport, a federal court in Connecticut agreed with the federal Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights' (OCR) that its criteria for qualifying as a sport - including having a defined season and spending more time competing than supporting other teams - had not been met.