The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "professional sport" ...
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HBO Real Sports: Hockey's Darkest Day
In 2011 a plane carrying a Russian hockey team crashed shortly after takeoff--the deadliest accident in the history of professional sports. A five-month Real Sports investigation uncovered massive safety problems in the Russian hockey league. The league spent millions on player salaries but "a few bucks" on everything else--including travel. The plane that crashed was operated by a cheap, third-rate company that had been banned from flying to Europe because they had been cited so many times for major safety violations. The crew of the plane hadn't even completed their training. Our investigation showed that the lack of safety in the world’s second best hockey league—called the KHL—often extends to the ice where KHL team doctors use IV’s and drugs to get their players to perform better on the ice. One young star died after receiving an injection of banned drugs from team doctors. When it came to travel, the lack of safe conditions was nearly universal. Practically every team flew on a Soviet-era jet—jets that make up 3% of the world’s fleet but account for 42% of the world’s accidents. These jets are in such poor condition that most Russian airlines wont use them. Yet even after the crash the KHL continued to use these planes, a fact they initially denied. Shortly after we interviewed the KHL Vice President, the league changed its rules. Now teams fly strictly on modern equipment.
Tags: Russia; Russian hockey team; plane crash; the KHL;
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Concussion Crisis
The stories examine the seriousness of concussions among athletes in youth and professional sports. Safety inadequacies in hundreds of thousands of football helmets have led to brain trauma and more.
Tags: football; football helmets; NFL; brain damage; Lou Gehrig's
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"How (And Why) Athletes Go Broke"
In "How (And Why) Athletes Go Broke," Pablo S. Torre, investigates how professional athletes squander their high salaries on "lavish spending," failed business attempts and corrupt "money managers." He also reveals illegal activities by a "Texas investment firm" with prominent sports affiliations.
Tags: NFL; NBA; Triton Financial LLC; Raghib Ismail; Kurt Barton; baseball; PGA
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Tech CEOs Lobby for Immigration Break Enjoyed by Baseball Stars
"The story focused on how technology companies lobbied Congress to secure little-known visas for foreign-born employees. The tech industry was seeking immigration exemptions similar to those that professional sports teams receive for athletes."
Tags: technology companies; visas; immigration exemptions; immigration; Senate immigration fight
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Performance Enhancing Drugs in the NFL
NFL players were taking humam growth hormone as a performance-enhancing drug because there was no reliable urine test for the drug. Then the HGH was mixed with low levels of steroids that would avoid detection.
Tags: national football leauge; Bob Costas; professional sport; medicine; steroid
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Big Headache; Doctor Yes
This two part investigation examines the National Football League protocol for dealing with concussions. The articles discuss equipment that can dramatically lower chances of getting a concussion, but is not required by the NFL. It also discusses the NFL mentality that makes heroes out of players who play while injured.
Tags: sports; professional athletes; heatlh; head trauma; doctors; sports medicine; sports equipment
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Game of Shadows: Barry Bonds, BALCO, and the Steroids scandal that Rocked Professional Sports
San Francisco Chronicle reporters broke the story that some elite athletes used drugs to "run faster, hit harder, and cash in on the fame that comes only to those at the very top of their games." Fainaru-Wada and Williams used"Federal Grand Jury transcripts and federal investigative reports... court records and state health department records," among other documents. (332 pages)
Tags: steroids; drugs; BALCO; Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative; San Francisco Chronicle; Victor Conte; Major League Baseball; football; track and field; California Public Records Act; Federal Grand Jury; sports agents; trainers; sports doping; Olympics; Justice Department; IRS; U.S. Anti-Doping Agency; USADA
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Bloody Sundays
An investigation into the physical toll exacted on professional football players every Sunday.
Tags: football; NFL; injury; health insurance; league rules; sport
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Who Knew?
This investigation traced the arc of the anabolic steroids age in Major League Baseball. The report describes the phenomenon by telling the story of critical characters in the national pastime's chemical history.
Tags: sports; drugs; illegal substances; BALCO; baseball; professional athletes
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Crashing the Borders
Araton's book examines the world inside the NBA, where selfish players want all the money and fame for themselves, foreign players are making a breakthrough and relationships between players and fans are far less than perfect. Araton not only focuses on the greed and selfishness that the NBA is now filled with, but also looks at racial issues that are damaging the sport as a whole.
Tags: National Basketball Association; basketball; professional athletes; professional sports