Sports

The Messy Politics of the NBA

The Messy Politics of the NBA The Messy Politics of the NBA

Professional basketball finds itself at a crossroads—between its image as a do-gooder and a history of self-serving contradictions.

Sep 20, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Jeremy Gordon

The Savannah Bananas cheer on the field before their Minor League Baseball game.

Victory! Minor League Baseball Players Are Finally Unionized. Victory! Minor League Baseball Players Are Finally Unionized.

Thanks to grassroots organizing, which much of the media is ignoring, minor leaguers will now join the Major League Players Association.

Sep 15, 2022 / Dave Zirin

Ari Fleischer, media consultant and former White House press secretary, at the Centurion Club, Hertfordshire, ahead of the LIV Golf Invitational Series.

Everybody Has a Price: Ari Fleischer, the LIV Golf Tour, and the House of Saud Everybody Has a Price: Ari Fleischer, the LIV Golf Tour, and the House of Saud

The launch of Saudi Arabia’s LIV golf tour was a public relations disaster. So the Saudis hired someone with firsthand knowledge of PR disasters: Ari Fleischer.

Sep 13, 2022 / Dave Zirin

WNBA star Sue Bird waves to fans after her last regular season home game of her career against the Las Vegas Aces at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington.

Sue Bird Sets a Standard and Says Goodbye to the WNBA Sue Bird Sets a Standard and Says Goodbye to the WNBA

The legendary basketball player accomplished much on the court and moved the political needle off the court.

Sep 8, 2022 / Dave Zirin

A Champion’s Evolution

A Champion’s Evolution A Champion’s Evolution

Legendary tennis star Serena Williams moves on.

Sep 7, 2022 / OppArt / Kim DeMarco

WNBA player Brittney Griner sits inside a defendants' cage after the Russian court's verdict during a hearing in Khimki outside Moscow, on August 4, 2022.

Brittney Griner Is Facing 9 Years in a Russian Penal Colony. Where Is the Campaign to Free Her? Brittney Griner Is Facing 9 Years in a Russian Penal Colony. Where Is the Campaign to Free Her?

We should be stepping up our efforts to bring the WNBA superstar home. Instead we’re getting “out of sight, out of mind”—and it’s a disgrace.

Sep 6, 2022 / Dave Zirin

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell answers questions during the closing press conference at the 2018 NFL Annual Meetings in Orlando.

The NFL Disrespects Women. What Else Is New? The NFL Disrespects Women. What Else Is New?

Anyone who finds sexual violence repugnant again finds themselves at odds with the league.

Aug 31, 2022 / Dave Zirin

Why Pickleball Is the Fastest-Growing Sport In the US

Why Pickleball Is the Fastest-Growing Sport In the US Why Pickleball Is the Fastest-Growing Sport In the US

The game brings people together at a time of growing isolation and division.

Aug 30, 2022 / Katrina vanden Heuvel

Golf’s Sportswashing of Saudi Arabia

Golf’s Sportswashing of Saudi Arabia Golf’s Sportswashing of Saudi Arabia

Not since the 1936 Berlin Olympics was used to cosmeticize Nazi Germany’s atrocities have sports and an otherwise despised government collaborated so blatantly.

Aug 25, 2022 / Robert Lipsyte

Retired professional basketball player Dennis Rodman speaks to the press as he arrives at Changi International airport ahead of US-North Korea summit in Singapore

Can Dennis Rodman Secure Brittney Griner’s Freedom? Can Dennis Rodman Secure Brittney Griner’s Freedom?

The State Department failed the WNBA superstar, but maybe the cult of celebrity can succeed.

Aug 23, 2022 / Dave Zirin

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