On The Ball with Andrew Maraniss

Former Vanderbilt and NFL defensive end Jonathan Wynn has always been more than a football player. As a kid, he enjoyed spending time in libraries and bookstores. In the NFL, he kept a journal and wrote a novel. Now, he and a partner have launched a Nashville nonprofit that boosts BIPOC creatives and are planning to open a coffee shop on historic Jefferson Street. Listen to Jonathan discuss his li...

Celso Castilho, Vanderbilt history professor and director of the university’s Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx Studies, joins the show. Castilho discusses recent protests by soccer fans in Nashville and Los Angeles and the implications of ICE raids on events such as the Club World Cup. 

On the heels of CMA Fest and in the midst of Pride Month, country music artist Bryan Ruby joins the show to discuss his one-of-a-kind career as a pioneering LGBTQ musician, professional baseball player, and nonprofit founder. 

Nick Cormier, founder and editor-in-chief of “The Fabric of Culture,” joins the show to discuss the connections between athletes, marketing, and fashion. As one apparel company founder said recently, “Sports stars are the new Hollywood stars.” 

From the third panel in our Sports & Activism symposium, Courtney M. Cox, professor at Oregon, Perry B. Johnson, professor at Southern Cal, and Joanna K. Love, professor at Richmond, lead a presentation on the connections between sports, music, and activism in the context of the Super Bowl halftime show. 

As part of our second annual sports and activism symposium conducted in partnership with the James Lawson Institute, Jesus Ortiz of Our Esquina.com hosted a session on the state of Latino athlete activism. Joining Jesus are professor Adrian Burgos Jr., former pro soccer player Janelly Farias & sports exec Sara Toussaint. 

Yussuf Khan, founder of FirstandPen.com, leads a discussion on the current state of athlete activism at both the professional and collegiate levels. Joining him are Michigan State professor and author Lou Moore, former NFL player Chris Kluwe, Benedict College professor Aquasia Shaw, and Ursinus College professor Johanna Mellis. This discussion was recorded during the 2nd Annual Sports & Activi...

University of Oregon professor Courtney M. Cox joins the show to discuss her new book, “Double Crossover: Gender, Media, and Politics in Global Basketball.” The book “considers how Black women and non-binary athletes maneuver through the global sports-media complex.” Cox is also co-director (with Dr. Perry B. Johnson) of The Sound of Victory, a multi-platform digital humanities project located at...

Former Vanderbilt quarterback Kurt Page, the first SEC QB to throw for 3,000 yards in a season (1983), joins us from Europe to discuss his experience as the quarterback coach for the Wroclaw Panthers in Poland and how the opportunity has expanded his horizons and changed his life. 

Former Vanderbilt placekicker Rob Chura joins the show to discuss his recent trip to the US-Mexico border. A football coach, teacher, and director of Global Education at Saint Louis University High School in Missouri, Chura took a group of students to the Kino Border Initiative in Nogales, Mexico to work with deportees and migrants. 

ESPN Senior Writer Michael Fletcher joins On The Ball to discuss his recent article on legendary sports sociologist Dr. Harry Edwards. Fletcher calls Edwards, 82, “arguably the strongest advocate for Black athletes in history.” Battling cancer, “Edwards is clear-eyed about his illness, as well as the challenges that he will one day leave behind,” Fletcher writes. “After all of his work to promote...

Members of the Sports Business & Analytics student organization at Vanderbilt discuss their 2nd place finish at the SABR Case Competition in Phoenix and the purpose & work of their club.

Geoff Macdonald, the former national championship-winning women’s tennis coach at Vanderbilt and the real-life “Most Interesting Man in the World,” joins the show.

Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, joins the show to discuss the past, present, and future of the Museum, the incredible success introducing Black baseball history to kids through a partnership with the MLB The Show video game, and the importance of the museum in today’s political climate.

Washington Post sportswriter Dave Sheinin discusses his recent three-part series, “Beautyball.” The analytics movement helped revolutionize sports. But now the all-consuming influence of those efforts is being blamed for harming the aesthetics of our games, forcing league officials to make a course correction before it’s too late.

Former NFL punter Chris Kluwe made headlines recently when he was arrested after engaging in civil disobedience in his hometown of Huntington Beach, Calif., following his remarks at a city council meeting. Kluwe has been an outspoken advocate for social justice issues and has expressed views comparing MAGA to a fascist movement. He joins the show to discuss his path to activism and his opinions on...

Author Tim Gay joins the show to discuss his new book on PGA star Rory McIlroy: “Roryland: The Up and Down World of Golf’s Global Icon."

Author Steve Dittmore joins the show to discuss new book “Jim Gilliam: Forgotten Dodger,” on the Black Nashville native who succeeded Jackie Robinson at second base in the Brooklyn Dodgers’ infield and became a mainstay with the franchise as a player and coach until 1978.

Former Kentucky and NBA basketball star Rex Chapman joins the show to discuss his bestselling memoir, the traps that come with success and failure in life and basketball, and his recovery from opioid and gambling addiction.

Clinical and Sports Psychologist on their recent article in Psychology Today on "Sexual Violence Prevention in Sport"

Vanderbilt professors Gabriel Torres Colon and John Sloop join the show to discuss the introduction of a new Sports & Society minor at the university.

Megan Chopra, a high school student at Sidwell Friends in Washington, D.C., has written a book she hopes will inspire girls and illuminate the stories of women working in sports. The book is titled “Redefining the Field: The Triumphs and Tribulations of Women in Sports.” Megan interviewed 30 accomplished women from a variety of positions in sports. She joins the show to tell us what she learned –...

Journalist Jesus Ortiz and author Erik Sherman join the show to discuss the life and legacy of former Dodger great Fernando Valenzuela, who passed away Oct. 22 at the age of 63. Ortiz, founder of OurEsquina.com, credits his sportswriting career to Valenzuela’s inspiration. Sherman, author of a book on the Mexican phenom, says Valenzuela is among the most influential players in the game’s history.

LJ Rader is the mind behind the popular Art But Make It Sports social media accounts. The 2011 Vanderbilt graduate joins us to discuss a hobby, matching sports moments with works of fine art, that has gone wildly viral.

Former Vanderbilt football players Pat Toomay and Christie Hauck starred in the Commodores’ 14-10 win over Alabama in 1969. Up until Oct. 6, 2024, it was the last time Vanderbilt beat the Crimson Tide in Nashville. Toomay and Hauck share memories of that memorable win in ’69 and their pride in this year’s toppling of the nation’s No. 1 team.