Pinned
We talked to nearly 100 people about youth sports in New Jersey and found a predatory industry that is leaving parents broke, exhausted and wondering how the games of their childhood took over their adult lives. Our six-month investigation:
Steve Politi
44.6K posts
Steve Politi
@StevePoliti
Sports columnist at @njdotcom. Host of the @RutgersRant podcast. Nutley Hall of Fame Class of 2013. Former Star-Ledger paperboy. Noted Jersey propagandist.
- “DO IT FOR THE SAUDI ROYAL FAMILY!” a heckler yelled as Phil Mickelson prepared to hit his first shot at the LIV Golf event at Trump Bedminster. He had to step away from the ball.
- If Aaron Rodgers is inaugurated as VP in January and the Jets make the Super Bowl in February, would the Secret Service have to gun down opposing pass rushers? These are the questions we really need answered.
- Saquon Barkley now has 39 yards on seven carries, and that includes a 41-yard run. That's hard to do.
- The Eagles fan in front of me just typed "Fuck the Giants" on his phone and held it up to me against the press box glass. So I'm making friends.
- Replying to @StevePolitiI wrote about the scene here in New Jersey, where Phil Mickelson — once an adopted favorite son — has encountered some hostility for his decision to join the Saudi-financed tour.
- The U.S. women's basketball team is 70-3 in Olympic play with seven straight gold medals. Isn't the idea that it needs Caitlin Clark to "grow the game" sort of unfair and borderline insulting?
- Geno Smith: "This game was for Ben McAdoo and Jerry Reese. They believed in me." 👀
- Dammit, Canada. We don't deserve you.
00:00 - He told a kid to slide in a junior varsity baseball game. Then he got sued. The seven-year legal odyssey that followed threatened to change youth sports for all of us. nj.com/slide-trial/
- Sorry. Had to Google Joe Judge and ended up watching an episode of Judge Joe Brown instead. I'm back now.
- Go back to playing Lehigh and Lafayette, Rutgers. As a big-time college football program, you're a joke. Column:
- "(Fifteen) kids got screwed in front of 1,000 people. Print that. Print it five times. Those three guys huddled up and they screwed these kids in front of 1,000 people and that video will be on the internet for everyone to see." That's quite a quote!
- I've covered sports for almost 30 years so I'm no stranger to the agony of defeat. But I'm not sure I've ever seen a sadder scene than the one that unfolds on a loading dock at the state wrestling championships. Column: highschoolsports.nj.com/news/article/4…
