15 Sports Figures Who Are Boldly Pushing the Boundaries
Steve Ballmer wants the Los Angeles Clippers to offer streaming capabilities. Bryce Harper wants to make baseball fun again. Ibtihaj Muhammad is set to make Olympic history in Rio.
The following 15 athletes, coaches and sports executives are all pushing the boundaries in sports—in a good way.
They are moving the needle forward—whether it be through touchdown celebrations or advanced metrics. They are pushing to change the status quo and perhaps even the way people think about sports. There are many different vehicles for innovation, and many are represented here.
Not everyone agrees on the issues at hand, but such is the way, right? Agree or disagree, kudos to the following individuals for standing up for something outside the box.
Joe Maddon
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If having fun is pushing the boundaries, then Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon is certainly doing some pushing. His carefree demeanor and simultaneous respect for hard work sure are working, too. (His Cubs are 48-26 through the end of June 26.)
Maddon drove to spring training in an Arizona-themed van, threw a pajama party after a Jake Arrieta no-hitter and just generally encourages hilarious antics.
On Bryce Harper, proponent of the "Make Baseball Fun Again" campaign, Maddon said he's fine with players enjoying success as long as they play hard, per Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago.
And though Maddon's funny-guy antics might seem outside the box, to him it's just about being himself and remembering his youth.
He said, per Mooney, "That's what's so disappointing sometimes, growing up in the era that I did, and then you see people that are quote-unquote 'in charge,' and they forgot what it was like when we were a bunch of…goofballs, for lack of a better term."
Lindsey Vonn
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Lindsey Vonn is the winningest downhill skier of all time. She has won more downhill races than anyone—male or female—in history.
Vonn is the embodiment of women's ability to hang with men—a cause she fights for on and off the slopes.
Her foundation, the Lindsey Vonn Foundation, aims to encourage female empowerment, and Vonn acts out the mission in her own life.
In mid-June, she revealed her plans to retire in 2019 and spoke about what she hopes to achieve before then.
Vonn said on Abby Wambach's ESPN podcast (via Joe Carberry of SI.com): "In my final season, I would like to race against the men in one race. We've started the process of trying to figure out how [racing against men] can be accomplished. It's going to be definitely a hard thing to get done with all the ski federations and everything involved, but that's my goal."
Daryl Morey
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In May, Sean Deveney of Sporting News described Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey as an "analytics czar."
Many sports fans are familiar with Billy Beane, Bill James and baseball's Moneyball movement, but the use of advanced metrics is becoming more widespread across the sports world.
For his part, Morey is a revolutionary proponent of advanced stats like true shooting percentage. He founded the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference and in 2008 told Howard Beck, then of the New York Times, "Humans make much better decisions when they're integrating information."
The use of advanced metrics in sports is far from universal, but it's growing as people like Morey continue to think of new ways to move sports into new territory.
Morey was also a mentor to former Philadelphia 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie, whose "process" (whether it should be trusted or not) is certainly more evidence of unconventional thinking.
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Stephen Curry
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Stephen Curry is pushing the boundaries with his actions on the court.
The Golden State Warriors guard made 402 three-pointers in 2015-16—smashing his own previous record of 286.
There are some in the basketball community who are not entirely on board with the new era of the three ball. Curry's former Warriors coach, Mark Jackson, said Curry is "hurting the game" because young players are starting to prioritize the three, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports.
Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson suggested Curry is only having success because today's defenses are supposedly less physical.
Meanwhile, Curry commented on the criticism on the Warriors Plus/Minus podcast, saying (via ESPN.com news services), "We have a very competent group, and we have fun when we're out there on the floor, and it shows, obviously."
Jim Harbaugh
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Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh is definitely a boundary pusher.
Matt Brown of Sports on Earth wrote, "Every once in a while, a coach comes along to further push the boundaries, to get a little bit more creative, find loopholes and think outside the box, thus inspiring more rules. In 2016, that coach is Harbaugh."
His sideline rants are legendary, and his Twitter usage is getting there. He has spent the night at recruits' homes and turned national signing day into a major event with Tom Brady and Derek Jeter in attendance.
Most recently, Harbaugh's progressive style has come out in his public challenges to the status quo of the college football recruiting system. He fought for (lost, and won back) the right to host satellite camps around the country even as the SEC fought against him.
Ferran Soriano
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Ferran Soriano, CEO of Manchester City, continues to push football toward a more technologically advanced and global future with the use of data analytics and worldwide expansion.
The holding group City Football Group (CFG) includes football clubs Manchester City FC, New York City FC, Melbourne City FC and Yokohama F. Marinos. In 2015, CFG signed a deal with cloud software company SAP to boost its technology in both on- and off-pitch applications.
Per Adrian Bridgwater of Forbes, Soriano said, "Technology in soccer pushes further than you might think."
Soriano thinks big. His vision for a global community is evidenced by the four teams of CFG. In March, Soriano talked about the new NYCFC in a speech to Manchester City fans.
He said, "What we are doing is great and it helps Manchester City ... It takes us to be global while we are still and always will be local and rooted in Manchester," per Rob Pollard of the Manchester Evening News.
Cam Newton
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Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton pushes boundaries simply through his own authenticity. He is challenging this idea that there is a "right way" to handle every situation.
In 2015, the NFL MVP drew a lot of attention to himself with boisterous touchdown celebrations and acrobatic plays. Some were on board—others were not. And yet, Newton remained himself.
He told Jeff Zell of WCCB Sports (via Yaron Weitzman of SB Nation): "I've said it since day one: I am who I am, I know what I'm capable of and I know where I'm going. I don't have to conform to anyone else's wants. I'm not that guy. If you want me to be this type of person I'm not that and I'm happy to say that. I am my own person and I take pride in that."
Even after his team lost Super Bowl 50—and Newton was criticized for being visibly bummed during the postgame presser—he said, "You show me a good loser and I'll show you a loser," per Weitzman.
Katie Nolan
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It's not just games that are evolving and changing—it's sports media as well, and Fox Sports personality Katie Nolan continues to help drive that change forward.
Nolan is funny, charming and refreshingly honest. On her show, Garbage Time, Nolan has spoken strongly and intelligently about domestic violence, female coaches and women in sports media.
On her decision to tackle the serious issues, Nolan told Chad Finn of the Boston Globe, "I just felt irresponsible going to sleep at night as a woman working in sports who wouldn’t speak to an issue that needed to be addressed."
ESPN personality Michelle Beadle said, per Finn: "She's a unique voice in this landscape, male or female. She comes along and she's funny and she's not afraid and she has a different perspective."
Steve Ballmer
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In 2014, Steve Ballmer joined a group of innovative NBA owners that includes Vivek Ranadive of the Sacramento Kings and Mark Cuban of the Dallas Mavericks.
Ballmer, who bought the Los Angeles Clippers for $2 billion, told Mark McClusky of Wired he regularly communicates with Cuban, Ranadive, Dan Gilbert of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Joe Lacob of the Golden State Warriors about business techniques and fan engagement.
As the former CEO of Microsoft, Ballmer's affection for technology isn't surprising. According to John Cook of GeekWire, Ballmer is an "analytical numbers guy" who is "applying some of the lessons from the tech industry to his new life in sports."
John Ourand and John Lombardo of Sports Business Journal reported Ballmer's ambitions for the Clippers include an over-the-top streaming service. Ballmer is also slated to speak at the GeekWire Sports Tech Summit in July.
Shoutout to Cuban here, who is definitely not afraid to push boundaries.
Eugene Monroe
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Medical marijuana is quickly becoming a hot-button issues in sports. Former NBA All-Star Cliff Robinson has started a marijuana business in Oregon and called cannabis "a more positive alternative to pharmaceuticals," according to Andy Giegerich of the Portland Business Journal.
NFL free-agent offensive tackle Eugene Monroe has become an advocate for medical marijuana as a pain reliever and treatment for brain injuries.
In March, Monroe told Nadia Kounang of CNN: "The NFL will need to have legitimate information before they remove marijuana from the banned substance list and ultimately not hurt their product in the field. But there's opportunity in that space also, for the NFL to get involved and maybe lead efforts."
The Baltimore Ravens released Monroe in June. His suggestion that his advocacy efforts contributed to his release were denied by Ravens coach John Harbaugh, according to James Kratch of NJ.com.
Regardless of individual beliefs on the subject of medical marijuana, Monroe's advocacy as an active player qualifies as a big-time push of boundaries. Marijuana is on the NFL's banned-substance list, and its medical use is legal in less than half of U.S. states.
Jurgen Klopp
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New Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is known to be innovative in on-field tactics as well as training methods.
In October, Barney Ronay of the Guardian wrote, "Liverpool's hiring of the German … is an appointment to refresh the Premier League, to refuel the intellectual rocket launchers."
Back in 2012, Klopp introduced a device called a Footbonaut into training with his former club, Borussia Dortmund. Tom McGowan of CNN defined the device as "a robotic cage which footballers can use to improve passing, spatial awareness and control."
Under Klopp and his unconventional tactics, Borussia Dortmund won to back-to-back Bundesliga titles in the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons.
Mail Online explained, "Much of Jurgen Klopp's success at Borussia Dortmund was built on the idea of Gegenpressing—or counter-pressing—whereby his players put pressure on ball-carrying opponents high up the pitch in the hope of regaining possession in an advanced position."
In May, Klopp said he planned to run three-a-days in the upcoming preseason workouts.
Ibtihaj Muhammad
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Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad is breaking new ground for women in sports. In Rio, she will be the first American women to wear a hijab during competition.
It hasn't been a smooth road. In March, Muhammad was asked to remove her headscarf during the South by Southwest festival in Texas.
Muhammad said: "Someone asking me to remove my hijab isn't out of the norm for me. ... Do I hope it changes soon? Yes, every day," per Amina Elahi of the Chicago Tribune.
The event later issued an apology.
In mid-June, she told Kylie Gilbert of Shape: "With qualifying for the U.S. Olympic team, I wanted to further challenge that notion that Muslim girls and women don't participate in sports or aren't involved in sports at the elite level. I wanted Muslim girls to know they can be a part of Team USA."
Muhammad was named to Time's list of 100 Most Influential People of 2016.
Bill Simmons
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Sports media personality Bill Simmons' penchant for pushing boundaries is no secret. It might even have been a factor in ESPN's decision not to renew his contract in 2015.
ESPN President John Skipper said, per Jim Rutenberg of the New York Times, "I severed our relationship with Bill because of his repeated lack of respect for this company."
Simmons was famously outspoken, a trait that got him suspended by the network on more than one occasion.
For his ESPN follow-up, Simmons is sticking to his outside-the-box ways and stretching the norms of sports media. Simmons now has a podcast network, an HBO show (Any Given Wednesday) and a new website (The Ringer) that will cover not just sports but entertainment and technology as well.
Former HBO President of Programming Michael Lombardo told Lacey Rose of the Hollywood Reporter in early June: "We have a lot more latitude than ESPN has in what's too provocative, and we present ourselves differently in that we're point-of-view television. If you don't like it, don't watch it."
Bryce Harper
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Washington Nationals slugger Bryce Harper is an obvious choice here. The ringleader of the semi-serious "Make Baseball Fun Again" campaign trumpets the cause of moving his sport into new and more exciting territory.
In March, Harper told Tim Keown of ESPN The Magazine:
"It's a tired sport, because you can't express yourself. You can't do what people in other sports do. I'm not saying baseball is, you know, boring or anything like that, but it's the excitement of the young guys who are coming into the game now who have flair. If that's Matt Harvey or Jacob deGrom or Manny Machado or Joc Pederson or Andrew McCutchen or Yasiel Puig – there's so many guys in the game now who are so much fun.
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Harper lauded the bright personality of NFL star Cam Newton and later donned a "Make Baseball Fun Again" trucker hat that was, well, really fun.
Harper continues to fight the fun fight even amid opposition from some of baseball's more "old-school" guys, specifically retired greats Goose Gossage and Johnny Bench.
Adam Silver
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Adam Silver is like a breath of fresh air in the American sports commissioner department.
In one of his first major acts as David Stern's replacement, Silver swiftly and unequivocally booted former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling from the NBA after Sterling made racist comments.
Silver has shown a true interest in improving the game for the fans—most recently with talk of a proposed rule change to affect the Hack-a-Shaq fouling strategy.
He has also proven to be a progressive thinker on the topic of gambling. In 2014, Silver wrote in the New York Times, "I believe that sports betting should be brought out of the underground and into the sunlight where it can be appropriately monitored and regulated."
On the controversial topic of players' use of social media, Silver is on board. In a speech at South by Southwest in March, Silver said (via Eillie Anzilotti of the Atlantic), "I think we were early adopters in terms of encouraging our players on social media … it has enormous value for the league to make [players] into the multi-valued people that they are."
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