December 11, 2011
"AAU Investigation" -- Outside the Lines uncovers allegations of sexual abuse involving longtime AAU president and CEO Robert “Bobby” Dodd, whose organization sponsors programs for 500,000 children in more than 30 sports. As the top policy maker for the AAU, Dodd was a major figure in the world of youth sports and a key shaper of grassroots basketball culture. OTL’s investigation brought to light stunning allegations from former players on Dodd’s personal AAU club in Memphis, prompting a police investigation and the announcement of his dismissal from an historic sports organization.
>Watch OTL investigative report
>Read companion ESPN.com piece: "Men: AAU ex-CEO Abused Them"
>Watch Tom's talkback with anchor Bob Ley
>Dec. 12 news update: Memphis police interview alleged victims
>Dec. 14 news update: AAU assigns two task forces to enhance child protections
November 10, 2011
Reporting for SportsCenter from the campus of Penn State University, Tom was on site before, during, and after the dismissal of Joe Paterno as football head coach due to his handling of sexual abuse allegations involving former coach Jerry Sandusky. Among his stories was a report filed shortly after rioting students overturned a TV truck and smashed car windows.
>Listen to Tom describe the scene on Mike & Mike In The Morning
October 25, 2011
"Tressel Trouble" -- An audio recording of Jim Tressel's five-hour interview with NCAA investigators before his forced resignation as Ohio State football coach highlights the fear and desperation he felt upon learning that players were involved with a local tattoo parlor owner who was under FBI investigation for drug trafficking. Tom and Outside the Lines acquired the exclusive audio through a public records request of the university.
>Watch OTL report and read companion ESPN.com piece
August 7, 2011
"Ohio State Sanctions" -- As Outside the Lines reports, the roots of scandal in the Ohio State football program can be traced back to the Buckeyes' national championship of 2002 when the memorabilia market first exploded, aided by university-sponsored events that invited fans to get close to players. "We created this monster," former Ohio State athletic director Andy Geiger told Tom. "We're reaping what we sowed." Questions exist about how well administrators monitored former coach Jim Tressel, who in his 2005-06 performance review was rated by Geiger as "unacceptable" in his self-reporting of NCAA rules violations. Geiger was replaced by Gene Smith, who stopped giving him written reviews.
>Watch piece and read ESPN.com companion analyzing impact of Ohio State case on the future of college sports: "Big Changes Coming to NCAA"
June 12, 2011
"Pryor Problems" -- Outside the Lines reports on the activities of former Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor, who sources say received cash and other benefits from a Buckeye memorabilia collector while he was playing with the team. A former friend tells Tom that he saw Pryor, who led the Buckeyes to a share of the Big Ten Championship in each of his three seasons, receive $500 to $1,000 from the man for each private signing session. Meanwhile, sources at a local golf course say the collector, who had access to Ohio State games as a credentialed photographer, provided Pryor with rounds of free golf at an exclusive private course.
>Watch show
>Read report: "Terrelle Pryor Signings Netted Thousands" (June 8)
April 10, 2011
"Youth Hockey at a Crossroads" -- Hockey has gotten more violent since 1980, when the Miracle on Ice team of the Lake Placid Olympics captured the imagination of Americans. Today, the images that consume the game are those of NHL stars suffering season-ending concussions. And at the youth level, hockey has the highest concussion rate in team sports. Outside the Lines explores a proposal by USA Hockey to drop body checking in games at the pre-teen level, and an experiment in Minnesota that rewards clean play in the standings.
>Watch video, read online companion piece: "Hockey hotbed faces off against change"
March 13, 2011
"Selling the NCAA" -- Big-time college sports is awash in commercial activity, blurring the lines between amateur and professional sport. It's the job of new NCAA president Mark Emmert to draw that line as clearly as possible in the public mind -- starting with his statement that players will never be paid (above the value of an athletic scholarship). Tom profiles Emmert, with a focus on whether athletes deserve a larger cut of the pie now that the NCAA has a new, $10.8 billion contract to televise the men's basketball tournament.
>Read companion ESPN.com piece (OTL video piece no longer available)
February 6, 2011
"Future of Football" -- Football is, by its nature, a collision sport. Historically, the prospect of injury has led some parents to steer their children away from playing the game. Now, as Tom reports for Outside the Lines, those parents are coming from families where dad was an NFL player. The new insights into the dangers of concussion have shaped their thinking, even as tackle football is exploding at the 5- to 7-year-old level.
>Watch video
November 14, 2010
"Reign in Spain" -- Tom travels to Barcelona to profile Ricky Rubio, the mysterious point guard who turned pro at age 14 and became a YouTube sensation for his ballhandling skills and super-natural court vision. Taken fifth overall in the 2009 NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves, he remains in Spain where he led his club this year to the EuroLeague championship but has also struggled at times.
>Watch video
>Read online companion piece: "Seeing the court like the great ones"
October 26, 2010
"Caution: Powerful" -- A seven-month E:60 investigation looks into the dangers of energy drinks, which are marketed as performance enhancers and used by many young athletes before games and workouts. One athlete, Missouri high school football player Dakota Sailor, stopped breathing and actually died after consuming two energy drinks, but miraculously was resuscitated by his father, a nurse.
>Watch video and read companion piece: "The legal performance-enhancing drink"
August 10, 2010
“Unprotected” -- Girls' lacrosse is the fastest-growing team sport in the nation, but it also has the highest concussion rate among girls' sports. Pittsburgh sisters Audrey Re, 15, and Bridget Re, 13, are among those who have suffered. Unlike in boys' lacrosse, where helmets are required, girls are not even allowed to wear hard helmets. E:60 investigates, asking U.S. Lacrosse president Steve Stenersen why girls warrant less protection than boys.
>Watch video and read companion ESPN RISE piece
>Hartford Courant editorializes in favor of girls lacrosse helmets, citing E:60 (Sept. 18)
May 4, 2010
“Second Impact” — Profile of Preston Plevretes, a former college football linebacker whose story illustrates the hazards of programs clearing athletes to return to play while still recovering from a concussion. After settling a lawsuit against LaSalle University for $7.8 million last November, the NCAA began revising its concussion managment guidelines.
>Watch video
>Read companion piece: "Questions Vital to Diagnosing Concussion"
>Plevretes' mother testifies at Congressional hearing (May 24)
April 13, 2010
“Green Akers” — Considered the greatest women's soccer player ever, Michelle Akers disappeared from the sport after her retirement in 2000. Now she's letting the soccer community back into her world, in an effort to rescue abused horses. E:60 profiles an athlete, and pioneer, who embodies the meaning of sacrifice.
>Watch preview clip (full 10-minute feature not available online)
January 3, 2010
“Cleaning House” — To assemble a team that might restore the tradition of Kentucky basketball, John Calipari had to dissemble the one he inherited in April. OTL examines the practice of chasing off scholarship players, and the myth of the four-year deal.
>Watch video
>Calipari roster cleansing cited in NCAA anti-trust lawsuit (Oct. 26, 2010)
December 13, 2009
“Florida State academics” — Why did Bobby Bowden's program resort to academic fraud? Because the legendary coach recruited athletes who were illiterate and in at least one case mentally retarded, an Outside the Lines investigation reveals.
>Watch video
>Read companion piece: "Seminoles helped by LD diagnoses"
>Read news story: "NCAA rejects FSU's appeal of penalties" (Jan. 5, 2010)
November 20, 2009
“Guilt by Association” — E:60 investigates that NCAA's uneven treatment of foreign prospects, some of whom get sent home for having merely playing alongside pros.
>Video not available
>Read news story
August 18, 2009
“Switch Pitcher” — Profile of New York Yankees prospect Pat Venditte Jr., the first ambidextrous pitcher in professional baseball in more than a century.
>Watch video
July 28, 2009
“Skin Game” — Profile of LPGA golfer Anna Rawson, a runway model who has brought new energy, ideas and controversy to a women’s sport that struggles to hold on to sponsors.
>Watch video
>Read column
May 12, 2009
“Ultimate Fighter” — Profile of the polarizing UFC president Dana White, who helped turn Mixed Martial Arts into a legitimate sport and built his company into a $1 billion enterprise.
>Watch video
April 28, 2009
“Super Freak” — Gregg Valentino, once known as the Man with the World's Largest Arms, confronts the messy truth about steroids in the course of our reporting of his story.
>Watch video
April 21, 2009
“Vick-tims” — E:60 travels to Utah and California to find our what happened to the pit bulls who were bred to fight and kill by suspended NFL quarterback Michael Vick, and were confiscated by federal authorities.
>Watch video
January 19, 2009
“Dear Mr. Obama: Help Our Kids Play”— An open letter to the president on the eve of his inauguration, highlighting the historical role the White House has played in promoting sports and physical fitness.
>Read column
October 21, 2008
“Here Comes the Pain” — Profile of Brock Lesnar, a former pro wrestling star who became a top heavyweight in the very real, very bloody world of mixed martial arts.
> Watch video
September 19, 2008
“New Yankee Stadium” — E:60 investigates who’s really paying the price for the $1.9 billion stadium, promoted by mayor Michael Bloomberg and built on a South Bronx playground.
>Video not available
> Read ESPN.com companion piece
September 2, 2008
“Sliced Bread” — All-access profile of 18-year-old NASCAR sensation Joey Logano, who at age 10 was racing cars at 100 miles an hour.
> Watch video
August 26, 2008
“Sperm U.” — Exclusive report on families who have bought the DNA of college athletes from a Los Angeles sperm bank
> Watch video
> Read ESPN.com chat session
July 2, 2008
“I came all the way here, so I have to run” –- ESPN.com profile of Lopepe “Lopez” Lomong, a Sudanese-American runner competing at the U.S. Olympic Trials
> Read article
June 13, 2008
“The case for grassroots hoops” -- Column critiquing NBA’s foray into youth basketball scene
> Read article
May 13, 2008
“Between the Chains” -– The Super Bowl of prison football at an infamous Louisiana penitentiary
> Watch video
May 6, 2008
“Torr-pedo” — In-depth profile of 41-year-old swimmer and Olympic medalist Dara Torres
> Watch video
April 29, 2008
“Cloning Barbaro” — A look into the recent cloning of champion horses
> Watch video
April 22, 2008
“Miguel Tejada” — Profile of Houston Astros shortstop who is under FBI investigation for allegedly lying about his knowledge of steroids in baseball. E:60 discovers that his baseball career itself started with a lie, a false birth certificate that made him two years than he is.
> Watch video
>Tejada pleads guilty for lying to Congress (Feb. 12, 2009)
January 11, 2008
“Made in America” — ESPN Magazine piece that asks, Is Bill Belichick an a-hole? Tom puts the coach's football ethos into historical perspective
> Read article
December 11, 2007
“Death Camp” — Report on people who jump off cliffs and bridges and call it sport
> Watch video
November 5, 2007
“Soccer Slavery” — An investigation into the trafficking of child prospects from Africa to Europe
> Watch video
October 29, 2007
“Lost Boy” — The amazing journey of Sudanese-American marathoner Macharia Yuot
> Watch video
October 15, 2007
“Justice Intercepted” — A sex crime scandal at the high school football powerhouse in Miami
> Watch video
