Column Archive

Why Jason Collins Is More Roger Bannister Than Jackie Robinson

There are many calling Jason Collins’s decision to be the first active male athlete to come out of the closet a “Jackie Robinson Moment,” after the man who smashed baseball’s color line in 1947. But I consider this to be more of a Roger Bannister Moment. Allow me to explain...

Jason Collins: The Substance of Change

Hearing the news made me feel like I’d accidentally walked into a wind tunnel. For as long as I had written about this issue and as many times as I had said in recent years that “this will happen in a matter of months if not weeks,” it still hit me hard. Thanks to the courage of 34-year-old NBA veteran Jason Collins, we can no longer repeat endlessly that no active male athlete in North America has ever come out of the closet.

A Review of '42': Jackie Robinson's Bitter Pill

I can certainly understand why many people I respect love the film "42". I can understand why a teacher I know thinks it’s a great primer for young people who don’t know Jackie’s story. I understand why, given the high production values and loving depictions, Jackie Robinson’s family has been outspoken in their appreciation. But I didn’t like it, and with all respect, I want to make the case that I don’t believe Jackie Robinson would have liked it either.

Why We Must Protect Next Year’s Boston Marathon From Ourselves

I in no way doubt that next year will be a celebration of the city’s stouthearted fortitude. I have no doubt that people will arrive in droves to witness “the spirit of freedom prevail.” But I do think we need to separate the bravery of those who will gather in 2014, and what the security imperatives will undoubtedly be. We need to critically examine what’s proposed and, if necessary, raise our voices in protest.

'What the Hell!': Steubenville High School Football Coach Gets a Two-Year Contract Extension

Whatever the conclusions of the Ohio grand jury convening on April 30th, the question of whether Steubenville, HS Coach Reno Saccoccia should remain in a position to mold the minds of young men should not have been difficult to answer. Not when there are text messages sent by now-convicted team quarterback Trent Mays that read, "I got Reno. He took care of it and shit ain't gonna happen, even if they did take it to court. Like he was joking about it so I’m not worried." Not when Saccoccia went nose-to-nose with a woman reporter looking into the rape case and said, "You're gonna get yours. And if you don't get yours, somebody close to you will." Not when Coach Sac oversaw a locker room where the jock culture become inextricably connected to a rape culture.

An Interview With ESPN's New Ombudsman, Robert Lipsyte

Robert Lipsyte has a reputation, largely built from his years at The New York Times, as one of the most fearless sportswriters and columnists of the last century. He has been a critic of jock culture, racism, sexism and homophobia in sports, and the over-corporatizing of our games. In his famous book of the same title, he coined the phrase “SportsWorld” to describe this stew of style with little positive substance. Now that same Robert Lipsyte is going to be the Ombudsman at ESPN: the great magnetic force at the heart of our twenty-first-century SportsWorld. Here, The Nation speaks to Robert Lipsyte about this stunning turn of events.

Did Shaquille O'Neal Just Box Out Mumia?

Why did Newark’s only movie theater, co-owned by Shaquille O’Neal, just pull a scheduled showing of a documentary about Mumia Abu-Jamal? No one is talking, but this is a story that stinks worse than the Jersey swamps.

The Boston Marathon: All My Tears, All My Love

The dead. The injured. The anguish. All the result of bombs that were set to explode at the finish line just over four hours after the start of the Boston Marathon. Right now the sane among us will suggest caution. We’ll suggest restraint. We’ll suggest the giving of blood. There will be time to mourn. We will mourn the dead and injured. I also mourn the Boston Marathon and how it’s now been brutally disfigured.

NHL Takes 'Historic Step' for LGBT Equality

“Welcoming—not begrudging, not tolerant—welcoming.”—Patrick BurkeThere is an old expression in social movements that sometimes it takes years to make days worth of progress but sometimes it takes only days to leap ahead years. In the fight for full citizenship for our LGBT friends and family, it certainly seems like every day another year mercifully moves forward.As for the sports world, that longtime bulwark of homophobia, heteronormative socialization, and “no homo” jokes, we seem to be making decades of progress

Mad Men: Why Fox News and Former Players Defend Former Rutgers Coach Mike Rice

The firing of Rutgers basketball coach Mike Rice created a media frenzy that extended far beyond the sports page. Those who are now choosing to rush to his defense are unintentionally telling an even more important story. This story is about power and powerlessness. It's about bullies and the bullied. And, if we look hard enough, it's about a cultural battle for the soul of sports.