REAL Sports with Bryant Gumbel - Season 27

One of the most treacherous races on the planet, the Barkley Marathons, known as "The Barkley," is a 100-mile long event with 120,000 feet of climbs and descents that takes place around the perimeter of Frozen Head State Park in the mountains of Tennessee. With only 60 hours to complete the race, runners are tasked with navigating through unenviable conditions, including temperature swings, rain, and even snow. Mary Carillo speaks with Lazarus Lake, who conceived the event after James Earl Ray, the man who assassinated Martin Luther King Jr., escaped from a maximum-security prison in the same Tennessee mountains and only managed to travel eight miles in just under 60 hours before he was caught. "Laz," as he's known, mocked Ray, suggesting he could run 100 miles through the Tennessee mountains in that amount of time. And so the race was born. 

The latest episode is highlighted by a virtual panel led by Gumbel, who is joined by Tommie Smith, who famously raised a gloved fist on the podium at the 1968 Olympic Games, gold medal sprinter and long jumper Tianna Bartoletta, fencer Race Imboden and hammer thrower Gwendolyn Berry to discuss Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter, which states "No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.".

Most Minor League ballplayers make less than minimum wage. It's a reality that former pitcher Michael Schwimer saw up close when he worked his way up to the Majors. Schwimer was injured and out of the game by the time he was 27, but came up with an idea to help Minor Leaguers by starting a private equity fund that pays young players money in exchange for a percentage of their future baseball earnings. Over the last five years, Schwimer has raised $156 million and invested in more than 300 players. A few months ago his venture proved its potential when Fernando Tatis, Jr. - one of Schwimer's clients - signed one of the biggest contracts in the history of the game. Tatis, Jr. hit the jackpot, as did Michael Schwimer and his equity fund. 

In 2018 we discovered Project Airtime, a Utah-based adaptive paragliding outfit founded by one-time extreme sportsman Chris Santacroce, who himself overcame a temporary paralysis after a near-fatal stunt. Over the years, Santacroce has recruited countless disabled athletes from around the country. One of those recruits, Joe Stone, has now brought this mission to his new home of Jackson, WY, where he's established a Project Airtime outpost to spread the paragliding gospel and give others like him the chance to experience the sport. 

Jalen Rose, member of the University of Michigan's Fab Five and 14-year veteran of the NBA, has made efforts to provide free education to underserved youth in Detroit by opening up his own school, the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy. Rose, like many of his students, never met his own father, but unlike those kids fathers, his was one of the most famous Detroit Pistons players of his time, a fact that would drive Rose to success and inspire him to open his school. 

In an effort to battle Montana's alarming suicide rate, Jeff Ament, longtime bassist for mega-band Pearl Jam, has sought to grow his favorite sport throughout his home state: skateboarding. Ament has built nearly two dozen skate parks, looking to bring kids together and fight the loneliness and isolation that he once felt. Real Sports travels with Ament to his skateparks in his hometown of Big Sandy, and the Rocky Boy and Browning Native American reservations. 

Stories discussed in the episode include DeMaurice Smith's one-on-one discussion with Gumbel on the emails sent by Jon Gruden; a profile of Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis; athletes with long-term effects from COVID-19; motivational speaker and extreme sports athlete Wim Hof and the Barkley Marathons; the impact that high school and youth sports have played on the spread of COVID-19; obstacles faced by female sports reporters in the male-dominated industry; former NBA players jumping into the billion-dollar cannabis industry; the inspiring story of Minneapolis North High School's football coaching staff; the incorporation of jiu-jitsu into police training to curb violence; the sexual abuse allegations within the University of Michigan and the world of All-Star cheerleading; student-athletes being allowed to profit from their name, image and likeness; Michael Schwimer's Big League Advance that funds minor leaguers for a percentage of their future baseball earnings; and hunting contests to curb animal populations.