The Sports Issue: Views From Left Field The Sports Issue: Views From Left Field
Howard Cosell called it rule number one of the jockocracy—the idea that sports and politics don’t mix. Playing the game, and playing it well, is all that matters. And yet the closer you look, the more it becomes apparent that it’s not sports and politics that “don’t mix.” It’s sports and a certain kind of politics—the politics of protest and resistance. Athletes who speak out on issues of social justice invariably pay a price. It’s a problem that powerful commercial interests control the language of sports, not just because it shuts out alternative perspectives but because sports culture shapes other cultural attitudes, norms and power arrangements. Politics runs rampant throughout the sports world, a broad arena in which struggles for racial justice, gender equality and economic fairness are played out. With stakes this high, we couldn’t sit back and watch as the sports world becomes increasingly dominated by politics from right field. Consequently, we decided to enlist Nation sports correspondent Dave Zirin’s help in planning a special sports issue, only the second in The Nation’s 146-year history, and not coincidentally at a time when two of the country’s major leagues were locking out their employees in fierce labor battles. The following articles and essays will, we hope, address the central areas in which sports culture intersects with the pursuit of social and economic justice. But the world of sports doesn’t just demand our attention; it also fires our imagination. The distinguished group of writers, thinkers and advocates who pay tribute to their favorite sports heroes in these pages express a feeling many of us share: pure love of the game. —The Editors
Jul 27, 2011 / Feature / The Editors
Busting Murdoch’s Trust Busting Murdoch’s Trust
Rupert Murdoch is far from blameless—but he’s merely a symptom of the real disease: so much power in a single media corporation.
Jul 27, 2011 / The Editors
Debt Ceiling Delusions Debt Ceiling Delusions
Republicans walked away from a budget deal not because cuts weren’t steep enough but because they included tax increases on the wealthiest. If they’re drawing a line in...
Jul 13, 2011 / The Editors
Empire or Republic? Empire or Republic?
The Constitution alone cannot keep the US from fighting wars it shouldn't be involved in—like the one in Libya.
Jun 29, 2011 / The Editors
Time to Get Out of Aghanistan, America’s Longest War Time to Get Out of Aghanistan, America’s Longest War
President Obama is about to make a major decision regarding US troops in Afghanistan. Progressives must push him to pull out of the quagmire and reinvest at home.
Jun 15, 2011 / The Editors
WikiLeaks Haiti: A Response to Levi Strauss WikiLeaks Haiti: A Response to Levi Strauss
Levi Strauss objects to our story on Haiti's minimum wage increase. We stand by our original reporting and set the record straight on what we did and did not say.
Jun 10, 2011 / The Editors
Obama: You’re Your Only Hope Obama: You’re Your Only Hope
It's too late for Obama to turn around the economy. But to win re-election, he better expose what Republican plans to cut spending will really do.
Jun 8, 2011 / The Editors
Medicare for All! Medicare for All!
The lesson Democrats should take from the backlash to Paul Ryan's Medicare plan? Voters do want government running their healthcare system.
Jun 1, 2011 / The Editors
‘The Nation’ and WikiHaiti ‘The Nation’ and WikiHaiti
Leaked documents provide an extraordinary glimpse of US maneuvering in Haiti from before the 2004 coup through the devastating 2010 earthquake.
Jun 1, 2011 / The Editors
WikiLeaks Haiti: The Nation Partners With Haïti Liberté on Release of Secret Haiti Cables WikiLeaks Haiti: The Nation Partners With Haïti Liberté on Release of Secret Haiti Cables
Leaked documents provide an extraordinary glimpse of US maneuvering in Haiti from before the 2004 coup through the devastating 2010 earthquake.
Jun 1, 2011 / The Editors