Global Sport Matters

It’s halftime in America. Those are the starting words of a recent piece by Bill Rhoden for The Undefeated. And in this time out, many athletes are making decisions to opt-out from their 2020 season, not to just avoid COVID-19 but to tackle racism and social justice. Joining to discuss what this time-out could mean is Renee Montgomery, 11-year WNBA veteran point guard with the Atlanta Dream, and Victoria Jackson, former NCAA champ, retired professional track and field athlete, sports historian and clinical assistant professor at Arizona State University.

A first-of-its-kind study of skateboarding culture reveals that skateboarding improves mental health, fosters community, and encourages diversity and resilience. We sit down with Neftalie Williams, co-author of the study Beyond the Board, and Kim Woozy from Skate Like a Girl.

The history of Black ownership within the NFL is a bleak one. While there have been a smattering of Blacks who hold a minority stake in a team, in a league whose players are 70% Black, no one Black person has ever owned majority ownership in the NFL. Is this the moment that changes all that? Raymond Bobbitt discusses his plan to bring Black ownership to the league and Ken Shropshire about its history.

NASCAR decides to ban Confederate flags but will it be able to keep up with America’s fast-moving pace car of social change? Dr. Joshua Newman discusses southern whiteness connected to NASCAR. And student journalists Misha Jones and Patty Vicente from ASU’s Cronkite School join us for an end of the week round table discussion.

History is repeating itself through athlete activism. Fifty years after John Carlos and Tommie Smith raised their fists, athlete activism has once again become one of the most relevant – and controversial – political topics in the US despite the fact that we haven’t had public sporting events since the start pandemic.

We talk to Olympic Athlete Gwen Berry, and former head coach for the University of Washington Women's Soccer, Lesle Gallimore.

It has been an intense two-plus weeks for America, the world, and the family of George Floyd. Thousands of people attended his funeral. Hundreds of thousands have protested his killing, as well as recent the killings of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and sadly a list that goes on.

Police misconduct attorney Carl Douglas, best known for being one of the defense attorneys in the O. J. Simpson murder case, shares what comes next for America. Also joining are Bill Rhoden and Ken Shropshire.

Many sports teams have issued statements about the killing of George Floyd and the recent protests. Now comes a statement from the Boston Red Sox who says racism at Fenway is real. What happens next?

Joining to discuss what this means is Julio Ricardo Varela, host of the In The Thick Podcast.

In today's world with the pandemic and recent racial justice protests at the forefront, how will coaches' roles expand even further beyond the playbook? In this episode, we bring together high school and collegiate coaches to discuss their role in today's world, the realities of being a coach of color, and what the "new normal" looks like.

On March 14th football clubs across Brazil offered their stadiums and training facilities to emergency services. Fast forward to the end of May where parts of the world are reopening their economies and sport leagues are following suit, in South America, the latest shows the region as the new epicenter of COVID-19. On this episode, we look at what reset means in Latin America amidst rising cases, the culture of sport and the role it plays in every day life, as well as what's next for athletes and communities alike.

Ahmaud Arbery's case has sparked outrage in the sports community. An athlete himself, Ahmaud was out jogging during the day on February 23rd when two armed men, claiming he resembled a burglar, fatally shot him. Among those in the sports world to condemn the killing was LeBron James who took to social media stating, "We're literally hunted every day..." Athletes from around the country have now added their names to a letter demanding that the US Attorney General investigate the death and police handling of Arbery's case, which took over two months to see Gregory and Travis McMichael, the two main suspects, arrested. Is this a new moment in athlete activism?