Edge of Sports with Dave Zirin

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 listener calls...

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, which she attended with her 11-year-old daughters. I’ll also speak abo...

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. Our 'Ju...

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...

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 protest. P...

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 to...

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, it's the Cli...

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 resistanc...

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, in...

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 stop domestic and sexual abuse. We also speak to him about the Kaepernick pro...

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, the gorilla...

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 with the c...

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 Kaepernick and...

Kaepernick's Protest, Backlash and Resistance, with Antony Ervin & Toni Smith-Thompson by Dave Zirin/The Nation

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 why the...

As Feyisa Lilesa of Ethiopia crossed the finish line to win silver in the olympic marathon in Rio, he raised his arms and crossed them above his head in protest against his own government. With this simple act, Lilesa brought the world’s attention to the plight of his Oromo people and the struggle to keep their land out of Ethiopia’s ruling party's hands. Feyisa Lilesa has etched himself into Olym...

In the run-up to Brazil’s year of mega-events, Theresa Williamson made her website RioOnWatch.org into an essential independent news source. In our final Olympics podcast, Theresa Williamson joins me for a wide-ranging and insightful talk that you will not find on any other show. We’ll also stop by a party at the oft-discussed Vila Autódromo, site of a high-profile battle for over residents rights...

We are in Olympic Rio shining light on the dark corners of these games. First up: Jules Boykoff, a razor-sharp critic of sports culture and the author of “Power Games: A Political History of the Olympics.” Then, Stephanie Reist, a PhD candidate from Duke, based in Rio and writing about the Rio suburbs for the essential site http://RioOnWatch.org. ’Choice Words’ is a column about the intoxicating n...

The Olympics are here and as I head to Rio, Edge of Sports has David W. Larkin, an attorney who focuses on the corruption of sports organizations like the International Olympic Committee, about the decision to not suspend Russia from the Olympics. We ask him which is more corrupt: the IOC or FIFA? His analysis may surprise you. We also have some "choice words" about the Rio Olympics - of course -...

In response to North Carolina’s discriminatory HB-2 'bathroom bill,' NBA Commissioner Adam Silver stood up for LGBTQ rights and pulled the 2017 All-Star game from Charlotte. Yet in the very same week, Silver and WNBA President Lisa Borders levied fines on female players who donned black t-shirts in pregame warmups to support the Black Lives Matter movement. To understand this tricky political mome...

Today there is largely universal praise for the ESPY statements of Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James. But what about athletes who stood up in much more difficult environment? Today we take a critical look at the ESPY statement with 2012 NBA first round draft pick Royce White. This is an NBA-level talent who has been pushed out of the league for standing up. We talk to Royce...