Robert Lipsyte

Robert Lipsyte, a TomDispatch regular and author of the memoir An Accidental Sportswriter, was a sports and city columnist for the The New York Times, a correspondent for CBS and NBC news and the Emmy-award winning host of WNET’s nightly public affairs show. His 1975 goodbye-to-all-that (before he came back), SportsWorld: An American Dreamland, has just been reissued by Rutgers University Press with a new introduction.

Carolina Panthers

American Athletes Can Decide This Year’s Election American Athletes Can Decide This Year’s Election

In a year of marked by mass uprisings and the Covid pandemic, Trump depends on sports to project a sense of normality. Will the players comply?

Sep 18, 2020 / Robert Lipsyte

Jim Bouton

Remembering Jim Bouton’s ‘Ball Four’ Remembering Jim Bouton’s ‘Ball Four’

The former Yankees pitcher’s 1970 tell-all has gone down as one of the best sports books of all time.

Jun 18, 2020 / Robert Lipsyte

Trump Wants Sports Back, Safety Be Damned

Trump Wants Sports Back, Safety Be Damned Trump Wants Sports Back, Safety Be Damned

Reopening the National Football League could mean open season on the rest of us.

Apr 24, 2020 / Robert Lipsyte

Donald Trump waves to the crowd at the Army-Navy football game

Donald Trump’s Super Bowl Presidency Donald Trump’s Super Bowl Presidency

Trump is often compared to authoritarian strongmen, but he’s also something more familiar: an American football coach.

Feb 1, 2020 / Robert Lipsyte

NFL Salute to Service logo

Before There Was Donald Trump, There Was American Football Before There Was Donald Trump, There Was American Football

The brutal and racist culture of our national pastime should have shown us a president like Trump was possible.

Dec 13, 2019 / Robert Lipsyte

Tom Brady against the Jaguars

American Jock Culture in the Trump Era American Jock Culture in the Trump Era

From the NFL’s concealment of player injuries to Tiger Woods kowtowing to Trump, the innocence of US sports is dead.

Jun 26, 2019 / Robert Lipsyte

Trump National Space Council

Donald Trump Leads the Most Dangerous Gang in America Donald Trump Leads the Most Dangerous Gang in America

And it has one goal: protect men at all costs.

Oct 23, 2018 / Robert Lipsyte

Colin Kaepernick, Eric Reid and Eli Harold

Donald Trump’s War on Black Athletes Donald Trump’s War on Black Athletes

Could it trigger a long-awaited “Jock Spring”?

Jul 12, 2018 / Robert Lipsyte

#MeToo March

Men Have Everything to Gain by Intervening in Sexual Harassment Men Have Everything to Gain by Intervening in Sexual Harassment

An acclaimed sportswriter weighs in on jock culture, masculinity, and the role of the male bystander.

Nov 16, 2017 / Robert Lipsyte

Donald Trump Alabama

Is Donald Trump Saving the NFL? Is Donald Trump Saving the NFL?

The president’s attacks could be the best thing to happen to the league.

Oct 19, 2017 / Robert Lipsyte

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