That reminds me: I wonder what Keith Olbermann has to say about this?
I still miss Countdown with Keith Olbermann.
Fun Fact: Olbermann sold his condo in Trump Tower because Toadglans was such a loathsome person. Then Cockholster responded by saying how much money he’ll make on the sale. Then Olbermann replied by stating exactly how much the property had been devalued because of Turmeric the Terrible’s reputation.
What’s the problem. IOKIYAR.
Not for nothing did Orwell say that “serious sport” is “war minus the shooting.”
Through their spokesman, Frederick Douglass…
Of course the racist/sexist side of the US has been in full view with Trump as president, but I wouldn’t be quite so fast to label everything powerful sports constituencies do as racially motivated. I really think the bottom line is MONEY and POWER. Race plays into it, but in most cases I suspect that’s secondary. I think the bottom line was, Kaepernick had to go because he threatened the stability of the NFL, one of the most successful business enterprises ever.
Here’s someone with a background in sports journalism that’s still fighting the good fight:
That seemed weird to me. Lots of music from the 1930s had racism in it. Not to mention movies, television (later on), etc. Are we going to boycott Disney now because of Dumbo?
Deciding now to dishonor Kate Smith, who died years ago, because of something she did 80 years ago, seems far too self-congratulatory to me. Especially compared to everything that is going on right now.
Very good points. I would also add that we really, really need to expand the discussion of the un-American, criminal, racist, misogynistic, chauvinistic, and xenophobic MO of this Pretender in the WH beyond the regular, pre-approved news channels. This discussion needs to happen everywhere until this nation puts an end to this regime.
Basically, that seems to be the objective at this point.
Olbermann’s been fired from ESPN twice in the past already. I wouldn’t be too surprised if he says something on Twitter for that to happen a third time. He’s become the Billy Martin of sportscasters.
He’s really not got the personality that fits well with “toeing the company line”.
I prefer to see it as a desperate attempt to counter “everything [else] that is going on right now.”
Btw, politically speaking LeBatard is a Cuban American from So Fl. He’s from a generation of Cubans that has started to turn that demo a little more towards Dems. Guys like him speaking out can mean a lot in terms of differential turnout in Miami-Dade County.
The most ridiculous part of that ‘policy’ is ESPN loves doing specials on the cultural, societal and yes political impact of sports all the time. Mostly from past generations, but they had no problem highlighting the racism Black soccer players face in Europe a couple years ago.
“And then here, all of a sudden, nobody talks politics on anything — unless we can use one of these sports figures as a meat-shield in the most cowardly possible way to discuss these subjects.”
impressive
Or any SEC hoops game.
don’t forget Jim Thorpe
Much of the “economically anxious” Trump base still think Hank Aaron should not have broken Ruth’s home run record, Arthur Ashe was being too uppity and Bobby Riggs was robbed.
Their documentaries are quite excellent even for folks who aren’t sports nuts and don’t follow every the minutiae and box scores they’re very informative.
Sometimes men need the winds most,
at other times waters from the sky,
rain descendants of the cloud.
And when a man has triumphed
and put his toil behind,
it is time for melodious song to arise,
laying the foundation of future glory,
a sworn pledge securing proud success.
For Olympian victors, such acclaim
is laid in store without limit,
and I am eager to tend it with my song.
Pindar, the Epinician Ode Olympian XI
From our earliest memories, we are captured by the athletic spirit and fascinated by the spectacle of sport. For nothing so epitomizes our reach for excellence, our delight in our physical abilities, and our highest expression of “higher, faster stronger.”
We are told sports is a crucial element of our development, and not just for the need to attain physical fitness and exercise our muscles with formative stress: through sports we learn to socialize with others, escape temporarily our routine daily existence and enjoy playing a game in the same way that we find temporary escape and transcendence from mundane reality in the rituals and ceremony of religion, become introduced into the complex relations that bind us with those around us, and gain the confidence in our own abilities and our abilities to compete and interact with others. In our society, there are few more reviled targets for our moral disapproval that those who were accused of cheating, bad sportsmanship, cowardice, or selling out or betraying a common cause.
Sports also promotes the values of fair play, endurance in the struggle for survival, effort, discipline, restraint, adventure, team spirit, and submission to rules and codes of good conduct. It’s perhaps the most deeply rooted impulse of our life and spirit.
This status can be seen in the world of higher education: the academic accomplishments of our major universities are rarely discussed outside close circles, but the athletic achievements of a university make headlines, attract contributions from alumni and boosters, and trumpet glory in the media.
Ancient Greece, birthplace of western civilization and democracy, reveled in the capabilities of humankind. In contrast to earlier, static depictions of man, Greek artists portrayed the human form in motion – part of a celebration of the dynamic, active, creative principle guiding all people. To compete in the Olympic Games was a fulfillment of the highest ideals of speed, strength and endurance in celebration of a shared race and culture.
The conception of the common man as an agent of his or her own self-fulfillment and destiny has been a rallying cry for all free people, and excellence in the arena was no less prized than heroism in the battlefield.
At times the two became as one. Indeed, legend has it that the name of our longest-distance endurance race descends from the tireless and ultimately tragic exploit of that heroic military messenger who, after making the 26-mile run non-stop from Marathon to Athens to exclaim “We have won!” to the Greek assembly, promptly collapsed and died.
And during periods when the ancient Olympics were held at the sacred competition site in Olympia in Greece, wars were put on hold in order for the best athletes – who were very often also the top soldiers – to gather and compete. Those competitors were also held up as symbols of their respective city-states, and their performances became a way for each athlete’s city-state to promote and proclaim its greatness.
While the games commenced, diplomats and other dignitaries from the various Greek city-states would often take advantage of the neutral Games site in order to initiate informal negotiations that often resulted in suspended wars never resuming after the games were finished.
So, there’s always been an aspect of politics and statecraft to the Olympic Games, and a recognition of the important relationship between sports and society – and even national security.
The Greeks also had the legend of the Minotaur, another cultural reminder, one that warned all who would listen of the monstrous consequences of the subversion of shared ideals in pursuit of private interests and personal gain.
Today, as our relations with each other, with other societies, and the larger world around us grow ever complex, sports has taken on a new meaning. Today, sports has become a big business, mass entertainment, a fixture of our popular culture and, judging by the audience for Sunday football, almost a national religion. It has become an end to itself, rather than a means to enjoy a fuller life. And success in sports can lead to success in life, with all the fame and fortune that entails. But it cannot be the ultimate meaning of life; it is, after all, only a game, and for the athlete life must go on long after the cheering of the crowds stop.
And therein lies the paradox and the challenge: to embody the spirit and lesson of athletics, to give one’s all to that climactic and cathartic moment, both fleeting and eternal, of overcoming the most daunting and stubborn challenge of self-imposed limits, while constrained by the spirit of fair play.
Hemingway, who was drawn to heroes and the sport of bullfighting, prized this ideal and called it grace under pressure.
Just as we do not live to eat but eat to live, just as we cannot live to philosophize but must philosophize in order to live a better life, we must realize that even as we are compelled to play to win, we must not lose sight of the game, which is quite different from the prize.
Whether it’s the thrill of a 60-yard kickoff return, a deftly executed triple axel jump, a soaring pole vault or a Little Leaguer valiantly sliding into third base, excellence in sports inspires a timeless and universal sense of wonder of accomplishment, evokes poetry in motion, and rejoices in one daring, climactic push to the limits of human performance.
But as we search for meaning and purpose in our lives, as we strive to create a world that embodies our highest ideals and promotes the fellowship of all peoples, how do we prepare our athletes of today and tomorrow for the day when the cheering of the crowd stops?
And every African American musician who has shaped American music.
I was just listening to Stan Getz, one of the smoothest tenormen ever, and I know he would agree with me.
If anyone wishes to hear some incredible music, try to access the Jazz at the Philharmonic
album recorded by Verve Records. The most successful European concerts (1958-59) included this gem:
Song: All The Things You Are length 13 minutes, 9 seconds
Instrumentation includes Coleman Hawkins, Don Byas, Stan Getz tenor saxophones; Roy Eldridge trumpet