The Safer Sidelines series by the Louisville Courier Journal has been recognized with a prestigious sports reporting award. The Associated Press Sports Editors named Stephanie Kuzydym’s investigative project as the best in its category for 2023, beating out entries from ESPN.com and USA TODAY Sports among others.
The series launched in April 2023 and sheds light on the lack of preparedness for worst-case scenarios in youth sports by high schools, athletic associations, and lawmakers. It includes a unique searchable database of athlete deaths in the U.S. over the past century, offering valuable information for parents and athletes in Kentucky to assess the safety measures in place at their schools.
Rob Byers, the investigations editor at the Courier Journal, commended Kuzydym for her outstanding work on the project, noting that the findings have been shared at sports medicine conferences and symposiums across the country. Beyond recognition from APSE, the series also received accolades from the Online News Association in the sports, health, and wellness category for small/medium newsrooms. At the state level, it was honored as Kentucky’s best investigative story or series for 2023 by the Kentucky Press Association. Additionally, Kuzydym was recognized with
