State leaders must step up and fund the Youth Sports for All Act

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OPINION — A statewide survey should not read like a verdict on the future of our state’s children. The 2026 California Play Equity Report does just that. The Play Equity Report finds that 76% of California youth do not meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s physical activity guidelines, and 60% of California parents struggle to afford youth sports.

As a father, a coach, and retired NBA player who spent 13 seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, I know the power of sports in a young person’s life. And for most of my life, I’ve known the score. It’s why the findings land so hard: California is failing too many kids, and we cannot accept it.

The 2026 California Play Equity Report was commissioned by the LA84 Foundation, the legacy of the 1984 Summer Olympic Games. The report is a statewide study of play equity, and shows that youth in California continue to navigate barriers to sports participation, lack access to play opportunities and face obstacles to physical activity.

It shows that parents in California strongly recognize the importance of sports for childhood health, lifelong well-being and building social connections.

At Crespi Carmelite High School, I take a character-focused approach to coaching basketball and build connections with our educators who help students become their best selves. The hidden math in the report is that as Californians, we’re satisfied with only 24% of our youth getting an hour of daily physical activity and we accept that only 40% of parents can afford to enroll their kids in youth sports.

The research found that girls, Latino youth and children with disabilities play less and for shorter durations than their peers. Access to sport, play, and movement is essential in children’s physical, emotional, social and academic development. Physical activity connects youth to their communities, builds resilience and offers a sense of purpose. Yet data shows California is failing our future generations.

Sport builds a sense of belonging and fosters connections. The young athletes I work with have broad shoulders, but they seek peers and adults who relate to their reality. Belonging is what kids gravitate toward, and 60% of California parents say physical activity helps young people develop that sense of belonging.

The state plays a critical role in helping all kids thrive by funding this crucial work. The Youth Sports For All Act was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom last October. It establishes a blue-ribbon commission to evaluate the feasibility of a centralized authority to oversee youth sports.

Almost every country outside the U.S. already has this.

However, funding for the Youth Sports For All Act is not included in California’s state budget proposals. It’s a missing piece of the state’s youth development and public health strategy.

The commission’s goal will be to prioritize access for all kids to the power of sport, play, and movement. The play equity gap continues to expand between families who can afford youth sports and those who cannot. This gap is a measure of unrealized potential. Not for elite athletes, but for future nurses, CEOs, artists, or even coaches.

Achieving play equity requires a coordinated effort. Youth Sports For All can meet this challenge. Gov. Newsom and legislative leaders, I urge you to fund the Youth Sports For All Act.

Derek Fisher, who played 18 seasons in the NBA, winning five championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, is an advisory board member of the Play Equity Fund.