Thursday, February 3 2005
Ricky Williams—Why Can’t We Just Let Him Be?
Sportswriters have always made mention of the fact that Williams is shy and soft-spoken, but have seldom entertained the possibility that he might be unhappy with everything going on around him. It would have been too contrary to the mainstream, everyday image of superstar Black athletes -- rich, headstrong, flashy, sexy, quotable, and just happy to be there.
Wednesday, January 26 2005
Cashing in on the Other: Race, Commodity and Surveillance of Contemporary Athletes
The predominance of black athletes within consumer culture and the values placed onto MJ, Kobe, Shaq, and others overshadow the realities of segregated schools, police brutality, unemployment, and a bigoted criminal justice system.
Wednesday, January 19 2005
Can We Kick It? Why European Football Can’t Shake Its Racist Image
Other popular sports never confused loyalty and violence, and definitely never came with the promise of a punch up. Football became an excuse for whatever spleen venting was needed, and racist beliefs were among them.
Thursday, December 2 2004
Ballers, Shot Callers
The 'problem' of hip-hop thus seems inherent -- it's a means to sell something, consumption as a means to identity, for players as much as fans. While most consumers presume they make choices, this circulation of signs suggests otherwise.
Wednesday, December 1 2004
Five Years of PopMatters: Sports
Recognizing that it's never "just a game", PopMatters Sports delves deeper than the glossy magazines and highlight reels of your typical sports coverage.
Monday, November 22 2004
Tuesday, October 5 2004
Jocks Without Justice, Or Silenced Performers?
To ignore this context of systematic repression and to focus on money and the nature of sports culture as the only culprits is to tell just a small part of the story.
Monday, June 21 2004
Root Root Root For Your Own Team
To be a baseball fan, you are asked to attend games, buy products that signify your team, watch games on TV, and always 'root, root, root for the home team' -- in short, to spend money.
Thursday, February 5 2004
Why Does a 14-year-Old Matter?
The praise for Freddy Adu and Michelle Wie cannot be understood outside the constant critique against those young black males seeking entry into the NBA, as race, class, gender, nationality, and sport all play into fan/commentator reception and perception.
Wednesday, January 7 2004
Top 10 Sports Scandals, Controversies, and Oddities of 2003
What's most notable about the top stories in the world of sports for 2003 is how much they have in common with the controversies of years past. Racism, homophobia, and sexism all bubbled to the surface this year, just as they have done and will lamentably continue to do in the future.
Wednesday, October 22 2003
Rush to Judgment: America’s Mishandling of the Donovan McNabb-Rush Limbaugh Controversy
True to form, Rush Limbaugh had managed to rile up the nation and draw attention to himself while boosting Sunday NFL Countdown viewership to the tune of a 10 point ratings increase.
Thursday, September 11 2003
Monday, May 5 2003
Paving Their Own Way: An Interview with Jim Buzinski and Cyd Zeigler, Jr. of Outsports.com
About three years ago, Jim and Cyd created Outsports.com, an on-line community for gay athletes and sports fans. Their lives, and the lives of gay men and women who love sports, haven’t been the same since.
Friday, April 18 2003
That’s Entertainment
I don't know about you, but I don't want my athletes to act like foot soldiers. I have foot soldiers to do that nowadays.
Monday, February 24 2003
Uprooted
The more Augusta National Golf Club hangs on to outdated principles, the more it lets go of its future.
Thursday, February 13 2003
When Fashion Throws Back
Not since shaggy haired, indie rockers stormed their local thrift shops for ironic ringer tees and mesh hats has a retro fashion hit the streets with such a force.
Tuesday, January 28 2003
The Globalized Association
The NBA is becoming less insular, resembling much more closely the face of international soccer for the ease with which players cross national boundaries to play for 'foreign' nations.
Thursday, January 9 2003
Post-Fab: Scores, Scandals, and Stigmas in College Athletics
Pessimists argue that this bygone role of college sports can no longer exist, yet students and educators can decide to wrest their teams away from negative outside influences. As a result, it may be possible to remove the athletic albatross from bringing down the academic worth of the institution, and college athletics would once again truly serve the student body.
Viagra: The New Image of Baseball
Baseball needs a new marketing campaign and fast, or it really is in danger of becoming a relic of another era.
Friday, November 8 2002
The “I” in Team
Superstar athletes are caught in a paradoxical bind: rewarded for being better than the rest of us, punished for letting us know.
