Athletes In Professional Sports Research Articles

On the impact of institutional change: Rights reassignment and career length

AbstractRottenberg argued that the reassignment of negotiating rights from owners to players, that would accompany free agency in professional sports, would have little impact on locational or market outcomes. Empirical investigations into such reassignment have produced mixed results. The present paper examines the impact such reassignment had on professional sports athletes' career length. By examining the univariate time series and panel data behavior of Major League Baseball players' average tenure and retention rates, we find that the increased negotiating power associated with the advent of free agency had the impact of shortening average player career length.

Development of two complementary LC-HRMS methods for analyzing sotatercept in dried blood spots for doping controls.

Aim: sotatercept is a therapeutic Fc-fusion protein with erythropoiesis-stimulating activity. Due to a potential abuse of the drug by athletes in professional sports, a sensitive detection method is required. In sports drug testing, alternative matrices such as dried blood spots (DBS) are gaining increasing attention as they can provide several advantages over conventional matrices. Materials & methods: Herein, two complementary LC-high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) detection methods for sotatercept from DBS, an initial testing procedure (ITP) and a confirmation procedure (CP)were developed and validated for the first time.Both methods comprise an ultrasonication-assisted extraction, affinity enrichment, proteolytic digestion and HRMS detection. Results & conclusion:For the multianalyte ITP, artificial samples fortified with sotatercept, luspatercept and bimagrumab, and authentic specimens containing bimagrumab were successfully analyzed as proof-of-concept. The validated detection methods for sotatercept are fit for purpose and the ITP was shown to be suitable for the detection of novel IgG-based pharmaceuticals in doping control DBS samples.

ACL GRAFT FAILURE IN PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES COMPARED TO THE PEDIATRIC POPULATION

BACKGROUND Re-tear rates in pediatric and adolescent patients undergoing ACL reconstruction are higher than the general adult population. This has been postulated to be due to many reasons; one of which is participation in high risk activities. Athletes in professional sports are at increased risk of re-injury as well with high activity levels and often face additional pressure to return to sports quickly. The purpose of the study was to analyze ACL re-tear rates across male professional sports leagues in athletes following ACL reconstruction and return to play at the professional level to determine if there are similarities with the pediatric and adolescent population. METHODS This descriptive epidemiological study involved a comprehensive online search to identify male athletes in the National Basketball Association (NBA), National Hockey League (NHL), and Major League Baseball (MLB) who had a reported ACL tear between 2007 and 2017. The search included these professional sports league databases, public injury databases, and sports news reports. Each player with an identified ACL tear was searched for history of additional ACL injury. Re-tear rate was calculated for each league. For each ACL tear, the laterality, player position, return to play (defined as playing at least one game in a major or minor league in that sport), and approximate time to re-tear (months) were documented. Mechanism of tear (contact vs. non-contact) was recorded when available for the initial tears and retears via news reports or available video. Fisher’s exact test was performed to evaluate differences amongst re-tear rates and ANOVA was used to evaluate differences in time to re-tear amongst the three leagues. RESULTS The total number of ACL tears identified was 109 and the total number of re-tears was 13, for a total re-tear rate of 11.9%. ACL re-tear rates by league did not statistically differ, and were as follows: MLB, 11.5%; NBA, 9.3%; and NHL, 15.0%. Average time to re-tear was also not significantly different and was 24.7 months for MLB, 31.8 months for NBA, and 26.0 months for NHL. Return to play rate after index surgery was 94%, whereas return to play after a revision procedure was 84.6%. Our prior published meta-analysis of pediatric and adolescent ACL reconstruction failure rates was 8.3%. CONCLUSIONS / SIGNIFICANCE The ACL re-tear rates in multiple male professional sports leagues are higher than those reported in large registry studies and similar to the ACL re-injury rates previously reported in the NFL (12.3%). These revision rates are also more similar to those reported for pediatric patients. Exposure to high-risk sporting activity is likely a primary cause of ACL re-tear. The cited rates of ACL re-tear may thus be interpreted as a ‘best-case scenario’ in athletes returning to the highest level of activity, and may help to explain the similar high re-tear rates in the pediatric and adolescent population. TABLES AND FIGURES [Figure: see text]

On the team: Pharmacists work with athletes in professional sports

with athletes in four major professional sports. He currently works with the Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Angels for baseball and the USA Men’s National Team for basketball. In 2008, he joined the U.S. Olympic Team at the Summer Olympics in Beijing to coordinate management of distribution records and direct interactions with athletes. Pavlovich noted that by the late 1990s, pharmacists were providing medication management software tools to track usage. Athletic teams’ medical and training staff would use the information to streamline their work, and a demand for pharmacists’ services began. During the mid-2000s, steroid and doping controversies among baseball players, professional cyclists, and Olympic athletes provided compelling reasons for teams and medical personnel to track and monitor drug usage. Banned substances Not every sport has the same banned substances, explained Anthony J. Longo, PharmD, director of pharmacy and clinical services at Zucker Hillside Hospital in Queens, NY, and adjunct professor of pharmacology at Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY, who has worked with endurance cyclists. In fact, banned drug lists change from league to league, said Peter Ambrose, PharmD, professor of clinical pharmacy at the University of California, San Francisco College of Pharmacy, who conducted drug testing for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Olympics. “If you’re a basketball player, the banned substances are different for the NCAA, the Olympics,

Is it profitable to represent the country? Evidence on the sport-related income of funded top-level athletes in Germany

Several countries have introduced support mechanisms for top-level athletes who represent their nation in international competitions such as the Olympics. Many of these athletes receive funding as they do not generate sufficient income through their sport. Previous research has focused on self-sufficient athletes in professional sports demonstrating a research gap regarding the income of funded athletes. The purpose of the study is to analyse the determinants of the sport-related income of funded athletes. An empirical evaluation is undertaken using data from a nationwide survey of national top-level athletes in Germany who are supported by the German Sports Aid Foundation (n = 1133). The results show that being an Olympic champion, European champion, age, age-squared, squad level, being disabled, and the media exposure of the sport have a significant impact on the sport-related income of funded athletes. The sport-related income also differs significantly among sports.

Different From the Rest: An Interview With Nic Harris of the Carolina Panthers

Athlete transgressions have become quite the norm in professional sports as athletes are performing acts which are surely a detriment to their career. This is especially true of some Black male athletes in professional sports (e.g., Michael Vick, Derrick Coleman, Barry Bonds, and Adam ‘Pacman’ Jones). In light of this, this interview with Nic Harris of the Carolina Panthers illustrates how he has attempted to shun these negative associations among Black male athletes. Secondarily, given the scant attention as to how professional athletes go about managing their careers, the interview gives insight as to what goes into managing a professional career.

BIDDING TILL BANKRUPT DESTRUCTIVE COMPETITION IN PROFESSIONAL TEAM SPORTS

The analysis and evidence here suggest that the market for star athletes in professional sports could be subject to “destructive competition”—a competitive process which drives some participants from a market even though it is inefficient for them to leave. When pursuing a league championship, the talent which turns an average team into a contender contributes disproportionately to the team's success. Teams which fail to earn enough on the last stars they sign to offset losses on their inframarginal talent will abandon a competitive market for star athletes. Other situations that involve input rivalry between producers might yield similar results.