Column Archive

Condi Rice's Membership at Augusta National Is Nothing to Celebrate

In a week where the phrase “legitimate rape” became part of the American political discourse, it’s understandable that anyone who believes in women’s liberation would be scavenging for some good news. But Condi Rice and Darla Moore becoming the first women members at Augusta National Golf Club aint it. 

Australian Government Will Issue Overdue Apology to 1968 Olympic Hero Peter Norman

In an act as appropriate as it is overdue, the Australian House of Parliament is issuing an official state apology Monday to the country’s late, great sprinter Peter Norman. Norman won the 200-meter silver medal at the 1968 Olympics, but that’s not why he’s either remembered or owed apologies.

After the London Olympics: “The Gloves Come Off”

Now that the smoke has cleared, the medals handed out, and Paul McCartney safely returned to storage, the other shoe can officially begin its descent. The Olympic party is over and a hangover of Big Ben proportions awaits. If the Olympic planners had been honest, they would have used the closing ceremonies to introduce the new sixth Spice Girl, “Austerity Spice”.

Is the US Olympic System as Abusive as China's?

The spectacle of the 2012 London Olympics should be subtitled “The Bashing of the Chinese Athlete.” But the message to all US critics of China’s Olympic system should be, “Physician, heal thyself.” The battle to make Olympic training more humane begins at home.

Oscar Pistorius and 'the Dignity of Risk'

Pistorius was born without fibulas and had both legs amputated below the knee before his first birthday. The 25-year-old used prosthetics from the time he could walk and was raised to see “putting them on” as no different than his older brother Carl’s putting on his shoes. He was a dominant Paralympic runner and qualified for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Enter the IAAF, the world governing body for track and field. They ruled, stunningly, that prosthetic legs constituted a “competitive advantage” for Pistorius. This is only logical to someone who thinksThe Six Million Dollar Man was a documentary.

The Power of Gabby Douglas

There are two kinds of political athletes. The first, and most memorable, are athletes who engage in the explicit politics of protest. This tradition is marked by Muhammad Ali saying, “I ain’t got no quarrel with them Vietcong.” It’s Billie Jean King marching for Title IX. It’s Curt Flood saying he refused to be a “well paid slave.” It’s John Carlos and Tommie Smith raising their fists in the name of civil and human rights. But then there is a different kind of athletic politics: the politics of representation. That’s Jackie Robinson the moment he took the field to break baseball’s color line. That’s Martina Navratilova, all ropey muscles, forcing the world to confront a more powerful kind of woman athlete. That’s Compton’s Serena and Venus Williams dominating their country club sport.

An anti-racist Olympic rebel

The furor over Australian boxer Damian Hooper's decision to wear a T-shirt bearing the Aboriginal flag shows a new level of hypocrisy at the Olympics, writes Dave Zirin.

Danny Boyle's Olympic Minstrel Show

In the category of “debates I never thought I’d be having” comes a rager about whether or not the Danny Boyle–directed opening ceremonies of the 2012 London Olympics constituted some sort of left-wing creative masterpiece: Fantasia as directed by Ken Loach.

The 'Wazzock' Mitt Romney Is Wrong About the London Olympics, and This Is Unfortunate

So much for that shared “Anglo Saxon heritage.” Mitt Romney is getting roasted across the British press and political establishment for arriving on the shores of the United Kingdom armed with a critique of London’s capacity to host the 2012 Olympic Games. The biggest issue is neither the gaffe nor the demonstrable fact that Romney is a walking gaffe-machine. It’s that he is dead wrong about the UK’s preparedness, and this is actually unfortunate. The UK is not under-prepared but over-prepared.

Why the NCAA's Sanctions on Penn State Are Just Dead Wrong

No one argues that Penn State should suffer for the crimes of its leadership in shielding former assistant coach/child predator Jerry Sandusky. But the NCAA's actions against the school mark a stomach-turning, precedent-setting and lawless turning point in its history. The punishment levied by Emmert was nothing less than an extra-legal, extrajudicial imposition into the affairs of a publicly funded campus. If allowed to stand, the repercussions will be felt far beyond Happy Valley.