Column Archive

Two Scandals, One Connection: The FBI link between Penn State and UC Davis

Two shocking scandals. Two esteemed universities. Two disgraced university leaders. One stunning connection.

Tebow Redeemed?

“You are what your record says your are.” It’s a classic lunchpail NFL phrase, courtesy of retired coach Bill Parcells. It means forget how good you or your team think you are. Forget your stats. Forget all the ways you came up just short. The end results define the entire journey. It’s the amoral slogan of the sports world’s soul. It allows us to cheer for unsavory individuals and root for teams that vacuum our wallets clean. You are what your record says you are, and winning excuses all. But this consecrated commandment of sports is being challenged like never before. If you are what your record says you are, what does that possibly tell us about the man with the top jersey sales in the NFL, Tim Tebow?

NBA Players: Welcome to the 99 Percent

If I were an NBA player, I’d be mighty confused right now. I wouldn’t be confused about why the entire 2011–12 season is now in jeopardy. I wouldn’t be confused about rejecting the ultimatums and “last, final offers” of NBA Commissioner David Stern. Instead, I’d be confused as hell by the media’s reaction to my union’s collective and unanimous stand.

The World Joe Paterno Made

This is the world Joe Pa made. It’s a world where libraries, buildings, and statues bear his name. It’s a world where the school endowment now stands at over $1 billion dollars. It’s a company town where moral posturing acted as a substitute for actual morality. In such an atmosphere, seeing the players and fans gather to bow their heads and mourn Saturday wasn’t “touching” or “somber” or anything of the sort. It was just sad. It was sad because they still don’t get it.

"Smokin'" Joe Frazier: The Death of the Disrespected

This shouldn't have been Joe Frazier's fate: the convenient hero of everyone who wanted to see Ali punished for his politics. This shouldn't have been Joe Frazier's fate: internalizing and nursing every barb from "Gaseous Cassius" instead of letting it roll off his back. This shouldn't have been Joe Frazier's fate: rejected by the same establishment so quick to embrace him when it suited their needs.

Penn State and Berkeley: A Tale of Two Protests

Last night, two proud universities saw student demonstrations that spiraled into violence. On the campus of Penn State University in State College Pennsylvania, several hundred students rioted in anger after the firing of legendary 84-year-old head football coach Joe Paterno. At the University of California at Berkeley, 1,000 students, part of the Occupy USA movement, attempted to maintain their protest encampment in the face of police orders to clear them out.

Joe Paterno and the Sick Logic of College Football

After 46 seasons coaching at Penn State University, Coach Joe Paterno now faces a crisis that could burn the storied football program to the ground. And if recent charges are true, his legacy deserves to burn to along with it. But this transcends Penn State. It's about the very culture of billion-dollar amateur football.

Tebow Exposed

The Christian Right hasn’t had such a bad day since their leaders discovered rentboy.com. Tim Tebow, Focus on the Family spokesperson, missionary, and anti-abortion crusader, found out yesterday that all the charisma, good looks, and athleticism in the world won’t help you play quarterback in the NFL if you can’t throw a football.

Plantation Politics: Economics, Race, and the N.B.A. Lockout

Last Tuesday evening, at the end of HBO’s “Real Sports,” Bryant Gumbel referred to David Stern, the commissioner of the N.B.A., as a “plantation overseer.” Coming at a point when the players have been locked out for four months, negotiations are at a standstill, and a substantial part of the season has already been canceled, the remarks added to a simmering debate.

Out of Exile: On Visiting "Occupy USA" with Dr. John Carlos

When fist-raising 1968 Olympian Dr. John Carlos and I wrote his memoir, The John Carlos Story: The Sports Moment That Changed the World, we didn't exactly expect the publishing date to coincide with a mass national protest movement for economic and social justice. I've now heard about 100 variations of the following joke: "It was really smart of your publisher to plan this whole 'occupy' movement with your book release." It's an obvious comment, given that Dr. Carlos and I have made sure to visit every occupy encampment we can on our national book tour. It's also been an incredible gift: not necessarily to book sales, but to John Carlos and in turn, I would argue, to the movement as well.