Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Add Good to your Google News feed.
Google News Button

12 CEOs Who Prove Playing Youth Sports Leads To Greatness

Leaders in the boardroom and on the field have a lot in common

Andre Grant
By Andre GrantFeb 01, 2017
Andre Grant
See Full Bio

[This week GOOD Sports will be commemorating the 45th anniversary of Title IX.]

Title IX is now 45-years-old. The impact that the law has had on women’s sports is nothing short of tremendous.

It’s no secret that leaders in the boardroom and those on the field have a lot in common. Leading a team to victory through communication, determination, and hard work are all traits of both effective athletes and CEOs.

A recent study highlights this athlete-CEO collection showing more than 50 percent of female executives were once college athletes. According to the Harvard Business Review, the study by the EY Women Athletes Business Network and espnW “surveyed more than 400 female executives in five countries.” They found that “52 percent” of those top executives played sports at the “college or university level.”

For women’s sports day, GOOD’s highlighting the plethora of high-powered CEOs who owe some of their extraordinary drive, leadership, and stamina to their time competing as an undergraduate at their alma maters. Check out a few of the greats in the slideshow above.

communitiescommunity

The Latest

jimmy kimmel, jimmy kimmel live, abc, free speech, late-night tv
Culture

5 big questions ahead of Jimmy Kimmel's return to late-night TV

surgeon, superheroes, fear, anxiety, scared kids, operation, fun games, otolaryngologist
Good People

Surgeon dresses scared kids as superheroes, giving them the power to face surgery

radiohead, ok computer, music paralysis, music of youth, best albums
Culture

A Radiohead album changed how I experience music. But why do these discoveries fade with time?

toxic workplace, bad boss, work culture, viral TikTok, Ben Askins, employee rights, empathy, corporate culture, work-life balance
Past Events

Boss’s reaction to employee hit by a car is so bad it’s almost satire

More For You

body image, fitness, mental health, kindness, gym motivation, body positivity, women's health, viral video, Instagram, self-worth, intergenerational friendship

Woman sits at the gym

Canva

A fitness coach was having a bad body image day. An older woman's words changed everything.

Even for a professional fitness coach, some days are harder than others. For Zahra Mourtada, who shares her fitness journey as @alivewithzahra on Instagram, it was a tough "body image day." As a public figure, she’s no stranger to criticism, but on this particular morning, the negativity was weighing on her. Then, a conversation with a stranger in the gym provided the exact affirmation she needed to hear.

In a video Mourtada shared, an older woman approached her mid-workout. Mistaking the battle ropes for professional equipment, the woman asked if Mourtada was training to be a firefighter, telling her it was "so cool." According to Mourtada’s on-screen text, the woman then "complimented saying I look amazing."

Keep ReadingShow less
grief, parental loss, memorial, family, love, legacy, heartwarming, Instagram, viral story, mental health, coping with loss

A woman writes on a memorial wall

Canva

A woman framed her late father's final seven words. Their message is a lesson for us all.

When we lose a parent, we often cling to the final memories—a last conversation, a shared glance, or the last words they ever spoke. For Anna Harp, those final words from her father were a gift of profound peace, and she found a beautiful way to make them a permanent part of her family’s life.

In a moving video shared to her Instagram, @fairyontheprairie, Harp revealed a custom piece of art hanging above a doorway in her home. It’s a 3D-printed replica of a simple, handwritten note, preserving the last words her father ever wrote before he passed away.

Keep ReadingShow less
kindness, viral story, heartwarming, parenting, skateboarding, gender stereotypes, community, good news, breaking stereotypes, teenagers

Teens hang out at a skate park

Canva

Mom brings daughter to skate park dominated by teenage boys. A 15-year-old's words leave her speechless.

Some stories are so heartwarming they deserve to be told again and again. Years after it first went viral, a mother’s account of an unexpectedly kind encounter at a skate park continues to resonate, reminding us all to look past stereotypes and celebrate simple acts of decency.

The story was originally shared in a public post on X by Jeanean Thomas (@JeaneanThomas), a firefighter and mother, who wanted to thank a teenage boy she never got to meet in person. She began by describing the apprehension she and her young daughter felt upon arriving at a local skate park.

Keep ReadingShow less
know your worth, setting boundaries, workplace drama, great resignation, consulting, IT stories, Reddit, career advice

Man typing on a computer

Canva

His old boss wouldn’t stop texting him. So he charged them for every response.

Leaving a job doesn’t always mean leaving it behind. One Redditor, u/antiworkthrowaway234, knew that all too well. After managing critical IT infrastructure for a company, they figured their exit wouldn’t stop the calls from coworkers needing help.

So they got ahead of it. “I was the only one who knew about tons of our IT infrastructure, and I anticipated that I was going to get tons of texts and phone calls from former coworkers,” they shared.

Keep ReadingShow less
Aviation emergency, Heroic pilots, Aircraft malfunction, Air safety, Atlanta incident, Flight control issues, Brickyard Flight 4439, Trim runaway, Pilot crisis, Aviation safety

Pilot handles the controls in the cockpit

Canva

Pilots' heroic actions save flight during terrifying malfunction: "We can't pitch down!"

Just a few moments after taking off from Atlanta's runway 09L, at roughly 2,200 feet, the crew of Brickyard Flight 4439 encountered a pilot’s worst nightmare: the plane’s pitch trim system suddenly went rogue. Pitch trim controls the angle of the aircraft’s nose—crucial for stable flight. As the captain realized he couldn't engage the autopilot, he immediately knew something was seriously wrong, as reported by The Aviation Herald.

As the plane began pitching sharply upward, both pilots had to physically wrestle their controls, fighting desperately to push the nose down. They quickly declared an emergency to air traffic control, reporting they had a "trim runaway" and were in a terrifying "stalling situation," unable to lower their nose.

Keep ReadingShow less
HOA, homeowners association, viral video, TikTok, parenting, kids playing, neighborhood dispute, community rules, noise complaint, parenting debate

Two young kids play in the yard with a sprinkler

Canva

An HOA president told a dad to keep his kids inside. His response went viral.

The sound of children playing outdoors is, for many, a nostalgic and welcome sign of a healthy neighborhood. For others, it’s just noise. This modern-day friction was perfectly captured in a doorbell camera video that has since gone viral, showing a tense exchange between a father and his Homeowners Association (HOA) president.

The video, shared on TikTok by the account Daily Dose Of Masculinity (@masculineessence_), begins with three young girls shrieking as they run indoors, followed moments later by the HOA president ringing the doorbell. When their father answers, she gets straight to the point.

Keep ReadingShow less
sense of distance, scientists, maze, rat testing, sense of direction

Have you ever wondered how you just seem to know how far you have to go to your destination?

Canva

Breakthrough discovery shows your brain has an internal odometer that tracks how far you move

Have you ever wondered how you just seem to know how far you have to go to your destination? Or maybe you were on a road trip and thought to yourself, "only about 275 miles to go," only to pass a sign that lists your destination as 272 miles away. Well, it turns out there's a reason for these occurrences and also for why you inherently remember how to get somewhere.

Scientists at Scotland's University of St. Andrews located the "mileage clock" inside a brain after recording the brain activity of rats running in a square around the perimeter of their cage. This allowed them to find the part of the brain responsible for this very important task. When the scientists changed up the rats path, that sense failed them and they wandered around lost and confused.

Keep ReadingShow less
direct aggression, social aggression, hostile behavior, family dynamics, sibling rivalry, sibling aggression, community, culture

Sister and brother eating cereal.

Image via Canva - Photo by Pavel Danilyuk

Who's kinder to their siblings, brothers or sisters? Research answers an age-old question.

I once threw a butter knife at my brother. In my defense, I missed. Science would describe this as direct aggression. History suggests males are more predisposed to direct, physical aggression than females. We have centuries of documented stories and research to confirm that.

But is there a difference in the ways we act within the family as opposed to outside of it? My personal story notwithstanding, recent research suggests men might be less aggressive to siblings than they are to the rest of the world. Sisters? It's the exact opposite.

Keep ReadingShow less
© Copyright 2025