Column Archive

Lamar Jackson’s Sin: Not Playing Their Game

The incredibly talented quarterback can’t find a new team. It reveals the ugly way NFL owners do business.

Willis Reed Was the Best of New York City

The death of the basketball great should remind the city of what it was, what it is, and what it should resist becoming.

The NHL Stares Down Bigotry—and Blinks

James Reimer’s refusal to wear a Pride jersey during warm-ups of a game was not religious. It was political.

Banning Trans Athletes Is Just the Beginning

Rightists have a genocidal perspective on trans kids. Now they want the federal government to use Title IX to further push trans young people from public life.

The New Era of Backlash in Sports and Politics

Trump opened up the world of sports to the hard right.

Who’s Afraid of Tommie Smith?

An Alabama school district kept Derrick Barnes, author of a book about Tommie Smith, from speaking. But the community is fighting back.

Why People Don’t Even Trust the Super Bowl

It’s unsurprising that a game wrapped in lies produces a result that many cannot accept.

LeBron James’s Double Burden

LeBron had to climb the heights of basketball while also navigating the pressures of a movement, which makes his ascension all the more remarkable.

So Who Was Tom Brady?

After a quarter-century in the public eye, the future Hall of Famer is retiring, and we somehow know even less about him now than when he started.

The Enduring Stench of Jerry Jones’s Politics

The owner of Dallas Cowboys has never hired a Black head coach—and the team hasn’t won a championship in 27 years.