Column Archive

Behind the Harris Campaign’s Quest for the Mythical “Cheney Democrats”

Kamala Harris is trying to appeal to centrist Republicans, but what if they don’t exist? And what if the search for them leads her to abandon the Democratic base?

Gambling Is an Addiction. So Why Was Pete Rose an Outcast?

The baseball legend was an example of not only the perils of gambling but also why the sports leagues’ embrace of the online-betting industry makes them predatory hypocrites.

Macklemore Is a Seattle Sports Superfan. Now, He Is Also a Target.

The Seattle sports establishment loved the Grammy Award–winning rapper until he dared criticize the United States for funding Israeli war crimes.

NFL Head Injuries Are Part of the Product

The league creates spectacles that distract from the dangers—but that doesn’t mean they’re not there.

Police Violence, Tyreek Hill, and the NFL Owners Who Bankroll Brutality

The NFL does not cross the police. The NFL partners with the police.

The Dark Side of the Democratic Party’s Embrace of Football

The hypermasculinity and violence of football connects to Kamala Harris’s bellicose convention speech. It could repel young voters.

What Was the Paris Olympics?

The Olympic Games supercharge the problems that already exist in a host city. We saw that in Paris—but what will happen in LA?

The Man Using Sports to Fight Israeli War Crimes

Jibril Rajoub, the head of the Palestine Olympic Committee, says sports can be a nonviolent tool to resist occupation.

The Paris Olympics Has Launched a War on the Poor

Paris will almost certainly be remembered as a successful Olympic site. Such recollections, however, will leave out those who suffered under its weight.

We Must Defend Imane Khelif

Transphobia also hurts cisgender women like the Algerian boxer Imane Khelif who don’t conform to a narrow, Eurocentric vision of womanhood.