Over The Shoulder: Execs Look Back At Biggest Stories Of '15

With '15 coming to an end, SBJ/SBD caught up with several high-ranking sports execs to get their thoughts on the biggest storylines of the year. Tomorrow, more execs chime in, followed Wednesday by a look ahead to '16. 

What was the most interesting development in sports business -- welcome or discouraging -- in the past year?

* NBA Commissioner Adam Silver: "Athletes are taking on increasingly greater roles as advocates for themselves and their communities, especially on matters of social justice. In 2015, athletes at all levels were emboldened and unafraid to address even the thorniest of issues. There was a time when athletes did not feel comfortable speaking out. Today, social activism is not only accepted, it is encouraged. When Kevin Love says ‘It’s on us’ to end sexual assault on college campuses; when LeBron James, Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony say ‘Enough’ to gun violence, or when Chris Bosh, Elena Delle Donne and Skylar Diggins condemn bullying, athletes are lending the considerable weight of their convictions to causes in which they believe. In the NBA and WNBA, our players, with support from their unions, have taken a leadership role in addressing important social issues, supporting campaigns like My Brother’s Keeper, LeanIn Together, Wear Orange and Choose Kindness. And rather than running from potentially uncomfortable conversations, fans are engaging. Whether they agree or disagree with the players is not the issue. The conversation is what is important, and this past year athletes spoke louder, more clearly and with greater impact than, perhaps, ever before."

* ESPN's Jessica Mendoza: “Women did not just knock on some doors this year, they busted them open. Becky Hammon made history as the first full-time, salaried assistant coach in the NBA … and won a championship in the NBA’s Summer League. Our USA women’s soccer team not only took back the World Cup title, but they did it with a record-breaking 25.4 million viewers, making it the most-watched soccer game in the U.S. ever -- men or women. Add on Jen Welter (NFL), Sarah Thomas (NFL), and Justine Siegal (MLB) and it was a year of many firsts within men’s sports. But this is only welcoming if the near future shows we can progress past the firsts, when references such as ‘female broadcaster’ and ‘first female coach’ are naturally transformed into ‘broadcaster’ and ‘coach.’ I look forward to 2016 bringing the most welcoming change from this year: If you’re good, you’re hired.”

* USOC CEO Scott Blackmun: “In our world, the most interesting development relates to the various governance-related controversies that emerged in international sport in 2015, beginning with the exposed corruption within FIFA and continuing with the systematic doping revealed in the recent (World Anti-Doping Agency) report. For a values-based movement like ours, these are especially troubling. But the bright light that is now shining on these behaviors will strengthen international sport and ultimately provide a more level playing field for clean athletes, so I would say the developments are discouraging and welcome at the same time.”

* Magic CEO Alex Martins: "The most interesting development in sports this year has been the emergence of daily fantasy. Not in many years have we seen an industry come on the scene and have such a widespread effect on our sports industry, reaching from ownership through operations. The amount of investment that the industry has made through marketing partnerships alone, represents the largest incremental increase by a single industry in perhaps decades. … Additionally, the equity investment by leagues and owners into the individual companies in the space has also been widespread, from leagues to individual team owners alike. … Of course the legal discussion around the space has also had an impact on sport as daily fantasy companies have been forced to re-evaluate the specifics of how they operate and for appropriate regulation to be called upon the daily fantasy industry. Due to these legal inquiries and the discovery of how the industry will operate in a more regulated environment, this is a story and development on the sports industry that will continue to be front and center in 2016. However, make no mistake about it, the emergence of daily fantasy on the sports industry and its impact economically, as well in the cultural fiber of fans, is one … that will have a lasting impact in many ways on the sports industry for many years to come.”

* UFC co-Chair & CEO Lorenzo Fertitta: “One of the most welcoming developments in sports business this year came from the emergence of OTT (over-the-top) platforms across professional sports leagues. Fans are looking for more content, greater access and exclusive programming at their fingertips. [UFC] capitalized on this evolving trend by expanding its digital subscription service, UFC Fight Pass, producing more original content while growing an already robust fight library and giving fight fans what they were looking for. Another great success in this area came with Yahoo! Sports’ live-streaming of the NFL’s London game between Buffalo [and] Jacksonville. This new viewing experience is a real game changer.”