Episode 1 - Michael Jan Friedman - A Role Model

Welcome to the FIRST episode of the GivBk Sports Podcast. I’m your host, Brett Friedman. As we will today and in all future GivBk episodes, we’ll learn about how our guests have parlayed athletic accolades or influence within the world of sports into an opportunity to uplift the community around them.

Notes & Highlights
5:40 – El Viejo. On the handball courts, they were gentlemen. I thought, today, these kids are going to have the respect of themselves, and others, and they’re going to have a feeling of accomplishment. If they respect themselves and know I respect them, that’s a big part of it. Once you have respect, you’re willing to give respect.

14:01 – Handball’s street culture of razor-edged competition and a mythological, fictional character that molded it. NYC’s West 4th Street Cage

23:02 – A Mesoamerican ball court athlete that paved the way for basketball and soccer as we know them today

26:31 – Fencing doesn’t get enough respect. University of Pennsylvania’s “Maestro”

35:07 – College sports, 1970s-present

46:06 – A social media late adopter that became a big believer

56:25 – How the civil war birthed baseball

1:15:58 – The value of the pass and perseverance

1:29:20 – Takes & Fakes Trivia Game

1:37:52 – Will Smith’s screenplay advice