Edge of Sports

It's mourning in Atlanta. To get the lowdown on the scene in the ATL after New England's epic Super Bowl comeback victory, we speak to Atlanta and NBA television's own Sekou Smith. We also speak to Sekou about why it is NBA players have been by far the most outspoken athletes of the Trump era. I also have some "choice words" about the political energy thrumming beneath the Supe...

For Super Bowl week, we have Sports Illustrated NFL editor Melissa Jacobs to discuss her column "Why Tom Brady's friendship with Donald Trump is the Public's Business." We talk about the backlash face by writers who probe this relationship, and why the Brady/Trump nexus matters. Also this week some choice words about why the sports world needs to stand with Muslim athletes. We have...

Nancy Hogshead-Makar is a three-time gold-medalist swimmer, sexual assault survivor, and one of the most renowned Title IX attorneys in the US. We speak to her about the importance of defending Title IX and what a Donald Trump presidency could mean for the landmark 1972 legislation. We also speak to her about the Women's March on Washington, which she attended with her 11-year-old daughters. I...

In front of 400 high school students in Concord, Massachusetts I speak to 1968 Olympic legend Dr. John Carlos about the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King and what it means for today. Also this week I have some choice words about Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo and the attacks made against him by fascists in Greece. We also have a very special Kaepernick watch. Stay frosty, people.http://...

In front of over 800 people at Town Hall Seattle, we speak to Seahawks all-pro defensive end Michael Bennett about sports, society, masculinity, and everything in between. If you don't know Michael Bennett, it's time for you to know a player who is funny, fearless, and proudly political. We also have some choice words about why athletes should just say no to visiting the Trump White House....

This week we speak to Chris Webber about his new podcast ‘Fearless or Insane’ as well as his politics, growing up in a union household, hip-hop, and fine dining. I also read an email I received from a security guard at Viking Stadium about the protest banner hanging against the Dakota access pipeline and we have I just stand up or that goes to the entire San Francisco 49ers team. Tonight in Seattl...

Hey Seattle, come out to our own Dave Zirin's big event on January 5 at Town HallDave Zirin with Michael BennettThe Collision: Sports and Politics in the U.S.7:30PM, Thursday, January 5, 2017Great Hall(Free – $5)Free admission for students. Doors open at 6:30PMInfo:http://townhallseattle.org/event/dave-zirin/Tickets:http://townhall.strangertickets.com/events/39214033/dave-zirin-the-collision-s...

Jack McCallum is the most important, respected basketball writer of the last 50 years. We talk to Captain Jack about how basketball players will respond to a trump presidency, the career resurrection of my kids and toni, and the differences – from the three-point shot to basic muscle tone – of players in the league. I also speak about what it would look like if Donald Trump could name our sports c...

First, we hear from Patrick Hruby, a contributing editor at VICE Sports, who makes the case against High School Football in his latest piece, “Friday Night Lights Out.” Then, I tell the story of 2016 in Sports & Struggle, and finish with a ‘Just Stand Up’ award to the Women’s Basketball Team at UC Santa Barbara their Athletic Director John McCutcheon who stood up for the team’s right to protes...

We speak this week to Michael Meeropol, whose parents, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, were executed by the US government in 1953. We talk about his efforts to clear his mother's name and the importance of the Brooklyn Dodgers in their lives. Meeropol reads from the letters of his parents where they discuss baseball. I also have choice words about rap icon Kurtis Blow and his underrated importance...

Today we speak to the most influential person in basketball who never laced up sneakers or coached on a sideline: former Nike executive Sonny Vaccaro – the guy who connected sneaker money to so-called amateur hoops. He is also is the person who has become perhaps the most important spokesperson against the injustices the NCAA. I also have some "choice words" about an event I moderated last...

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Legendary sports sociologist Dr. Harry Edwards has been working with Colin Kaepernick and speaking in locker rooms around the country. We speak with him about the recent elections and the challenges as well as the opportunities it creates for this new generation of athlete-activists. We also ask Dr. Edwards what inspiration can be drawn from the life of his old friend Muhammad Ali. In addition, I...

ESPN The Magazine's Howard Bryant joins the podcast to talk about the only issue that matters. The election of Donald Trump was a slap in the face to anyone who believes that racism, sexual assault and anti-immigrant sentiment are are bad. But the election of Trump - with a minority of the vote remember - is far more complicated that just saying it's racism. It's the Democratic Party,...

We are honored to speak with Reverend Jesse Jackson about his trip to North Dakota to fight the Dakota access pipeline (DAPL,) giving Jackie Robinson's eulogy, and playing one-on-one against Marvin Gaye. We are equally honored to speak to native American journalist Jackie Keeler about her experiences in North Dakota, its connection to a Native American mascots in sports, and why the DAPL resis...

In a week dominated by stories about former New York Giants place kicker Josh Brown and the NFL's continual coverup of domestic violence, we speak to Jessica Luther, author of the book “Unsportsmanlike Conduct: College Football and the Politics of Rape.” This week I also have some choice words of my own about the Giants’ shameful handling of the Josh Brown incident and why Roger Goodell should...

John Cusack is a renowned actor, best known for classics like Being John Malkovich, Better Off Dead, Say Anything, and for my money, the greatest sports movie of all time, Eight Men Out. Cusack is also a serious political thinker with a new book “Things That Can and Cannot Be Said: Essays and Conversations,” co-written with Indian author Arundhati Roy about a range of subjects from patriotism, war...

In an attempt to excuse his own repugnant behavior, Donald Trump unwittingly started a real conversation on what he dubbed “locker room talk” about sexual violence against women. Our guest, Detroit Lions linebacker DeAndre Levy, is the rare pro athlete who is awake to this issue. Levy writes, advocates, and fundraises to fight domestic and sexual abuse. We also speak to him about the Kaepernick pr...

We speak to Dr. Walter Beach, starter on the Cleveland Browns 1964 Championship team and member of the famed Muhammad Ali Summit about the politics of sports and racism: what has changed and what remains the same from his days in the NFL. He is as deep a thinker as you will find and this will "wow" you. We also speak about Colin Kaepernick's comments about the Trump=Clinton elections,...

We bring sports and politics icon John Carlos in-studio to talk about how it feels to see a new generation of athletes replicate his anthem protests of 1968. Dr. Carlos - who is having a wild week - also speaks to us about the opening of the new National Museum of African American History and Culture where he was part of the unveiling of a statue of himself, and two other two men on that iconic me...

Iconic NBC broadcaster Bob Costas speaks about balancing the real world and the sports world, when politics rip through the games we often turn to for escape. We also have some 'choice words' about white athletes and the movement for Black Lives and we take and respond to messages left on the Edge of Sports hotline: 401-426-3343 (EDGE.) The ‘Just Stand Up’ award goes to the young people wi...

When Feyisa Lilesa crossed won silver at the 2016 Olympics, he raised his arms in an X formation, a symbol of solidarity with the Oromo Liberation struggle in his home of Ethiopia. We speak to Lilesa about why he fears for his life, who he holds dear as his athletic heroes and what message he has for Colin Kaepernick and USA athletes using their platform to speak out for social change. We also hav...

Before Colin Kaepernick, there was Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf. In 1996, the Denver Nuggets guard said that on principle he could not stand for the national anthem because the flag in many countries represents "oppression and tyranny." He was fined, suspended, attacked, and yet we will hear on this week's podcast why he has no regrets. We will also hear what advice Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf has for Ka...

We speak to Olympic gold-medal swimmer Anthony Ervin about Colin Kaepernick's anthem protest against police violence, Ervin's book ‘Chasing Water,’ and life since winning gold in Rio. Then, choice words about, and then from, an athletic activist who walked in Kaepernick's path, Toni Smith–Thompson. The ‘Just Stand Up’ award goes to Khaled Beydoun for his look at how Kaepernick is being...

San Francisco 49er Colin Kaepernick decided to sit during the national anthem because he is "not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses Black people and people of color." In a special edition of the podcast, we have DeMaurice Smith, Executive Director of the NFL Players Association who speaks on what the union can, and cannot do, to protect Kaepernick, and w...