Grassroot Soccer’s Executive Director Announced as 2004 Sports Ethics Fellow
From grassrootsoccer.org
ALBUQUERQUE, NM- (November 14, 2003) ñ Tommy Clark, Executive Director of Grassroot Soccer has been chosen as a 2004 Sports Ethics Fellow by the Institute for International Sport and will be recognized on National Sportsmanship Day on Tuesday, March 2, 2004.
Each year the Institute for International Sport (IIS) selects a diverse group of individuals from various academic and athletic fields to serve as Sports Ethics Fellows. These outstanding individuals write and conduct research on the contemporary issues of ethics and sportsmanship in today’s society and assist with the expansion and promotion of National Sportsmanship Day.
“This is, personally a delightful honor but I look at Grassroot Soccer as a team sport, like soccer and so in that vein I’d like to acknowledge the hard work and enthusiasm of many others in making the Grassroot Soccer program a reality. And of course, I’d like every person who reads this to log on to www.grassrootsoccer.com [sic] and learn more about what they can do to help our efforts,” says Clark.
National Sportsmanship Day was conceived to raise awareness about issues related to sportsmanship and ethics in athletics and daily life, as well as to stimulate meaningful dialogue among school administrators, coaches, teachers and students. Russell Hogg, chairman of the Board of the Trustees of the Institute for International Sport said, “This has become the biggest sportsmanship initiative in the world, and its success confirms what the power of an idea can achieve.”
“We are extremely honored that Tommy is an Sports Ethics Fellow for the 2004 National Sportsmanship Day. His efforts with his the Grassroot Soccer program have been tremendous and we look forward to working with him on March 2nd,” says Dan Doyle, Executive Director and Founder of the Institute for International Sport.
For the past 13 years, on the first Tuesday in March, the Institute for International Sport has held National Sportsmanship Day. Behind the day’s motto, “Dare to Play Fair,” the Institute has endeavored to promote the idea of aggressive but fair play at all levels of competition, from the Nerf level to the professional level. In 2003, over 12,000 schools from all 50 states and 101 countries participated, on a variety of different levels, to make the day a success.
Currently, National Sportsmanship Day, the Center for Sports Parenting, the World Leadership Summit and the Scholar-Athlete Games are the main projects the Institute has developed to help spread the message of using athletics and art as tools to promote goodwill among future world leaders. To learn more about all of the Institute’s programs, visit our website at www.internationalsport.com.
Some past fellows include: Lance Armstrong, Marion Jones, Ross Powers, Aaron Brooks, Grant Hill, Joe Paterno, Kirby Puckett, Joan Benoit Samuelson, Bonnie Blair and Carl Lewis and Mia Hamm.
Grassroot Soccer is an international AIDS awareness organization with a mission to prevent transmission of HIV/AIDS by using local heroes, professional soccer players, to educate at risk youth about HIV/AIDS. Grassroot Soccer is composed of former and current professional soccer players who have played around the world including Zimbabwe. One in four Zimbabweans are currently infected with HIV/AIDS and the rate for the adult population is even higher - one in three. The high infection rate and the death toll that follows are having a devastating effect on the country. The aim of Grassroot Soccer is to reduce the spread of HIV & AIDS by training well known soccer players to educate at-risk youth about the dangers of HIV infection and about the most effective ways to protect themselves. The pilot study began in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe in January 2003.