The growing awareness of health risks, especially concussions, in American football can have caused a “notable decline” in football participation among American high school boys, says Roger Pielke Jr. in this essay.

Efforts to clean up international and regional sports governance six years into one of the worst crises in its history have yet to tackle the elephant in the room: the incestuous and inseparable relationship between sports and politics as indicated in Play the Game’s Autonomy Index.

"Many people had a lot to gain from the Games. The people of Rio, unfortunately, were not among them," says Juliana Barbassa in this comment piece arguing that the Rio 2016 Games accomplished precisely what their organizers intended.

The crisis in sport arising from widespread loss of trust and credibility is far from unique - the phenomenon is common to almost all sectors. As the sports movement looks to address the issues, there may be lessons to learn from some recent initiatives in the business and charity spheres.

Through three simple steps, including protecting whiste-blowers, governments would render to sport the helping hand it so obviously needs, Jens Sejer Andersen said in his keynote speech at UNESCO's International Conference of Ministers and Senior Officials Responsible for Physical Education and Sport.

Petitions and referendums against Olympic bids show that the Olympic Games are no longer perceived as indisputably beneficial as they are presented to the public as being. Through a look at the city development plans for the Rio 2004 and 2016 bids, Igor Kováč points to some of the reasons why.

Governments and sports have too many conflicts of interests to lead the global anti-doping struggle alone. Jens Sejer Andersen proposes to expand the ownership, introduce collective sanctions, increase financing and tone down moralism.

Journalist Osasu Obayiuwana, a member of the now dissolved FIFA Task Force Against Racism and Discrimination, shares his personal experiences and disappointment with FIFA’s half-hearted attempt to address racial and discriminatory issues in football. “The time for silence has ended,” he says and calls the disbandment of the Task Force a “grave mistake”.

Wider adoption of term limits for elected officials would be an important step forward in tackling democratic failings in International Federations (IF), argues Rowland Jack in this comment piece, noting the limited competition in recent IF presidential elections.

Today, the president of the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB), Ary Graça, uncontested seeks reelection for an eight-year term. And today, he also stands a unique chance to prove that he is made of something else than his controversial predecessor, Ruben Acosta, says Play the Game’s international director, Jens Sejer Andersen, in this open letter in which he calls on the sports community to take responsibility and help whistleblower Mario Goijman return to a dignifying life.