What's with these "Green Whistles?" ⚽️

Is it actually worth it to attend a World Cup game in person?

It’s the question I kept asking myself as I scanned my $300 plane ticket and slept in my $450-per-night hotel bed. Not to mention the cost of actually going to the game (more on that at the end).

But a week removed from watching the U.S. beat the Socceroos in Seattle, and I have to say, I’d spend the money again in a heartbeat.

In today’s newsletter:

🗞 The Big Story: What is this ‘Green Whistle’ Being Used at the World Cup?

📉 Biggest Loser: The Packers’ Biggest “Existential Threat”

🏆 Winner’s Circle: Why is the Pitcher’s Mound Exactly 60’6” Away?

The best HR advice comes from people who’ve been in the trenches.

That’s what this newsletter delivers.

I Hate it Here is your insider’s guide to surviving and thriving in HR, from someone who’s been there. It’s not about theory or buzzwords — it’s about practical, real-world advice for navigating everything from tricky managers to messy policies.

Every newsletter is written by Hebba Youssef — a Chief People Officer who’s seen it all and is here to share what actually works (and what doesn’t). We’re talking real talk, real strategies, and real support — all with a side of humor to keep you sane.

Because HR shouldn’t feel like a thankless job. And you shouldn’t feel alone in it.

Sign Up Free

What is this green whistle being used in the World Cup? And why is it illegal here in the U.S.?

Background: During Canada’s opening match against Qatar, midfielder Ismaël Koné exited the game with a broken leg and was given this strange green device.

It’s called Penthrox, or as it’s more commonly called, “the green whistle,” and it’s a fast-acting, non-opioid pain medication that’s self-administered for short-term pain relief.

Fast-Acting: This drug was originally developed as a general anesthetic in the United States in the 1960s and was quickly adopted worldwide. It works by simply breathing through the device like an inhaler, but unlike other forms of pain medication, relief is felt within the first few breaths because the active compound is quickly absorbed through the lungs and directly into the bloodstream.

Experts say its effects, which are similar to those of laughing gas, can last for up to an hour, and doctors will typically use it as a quick, temporary solution to transport someone who has suffered an extremely painful and traumatic injury like a broken leg.

But if it works so well, then why is it banned in the U.S.?

Negative Side Effects: Throughout the 1970s, American doctors were using Penthrox to put patients under for surgery, which required high doses of the drug. However, it turns out that at these increased dosages, patients were experiencing kidney and liver damage, resulting in the Food and Drug Administration removing it from the market entirely in 2005.

Still, the amount of Penthrox in one of these green whistles is 6-7x lower than the amount considered “dangerous” to humans, which is why it’s currently approved for use in 55 countries, including Canada, where Koné was fortunately playing when he suffered his injury.

And even though in 2018, the FDA allowed for new trials to begin on the drug for potential reintroduction into the American market, we’re still waiting on what I’m sure many athletes would agree is a very helpful form of pain relief.

The biggest controversy in sports right now is one you definitely haven’t heard of, but the NFL is warning that it could mean the end of the Green Bay Packers franchise.

Let’s break down if that’s actually true.

Shared Equity: In 1961, Congress passed the Sports Broadcasting Act, which granted the NFL an antitrust exemption to sell its TV rights as a league rather than team-by-team. The benefit of doing it this way is that you avoid the huge differences in local media revenue you see across sports, like baseball, where the Los Angeles Dodgers will earn $334 million this year from their TV deal, which is over 9x more than what the Milwaukee Brewers will make.

That’s why, 65 years ago, the NFL lobbied Congress to package all of its games together and split its media revenue equally among all of its teams, regardless of market size, resulting in each franchise making a record $432.6 million last year alone.

However, this is where the issue with that 1961 law starts to emerge.

Modern Problems: The original language of the bill obviously doesn’t mention things like streaming, which the NFL has recently used to make hundreds of millions of dollars more per year at the expense of its fans, who now have to pay close to $900 per year just to watch every game. A price that has prompted lawmakers, led by one from Wisconsin, to re-examine the 1961 Sports Broadcasting Act.

But what does any of this have to do with the Packers?

Well, because the team plays in the smallest media market in the country, they’re worried that any change to the law that would result in each franchise having to sell its own regional TV packages, like what exists across MLB and the NBA, would threaten a model that they say is “as foundational to the Packers’ existence as the very bricks in Lambeau Field.”

Opposing Voices: An NFL executive even called any changes to the SBA “an existential threat to the Packers.” Essentially, warning of the “end of the franchise” if the league wasn’t allowed to continue to sell all of its games as a single package.

For his part, the man leading this effort, Representative Scott Fitzgerald of Wisconsin, called the team’s concerns “ridiculous” and “almost laughable.” And honestly, it seems like there’s a way to update this law to include some restrictions on streaming that don’t end the most historic franchise in sports.

Why is the pitcher’s mound exactly 60’6” away from home plate?

While it might just seem like a completely random distance, it’s actually the result of one of the oldest debates in baseball that’s still being argued over today.

Original Rule: According to the earliest surviving rules of baseball, written in 1845, there was never an original distance specified for where the pitcher had to stand.

In fact, the only time pitchers were even mentioned in these original rules were when they stated that “the ball must be pitched (underhand), not thrown, for the bat,” and since “strikes” wouldn’t be invented for another 13 years, that meant the pitchers only real job was to lob a ball to the batter so that he could put it in play.

Revisionist History: However, that all changed at the Baseball Convention of 1857, when 16 New York-based clubs got together and established that pitches must be thrown from at least 45 feet away, from anywhere behind a 12-foot line. Then, in 1863, a second 12-foot line was added three feet back, essentially giving pitchers a “box” from which they now had to deliver each pitch.

And this is when the game really started to change.

Thanks to early pioneers like James Creighton, pitchers began planting their back foot and snapping their wrists to deliver fast, spinning, softball-type pitches that were impossible to hit from 45 feet away. Hitters accused Creighton of cheating, but his style quickly caught on, resulting in called strikes being introduced in 1858, called balls in 1863, and the total number of strikeouts league-wide tripling through 1880.

This resulted in the pitching distance officially being pushed back to 50 feet in 1881, which provided a brief uptick in offense but after pitchers were permitted to throw overhand in 1884, they began dominating the game once again, leading to the creation of another new rule, which stated that their back foot must be in contact with the back line of the pitcher’s box, which at the time sat 5.5 feet behind the front line.

This meant that now pitchers were throwing from 55’ 6” from home plate, but still that proved to not be far enough.

Talent Uproar: With the rise of early flame throwers, like Amos “The Hoosier Thunderbolt” Rusie, and the subsequent decline in league-wide batting average, pitchers were moved back another five feet to 60 feet, 6 inches, and given a 12-inch-by-4-inch slab they now had to throw from.

Naturally, league batting average jumped again, strikeout rates dropped from 8.4% to 5.2%, and for the next 133 years, that’s where pitchers would continue throwing from.

However, that’s not the end of this debate. Because league-wide strikeout rates are over 20% today, there has been renewed debate and even testing of moving the mound as far back as 63 feet 6 inches.

Pitchers really can’t catch a break…

When you refer new readers to the Bottom of the Ninth, you win exclusive prizes.

➡️ Here is your unique link to share: {{rp_refer_url}}

You’re currently at {{rp_num_referrals}}. That’s only {{rp_num_referrals_until_next_milestone}} away from receiving {{rp_next_milestone_name}}!

*Please do not use fake email addresses — they will not qualify as referrals. Thank you!

👋🏻 Happy Friday!

First things first, I didn’t actually pay for my $2,140 ticket (I did pay for the $17.99 Micelob Ultra, however. That was less worth it.)

But let me use this as an opportunity to justify why I would have, especially given what I know now.

The only way to describe the World Cup atmosphere is like a primetime SEC college football match-up between two fan bases from entirely different countries. Not only is there tension around the game itself, but the history of each nation is carried into the stadium, which adds a level of depth to each match-up that I wasn’t expecting.

As for the actual game, I was worried that, because of the ticket prices, it would be a hyper-sanitized, Super Bowl-like crowd. But much to my surprise, the ticket prices actually had the exact opposite effect. It felt like everyone in attendance was treating this game like a once-in-a-lifetime experience, which led to incredible camaraderie from the hotel to the train to your seats. I can’t even count how many times someone asked me where I was from or if this was my first game. And when the U.S. scored (twice), everyone was high-fiving and hugging like lifelong friends.

This game, maybe more than any I’ve ever been to, reminded me what I love about sports: the traditions, the drama, the people. I’d say that’s well worth the price of admission.