Dave Zirin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dave Zirin
Occupation Sports journalism
Notable credit(s) The John Carlos Story: The Sports Moment That Changed the World
A People's History of Sports in the United States
Welcome to the Terrordome: The Pain, Politics, and Promise of Sports
Website
http://edgeofsports.com/

Dave Zirin is an American political sportswriter who is the sports editor for The Nation, a weekly published progressive magazine dedicated to politics and culture.

Career

Zirin was briefly the host of XM satellite’s weekly show, Edge of Sports Radio. Zirin was once a contributor to The Nation, a columnist for SLAM Magazine, and The Progressive, as well as once being a guest on ESPN's Outside The Lines and Democracy Now!.

His first book, What’s My Name, Fool? Sports and Resistance in the United States (Haymarket Books) has entered its third printing.[1][2]

Zirin has also published Welcome to the Terrordome: The Pain, Politics, and Promise of Sports, and A People’s History of Sports in the United States, a sports-related volume in the manner of Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States series for The New Press. In addition to “What’s My Name, Fool?” for Haymarket Books, he has also published “The Muhammad Ali Handbook” for MQ Publications.

Controversies

Zirin has repeatedly called for sports boycotts of certain teams, states, or nations for political reasons.

  • On April 27, 2010, writing for The Guardian, Zirin called for a boycott against sports teams from Arizona, in particular the Diamondbacks, to protest the Arizona SB 1070, the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act.[3][4] He did however express tremendous enthusiasm and support during the 2010 NBA Playoffs for the Phoenix Suns, who went by "Los Suns" as a statement against the Arizona immigration law.
  • On June 2, 2010, writing for The Nation, Zirin justified the decision of the Turkish U-19 soccer team to boycott a match against Israel. He described the Gaza flotilla raid as an act of state terror committed by the Israeli government and proposed a boycott of Israel.[5] Others countered that the Turkish state, aware that a confrontation would occur, played a prominent role in supporting the flotilla, and thus could be held responsible.[6]

In Defense of Barry Bonds

Zirin maintains the opinion that the aggressive hatred toward the use of steroids by Barry Bonds is in large degree due to racism. In 2004 Zirin wrote “The greatest case for reasonable doubt lies in Bonds' very late career success. His unparalleled middle-aged majesty screams his innocence.”[8] However, in an undated interview, Zirin claims “I never wrote that I "believe Bonds has never done steroids."” He continues: “unlike oh so many others, the man never actually failed a steroids test. Is there a ton of circumstantial evidence that the man juiced? Absolutely. But he is still the best player I've ever seen. The best player of what will go down as the anabolic era.”[9] Zirin claims that, rather than steroid use, “much of the reaction to Bonds is simply bad old-fashioned racism”.[10]

Articles and Interviews Defending Bonds:

Bibliography

  • What's My Name, Fool? Sports and Resistance in the United States, Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2005. | ISBN 978-1-931859-20-2
  • Welcome to the Terrordome: The Pain, Politics, and Promise of Sports, Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2007. | ISBN 978-1-931859-41-7
  • Muhammad Ali Handbook, Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2007. | ISBN 978-1-84601-155-9
  • A People's History of Sports: From Bull-Baiting to Barry Bonds, Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2008. | ISBN 978-1-59558-100-6
  • Bad Sports: How Owners Are Ruining the Games We Love, New York: Scribner Books, 2010. | ISBN 978-1-4165-5475-2
  • The John Carlos Story: The Sports Moment That Changed the World, Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2011. | ISBN 978-1-60846-127-1
  • Game Over: How Politics Has Turned the Sports World Upside Down, The New Press. 2013. | ISBN 978-1-59558-815-9

Movies in DVD format

  • Not Just a Game – Power, Politics & American Sports, Media Education Foundation, 62-minutes, 2011 | ISBN 1-932969-50-6
  • Race, Power & American Sports, Featuring Dave Zirin, Media Education Foundation, 45-minutes, 2013 | ISBN 1-932969-76-X

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.