The topic of Jewish participation in sports is discussed extensively in academic and popular literature. Scholars believe that sports have been a historical avenue for Jewish people to overcome obstacles toward their participation in secular society, especially before the mid-20th century in Europe and the United States.See, e.g.: Encyclopedia of Jewish people in Sports by Bernard Postal, Jesse Silver, Roy Silver (1965); Great Jews in Sports by Robert Slater (2003), ; Emancipation Through Muscles: Jews and Sports in Europe by Michael Brenner, Gideon Reuveni (2006), ; Jewish, Sports, and the Rites of Citizenship ed. Jack Kugelmass (2007), ; Ellis Island to Ebbets Field: Sport and the American Jewish Experience by Peter Levine (1993) ; Judaism's Encounter with American Sports by Jeffrey S. Gurock (2005) .
Commissioners
Gary Bettman, US, National Hockey League Commissioner Mark Cohon, Canada, Canadian Football League Commissioner Al Davis, US, American Football League Commissioner Jim Drucker, US, Continental Basketball Association Commissioner; and Arena Football League Commissioner Don Garber, US, Major League Soccer Commissioner Ludwig Guttmann, Germany, founder of the Paralympics Sydney Halter, Canada, first Commissioner of the Canadian Football League Cary Kaplan, Canada, President & General Manager, Brampton Beast hockey club; former Commissioner & Chairman of Canadian Soccer League Frank Lowy, Czechoslovak-born Australian-Israeli, chair of Football Federation Australia Maurice Podoloff, Ukraine-born US, first President of the National Basketball Association Jaap van Praag, Dutch, President of Ajax Amsterdam 1964–78, President of the Royal Dutch Football Association Alan Rothenberg, US, former President of the United States Soccer Federation; former executive and investor of the North American Soccer League. Currently Vice President of the North American governing body of association football (CONCACAF)CONCACAF's chart of organization hierarchy Bud Selig, US, former Major League Baseball Commissioner, owner of Milwaukee Brewers Adam Silver, US, Commissioner of the National Basketball Association David Stern, US, former National Basketball Association Commissioner Grigory Surkis, Ukraine, Chairman of Football Federation of Ukraine Gerardo Werthein, Argentina, is former President of Argentine Olympic Committee and current Honorary PresidentArgentine Olympic Committee - MESA DIRECTIVA as well as member of International Olympic Committee.International Olympic Committee - Members Brett Yormark, US, Big 12 Conference Commissioner
Executives
Chaim Bloom (born 1983), US, Chief Baseball Officer for the St. Louis Cardinals Leopoldo Bard, Argentina, co-founder and first president of the Club Atlético River PlateLeopoldo Bard, entre Hipólito Yrigoyen y River Plate. Mike Chernoff, General Manager of the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball Jon Daniels, US, President of Baseball Operations and General Manager of the Major League Baseball team the Texas Rangers Theo Epstein, US, former President of Baseball Operations (Chicago Cubs); former General Manager, Boston Red Sox Donald Fehr, US, former executive director of the MLB Players Association and of the National Hockey League Players' Association Andrew Friedman, US, President of Baseball Operations of the Los Angeles Dodgers (and previously general manager of the Tampa Bay Rays) of Major League Baseballhttp://njjewishnews.com/kaplanskorner/2008/11/18/its-not-just-the-players/ Sam Fuld, US, General Manager of the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball Hank Greenberg, US, baseball HOF first baseman of the Detroit Tigers; general manager for the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox, also part-time owner of the Indians. Stephen Greenberg, US, deputy commissioner of baseball under Bart Giamatti and chief baseball officer later on. Jay Horwitz (born 1945), US, New York Mets executive Jed Hoyer, US, baseball Executive VP and General Manager (Chicago Cubs); former General Manager, San Diego Padres Cary Kaplan, Canada, President & General Manager, Brampton Beast hockey club; former Commissioner & Chairman of Canadian Soccer League, president Cosmos Sports & Entertainment and former president Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) Jerry Krause, US, former General Manager (Chicago Bulls) Marvin Miller, US, executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, member of Baseball Hall of Fame. The National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and Museum official website. Retrieved September 13, 2011. Matthew Silverman, US, President for Baseball Operations for Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Rays
Field managers and coaches
Ray Arcel, US, boxing trainer; trained 18 world champions Red Auerbach, US, basketball guard, NBA coach (9 championships) & GM, Hall of FameObituary, Jewish Chronicle, January 19, 2007 p.45 Brad Ausmus, US, baseball catcher, All-Star, 3x Gold Glove, former manager of the Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Angels, coach for the New York YankeesJewish Baseball Players, Baseball Almanac. Retrieved May 20, 2010 Big Bill Bachrach, US, swimming coach, International Swimming Hall of Fame Barak Bakhar, Israel, former player & current manager of the Israeli Premier League association football club Maccabi Haifa since 2020 (during their current 2022–23 UEFA Champions League and its prestigious Group stage) Yossi Benayoun, Israel, former player & current professional / technical manager of the Israel national football team since 2022 Morris "Whitey" Bimstein, US, boxing trainer David Blatt, US, college & Israeli professional basketball guard, former NBA coach, Cleveland Cavaliers Larry Brown, US, basketball player & pro and college coach, currently at Southern Methodist University Andy Cohen, US, Major League second baseman and coach; managed one game for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1960. Keith Dambrot, US, men's basketball coach (Duquesne University) Al Davis, US, football owner/coach of Oakland Raiders Nikolay Epshtein, Soviet ice hockey coach Charlotte "Eppie" Epstein, US, coach, International Swimming Hall of Fame Jedd Fisch, US, football coach of the University of Washington Huskies Lawrence Frank, US, head coach (New Jersey Nets, 2004–10; Detroit Pistons, 2011–13) Marty Friedman, US, basketball player & coach Eran Ganot, US, men's basketball head coach (University of Hawaii) Yury Gelman (born 1955), Ukrainian-born US Olympic fencing coach Sid Gillman, US, football player & coach Ronen "Nano" Ginzburg, Israel, coach for the Czech Republic national basketball team Alexander Gomelsky, Russia, head coach of USSR national team for 30 years, including victory in 1988 Summer Olympics, Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, FIBA Hall of Fame Samuel Goodman, US, manager of gold-winning US Olympic rugbyEncyclopedia Judaica, Second Edition, volume 19, p146 Eddie Gottlieb, Ukraine-born US, first basketball coach, manager, and owner of Philadelphia Warriors in the BAA/NBA, NBA founder Avram Grant, Israel, football manager, former head coach of English Premier League clubs Chelsea F.C. and Portsmouth F.C. and of the Israel national football team Ofir Haim, Israel, soccer manager, head coach of the Israel national under-19 football team during their successful 2022 UEFA Euro Under-19 campaign (2nd place in the finals) Brad Greenberg, US, former men's basketball coach (Radford University) Seth Greenberg, US, former men's basketball coach (Virginia Tech, South Florida, Long Beach State) Béla Guttmann, Hungary, football manager, AC Milan, São Paulo F.C., F.C. Porto, Benfica, C.A. Penarol Cecil Hart, Canada, hockey coach/manager (Montreal Canadiens); original Hart Trophy named after father David, & current one after him Alon Hazan, Israel, former player & current head coach of the senior Israel national football team since 8 May 2022 (during their successful 2022–23 UEFA Nations League B campaign, where they were placed 1st, and thus has qualified to the upcoming 2024–25 UEFA Nations League A) Paul Heyman, US, professional wrestling manager Melissa Hiatt, US, professional wrestling manager Nat Holman, US, basketball player & coach, Hall of Fame Roy Hodgson, England, soccer manager, former England national football team manager, currently manager of Crystal Palace Red Holzman, US, basketball player & coach, Hall of Fame Yoel Judah, US, boxer & trainer"He's Zab; He Jabs", Palm Beach Post Gabe Kapler, US, baseball outfielder, manager (Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants), 2021 NL Manager of the Year Béla Komjádi, Hungary, coach, International Swimming Hall of Fame Randy Levine, US, President of New York Yankees baseball team Tony Levine, US, football coach of the University of Houston CougarsUH's first Jewish football coach debuts with historic bowl victory. Jewish Herald-Voice, Jan 5, 2012. Retrieved August 23, 2012. Lenny Levy, US, baseball coach (Pittsburgh Pirates) Marv Levy, US, football coach & General Manager (Montreal Alouettes, Buffalo Bills) Bob Melvin, US, baseball player and manager (Oakland A's), 3x Manager of the Year Cecil Moss, South Africa, coach of Springboks rugby team. León Najnudel, Argentina, coach of Argentina national basketball team, and the main driving force in the creation of the Liga Nacional de Básquet (National Basketball League).El eterno recuerdo a León Najnudel Joe Pasternack, US, men's basketball head coach (UC Santa Barbara) Josh Pastner, US, men's basketball head coach (UNLV Runnin' Rebels, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets) Gabe Paul, US, baseball President & General Manager of Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees Bruce Pearl, US, men's basketball coach, Auburn University José Pekerman, Argentina, Argentine football manager He was a coach in the Argentina national football team,Argentina elige a Pekerman Colombia national football team, and Venezuela national football team. In his stage as coach of the Argentina national under-20 football team, won three FIFA U-20 World Cup. Lefty Phillips, US; briefly a minor league pitcher in the 1930s, later became a pitching coach and manager. Jake Pitler, US, second baseman and coach David Pleat, England, football manager, Tottenham Hotspur, Luton Town Bela Rajki-Reich, Hungary, swimming and water polo coach Jimmie Reese, US, baseball second baseman, coach Ernie Roth, US, professional wrestling manager Larry Rothschild, US, baseball pitcher, coach, and manager (currently New York Yankees pitching coach) Yehoshua Rozin, Israeli basketball coach Dolph Schayes, US, basketball player & coach Mark Shapiro, US, General Manager of Cleveland Indians Allie Sherman, US, football player & coach, New York Giants Norm Sherry, US, baseball catcher, manager, and coach Leonid Slutsky, Russia, National football team manager (2015–16) brought the Russian team to Euro-2016 in France, currently manages Hull City in English Championship League Marc Trestman, US, NFL head coach (Chicago Bears, 2013–14), current head coach of the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League Irina Viner-Usmanova, Russia, coach of multiple world and Olympic champions in rhythmic gymnastics, President of Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation Ryan Warsofsky, US, NHL ice hockey head coach Dan Warthen, US, baseball pitcher and pitching coach (currently, for the Texas Rangers)
Officials
Menachem Ashkenazi, Bulgaria/Israel, association football, Olympic and World Cup refereeFIFA Olympic Football Tournament Tokyo 1964 Retrieved on 15 May 2013. Al Clark, US, former MLB umpire Norm Drucker, US, former NBA referee and Supervisor of Officials Al Forman, US, MLB umpire Leo Goldstein, US, association football, World Cup assistant refereeJews in Sports Retrieved on 15 May 2013. Jonathan Kaplan, South Africa, rugby union, world record for refereeing highest number of international rugby union test matches, most experienced Test referee of all time