Named of the UTNE Reader's "50 Visionaries Who Are Changing Our World", Dave Zirin writes about the politics of sports for the Nation Magazine. He is their first sports writer in 150 years of existence.
Zirin is also the host of Sirius XM Radio's popular weekly show, Edge of Sports Radio. He has been called "the best sportswriter in the United States," by Robert Lipsyte.
Dave Zirin is, in addition, a columnist for SLAM Magazine, and the Progressive.
His latest book is Bad Sports: How Owners are Ruining the Games We Love (Scribner). Shock Doctrine author Naomi Klein called "Bad Sports", "an original and scathing look at how America works.”
Zirin is also the author of A People's History of Sports in the United States, part of Howard Zinn's People's History series for the New Press. A People's History of Sports forms the basis of a documentary co-written and narrated by Zirin called Not Just A Game: Power, Politics and American Sports, produced by the Media Education Foundation.
In addition he has written Welcome to the Terrordome: The Pain, Politics, and Promise of Sports (Haymarket Books), with a foreword by the immortal Chuck D. Sports Illustrated wrote that Terrordome is "a provocative, sometimes chilling, look at sports and society right now."
His first book "What's My Name, Fool?" Sports and Resistance in the United States (Haymarket Books) has entered its third printing and is available in stores and at haymarketbooks.org.
Zirin has brought his blend of sports and politics to multiple television programs including ESPN's Outside the Lines, MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann, ESPN Classic, MSNBC's Morning Joe, CNN, MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show, Comcast Sports Network's Washington Post Live, C-SPAN's BookTV, and Democracy Now with Amy Goodman.
He has also been on numerous national radio programs including National Public Radio's Tell Me More, Talk of the Nation and All Things Considered.
Zirin has debated FOX Sports president Ed Goren on college football's Bowl Championship Series for National Public Radio, Bridgestone Firestone President Dan Adomitis in the pages of the LA Times on whether his company should be the "official tire of the Super Bowl" while in court for using child labor in Liberia, and the issue of steroids in sports with Jose Canseco and John Rocker.
His writing has also appeared in Vibe Magazine, the LA Times, the Washington Post, the New York Daily News, New York Newsday, the Baltimore Sun, the The Pittsburgh Courier, The Source, and numerous other publications.
He loves the Mets, Jets, and Wizards.
What If Kobe Bryant Were an Imprisoned Palestinian Soccer Player?
Crossposted from The NationImagine if a member of Team USA Basketball—let’s say Kobe Bryant—had been traveling to an international tournament only to be seized by a foreign government and held in prison for three years without trial or even hearing the charges for which he was imprisoned. Imagine if Kobe ...
Adam 'MCA' Yauch: Our Ambassador From Atlantis
Crossposted from The Nation“Born and bred Brooklyn U.S.A. They call me Adam Yauch but I’m M.C.A.” In the ’60s they said, “Don’t trust anyone over 30.” When it comes to remembering Adam “MCA” Yauch, who died on May 4, I don’t trust anyone under 30. Adam Yauch and the Beastie ...
Want to Understand the 1992 LA Riots? Start with the 1984 LA Olympics
Crossposted from The NationIf you don’t light the fuse, the bomb won’t blow. But striking the match and lighting the fuse are only the final steps in a process of creating a deadly explosion. The match that set off the 1992 LA Riots was struck when a videotape showcasing five ...
25 Years Since Al Campanis Shocked Baseball: What's Changed and What Hasn't
On April 6, 1987, all eyes in the world of sports were supposed to be on the fight to end all fights: Marvelous Marvin Hagler vs. “Sugar” Ray Leonard. In this pre-internet era, ABC's award-winning news program Nightline with Ted Koppel was devoting its broadcast to that epic long-awaited encounter, ...
Jackie Robinson, Trayvon Martin and the Sad History of Sanford, Florida
Crossposted from the NationSanford, Florida is a city that will now be known for all times as the place where Trayvon Martin was killed for the crime of Living While Black. It was also the place whose institutions – the police department, the local press, and even the city morgue ...
Why Protests Should Be a Part of Super Bowl Sunday
Crossposted from The NationThis Sunday, the greatest multitude in the history of the United States will be tuning into the same television show at the same time. The 2012 Super Bowl, to be played between two major media markets, the New England Patriots and New York Giants, kicks off at ...
College Football's Logic: Why Joe Paterno and Penn State Would Shield a Child Molester
Crossposted from the NationAfter forty-six seasons coaching at Penn State University, coach Joe Paterno now faces a crisis that could burn the storied football program to the ground. And if recent charges are true, his legacy deserves to burn along with it. For those who haven’t heard, longtime assistant Jerry ...
Why I'm Boycotting Major League Baseball's All-Star Game in Arizona
Crossposted from The NationOver the last year, civil rights organizations, politicians, sportswriters and baseball players have asked Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig to move Tuesday’s 2011 All-Star Game out of Arizona. He chose not to listen and now I choose not to watch. If I lived within a day’s ...
Tennis Anyone? What Li Na's Grand Slam Win Tells Us About China
Crossposted from The Nation's blogThe Women's Tennis Association could not be happier today. With her victory in the French Open on Saturday, Li Na became the first Chinese tennis player to win a major singles championship. Her historic triumph brings an unprecedented opportunity to market the sport to China’s perceived ...
The NCAA and Jim Tressel: Giving Eric Cartman the Moral High Ground
Crossposted from The NationIt’s fitting that Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel resigned in disgrace on Memorial Day. This is, perhaps, the most misunderstood holiday on the books: a day used by politicians to celebrate war, which was first organized by freed slaves to honor Union soldiers buried in a ...
Why Lance Armstrong Will Survive '60 Minutes' and the Feds
Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong is now facing the systematic disemboweling of his legacy as an athletic icon. As revealed Sunday on 60 Minutes—a show that usually doesn’t do sports features unless there’s a synergistic tie-in with CBS Sports—three of Armstrong’s teammates have testified to a federal grand ...
Sports, bin Laden, and the New Normal
Howard Cosell said that "rule number one of the sports jockocracy" was that sports and politics don't mix. And yet last night, at the ballpark in Philadelphia, we received another reminder that some political expression is deemed not just acceptable but glorious. When the killing of Osama bin Laden reached ...
The Crackdown on Bahrain's Jocks for Justice
Al’a Hubail is a legend in the world of Bahraini soccer. In 2004, along with his brother Mohammed, he led the national team on a rollicking VCU-esque run into the Asian Cup semi-finals. Hubail then became the first Bahraini player to win the prestigious Golden Boot Award after scoring five ...
This Year’s Final Four: Beyond “Cinderella vs. Sinners”
Before the media becomes too engorged on this Cinderella vs. Sinners narrative, it's worth noting that while superficially true. It's also fraudulent, moralistic hooey. The final horn hadn't even sounded on Sunday before our beloved sports blabbocracy thematically defined this year's NCAA hoops Final Four. It was to be the ...
Slaves to the Game? Adrian Peterson and the “S” Word
Adrian Peterson, the Minnesota Vikings All-Pro running back, “went there," and now there’s no going back. In a moment of supreme frustration with NFL owners and their lust for the lockout, Peterson said, “It's modern-day slavery, you know?" For sportswriters inclined to cozy up to Commissioner Roger Goodell, Peterson’s words were ...
Say it Loud on Opening Day: Baseball Must Move the All-Star Game from Arizona
First run at thenation.com At the risk of profound understatement, it’s been a difficult 2011 in the state of Arizona. Jared Loughner’s shooting spree that grievously injured Representative Gabrielle Giffords and killed six, including 9-year old Christina Green, was a national horror. The killings also focused global attention on Arizona’s ...
Kazemi and Abdul-Qaadir: Recognizing the Courage of Muslim Athletes
In one of the most astounding polls I’ve ever seen, Gallup reported earlier this month that 69% of Americans were “following the events in Egypt closely,” and 83% of them “sympathized with the protesters.” When you consider the kind of rampant Islamaphobia that’s infected the body politic of this country ...
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May 11th, 2012
What If Kobe Bryant Were an Imprisoned Palestinian Soccer Player?
Crossposted from The NationImagine if a member of Team USA Basketball—let’s say Kobe Bryant—had been traveling to an international tournament only to be seized by ...
May 7th, 2012
Adam 'MCA' Yauch: Our Ambassador From Atlantis
Crossposted from The Nation“Born and bred Brooklyn U.S.A. They call me Adam Yauch but I’m M.C.A.” In the ’60s they said, “Don’t trust anyone over ...
May 1st, 2012
Want to Understand the 1992 LA Riots? Start with the 1984 LA Olympics
Crossposted from The NationIf you don’t light the fuse, the bomb won’t blow. But striking the match and lighting the fuse are only the final ...
April 17th, 2012
25 Years Since Al Campanis Shocked Baseball: What's Changed and What Hasn't
On April 6, 1987, all eyes in the world of sports were supposed to be on the fight to end all fights: Marvelous Marvin Hagler ...
March 23rd, 2012
Jackie Robinson, Trayvon Martin and the Sad History of Sanford, Florida
Crossposted from the NationSanford, Florida is a city that will now be known for all times as the place where Trayvon Martin was killed for ...
February 5th, 2012
Why Protests Should Be a Part of Super Bowl Sunday
Crossposted from The NationThis Sunday, the greatest multitude in the history of the United States will be tuning into the same television show at the ...
November 7th, 2011
College Football's Logic: Why Joe Paterno and Penn State Would Shield a Child Molester
Crossposted from the NationAfter forty-six seasons coaching at Penn State University, coach Joe Paterno now faces a crisis that could burn the storied football program ...
March 23rd, 2012
Jackie Robinson, Trayvon Martin and the Sad History of Sanford, Florida
Crossposted from the NationSanford, Florida is a city that will now be known for all times as the place where Trayvon Martin was killed for ...
May 2nd, 2011
Sports, bin Laden, and the New Normal
Howard Cosell said that "rule number one of the sports jockocracy" was that sports and politics don't mix. And yet last night, at the ballpark ...
February 5th, 2012
Why Protests Should Be a Part of Super Bowl Sunday
Crossposted from The NationThis Sunday, the greatest multitude in the history of the United States will be tuning into the same television show at the ...
March 16th, 2011
Slaves to the Game? Adrian Peterson and the “S” Word
Adrian Peterson, the Minnesota Vikings All-Pro running back, “went there," and now there’s no going back. In a moment of supreme frustration with NFL owners and ...
April 12th, 2011
The Crackdown on Bahrain's Jocks for Justice
Al’a Hubail is a legend in the world of Bahraini soccer. In 2004, along with his brother Mohammed, he led the national team on a ...
May 25th, 2011
Why Lance Armstrong Will Survive '60 Minutes' and the Feds
Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong is now facing the systematic disemboweling of his legacy as an athletic icon. As revealed Sunday on 60 ...
April 4th, 2011
This Year’s Final Four: Beyond “Cinderella vs. Sinners”
Before the media becomes too engorged on this Cinderella vs. Sinners narrative, it's worth noting that while superficially true. It's also fraudulent, moralistic hooey. The ...
'The Rich & the Rest of Us' by Tavis Smiley and Cornel West and 'Drift' by Rachel Maddow
Mike, was the triple overtime Outback Bowl come-from-behind win the greatest Spartans game ever?
Yes -- or at least it will be until their appearance in next year's Rose Bowl, a game which... Continue Reading
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