YBW Interview With Sportswriter Dave Zirin

Interview with Award-Winning Sportswriter, Dave Zirin, by Tolu Olorunda.

Dave Zirin is an accomplished sports-writer and author. He has written several books including, "What's My Name, Fool? Sports and Resistance in the United States," and "Welcome to the Terrordome: The Pain, Politics, and Promise of Sports," and "The Muhammad Ali Handbook." He is a frequent columnist for The Huffington Post, The Nation Magazine, SI.com, SLAM, and the Los Angeles Times. He also runs the weblog, "Edge Of Sports." Zirin makes regular appearances on Sports-radio shows and political talk-shows, to further his gospel of outlining the chemically imbalanced relationship between Sports and Politics. Dave Zirin has been called "America's Best Sports Writer" by Lee Ballinger of Rock & Rap Confidential. He was also described by Chuck D of Public Enemy, as a "rare breed." Dave Zirin is alongside many other things, an activist and a staunch opposer to the death penalty. He has an upcoming book, entitled "A People's History of Sports in the United States: 250 Years of Politics, Protest, People, and Play." He is a brilliant, concise and gifted columnist, with a passion to recover the lost art of edifying sports coverage. I was blessed with the opportunity to speak with Dave on issues of race, class and tribalism, in the realm of professional Sports:

Thanks for joining us, Mr. Zirin; it is indeed an honor and a pleasure. Can you start by informing us of your literary background, and your journey toward becoming - as described - "America's best Sportswriter"?

That’s very kind of you. Well, I'm a sportswriter by trade; I worked for a couple of very small-town newspapers in the state of Maryland, after a period as a public school teacher in Washington, DC. One of the newspapers I worked at is the only African American-owned Newspaper in Prince George's County -- which is a majority African American County; it was - and is still - called "Prince George's Post." My boss there gave me a lot of freedom to write the kind of sports column that I wanted to write, which was one that delved into issues of the politics of sports. So I owe that a great depth, because it allowed me to try to discover my voice, tone and how I wanted to communicated my ideas. And I wanted to communicate the ideas of political resistance through sports, as well as the idea that we could love sports, while still practicing the art of political resistance. And that was very encouraging, specifically because it was an African American-owned Newspaper that dealt with the issues in sports that affected the Black community. And that allowed me to explore a different layer of politics as well. And like many writers, I owe a debt to the internet, because I was able to then post the articles online and find the readership which I'm very grateful for; because otherwise, the sports writing racket is very difficult to break through, because there are very few jobs in the mainstream press who feature this kind of work.

Now, a lot of people first got in contact with your brilliance, wit and intelligence, after "What's My Name, Fool? Sports and Resistance in the United States." Can you speak on the significance of Muhammad Ali in the political as well as athletical stadium of this country and even the world at large?

Well, Muhammad Ali has of course been a premium inspiration to me, because I write about the coalition of sports and politics, and to me, there is no more bold and contradictory expression of that, than the heyday of Muhammad Ali. I mean in the 1960s, you had the heavyweight champion of the world, with one foot in the Black freedom struggle and one foot in the anti-war movement. He became the most famous athlete in the world, and the most famous draft-resister in the history of the United States; I mean, this is profound, and what I enjoy exploring is how people reacted to him at the time, because we've so sanctified Muhammad Ali in the years since -- sort of the way we've made Dr. King a Saint. We've put people like Malcolm X and Paul Robeson on postage stamps, and what we do in that case, is extract their political teeth; and we forget what it is that made them so bold, so dangerous and even so hated back in the day. And Ali is somebody who of course is still alive, but he's lost his voice, through Parkinson's Disease, and I like exploring that period of the '60s, because Ali was somebody who just, very brilliantly, walked with the rhythm of the different struggles; and this is why you have Ali as such a Giant in the '60s, but much less of a political force in the '70s and '80s -- because he really did rise and fall with the rhythm of the moment. But then again, that is something that is fascinating about Muhammad Ali; because he wasn't just shaped by the 1960s, he also shaped that era. He was a "shaper."

You're most noted for decoding the science behind the intertwining of sports and politics in our culture. Can you elaborate on that?

Well, I think it so important, and we might not like it, but it is just the fact that more people watch ESPN than C-SPAN. And more people listen to Sports-Radio than listen to NPR. And if we recognize this as a fact, then we have to ask ourselves this question: Are people just wasting their time by looking at sports, or is there something of value in sports, that's worth relating to and understanding? I think there are two very important reasons why we shouldn't be dismissive towards Sports fans. Firstly, because I think Sports is beautiful, Sports is Art and Sports is Human expression, and a lot of people are attracted to it for these kinds of very elemental reasons. But the second reason is that I think often times, you have some very dynamic, very interesting important political discussions in the world of sports, and I think sometimes, you have a more honest discussion about racism - when people are arguing about Barry Bonds, and if Michael Vick deserves a second chance - through these shadow-issues, than in regular political talk radio or political discussion. I also think we're taught so much in this country that Politics is just what happens on Capitol Hill; yet Politics are in the air we breathe, the food we eat and the Sports we play.

You've written extensively on athletic activism: Going from Jackie Robinson, to Muhammad Ali, to Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Olympics, to early Michael Jordan, and many others. Can you speak more to that effect?

Well, I'm a big believer in the James Baldwin quote, where he once said that "America is the country devoted to the death of paradox," -- in that America often tries to put people in a little box. So, if you're an athlete, that's all you get to be; if you're a teacher, that's all you get to be; if you shovel ice-cream for a living, that's all you get to do. And athletic activists are transgressing that, and they're willing to say, 'NO, I'm not just a body, I'm also a brain;' 'I'm not just an entertainer; I have something to say, and the right to say it.' Far too many athletes feel like they've signed away their right to speak and to have political ideas -- whenever they sign that contract.

You had an article earlier this year, in which you berated the inability of Tiger Woods to speak out eloquently against the racially-inflaming remarks of the Golf channel pundit who made the "lynching" remark. Do you think there are corporate forces that muffle the political voices of big-name athletes; and can you dissect that phenomenon -- especially in light of the upcoming Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, and reports of crackdowns on protests?

I think you asked a very interesting question. I think for most athletes, there is certainly a corporate muzzle, a muzzle of the media and a muzzle of team-ownership. But when an athlete transgresses and speaks their mind, there's always the ability to be as bland and homogenized as can be -- so that muzzle does exist. But with respect to Tiger Woods, he's part of a very select group of athletes, who actually have power within the corporations that sponsor them, and if he wanted to say something against what Kelly Tilghman of the Golf Channel said, or concerning any injustice in the world, his corporate sponsors like Nike would be lining up to applaud him, and that's because of the powers he has, and there are very few athletes with that individual power. And with Tiger Woods, he often uses the language and symbolism of the Civil Rights movement in his ads, and if he does that, people have a right to demand responsibility from him, to step up to the plate and be part of that tradition.

How do you perceive the WNBA, and do you value it as a sincere and substantive attempt at athleticism?

I certainly do, and I always tell people that the WNBA can't be judged by the same standards of the NBA; it’s a different kind of sport that's run a different way. It is played much differently than in the NBA, and people who are more interested in the heart of team-basketball will find that the WNBA is equal to the NBA, but still remains a different kind of game. I do think it's a sincere effort to reach a very under-reached demographic: Women sports fans. And through the WNBA, men can go to the games with their daughters now. I also think it has become a whipping post for many Sport writers who choose not to engage with it, because it's such an easy target.

Did you watch the brawl last week, and what is your assessment of the remediations that followed?

Well, people got hurt in the brawl, and what it tells us more than anything, is that the games are very intense.

Dr. Boyce Watkins; Syracuse University Professor and NCAA Watchdog, as aggressively tackled the motion of the non-payment of athletes in the NCAA games -- especially during the March Madness season. He believes that the NCAA is obligated to pay the players - or at least the parents - if they are willing to pay the coaches and the administration. What is your assessment of that philosophy, and do you share similar sentiments?

I do share that sentiment, because the players are producing wealth, and coaches get 6-figure contracts just for wearing the shoes, and the players run up-and-down the court like little billboards and some schools even put star players on special VISA cards -- where you can use the card to get discounts on school merchandise. It's an exploitative type of situation, and I also think that when players don't get that fair share, something dynamically bad comes out of it: They go into the gutter. And that's where you see players being offered money under the table, offered women and offered drugs. And part of that happens because it is an illegal economy. And it also has an eerie echo to slavery and the plantation -- with the privileged slave being involved in sporting events, and offered women who we're treated like objects. But in reality, they were still slaves.

Can you explain the "The Pain, Politics and Promise of Sports," as highlighted in your highly-informative book, "Welcome To the Terrordome"?

Well, the "The Pain, Politics and Promise of Sports" - to me - is all rooted in what framed the book; and that was Hurricane Katrina. Because in Hurricane Katrina, you saw the Pain of Sports -- as the only place the dispossessed residents were able to find shelter was in a publicly funded Dome. So money had been going for 30 years into the Louisiana Superdome, while there was no Emergency Shelter and no money for Emergency Evacuation; and so it speaks to the horrible priority that existed more broadly in that system over the last 30 years. It also speaks to the Politics of Sports, and you need to have a sort-of political approach to Sports, to see the interweaving of Hurricane Katrina, The Superdome and the aftermath. But there was also the Promise of Sports, with several professional athletes who made some statements that were far better than anything coming out of Capitol Hill, and among the best of athletes, you still see a kind of instinctive solidarity -- which is very valuable and important. And it is that solidarity and platform which athletes have that I think they need to use.

Your next book, "A People's History of Sports in the US" is due out in just a couple of months. Pls. give us an in-depth look as to what is covered and debated in it?

Yes; its part of Howard Zinn's "A People's History" theory, and it attempts to tell the history of sports in this country, from below -- especially as it was shaped by political factors. So, it's a way of understanding the creation of baseball, by first understanding the Civil War. It's a way of understanding Jackie Robinson, by understanding African-American frustration after World War II. It's a way of trying to understand Title 9, by understanding the Women's Movement and Billy Jean King. So, it tries to look at the incredible dance that's always existed between Sports and Politics, and exposes the hilarious lie, that Sports and Politics, somehow, don't mix.

How can activists generate - or contribute to - the struggle for more courageous display of athletic activism?

That is a terrific question. I think that there are battles in our future. There are going to be battles about the public funding of stadiums, and whether college athletes should be paid, and whether Women will have equal access to Sports, and battles as to the role patriotism plays in Sports. So, it's going to be very important for people to have a working understanding of the way Sports and Politics interact, and we can use the platform of Sports to speak on some of these issues, and reach a broader audience.

Lastly, just last week, a report came out that revealed how you and a few other anti-death activists were spied upon by the Maryland State Police. What is the next step in your fight to combat this 'second coming' of COINTELPRO?

We're going on offense -- to use a sports term. What they did is opposed across the political spectrum in Maryland, and people realize that when you're doing something that is legal and constitutionally protected, they have no right to spy on you. They have no right to spy on you, set infiltrators or take your name down. It was an absolutely, utter, disgusting breach of police power, and we're going to organize against it, and we wouldn't be slowed-down one bit in organizing against the death penalty. And like they say about Civil Rights; either you use them or you lose them, and we're prepared to use our constitutional rights.

Thanks for speaking with us, Dave Zirin.

Watch Dave Zirin in action:

This interview was conducted by Tolu Olorunda, Staff Writer for YourBlackWorld.com

Bobcats & Emeka Okafor agree to 6 years $72 Million

Charlotte, NC (Sports Network) - The Charlotte Bobcats have agreed to terms with restricted free agent big man Emeka Okafor.

The Charlotte Observer reported the deal is for six years and $72 million. General manager Rod Higgins expects the contract to be signed in the next few days.

"It was a long time coming -- actually about a year of negotiations," Higgins told the newspaper. "Any time you have a player like Emeka -- a rebounder, a defender at the rim, it's imperative for a team to keep a guy like that."

Okafor, a Connecticut product, averaged 13.8 points and 10.7 rebounds last season while playing all 82 games for the first time in his four-year NBA career.

The second overall pick in the 2004 draft, the 6-foot-10 forward/center has averaged 14.3 points and 10.8 rebounds in 248 career NBA games.



(The Sports Network)

Nia Abdallah Speaks Exclusively To YBW

Interview with Silver-Medalist Olympian, Nia Abdallah, by Tolu Olorunda.

Nia Abdallah is the 2004 US Silver Medalist in Taekwondo. She is also the first woman from the United States to earn a medal in this sport since it became an official Olympic sport. She is the first African-American to win a medal in the sport and she also holds the record for the most points ever scored in a Taekwondo Olympic competition. Abdallah’s Olympic dream began at the age of five. She began Taekwondo at the age of 9 and has since become a third degree black belt. She earned her first major international win in 1997 at the 11th Annual U.S. Cup Taekwondo Championships, where she captured a gold medal in breaking. Abdallah has also won international events in Peru and Canada, as well as winning two senior National Championships. In 2004, she was named, "USA Taekwondo's 2004 Female Athlete of the Year." With such an accomplished history, nothing could be more insulting to the integrity and conscience of an athlete, than to be robbed of a justified and deserved victory. In early 2008, Nia Abdallah fought a well-known competitor, Diana Lopez, in a qualifying match for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The fight began like any other ordinary athletic exercise, but before long, certain elements of the Abdallah v. Lopez match would resonate as unsettling and disturbing. Onlookers, coaches and supporters took note of the fact that within the regular fighting rounds, no scoring points we're awarded to either player, regardless of the many head-shots and practical knockdowns. In the sudden-death round, Diana Lopez was shockingly pronounced the winner. To Nia Abdallah, her lawyer, her parents, supporters and friends, the fight was rigged, and the alleged victor was pre-determined before the actual fighting began. The family and friends of Nia are at the moment in a legal tug-of-war with the USOC. They are demanding amongst other things, a review of the fight, and a Judicial Report on it. I had the opportunity to speak to both Nia Abdallah and her parents, on the issues revolving around this historical battle against a system of injustice:

NIA ABDALLAH

Thanks for joining us Nia. Can you inform us of your background, and the lead-up to the 2004 Olympic Silver victory?

Well, basically I started my Olympic dreams when I was about 4 years old. My grandfather introduced me to the Olympic movement and its significance, and I told my mom that I wanted to win the Olympics. And then she made an effort to help me get into sporting activities. At the time, I didn't know what sport I would play, but I knew I wanted to win the Olympics. When I became 9 yrs. old, I convinced my mom to permit me to get involved in Taekwondo -- by telling her that it would help me with discipline, self-defense and other great things. When I started, I won most of my tournaments; but when I first lost, I understood that you have to lose to win. When I graduated from High School, I had the choice of going to the military, the Olympic Training Center, or college, so I decided to pursue my Olympic dreams and go to the Olympic Training Center. When I went up there, I won the National Tournament, and it gave me the opportunity to go to the Olympics. After a couple of bouts with Diana Lopez, which I won, I then went to Athens in 2004, and won the Silver Medal.

Can you speak on the background of Diana Lopez and the influence of the Lopez family in general?

Well, a lot of people don't know this, but in 2000, the Lopez family was in the media saying that they we're going to be the "first family of Taekwondo" -- meaning that they would all compete in the 2008 Beijing Olympics together. One of the Lopez brothers is an AAC board member -- the board that makes the rules for the selection process. So, the family was in play with that much power, and they already had AT&T and The Jay Leno Show in the works before the Olympic trial, in order to promote their dynasty.

Can you give us a landscape view of the 2008 Qualifying Match with Diana Lopez -- for those who haven't seen it?

Basically, we went up to 3 or 4 rounds without any score points. And, seeing that we we're both world competitors, I could not understand why there were no points accrued initially in the span of the match. When I kicked her and she fell, there were no deductions, and it is definitely worth seeing the fight, because the tape proves itself. I urge everyone to go to my BlogSpot and MySpace page to view it, because she won by illegitimacy.

What are you advocating for, and why?

We are fighting for these injustices to stop, and most people look over it because it has become a staple in professional sports, but slaves could have said the same thing about their condition. We want everybody to know that together, we can change the system.

Are you asking for reinstatement or a rematch?

Well, with the time frame, it is not probable that I would be going to Beijing. So, it's a small chance that I would still be present at the Olympics, but I'm fighting so that no one else has to go through the same experience I went through...

In light of this, are you going to keep on fighting?

Yes. I'm going to fight until I can't fight no more.

So far, what strides have been made in this battle, and can you speak on the resistance of Mainstream Media to document your story?

Well, we now have a coalition that supports us and we've made several radio appearances. But I also think the media is not covering the story because they don't want people to know about this.

What is your advice for any aspiring young black female athletes, who might be discouraged, giving the context of what you just experienced?

I tell people - who tell me I worked hard for nothing - that because of my hard-work, I am where I am today. I also believe that everything happens for a reason, and God's plan is always the most important factor. I've also come to the realization that maybe it wasn't intended for me to win this fight. If I had won, everything would have continued uninterrupted, and people would still be experiencing the kind of mistreatment that I went through; so, I advice young athletes to never get discouraged. My life motto is "If what you did yesterday seems big, you haven't done anything today." It is a motivation to push me to work harder.

NIA'S PARENTS

How does it feel to have been in the audience and watched your daughter cheated out of her due?

Mr. Duhart: Well, that wasn't the first time. When Nia fought Diana Lopez in August last year, and beat her twice, I could see what they we're trying to do to her. Nia had dominated those fights, and I had never seen her fight that good before. After seeing the injustice of Nia not getting any points for her head-shots, her coach got up and protested, but the referee told him to sit back down. In the fights she had with Diana Lopez, they had the same referee for both fights, and I was upset about that. I believe that she is the best female Martial Arts fighter in the country, and they are denying her the rights to fight and represent her country in the Olympics; it's pretty sad.

When you witnessed these incidents in her fights with Diana Lopez, did you report those irregularities to the committee?

Mr. Duhart: Yes, I went to my Congress people, wrote letters in arbitration and wrote articles in the newspaper, but nobody was willing to listen. We got fed up after a while, because we went to court and regardless of what we did, their mind was made up, because they wanted the story of three siblings in the Beijing Olympics, and the coach as their brother.

Mrs. Duhart, can you respond to the same question of being in the audience and watching the injustice rendered to your daughter?

Mrs. Duhart: It was like watching your child being raped in public. Like my husband said, we went to federal court, and they sent us to arbitration court. They also let us know that even if we won, they would hold us up in court for years; they have that kind of power. They put everything under the field of play, and the committee's Lawyer said that whatever goes on in the field of play is final. And so, even if we witnessed some wrongdoing, we couldn't complain, unless we saw bribery taking place or a broken machine.

What has been the response of the US Olympic Committee since the incident?

Mr. Duhart: Their response has been to pull down the fights from YouTube, in the hope that it would go away.

Mr. Duhart, what was the driving force behind introducing Nia to the sport of Taekwondo, at the age of 9?

Mr. Duhart: Well, at the age of 9, Nia reminded me of my big sister, who was a very skinny kid. She would go to school, and other kids picked on her because of her size. But Nia has always had the heart of a lion, and she would face anybody at anytime. I wanted to make sure that she had the skills to protect herself, so she didn't have to fight. With regard to the case of Diana Lopez, this story needs to be told. She is a record-breaking young lady, and the best that this sport has to offer. She is the first woman from the U.S. to win a medal since it became an official Olympic Sport. She is also the youngest to win a match, and the first African-American to go to the Olympics for this sport. She has broken a lot of records, and some people are trying to hide these facts. When she fought in the Olympics, she fought with a fractured foot and a lot of pain. When she won the Silver Medal in 2004, she was unhappy, and she fought better to get better, and so, to be treated in this manner after her hard-work is a disgrace.

In light of that, do you share some of the sentiments expressed by Richard Williams - father of Tennis Champions, Serena and Venus Williams - with regard to impartiality against Black Women in the world of professional sports?

Mr. Duhart: Of course; I guarantee you that if Nia was white; she would get all the publicity and accolade that should come with her skill level.

What are your hopes for the future, and how can the general public contribute in this struggle for Nia Abdallah?

Mrs. Duhart: First of all, I want to add to what my husband said. In August 2005, Nia delivered a baby, and two weeks after the child, she was back in training, and afterward qualified for the tournament. As a mother and a woman, that is a big accomplishment. With regard to public contribution, supporters should go to http://wesupportnia.blogspot.com/ and http://www.myspace.com/wesupportnia. With the MySpace website, we have a fund to assist Nia, and with the BlogSpot website, we urge readers to comment; but most importantly, we need supporters to write to their Congress people and press for a Judicial Report on Nia's story.

Mr. Duhart: The question should also be posed to the USOC (United States Olympic Committee), about their refusal to air this fight on public airwaves. This was a history-making event, and they haven't shown it on TV yet. They air the Olympic trial for other sports, but they have refused to air this fight, and I think that's very important.

Nia Abdallah and her family can be contacted at:

http://wesupportnia.blogspot.com/

http://www.myspace.com/wesupportnia

http://wesupportnia.com/

Watch the infamous fight, and make your decision:

Nia Abdallah vs Diana Lopez - Olympic Qualifying Match


This interview was conducted by Tolu Olorunda, Staff Writer for YourBlackWorld.com

Sir Charles Barkely Pays For BusBoy's Tuition

It is amusing that such stories of unadulterated human sacrifice and philanthropy are rarely reported by the media belt-way, but when Sir Charles is entangled in a minor Casino fiasco, the universe and its inhabitants are alerted. Barkley who has donated more than $3 million of his personal funds to schools and education in his home state of Alabama, is a beacon of inspiration:

CHRISTIAN ABATE majored in education at Temple, but put his studies on hold for a few years while having financial hardship.

He's worked as a busboy for eight years at Saloon (750 S. 7th), where he struck up a friendship with one generous regular at the Italian restaurant who volunteered to pay his Temple tuition.

During a visit to Saloon last summer, Charles Barkley asked Abate how he was enjoying teaching, and was disappointed to learn that Abate had still not returned to Temple because of problems securing financial aid. Abate, 28, of South Philly, started at Temple in 1997, months after graduating from St. John Neumann High.

Sir Charles told Abate he would like to help him with his tuition, and Abate wasn't sure how to respond. Barkley didn't give him much time, telling Abate that he had the length of Barkley's meal to decide. Abate wisely accepted.

"He's a nice kid," Barkley said of Abate on Friday. "He was working with kids, I loved that he wanted to be a teacher, and I wanted to help him," Barkley told us by phone between stops on a flight to Reno where he was making a speech.

When we joked to Barkley that people were going to be calling him today asking for money, he said "People always call me asking for money, and Christian never asked, which is why I wanted to help him out."

Abate says he will be forever grateful to Barkley who is "giving me a second shot at doing something with my life." Abate is scheduled to graduate next May...

Click To Read More

Mayhem At WNBA: Candace Parker Throws Punch

(AP)—Candace Parker wanted to focus on all of the good parts of the Los Angeles Sparks’ win over the Detroit Shock.

Unfortunately, it will be the final 5 seconds that everyone else is going to remember.

Parker was one of three players ejected along with Detroit assistant coach Rick Mahorn after an ugly scuffle with 4.6 seconds left in Los Angeles’ 84-81 victory.

“To be honest, I don’t recall exactly what happened,” said Parker, who led Los Angeles with 21 points. “I’ll have to watch the tape.”

The skirmish started moments after Parker and Detroit’s Cheryl Ford had to be separated after Ford fouled Parker.

On the next possession, Parker got tangled up with Detroit’s Plenette Pierson and fell to the ground. As she was getting up, Pierson intentionally ran into her, setting off the melee.

Parker threw a punch at Pierson before being tackled by Detroit’s Deanna Nolan. Players and coaches from both teams joined in, and Mahorn knocked Lisa Leslie to the court at one point.

“I was trying to protect the whole game, the integrity of the game,” he said. “The WNBA is very special to me because I have four daughters. I don’t even raise my hand to them, and I would never push a woman. This game, I love this game too much.”

Mahorn was also involved in the 2004 Pistons-Pacers brawl while working as a Detroit broadcaster, going into the crowd to try to pull Ron Artest away from fans.

“Rick Mahorn is known as a peacemaker, from even the brawl we had here with Indiana,” Detroit coach Bill Laimbeer said. “He went out there to get people off the pile, and to get people to stop the confrontation. That’s who he is, that’s what he does.”

Leslie did not talk to the media, but Los Angeles coach Michael Cooper also said he felt Mahorn was trying to stop the fight...

Click for more

Watch Video: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Qy0oSz9ownQ

Tommie Smith & John Carlos at ESPY's And In A New Movie

The 1968 Mexico City Olympics are best described and remembered in one photograph: Two black men, one gets the gold medal, the other the bronze, and both stand with a black fist raised in the air and their heads bowed. The picture sparked tons of controversy in a country divided and time period where tension between Black and white soared high.

Forty years later at the 2008 ESPN “ESPY Awards” the two men- Tommie Smith and John Carlos received the Arthur Ashe Award and the truth about their famous picture was revealed in a short video shown at the awards.

Now, a new international movie- written, directed and produced by Matt Norman (nephew of Peter Norman, the 200m Olympic Silver Medalist pictured with Tommie Smith and John Carlos)- is coming out called “Salute” that ventures into the experience of the 1968 Olympics and the stories of all of the people involved after the historic event:

Kevin Everett Walks Again at ESPN "ESPY Awards"

Anyone that saw Kevin Everett walk out at the ESPN “ESPY Awards” to receive his Jimmy V Perseverance Award was surely moved to tears, or at least glued to the TV. The Buffalo Bills tight end was severely injured during a game last September, and was instantly paralyzed. The world was told that Everett would never be able to walk again, but after only two weeks in the Intensive Care Unit, Kevin Everett made a miraculous recovery and showed signs of being able to walk.

Months later Everett walked out to receive his award at the ESPYS which came on TV this past Sunday July 20th. The Award is a tribute to Coach Jim Valvano who died of Bone Cancer in 1993. During his 1993 ESPY speech for winning the Arthur Ashe Courage award, Valvano’s advice has been plastered into the world of sports forever. He simply stated, “Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.”

Kevin Everett receives Jimmy V Perseverance Award:

NFL Set To Look Out For Gang Signs On Field

From T.O. to Michael Vick to Paul Pierce to Ron Artest to Stephen Jackson to Caron Butler, it's the same bulls---. Black Athletes with enormous talent are subjected to inordinate and criminal forms of interrogation and surveillance. Michael Jordan's flamboyant attitude on-court was rapidly challenged by white pundits who we're uncomfortable with his irreducible-presence and unmitigable-impact. Now, the NFL, just like the NBA have taken it too damn far. To ensure that Black Athletes don't freely celebrate and exist un-shackled, the NFL is now employing a special team to "investigate... hand signals of street gangs" that some players might have displayed in their moments of elation. Like David Stern of the NBA, Roger Goodell has lost his mind. There's no telling what the next regulation would pan out to be. Let's hope it doesn't come with an abolition of blackness. The AP reports tonight that:

The NFL is stepping up its monitoring of on-field player activities to ensure that no one is flashing the hand signals of street gangs.

The Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday that the league had hired experts to look at game tapes and identify players or team officials who might be using suspected gang signals. Violators would be warned and disciplined if the episodes recurred.

League officials said Tuesday that avoiding gang-related activities has long been stressed.

They said the scrutiny was intensified after the shooting death of Denver cornerback Darrent Williams in 2007 after Williams was involved in a dispute with known gang members. Anti-gang information is included in orientation literature and stressed in the annual mandatory league meeting for rookies.

The NFL took further notice after Paul Pierce of the NBA’s Boston Celtics was fined $25,000 in April for what the league said was a “menacing gesture” toward the Atlanta Hawks’ bench. “I 100 percent do not in any way promote gang violence or anything close to it.” Pierce said in a statement. “I am sorry if it was misinterpreted that way at Saturday’s game.”

The Times said that was the precipitating incident for the NFL.....

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-nflgangs&prov=ap&type=lgns

- It ain't easy being a Black Man w/ Cheese...

Black Sports: Brandon Jennings, Boyce Watkins - Good Move

Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Finance Professor at Syracuse University and a faculty affiliate at the College Sports Research Institute at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. He does regular commentary in national media, including CNN, ESPN, BET, and CBS Sports. For more information, please visit www.BoyceWatkins.net.

Black Sports: Venus and Serena Dominate Wimbledon Again

 

Venus, Serena advance to Wimbledon final - 2008 Wimbledon - SI.com

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) -- A spot in her seventh Wimbledon final already secured, Venus Williams headed back to Centre Court to catch the end of the next match.   Scouting? Not really. More like rooting. And when Thursday's second semifinal ended, Williams stood, smiling and applauding for the woman who won, the woman she will have to beat to earn a fifth championship at the All England Club: her younger sister, Serena.   The most unusual and, at times, uncomfortable rivalry in tennis is once more in the spotlight at the pinnacle of the sport: Venus will play Serena in their third all-in-the-family Wimbledon final Saturday.   It's their seventh Grand Slam title match -- Serena holds a 5-1 edge over her sister -- but first final at any tournament since 2003.   "Our main focus is obviously both of us getting to the final," Venus said. "Then, from there, it's every Williams for themself."   While there are, of course, differences in personality (Venus calls herself a nerd; Serena is more extroverted) and game (Venus' serve is faster, for example, and Serena's return is considered better), the siblings' paths to what will be their 16th head-to-head matchup were remarkably similar.   Neither has lost a set in the tournament, and Venus won her semifinal 6-1, 7-6 (3) over fifth-seeded Elena Dementieva of Russia 6-1, 7-6 (3), before Serena hit 14 aces in a 6-2, 7-6 (5) victory over 133rd-ranked Zheng Jie of China 6-2, 7-6 (5). Coincidentally, each Williams won 80 of the 141 points in her match.   Click to Read More.

Black Sports News: Lebron James Thinks of Bouncing Out

By Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports

 

LeBron James showed up in New York on Monday, part of a USA Basketball media function, and continued to bat his eyes at the city in the run up to his potential free agency in 2010.

When asked to name his favorite city he said: “New York.”

Favorite borough?

“Brooklyn,” James said. “Brooklyn is definitely a great place here in New York City, and some of my best friends are from Brooklyn, so I stick up for them.”

Brooklyn is where the New Jersey Nets are expected to move to in 2010 (at least if community groups don’t blow it). The franchise is owned, in part, by James’ friend Jay-Z, and should be stock full of young, complementary talent and a King’s ransom in salary cap room.

James knows all of this. His answers weren’t by accident or without meaning, no more than was wearing a New York baseball cap from an Indians-Yankees playoff game last fall just an expression of pinstriped-fandom.

This was just the latest, albeit most obvious, shot across the Cavaliers’ bow. James didn’t list Cleveland as one of his five favorite cities, although hometown Akron came in fifth behind Washington, Dallas and Los Angeles.

To say there is concern along the Cuyahoga River is to understate things. To say there is pressure on Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry and owner Dan Gilbert doesn’t begin to describe it.

Five years into James’ career and the franchise has yet to instill confidence in the 23-year-old that it knows what it’s doing. Forget his polite talk about the front office. It’s not James’ job to assemble the roster or publicly second guess new teammates (he’s a relentless cheerleader).

If James truly believed the Cavs were on the brink of winning a bunch of titles, he wouldn’t have a wandering eye.

LeBron doesn’t need New York to cash in as a media superstar or a marketing sensation – he’s making hundreds of millions in endorsements in Northeast Ohio. This is a different era and as big and bold as New York is, it isn’t the only place anymore. The guy signed a $105 million Nike deal out of an Akron high school, after all.

James does need New York, or the fear of New York, to motivate Gilbert and Ferry to surround him with a supporting cast capable of winning a championship.

If they can’t do that in the next two years, then he may need New York to fulfill his dream of a title.

Thus far the Cavs have looked like the same old bumbling franchise that had the enormous fortune of winning the 2003 lottery when an otherworldly talent from just down the road happened to be available.

Gilbert is from Michigan and was a huge fan and corporate partner of the Detroit Pistons. Since purchasing the Cavs in 2005, he’s brought all of the Pistons’ pregame pyrotechnics and goofy game presentations only with none of the franchise’s savvy personnel decisions.

 

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