Column Archive

His Name Was Ahed Zaqout: Former Palestinian Soccer Star Killed in Gaza

All it took was a recording of Donald Sterling insulting Magic Johnson in a derogatory manner for the twenty-four-hour news world to stop on its axis. Now imagine if Donald Sterling—in all of his paranoid, racist fervor—had an army at his disposal and bombed Magic Johnson in his home, killing him in his sleep.If such a scenario sounds like hacky Phillip K. Dick fan fiction as written by Mike Lupica, then you have not been paying attention to the dystopian, genocidal panorama in Gaza, where no one is safe. You are unfamiliar with the name Ahed Zaqout.

Why Has It Taken This Long for a Men’s Pro-Sports Team to Hire a Female Coach?

The biggest line of horseshit you will ever hear in professional sports not uttered by Dan Snyder is that no one in the executive suites cares if you are black or white, male or female, gay or straight. As long as you can help the team win, there is a place for you. Wrong. The pivot of all executive decisions is not “How can the team win?” but “How can I keep my damn job?”

Four Little Boys and the Price of Play in Gaza

When people write, tweet, and message me with theirunquestioned belief that Hamas is using the children of Gaza as human shields, I often wonder whether they make these assertions out of unknowing ignorance or out of a deeper kind of “let them eat cake” cruelty.

The Preordained: Why LeBron James Was Always Coming Back to Cleveland

LeBron, has always aspired to be something more than a collection of specialty sneakers. Early in his career, he said he wanted to be a “global icon like Muhammad Ali” without the clearest sense about what that meant. In recent years, by speaking out for Trayvon Martin or becoming the first prominent NBA player to say that Donald Sterling had no business in the league, it seemed like he was figuring out what Jordan never did: that “being Ali” meant standing for something bigger than yourself.

‘Exporting Gaza’: The Arming of Brazil’s World Cup Security

During the World Cup, the presence of such overpowering—not to mention high tech—weaponry raises a critical question: Who is arming Brazil? Who supplies—and profits—from this state of affairs?

Luis Suárez May Bite, but FIFA Sucks Blood

Suarez's sins aside, there is something so profoundly noxious about the thought of Boss Sepp Blatter and FIFA doing anything that allows themselves to be able to bathe themselves in any kind of sanctimonious light.

Dispatches From Brazil’s World Cup: Real Estate Frenzy Provokes ‘Psychological Attack’ to Oust Favela Residents

The favelas in Brazil are being are being reduced to rubble in the shadow of the World Cup and the upcoming Olympics, and the cities are using some extreme methods to make sure that these beautiful neighborhoods are turned to ash. 

Dispatches From Brazil’s World Cup: ‘Don’t Tear Gas the Tourists!’

One of the biggest story lines heading into this year's World Cup was the protests that had the potential to leave a huge black mark on the best sporting event in the world. Instead, the streets have been filled with more party than protest. 

Dispatches From Brazil’s World Cup: ‘No One Lives Here Anymore’

The Marcaña is one of the more gorgeous sights in all of Brazil. It will also be the sight to the World Cup Final, one of the most spectacular sporting events we have today. But just outside the walls of the legendary stadium, the beauty turns to blight. 

A Historic Goal for Palestine

WHEN WE speak of the great "droughts" in sports, our minds drift toward baseball's Chicago Cubs, the NFL's Cleveland Browns and hockey's star-crossed Toronto Maple Leafs. Yet there has never been a more harrowing athletic drought--rife with pain, pathos and perseverance--quite like that of the Palestinian national soccer team.