REAL Sports with Bryant Gumbel - Season 28

Three years ago, a Supreme Court ruling paved the way for legalized sports wagering in the United States. In a short time, the market has exploded with sports leagues, teams and the leagues' broadcast partners capitalizing on the opportunity. Everyone has benefitted except for one group -- the gamblers who become addicted. 

There is a dark side to Olympic sliding sports like Bobsled and Skeleton that casual fans of the Beijing Winter Games know little about: many former and current athletes have suffered major head trauma participating in these sports, suffering the same kinds of injuries normally associated with football players. The trauma is caused not only by major collisions, but also by small hits often referred to as "sled head," caused by speed, whiplash and vibration of the ice. 

While tiny Cochran's Ski Area in Vermont may seem unremarkable compared to the biggest ski resorts in the world, its history of producing elite skiers is nothing short of amazing. And for the past twenty years the US Ski Team has had at least one Cochran family member on the roster, including Ryan Cochran-Siegle, the only American to medal in Alpine skiing at the Beijing Olympics. Real Sports sits down with the first family of American skiing and learns of their mission to give children - regardless of means - the opportunity to ski and have fun. 

JAKE PAUL: From rapping to elaborate pranks, Jake Paul's YouTube videos are viral sensations, amassing more than seven billion views. Now, with no experience at all, Paul has decided to become a full-time professional boxer.

CASTER SEMENYA & INTERSEX ATHLETES: After years of being forced by track's governing body, World Athletics, to take hormone therapy to suppress her body's natural testosterone, Olympic gold medalist middle distance runner Caster Semenya launched a lawsuit claiming they violated her human rights.

OKSANA MASTERS UPDATE: Born an orphan in Ukraine during the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, Oksana Masters has drawn from the trauma of her childhood to fuel an astonishing, record-setting Paralympic career in her adopted home of the United States.

CASTER SEMENYA & INTERSEX ATHLETES: After years of being forced by track's governing body, World Athletics, to take hormone therapy to suppress her body's natural testosterone, Olympic gold medalist middle distance runner Caster Semenya launched a lawsuit claiming they violated her human rights.

DESHAUN WATSON ACCUSERS: Several women who have accused Deshaun Watson of sexual misconduct sit down for their first ever national TV interview. In the report, they detail the alleged abuse they suffered and share their reactions to Watson's record-breaking $230 million contract with the Cleveland Browns.

SAVANNAH BANANAS: Some say America's national pastime – baseball – has become too long, slow and boring. The solution, according to Jesse Cole, is Banana Ball, a game Cole invented and named after the team he owns – the Savannah Bananas. Banana Ball has a two-hour time limit and removes what Cole says are all the boring parts of baseball, like bunting and stepping out of the batter's box. To play his game, Cole has assembled a cast of characters. He recruited a pitcher on stilts, a rodeo clown and a 75-year-old former Major League All-Star, who descends from the bleachers, beer in hand. If Cole sounds more like a ringmaster than a traditional baseball owner, perhaps that's because Cole fashions himself after P.T. Barnum, the founder of Barnum & Bailey circus.

CHRIS EVERT: Tennis superstar Chris Evert defined an era in women's sports, winning at least one Grand Slam title for 13 straight years. Today, she faces a very different kind of fight: ovarian cancer. Mary Carillo reports. Producer: Nick Dolin.

KERI BLAKINGER: For Keri Blakinger, the unforgiving world of incarceration in America is intimately familiar — not just because she's one of the most prominent prison reporters but because she also served time in federal prison. Her unusual journey into the American criminal justice system began in, of all places, the world of figure skating, where Blakinger was once an Olympic hopeful. Soledad O'Brien reports. Producer: Dan Litke.

SCUBA DETECTIVES: While many scuba divers search for coral reefs and tropical fish, others are on a much different hunt.  Recovery divers use the sport of scuba diving to investigate underwater crime scenes. Real Sports follows a training session with the country's leading underwater criminal investigator as he trains cops in scuba detective work. They visit Panama where a master scuba diver recently recovered the bodies of two women trapped in a plane at the bottom of the ocean. Jon Frankel reports. Producer: Maggie Burbank.

PHANATIC: Correspondent Mary Carillo details the inside story of the man behind the most beloved mascots in sports. Over 40 years ago, Dave Raymond created the Philly Phanatic, an electric-green muppet with a mischievous personality that made him a star. In the years since, Raymond has developed more than a hundred mascots across sports and business - bittersweet success born from personal struggles and heartrending devotion. Producer: Nisreen Habbal.

BIRD BRAINS: Each year, more than a dozen teams set out to prove they are the best in the world at one of the most unusual competitions ever: bird watching. The eagle-eyed observers set out across the great state of New Jersey to participate in a contest lasting 24 consecutive hours.  The team that spots and identifies the greatest number and variety of birds within that period is declared the winner with a grand prize of…zero dollars. In his first piece for Real Sports, Ariel Helwani reports. Producers: Chapman Downes/Evan Burgos.

SUMO:  Real Sports travels to Japan for a rare, behind-the-scenes look into the world of Sumo wrestling. Correspondent David Scott learns the ancient rules and traditions of the country's 2000-year-old national treasure – and why some consider it the most demanding sport on the planet. Producer: Jordan Kronick.

KEVIN WARREN: In a rare, one-on-one television interview, Bryant Gumbel sits down with Kevin Warren, the Commissioner of the Big Ten and one of the most powerful figures in sports.  The first Black commissioner of a Power 5 conference, few know the obstacles Warren faced and the odds he's defied along the way - including surviving a terrible accident when he was a young boy. Producer: Maggie Burbank.

ROCKET MEN: Richard Browning and David Mayman are a new breed of thrill seekers: part aerial athletes and part mad scientists who have reimagined human flight by attaching jet engines to their bodies and launching themselves into the sky.  The adventure is not just for fun, as Browning and Mayman believe their inventions can actually help save lives. Correspondent Jon Frankel reports. Producer: Chapman Downes.

SENIOR GAMES: Mary Carillo attends The Senior Games, the premiere sporting event for senior citizens ages 50 to 100 who refuse to bow down to Father Time, vying for gold in events ranging from shuffleboard to the 100-meter dash. Producer: Katie Melone.

ANN WOLFE (UPDATE): After an abusive childhood and a period of homelessness as a single mother, former boxer Ann Wolfe turned her life around by becoming a world champion, and then a world-class trainer – the only female to have ever guided a male fighter to championship contention. Thirteen years after our first report, Real Sports caught up with Wolfe as she marked her greatest professional achievement yet - being enshrined in the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Correspondent Andrea Kremer reports. Producers: Nick Dolin/Chapman Downes/Evan Burgos.

WADA: "Real Sports" investigates allegations that the World Anti-Doping Agency, or WADA, is failing to adequately police international sport for the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Insiders claim that WADA's mission is being compromised by conflicts of interest and outside meddling. Correspondent Jon Frankel reports. Producer: Max Gershberg.

DARREN WALLER: Battling drug addiction at the start of his NFL career, Darren Waller was suspended from the league and almost died from a drug overdose. After a fresh start with the Raiders, Waller miraculously turned his career around, becoming one of the league's top tight ends. Now, he's also putting in the work off the field, partnering with his drug sponsor to help save other addicts, by pulling them from the underground tunnels beneath the Las Vegas strip. Correspondent David Scott reports. Producer: Evan Burgos.

FRANCES TIAFOE (Update): "Real Sports" first profiled then-rising US tennis star Frances Tiafoe in 2017. The revealing segment showed how unlikely and remarkable his backstory was in a sport that typically has a high barrier to entry. Now, after beating all-time great Rafael Nadal on his way to becoming the first American in 16 years to make it to the semifinals at the US Open, Tiafoe is one of the most talked-about stars on the court today. Correspondent Mary Carillo reports. Producers: Beret Remak, Hannah Vicente-Kliot.

DREW LEAGUE: Every summer, some of the biggest superstars in the NBA make the trip to South Los Angeles to get a taste of the nation's preeminent pro-am basketball league. Known as The Drew, it's a community program that's been keeping families of South Los Angeles engaged, entertained and safe for nearly 50 years. Correspondent David Scott reports. Producer: Maggie Burbank.

PICKLEBALL WARS: During the pandemic, one seemingly simple little sport spread far and wide: Pickleball. The game has exploded across the country, drawing young and old for some exercise and time with friends. However, it hasn't been all fun and games.  Pickleball has led to turf wars and battles across the country over everything from real estate to the noise and havoc the game creates in once quiet areas. Correspondent Mary Carillo reports. Producer: Beret Remak.

KIRSTIE ENNIS: Marine Sergeant Kirstie Ennis, was just 21 years old when her helicopter crashed during a combat mission in Afghanistan. Ennis suffered severe injuries and eventually had to have her left leg amputated. Now, ten years after her crash, Ennis is one mountain away from climbing the Seven Summits, the highest mountain peaks on the planet's seven continents. Correspondent Jon Frankel reports. Producer: Jordan Kronick.

REF ABUSE (Update): Real Sports has twice reported on the rampant violence that referees endure on fields and courts of play, and many say the abuse is worse than ever.  As a result, over the past few years, tens of thousands of youth officials across the country have quit, leading to countless games and matches being canceled, and countless kids being deprived of the chance to play ball. Correspondent Jon Frankel reports. Producers: Nick Dolin, Stephen Lorenzo.

SWISS SPORTS: REAL SPORTS examines why nearly all of the world's sports federations, including the IOC and FIFA, have chosen to make Switzerland their home – and looks into allegations that the Swiss government's hands-off approach has allowed for rampant misuse of funds, corruption and bribery scandals. Correspondent David Scott reports. Producer: Josh Fine.

MIKAELA SHIFFRIN: She is widely considered to be the best female skier on the planet and was the heavy favorite to win multiple medals at last year's Beijing Olympics.  But when the unthinkable happened, and Shiffrin failed to finish three of her races, millions of viewers around the world were left stunned. In her first in-depth interview since Beijing, Shiffrin sits down with Real Sports correspondent Jon Frankel as she prepares for the upcoming ski season in the mountains of Chile and opens up about the challenges she faced and the criticism she's received since the Games. Producer: Chapman Downes.

QATAR (Update): As the World Cup gets ready to kick off this month in Qatar, REAL SPORTS revisits its report on how some of the wealthiest men on earth imported hundreds of thousands of the world's poorest, then put them to work in conditions that have been compared to modern-day slavery.  Finally, after years of charges of exploitation and untold deaths, the Qatari government promised reforms. But those reforms, critics say, were too little and too late. Correspondent David Scott reports. Producers: Josh Fine, Stephen Lorenzo.

Departing from the show's regular format, host Bryant Gumbel is joined by veteran correspondents Mary Carillo, Jon Frankel, Andrea Kremer, Soledad O'Brien, and David Scott, as well as newcomers Isobel Yeung, Ariel Helwani and Jonathan Jones, for spirited discussions that recap the most significant and impactful stories of 2022.

Stories discussed in the episode include Deshaun Watson's accusers, the IOC's partnership with China's repressive regime, sports gambling and addiction, an examination of WADA, the hidden world of Sumo, profiles of Chrissie Evert and Jake Paul, and an inside look at pickleball mania around the country.