When Play the Game kicks off its 11th world communication conference on society and sport the main theme will be athlete activism and the rights of athletes.

A new report from US Congress highlights that the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) and USA Gymnastics failed to protect its athletes from sexual abuse. The investigators propose a new bill that challenges the autonomy of sport.

Following revelations of sexual abuse scandals in US Gymnastics, the US Olympic committee has now taken the first steps towards revoking the federation.

The capital of US sport will host the 11th edition of the international Play the Game conference, thanks to the engagement shown by the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs (UCCS). It is the first Play the Game conference outside Europe.

US lawmakers have proposed a bill to criminalise doping in global competitions. The bill is called the ‘Rodchenko Act’, named after the Russian whistleblower Grigory Rodchenkov, the former head of the Moscow anti-doping laboratory.

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.

Through the huge economic success of college sports, universities are caught between managing students and professional athletes. Professor Roger Pielke Jr. suggests to either merge athletics and academics more or to professionalize further in order to help college sport meet these challenges.

Analysis: The influx of money in US college sports has led to magnificent campus facilities and eye-popping salaries for administrators. Left behind, however, are the athletes themselves, says Prof. Roger Pielke, Jr., arguing that college sports are in for a change.