Edge of Sports

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 moment, we have Howard Bryant, a friend of the show, author, commentator and columnist for ESPN. Then, in ’Choice Words’ we have a column about this new era of player power in basketball, and the ‘Just Stand Up’ award goes to WNBA players Tina Charles, Tanisha Wright and Swin Cash for standing up and speaking out.Howard Bryant twitter: http://twitter.com/hbryant42Zirin Column: The NBA Moves the All-Star Game, but Also Punishes Players for Political T-shirts?: http://bit.ly/2ajI699The Olympics and the Battle for Rio’s Future: http://bit.ly/1WsiXdK—http://edgeofsportspodcast.com | http://twitter.com/edgeofsports | http://fb.com/edgeofsportspod | email us: edgeofsports@slate.com—music: 'Raise Up' by Petey Pablo (instrumental) produced by Timbaland | http://timbalandmusic.com'0 to 100' by Drake (instrumental) produced by Boi-1da | http://boi-1da.net/'Bring It On' by Jay-Z (instrumental) produced by DJ Premier | http://premierwuzhere.com'Descend' by Emil Rottmayer | https://soundcloud.com/emil-rottmayer Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Today there is largely universal praise for the ESPY statements of Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Dwayne 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 about the ESPYS and his future. I also have some "Choice words" about the way this discussion of athlete activism is being framed in the #BlackLivesMatter era.Royce White twitter: http://twitter.com/highway_30Royce White & Dave Zirin have an event together on September 21 in St. Paul at East Side Freedom Library: http://eastsidefreedomlibrary.org/Dave Zirin article on Royce White from 2013: https://www.thenation.com/article/sports-interview-non-sports-fans-have-read-my-talk-nba-player-royce-whiteESPYs opening: http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=17061524Carmelo Anthony's statement: https://instagram.com/p/BHmtRkehDV8Royce White's open letter to Carmelo Anthony: https://twitter.com/Highway_30/status/751962281462730752--Music by Dr. Dre & Mat Beard (http://soundcloud.com/mtbrd, http://mtbrd.bandcamp.com, http://twitter.com/mtbrrrd)--http://edgeofsportspodcast.com | http://twitter.com/edgeofsports | http://fb.com/edgeofsportspod | email us: edgeofsports@slate.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The police killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, followed by the sniper attack on police in Dallas, unleashed a wave of protests throughout the country. It also produced numerous responses by athletes who spoke out strongly in support of the black lives matter movement. Why is this happening now and why does it matter? Our guest is Scoop Jackson of ESPN, former editor of SLAM magazine.Scoop Jackson twitter:https://twitter.com/iamscoopjackson—http://edgeofsportspodcast.com | http://twitter.com/edgeofsports | http://fb.com/edgeofsportspod | email us: edgeofsports@slate.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The Sports World is buzzing about NBA star's Kevin Durant's move from Oklahoma City to the Golden State Warriors. We break it down - the basketball and the political sides of this deal - with NBA.com's own Sekou Smith. Then, in front of a live audience, I do a talk about the political lessons of the Mizzou football strike against racism. Finally, the Just Stand Up award to Olympic swimmer Anthony Ervin.Sekou Smith: http://twitter.com/SekouSmithNBA/Hang Time blog: http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/tag/sekou-smith/Hang Time podcast: http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/category/podcast/Socialism 2016 conference: http://wearemany.org/Anthony Ervin: http://twitter.com/anthonyervin/Anthony Ervin’s book, “Chasing Water: Elegy of an Olympian” http://akashicbooks.com/catalog/chasing-water/—http://edgeofsportspodcast.com | http://twitter.com/edgeofsports | http://fb.com/edgeofsportspod | email us: edgeofsports@slate.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Our final tribute to Muhammad Ali features Bill Siegel, director of ‘The Trials of Muhammad Ali,’ as well as cultural commentator and author Bijan C. Bayne, and finally, one icon says goodbye to another as 1968 Olympic hero, Dr. John Carlos honors Ali.Hear our entire series of Ali tributes at http://EdgeOfSportsPodcast.com. Thank you to all the guests who participated and to the city of Louisville for hosting such a touching tribute.Bill Siegel film: https://twitter.com/MuhammadAliDoc | http://kartemquin.com/films/the-trials-of-muhammad-ali | http://hulu.com/watch/617383Bijan C. Bayne: http://twitter.com/bijancbayneDr. John Carlos: http://johncarlos68.com | The John Carlos StoryThe Sports Moment That Changed the World http://haymarketbooks.org/hc/The-John-Carlos-StoryMusic by Yusef Lateef “Like It Is” & “Love Theme from Spartacus" http://yuseflateef.com—http://edgeofsportspodcast.com | http://twitter.com/edgeofsports | http://fb.com/edgeofsportspod | email us: edgeofsports@slate.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The ascendancy of the Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James to the top of the mountain has captivated hoop fans everywhere, including us. First, Dave Zirin sings the praises of LeBron and the Cavs, and then speaks with Cyd Zeigler, founder of the website Outsports and author of the new book ‘Fair Play: How LGBT Athletes Are Claiming Their Rightful Place in Sports’ about how the sports world responded to the massacre of LGBT people in Orlando. Finally, we take it to church…seriously…with a recording of Dave’s Father’s Day sermon, as delivered to Plymouth Congregational Church in DC on "Muhammad Ali, Orlando, and the Light of Understanding."Cyd Zeigler: https://twitter.com/CydZeiglerFair Play: How LGBT Athletes Are Claiming Their Rightful Place in Sportshttp://www.akashicbooks.com/catalog/fair-play/Outsportshttp://www.outsports.com/ | https://twitter.com/outsportsPlymouth Congregational United Church of Christ. Rev. Graylan Scott Hagler http://www.plymouth-ucc.org/ | Zirin Sermon: https://www.spreaker.com/user/plymouthucc-washingtondc/dave-zirin-m-ali-orlando-the-light-of-unMusic & LeBron mix by Jason St. Clair https://fb.com/jason.stclair.58Intro Music: ‘The Ruler’s Back’ (Instrumental) produced by Bink https://twitter.com/sommeave—http://edgeofsportspodcast.com | http://twitter.com/edgeofsports | http://fb.com/edgeofsportspod | email us: edgeofsports@slate.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Today we bring you the emotions, sounds, and voices of Muhammad Ali's funeral in Louisville. This was a day that will go down in history as the last act of resistance by the 20th century’s most iconic fighter. People came to pay respects from near and far, both young and old, in every shade of color, media professionals and everyday folks alike; all bound together by a love for Muhammad Ali. This show is dedicated to our LBGT - and specifically Latino LGBT - brothers and sisters who were killed in Orlando the very day after Ali's funeral. We address this horrific juxtaposition with a statement against anti-LGBT and anti-Muslim bigotry.Column: ‘Sleep Easy, My Brother’ http://thenation.com/article/sleep-easy-my-brotherColumn: ‘The Orlando Killings and the Message of Muhammad Ali’s Funeral’ http://thenation.com/article/the-orlando-killings-and-the-message-of-muhammad-alis-funeralThe Ali Center: http://alicenter.orgAli’s entire interfaith memorial: https://youtu.be/NBX59J-ltuAAli’s Muslim Janazah memorial: https://youtu.be/_xMTGnHoHS8Ali’s entire memorial procession: https://youtu.be/G5ZDZMLfgqYSpecial thanks: The Ali Center, The Nation, Panoply, Andy Bowers, Democracy Now, Amy Goodman, Dalia Mogahed and her family, Howard Bryant, the staff of Broadway Digital, WBAI, Mike Pesca, Mary Wilson, the MSNBC crew in Louisville, Craig Melvin, Brian Williams, Dr. Harry Edwards, Jim Embry, Dedrick Rashad Hough, and Julius Denson II.Music: (Louisville’s own) Jerry Tolson — March Of The Contradi http://jerrytolson.com | Yusef Lateef - Love Theme From Spartacus http://yuseflateef.com—http://edgeofsportspodcast.com | http://twitter.com/edgeofsports | http://fb.com/edgeofsportspod | email us: edgeofsports@slate.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

All week we are releasing interviews about the remarkable and singular legacy of The Champ, Muhammad Ali. Today we have Canadian sports journalist and social justice activist Shireen Ahmed, then Baltimore poet and founder of #NoJusticeNoLeBron, Tariq Toure. They speak about the Ali's support of the Palestinian liberation and what it has meant to them to share the faith of the King of the World. Shireen Ahmed: https://twitter.com/_shireenahmed_|  http://shireenahmed.comTariq Toure: http://twitter.com/tariqtoure | http://tariqtoure.comMusic: McCoy Tyner - Search For Peace http://mccoytyner.com | Faithless - Muhammad Ali http://faithless.co.uk—http://edgeofsportspodcast.com | http://twitter.com/edgeofsports | http://fb.com/edgeofsportspod | email us: edgeofsports@slate.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Only one man who could write the New York Times obituary of Muhammad Ali. Bob Lipsyte covered Ali for 52 years and continues our special week of coverage for The Champ. Then, writer and commentator Kavitha Davidson speaks about Ali’s cultural impact and examines the possible link between two degenerative brain diseases: Parkinson’s, which plagued Ali, and CTE, which is detected in the brains of more and more football players. Our closing song today is by Johnny Wakelin & The Kinshasa Band, “Black Superman, Muhammad Ali.”Lipsyte: Muhammad Ali Dies at 74: Titan of Boxing and the 20th Century http://nyti.ms/1sUHBHjLipsyte articles in the Times: http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/l/robert_lipsyte/index.htmlKavitha Davidson: http://twitter.com/kavithadavidsonKavitha Davidson articles in Bloomberg View: http://www.bloomberg.com/view/contributors/ARmrUVik0io/kavitha-a-davidsonMuhammad Ali, Black Superman: https://youtu.be/cq04qeVMCQE—http://edgeofsportspodcast.com | http://twitter.com/edgeofsports | http://fb.com/edgeofsportspod | email us: edgeofsports@slate.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The world shook last week as the greatest sports figure of the 20th Century, Muhammad Ali, passed away. Today begins a week of special podcasts devoted to The Champ, which will end with a trip to Louisville for Ali’s memorial. We originally booked today’s guest, Chuck D, to talk about his new supergroup ‘Prophets of Rage,’ which also features B-Real from Cypress Hill and members of Rage Against The Machine. Today, Chuck D talks about this rebellious musical project, their summer tour that starts July 19th in Cleveland, and offers his insights into Ali’s indelible legacy. Then, ‘Choice Words’ from Dave’s latest column for The Nation.Be sure to subscribe to the show so you don’t miss any of this week’s special Ali programming. Search for Edge of Sports on on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Music or your podcast app of choice. For more information, visit http://EdgeOfSportsPodcast.comProphets of Rage: http://prophetsofrage.com | http://fb.com/TheProphetsofRage | http://twitter.com/prophetsofrageChuck D: http://twitter.com/MrChuckDZirin: ‘I Just Wanted to Be Free’: The Radical Reverberations of Muhammad Alihttp://www.thenation.com/article/i-just-wanted-to-be-free-the-radical-reverberations-of-muhammad-ali—http://edgeofsportspodcast.com | http://twitter.com/edgeofsports | http://fb.com/edgeofsportspod | email us: edgeofsports@slate.com—Music: Public Enemy (Terrorbeat, Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos, Welcome to the Terrordome) http://publicenemy.com | Miles Davis (Ali) http://milesdavis.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy