ESPN; the World Wide Leader for Kids????

Walt Disney is deciding to rename its sports complex in central Florida after its number one commodity, ESPN, in an attempt to appeal to younger athletes.

After reading this article I could not help but think of what a great idea this is. With some more research, I found a site that ESPN strictly dedicates to honoring high-school athletes, called espnrise.com.


In any event, it is clear that Disney is trying to appeal to younger athletes and why not, as the younger generation is always the future. In fact, I would assume that younger, aspiring athletes and sports fans probably make up a good majority of ESPN’s fan base.

But while ESPN is surely entertaining, people have been complaining for years that ESPN staple show, Sports Center, is creating a world that can be damaging for kids. While many athletes pride themselves on things like team work, Sports Center, some would argue, is creating a culture dedicated to HIGHLIGHTING the individual achievements of athletes. Even a typical highlight of Sports Center points out offensive achievement. Rarely do you see a nice block by a right guard tackle, or a good screen set by a center in basketball. As a result, kids become more vulnerable towards desiring to end up on Sports Center one day, dunking a basketball, throwing a touchdown and making a million dollars a game as opposed to concentrating on things like education and maybe trying to make their high school varsity team, for starters.

Some critics, like David Hinckley of the New York Daily News, wrote an article over a year ago when ESPN launched the ESPN high school site, arguing that while the site is good business, it is forcing high school athletes to concentrate on individual numbers.

But while there are critics, ESPN does not have a responsibility to anybody. Or do they?

Being that Disney is primarily a company that entertains children, shouldn’t ESPN serve a similar function, in some way or another? Or is covering kids from a young age enough?

There is a new era going on with young children and sports. There is something, what I and Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel calls “ The Woosification of America” which is a push by elementary public schools to get rid of “ dangerous” sports like dodge-ball and tag and many schools have followed suit. Some schools are even abolishing sports play for more class oriented exsersice programs like Physical Best.

And how long would it be before some parents movement decided to start a movement banning their children from watching Sports Center because it teaches kids to strive in sports as opposed to education. Imagine if high schools banned ESPN from their schools? Trust me, it could happen in the alarmist world we live in today.

But what about if ESPN altered its format or even created a new channel ( they probably could afford it) solely dedicated to educating young athletes on sports. I am talking about sports shows that could focus on good stretching techniques, useful exercise and fundamentals in an array of sports. How about a show teaching basic swimming tips or cool sports that kids should get into like Tennis and Ping Pong ( heck, maybe if I played as much Volleyball growing up as opposed to basketball I would have had a chance of making it in sports)

ESPN could even have Disney type movies that show how a young kid got into steroids which ended up ruining his life. Surely parents would want their kids watching that.

So instead of glorifying sports, why not educate young athletes about the dynamic of sports. And if ESPN wants to stick to entertainment they could even have a show that talks about professional sports in a way young kids could understand, similar to what Sports Illustrated's goals were with Sports Illustrated for Kids. Imagine, “ Hey kids, I am your host Kobe Bryant, here to show you a day in the life of a Lakers practice. And, o yeah, stay in school."

Talk about good business, even I would watch that.