Column Archive

Chris Kluwe and the Greatest Political Statement by Any Athlete Ever
Chris Kluwe and the Greatest Political Statement by Any Athlete Ever

September 12, 2012
Speaking out always holds the risk of a backlash: especially for pro athletes and especially when standing up for LGBT equality. The Baltimore Ravens’ Brendan Ayanbadejo experienced that reality this week. Maryland State Delegate Emmett Burns told Ayanbadejo to shut up and play. But the Ravens veteran stood strong. That inspired an open letter by Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe that might have been the greatest political statement by any athlete in eons.

NFL Season Opens Under the Darkest of Shadows
NFL Season Opens Under the Darkest of Shadows

September 5, 2012
Beneath the fireworks, concerts, and breathless hype that will mark the start of the 2012 NFL season, is a league that’s haunted. It’s haunted by future Hall of Fame linebacker Junior Seau who killed himself in May at the age of 43. It’s haunted by the recent suicides of Ray Easterling, Dave Duerson, and OJ Murdock. It’s haunted by the now widespread knowledge that the country's most popular sport can leave you damaged in ways never before suspected.

Gold Medalist Gabby Douglas Speaks Out, Is Smacked Down
Gold Medalist Gabby Douglas Speaks Out, Is Smacked Down

September 3, 2012
When it comes to “jocks for justice” there are two broad categories: “the explicit” and “the representative.” “The explicit” are people like Muhammad Ali, Billie Jean King and Steve Nash: athletes who explicitly used their cultural capital to make political stands. The “representative” are those who become political symbols because they were trailblazers in their respective sports. Tiger Woods, the Williams sisters and Greg Louganis don’t necessarily have a record of political stands, but by virtue of their talent and ability to break through barriers, they carry the aspirations of countless others. Well, Gabrielle Douglas, is, at age 16, making a transition to being more explicit. She’s also learning that this comes with a price.

Why are the NFL Refs Locked Out? It's All in the Game
Why are the NFL Refs Locked Out? It's All in the Game

August 28, 2012
Although anathema to NFL fans across the country, we should recognize that sometimes a punter shall lead us. It was Minnesota Viking’s punter Chris Kluwe who took to twitter and said what has been so painfully obvious through three weeks of the National Football League's pre-season: “The NFL really needs to kiss and make up with the refs. These replacements are horrible. Frankly, it’s kind of embarrassing.”  It’s embarrassing that members of the NFL Players Association, who are part of the AFL-CIO, will, once on the field, be under the authority of scabs.

What They Can't Take From Lance Armstrong
What They Can't Take From Lance Armstrong

August 27, 2012
If Joe Paterno represents the greatest fall from grace in the history of sports, then many are saying that Lance Armstrong might now have won the silver. On Thursday, Armstrong was stripped of all seven of his Tour de France cycling crowns and will be banned for life from any connection to the sport he made famous.

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

August 20, 2012
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
Australian Government Will Issue Overdue Apology to 1968 Olympic Hero Peter Norman

August 18, 2012
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”
After the London Olympics: “The Gloves Come Off”

August 15, 2012
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?
Is the US Olympic System as Abusive as China's?

August 13, 2012
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'
Oscar Pistorius and 'the Dignity of Risk'

August 8, 2012
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.