Critical Sports Studies /asmagazine/ en How March went mad … for basketball /asmagazine/2025/03/19/how-march-went-mad-basketball <span>How March went mad … for basketball</span> <span><span>Rachel Sauer</span></span> <span><time datetime="2025-03-19T11:12:17-06:00" title="Wednesday, March 19, 2025 - 11:12">Wed, 03/19/2025 - 11:12</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/2025-03/2024%20Clemson%20NCAA%20win%20trimmed.jpg?h=2ecc6746&amp;itok=XwUv1-7O" width="1200" height="800" alt="Elated Clemson players celebrate win over Arizona players"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/889"> Views </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/913" hreflang="en">Critical Sports Studies</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/1240" hreflang="en">Division of Social Sciences</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/484" hreflang="en">Ethnic Studies</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/1150" hreflang="en">views</a> </div> <span>Jared Bahir Browsh</span> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><p class="lead"><em><span lang="EN">The big business of the annual college basketball tournament, continuing with the second day of First Four games today, has been more than a century in the making</span></em></p><hr><p><span lang="EN">Every year, as the seasons shift from winter to spring, college basketball fans throughout the country prepare to watch 136 men’s and women’s basketball teams battle for their respective national championships.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">Although the tournament starts with the “</span><a href="https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/bracketiq/2025-01-23/first-four-ncaa-tournament-ultimate-guide" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">First Four”</span></a><span lang="EN"> games for the men’s and women’s tournaments, respectively, the first two rounds that are played during the first weekend of the tournament have become an unofficial holiday marked by billions of dollars in decreased productivity as fans watch the first 48 games played in each tournament—during which teams vie to extend their seasons another week into the “Sweet 16.”</span></p><p><span lang="EN">In the modern media age, this has become a tradition in our sports calendar, but it took several developments over the last half century for March to truly become mad.</span></p><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-medium"><div class="ucb-callout-content"> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/article-image/jared_browsh_1.jpg?itok=aL4xTN06" width="1500" height="2187" alt="Jared Bahir Browsh"> </div> <span class="media-image-caption"> <p class="small-text"><span>Jared Bahir Browsh is the&nbsp;</span><a href="/ethnicstudies/undergraduate-programs-and-resources/critical-sport-studies" rel="nofollow">Critical Sports Studies</a><span>&nbsp;program director in the Ҵýƽ&nbsp;</span><a href="/ethnicstudies/" rel="nofollow">Department of Ethnic Studies</a><span>.</span></p> </span> </div></div><p><span lang="EN">Basketball’s roots grew out of the college game, with James Naismith inventing the game in December 1891 to keep young men at the YMCA International Training School, which is now Springfield College, fit and occupied in the winter months. The game was soon introduced to women at Smith College, and by 1893 colleges and universities began forming teams—first playing against local amateur clubs before intercollegiate games began in 1894.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">During this time, teams played under different rules, with some games featuring as many as nine players per side. By the turn of the 20th century, five-on-five became standard for men’s games, whereas women played six-on-six through most of the 1960s, with the last high school six-on-six tournament occurring in 1995 in Oklahoma.</span></p><p><a href="https://www.ncaa.org/" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)</span></a><span lang="EN"> was formed in 1906 as the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States (IAAUS) before taking its current name in 1910. The NCAA was formed in response to the prevalence of injuries in college football; President Theodore Roosevelt called for two conferences comprising top college football programs to address the injuries and deaths occurring in the game. The establishment of the NCAA led to a decades-long power struggle with the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) for control of intercollegiate sports.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">As the NCAA wrested control over football from the AAU, basketball continued to be loosely organized under the AAU, which organized the first tournament in 1898. Although the tournament did not happen annually until after World War I, the AAU did organize several tournaments for the 1904 Olympics, during which basketball debuted as a demonstration sport. There was an amateur tournament, a separate college tournament and several tournaments for high school and elementary school players.</span></p><p><span lang="EN"><strong>A battle for control</strong></span></p><p><span lang="EN">The battle for control between the AAU and NCAA continued through the early 1900s, although the latter’s commitment to basketball was questionable through the 1930s. However, the NCAA did begin organizing rules committees and established its first championship, in track and field, for the 1921 season.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">The first annual college basketball tournaments were organized in successive years with the NAIA tournament, organized by Naismith, starting in 1937, the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) in 1938 and the NCAA tournament in 1939. Coincidentally, the term “March Madness” was coined by </span><a href="https://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/hv-porter/" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">Henry V. Porter</span></a><span lang="EN">, a noted coach and inventor of basketball equipment, in reference to the Illinois high school basketball tournament the same year as the first NCAA tournament. Sports commentator Brent Musburger first used the term in reference to the men’s tournament in 1982.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">The NIT, which took place at Madison Square Garden, was seen as the premiere tournament through the 1940s due to the national media presence in New York City. Temple University defeated the University of Colorado in the first NIT championship, with the Buffaloes returning to the championship and winning in 1940 over Duquesne University. Because the NIT occurred before the NCAA tournament, Colorado and Duquesne competed in both.</span></p><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-xlarge"><div class="ucb-callout-content"><p>&nbsp;</p> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/2025-03/2024%20Clemson%20NCAA%20win%20trimmed.jpg?itok=VxzRQ6QX" width="1500" height="1016" alt="Elated Clemson players celebrate win over Arizona players"> </div> <span class="media-image-caption"> <p class="small-text"><span>Clemson players celebrate a win over Arizona in the Sweet 16 round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. (Photo: TigerNet.com)</span></p> </span> </div></div><p><span lang="EN">The early 1950s featured two developments that further isolated each tournament, both involving the City College of New York (CCNY). CCNY became the first team to win both tournaments in the same year, with the championships of both tournaments occurring in Madison Square Garden in 1950. This double win led the NCAA to ban teams from competing in both tournaments in the same year.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">Soon after, that CCNY team was implicated in a wide-ranging point shaving scandal, which involved bribery and match fixing. The school’s presence in New York provided bettors easier access to bookies and bookies greater access to players.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">The NCAA held its finals in New York all but one year between 1943 and 1950, but after the scandal the championship never returned to Madison Square Garden, even as the NIT continued to call New York City home.</span></p><p><span lang="EN"><strong>A growing NCAA</strong></span></p><p><span lang="EN">The next big developments occurred in the late 1960s and 1970s as the NCAA further established its control over the basketball postseason. In 1968, UCLA and Houston played in the “Game of the Century” in front of more than 52,000 fans in the Houston Astrodome. This game was a follow-up to the previous year’s semifinal matchup between the two teams, which pitted star players Lew Alcindor (now known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), who was recovering from an eye injury, and Elvin Hayes. The game was nationally televised and accelerated college basketball’s transition from a regional to a national sport.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">In 1970, Marquette declined an invitation to the NCAA tournament after it was placed in the Midwest Region, where games were played in Fort Worth, Texas, rather than the Mideast Region, where games were played in Dayton, Ohio—significantly closer to Marquette’s campus in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 1971, the NCAA declared that any team that is offered a bid to the NCAA tournament could not accept a bid to any other postseason tournament.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">In 1975, after several top-ranked teams missed out on bids due to not winning their conferences, the tournament expanded from 25 teams to 32 teams to accommodate at-large bids from conferences, establishing a selection process and the anxiety of the “bubble.”</span></p><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-xlarge"><div class="ucb-callout-content"><p>&nbsp;</p> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/2025-03/Game%20of%20the%20Century.jpg?itok=VWmPFIFr" width="1500" height="1142" alt="Lew Alcindor grabs a rebound as Elvin Hayes leaps behind him in black and white photo"> </div> <span class="media-image-caption"> <p class="small-text"><span>UCLA player Lew Alcindor (now Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), right, snags a rebound as Houston’s Elvin Hayes (44) makes a leaping rebound attempt in what was called the “Game of the Century.” (Photo: Associated Press)</span></p> </span> </div></div><p><span lang="EN">Four years later, in 1979, the tournament expanded to 40 teams but conferences were still limited to two total teams in the tournament. The 1979 tournament championship pitted Magic Johnson’s Michigan State team and Larry Bird’s Indiana State team and is still the most-viewed championship in tournament history.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">The tournament continued to grow in 1980, adding eight teams and removing the conference limits. At the time, the Big Ten, Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Pac-10 and Southeastern Conference (SEC) were college basketball’s power conferences, with teams in the Northeast and New England playing in the amorphous Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC), which operated four regional tournaments between 1975 and 1981.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">Providence coach Dave Gavitt saw an opportunity to organize a new conference with teams connected to major media markets, leveraging the growth of television through cable and syndication to form the original Big East. As the Big East began play in the fall of 1979, a small Connecticut network—the fledgling ESPN—began broadcasting nationally; soon the conference and ESPN became partners in each other's growth. As ESPN sought programming, it also began airing the early rounds of the tournament, which previously aired only locally as national broadcasters refused to pre-empt their regular programming for the early-round games.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">The Big East increased college basketball’s media visibility on cable television, particularly during the week in prime time, and aided in recruiting as it became one of the top conferences in college basketball. When the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, three of the Final Four teams were from the Big East, with the eighth-seeded Villanova University defeating defending champion Georgetown University in the championship game.</span></p><p><span lang="EN"><strong>Expanding tournaments</strong></span></p><p><span lang="EN">The first NCAA-sponsored women’s tournament occurred in 1982, with 32 teams facing off. Previously, the Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (CIAW) had established the first tournament in 1969, when women’s games were still under six-player rules. The last CIAW tournament featured five-on-five rules before the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) took control of the tournament in 1971. Title IX, passed in 1972, accelerated the growth of women’s college sports well before the NCAA finally recognized the profitability of women’s basketball—10 years after the educational amendment was passed.</span></p><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-large"><div class="ucb-callout-content"><p>&nbsp;</p> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/2025-03/Kamilla%20Cardoso.jpg?itok=3lzfNen-" width="1500" height="2068" alt="Kamilla Cardoso shooting a basketball"> </div> <span class="media-image-caption"> <p class="small-text">Kamilla Cardoso was named the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player in 2024 after helping lead South Carolina to an 87-75 victory over Iowa, clinching the championship title. (Photo: Erik Drost/Wikimedia Commons)</p> </span> </div></div><p><span lang="EN">Throughout the rest of the 1980s and 1990s, the men’s tournament remained fairly static even as the NCAA continued to evolve. After the 1984 Supreme Court decision NCAA v. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma, which found that the NCAA’s television plans violated antitrust laws, the NCAA was no longer able to limit how often football teams could appear on television, ultimately allowing conferences to sign their own media contracts with broadcasters and leading to a massive conference realignment that continues today. This, in turn, led to the NCAA basketball tournament becoming the most valuable media property overseen by the association.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">The women’s tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1994, and the last men’s Final Four to take place in a basketball venue was played in 1996; subsequent events have taken place in domed football stadiums. The tournament expanded to 65 teams in 2001 to accommodate the Mountain West Conference receiving an automatic bid reintroducing play-in games to the tournament.</span></p><p><span lang="EN"><strong>A century of madness</strong></span></p><p><span lang="EN">As the tournament approached the new millennium, fans were offered new ways to watch it. In 1999, DirecTV offered a premium package allowing fans to watch all the games through the satellite service, a feature previously only available in sports bars. The same year, CBS broadcast the Final Four in high definition for the first time.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">In 2003, work productivity took another hit as CBS partnered with Yahoo! to stream tournament games for the first time through the latter’s </span><a href="https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/yahoo-unveils-platinum-paid-service/" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">platinum service</span></a><span lang="EN">. CBS launched its own March Madness OnDemand Service the following year, giving fans access to games outside of the CBS broadcast for $9.95.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">Seven years later, in 2010, the NCAA announced it was exploring expanding the tournament, </span><a href="https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/tournament/2010/news/story?id=5047800" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">even announcing it wanted to expand to 96 teams</span></a><span lang="EN">. At the same time, the NCAA began negotiations with several media networks on a new media deal. The association settled on expanding to 68 teams, establishing the “First Four” games in which the four lowest-ranked teams that earned automatic bids and the four lowest at-large teams facing off in play-in games. This accompanied a new combined television deal in which CBS and Turner Sports agreed to broadcast all games on CBS, TNT, TBS and TruTV.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">In 2021, after Texas Christian University center Sedona Prince, who at the time was playing for the University of Oregon, posted pictures on social media highlighting the disparity between the fitness facilities for the women’s tournament compared to the men’s, the NCAA conducted a gender equality review. This led to the women’s tournament expanding to 68 teams and the March Madness branding being extended to the women’s tournament. Many still feel the women’s tournament is undervalued, especially after the 2024 Women’s Championship earned higher ratings than its male counterpart.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">So, every March hope springs eternal for 136 teams, but for dedicated fans, the madness has been more than a century in the making.</span></p><p><a href="/ethnicstudies/people/core-faculty/jared-bahir-browsh" rel="nofollow"><em>Jared Bahir Browsh</em></a><em>&nbsp;is an assistant teaching professor of&nbsp;</em><a href="/ethnicstudies/undergraduate-programs-and-resources/critical-sport-studies" rel="nofollow"><em>critical sports studies</em></a><em>&nbsp;in the Ҵýƽ&nbsp;</em><a href="/ethnicstudies/" rel="nofollow"><em>Department of Ethnic Studies</em></a><em>.</em></p><hr><p><em>Did you enjoy this article?&nbsp;</em><a href="https://cu.tfaforms.net/73" rel="nofollow"><em>Subscribe to our newsletter.</em></a><em>&nbsp;Passionate about critical sports studies?&nbsp;</em><a href="https://www.givecampus.com/campaigns/50245/donations/" rel="nofollow"><em>Show your support.</em></a></p><p>&nbsp;</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>The big business of the annual college basketball tournament, continuing with the second day of First Four games today, has been more than a century in the making.</div> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Related Articles</div> </div> </h2> <div>Traditional</div> <div>0</div> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/2025-03/March%20Madness%20basketball.jpg?itok=RB2_femr" width="1500" height="700" alt="two basketballs on silver basketball rack"> </div> </div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Wed, 19 Mar 2025 17:12:17 +0000 Rachel Sauer 6088 at /asmagazine Nationalism and diplomacy are inherent to international sporting events /asmagazine/2025/02/21/nationalism-and-diplomacy-are-inherent-international-sporting-events <span>Nationalism and diplomacy are inherent to international sporting events</span> <span><span>Rachel Sauer</span></span> <span><time datetime="2025-02-21T10:48:23-07:00" title="Friday, February 21, 2025 - 10:48">Fri, 02/21/2025 - 10:48</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/2025-02/ICC%20fans%20holding%20sign.jpg?h=06ac0d8c&amp;itok=COB1MHwi" width="1200" height="800" alt="Cricket fans holding a pro-Pakistan sign at a match in New Zealand"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/889"> Views </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/913" hreflang="en">Critical Sports Studies</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/1240" hreflang="en">Division of Social Sciences</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/484" hreflang="en">Ethnic Studies</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/1150" hreflang="en">views</a> </div> <span>Jared Bahir Browsh</span> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><p class="lead"><em><span lang="EN">The International Cricket Council Champions Tournament, beginning this week, highlights how national rivalries and geopolitical tensions can meet on playing fields</span></em></p><hr><p><span lang="EN">Courses in the Critical Sports Studies program in the Department of Ethnic Studies often start with the</span><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-great-sport-myth-GSM_fig1_276442193" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN"> Great Sports Myth</span></a><span lang="EN">, a term coined by Jay Coakley, professor emeritus of sociology at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. The myth is that sports are inherently good, and most experiences in sports are positive and do not need to be studied critically.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">In combating this myth, we examine sporting nationalism with the playing field serving as a symbolic battleground between nations. As Pakistan prepares to co-host the </span><a href="https://www.icc-cricket.com/tournaments/champions-trophy-2025" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Tournament</span></a><span lang="EN"> beginning this week, the nation's nationalistic rivalry with India comes to the forefront and reminds us that the competition on the field is often reflective of political tensions off of it.</span></p><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-medium"><div class="ucb-callout-content"> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/article-image/jared_browsh_1.jpg?itok=aL4xTN06" width="1500" height="2187" alt="Jared Bahir Browsh"> </div> <span class="media-image-caption"> <p class="small-text"><span>Jared Bahir Browsh is the&nbsp;</span><a href="/ethnicstudies/undergraduate-programs-and-resources/critical-sport-studies" rel="nofollow">Critical Sports Studies</a><span>&nbsp;program director in the Ҵýƽ&nbsp;</span><a href="/ethnicstudies/" rel="nofollow">Department of Ethnic Studies</a><span>.</span></p> </span> </div></div><p><span lang="EN">India and Pakistan’s political tensions date back to the British partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947, although ethnic and religious tensions predate the end of Britain’s colonization of the region. </span><a href="https://www.icc-cricket.com/about/members/associate/board-of-control-for-cricket-in-india" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">India has been a member&nbsp;</span></a><span lang="EN">of the ICC since 1926, with </span><a href="https://www.icc-cricket.com/about/members/associate/pakistan-cricket-board" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">Pakistan joining the ICC soon after independence in 1952</span></a><span lang="EN">.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">Sporting relations between the nations have faced a number of stoppages, while other countries have canceled test matches because of threats and actual violence against cricket teams, </span><a href="https://www.business-standard.com/cricket/news/india-vs-pakistan-a-cricket-rivalry-shaped-by-politics-wars-and-diplomacy-124111200677_1.html" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">particularly in Pakistan</span></a><span lang="EN">.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">The New Zealand cricket team canceled their remaining 2002 matches in Pakistan after a </span><a href="https://www.opindia.com/2021/09/pakistan-how-new-zealand-cricket-team-survived-a-bomb-attack-in-2002/" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">suicide bomb outside of their Karachi hotel</span></a><span lang="EN">, while other countries like Australia refused to tour due to similar concerns. </span><a href="https://www.bbc.com/sport/cricket/50726039#:~:text=On%203%20March%202009%2C%20the,escorting%20match%20officials%20were%20killed." rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">In 2009, the Sri Lankan cricket team’s bus was fired on</span></a><span lang="EN"> in Lahore during their test tour, which was scheduled after India pulled out of </span><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna28298820" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">Pakistan following the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks</span></a><span lang="EN">. As a result, Pakistan lost the opportunity to </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2009/apr/18/pakistan-world-cup-2011-security-fears" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">co-host the 2011 ICC World Cup</span></a><span lang="EN">; the 2025 ICC Champions Tournament is the first international cricket tournament to be hosted by Pakistan since the 1996 ICC World Cup. </span><a href="https://www.bbc.com/sport/cricket/articles/c4gp5xqye20o#:~:text=Champions%20Trophy%202025%20%E2%80%93%20dates%2C%20schedule,a%20terrorist%20attack%20in%202009." rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">India's refusal to play in Pakistan led to UAE</span></a><span lang="EN"> being named as a co-host for India’s matches in the tournament, exemplifying continued tensions between the nations.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">Yet diplomacy has been fostered through sport as well, including the peace initiatives of former</span><a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/it-will-be-easier-to-win-elections-there-atal-bihari-vajpayee-joked-after-reviving-cricket-ties-with-pakistan-in-2004-5310492/" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN"> Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee</span></a><span lang="EN">, which led to the first matches between the nations in Pakistan in 15 years in 1999 and the Friendship Cups in Canada in the 1990s and 2000s.</span></p><p><span lang="EN"><strong>Colonization and sporting tensions</strong></span></p><p><span lang="EN">Colonization has been at the core of sporting tensions between dozens of nations, including Britain and members of the Commonwealth like Ireland and Australia. Ireland in particular has used international sporting events as a forum for protest against Britain—most famously at the 1906 Intercalated Games in Athens, Greece. After being denied the gold medal in what many felt was a biased ruling by a judge from the United States, which followed the decision to force Irish athletes to compete on behalf of the United Kingdom, track and field athlete Peter O’Connor scaled a flag pole and unfurled</span><a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/erin-go-bragh-a-short-history-of-irish-olympic-protest-1.4318739" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN"> an Erin Go Bragh flag</span></a><span lang="EN">, a symbol of the movement for Irish home rule.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">The Olympics also have long been a nexus for sporting nationalism. One of the most distinct examples of this was at the </span><a href="https://library.olympics.com/network/doc/SYRACUSE/2954518/the-1936-berlin-olympics-race-power-and-sportswashing-jules-boykoff?_lg=en-GB" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">1936 Summer Games in Berlin</span></a><span lang="EN">. In spite of rising concerns over antisemitism under Hitler, the United States, led by </span><a href="https://www.ushmm.org/exhibition/olympics/?content=favor_participation&amp;lang=en#:~:text=Avery%20Brundage%2C%20president%20of%20the,become%20involved%20in%20%22the%20present" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">USOC President Avery Brundage</span></a><span lang="EN">, and others agreed not to boycott the games in exchange for Nazi Germany suspending antisemitic messaging and the full enactment of the Nuremberg Laws until after the games.</span></p><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-xlarge"><div class="ucb-callout-content"><p>&nbsp;</p> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/2025-02/1936%20Olympics%20torch%20relay.jpg?itok=mmdS3eSe" width="1500" height="1057" alt="1936 Summer Olympics torch relay in Germany"> </div> <span class="media-image-caption"> <p class="small-text"><span lang="EN">Adolf Hitler saw the 1936 Summer Olympic Games as a forum to display Aryan supremacy through victory and spectacle, which included introducing the torch relay. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)&nbsp;</span></p> </span> </div></div><p><span lang="EN">Hitler saw the games as a forum to display Aryan supremacy through victory and spectacle. Television was introduced at the games along with the torch relay and the </span><a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/boys36-openingceremony/" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">opening ceremony as an ostentatious show</span></a><span lang="EN">. The entire games were a primary example of “sportwashing,” which uses sport to improve public opinion of a nation or group.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">Much like the India-Pakistan rivalry, a number of other geopolitical tensions have played out on various sporting fields and courts around the world. George Orwell published </span><a href="https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-foundation/orwell/essays-and-other-works/the-sporting-spirit/" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">“The Sporting Spirit”</span></a><span lang="EN"> in December 1945, a few months after the end of World War II, warning of the use of sport to encourage hyper-nationalism. Orwell was particularly critical of the Stalin regime’s use of sport to exhibit the Soviet Union and communism’s “superiority” over capitalism after the soccer team FC Dynamo Moscow toured Britain.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">In 1952, the Soviet Union participated in its first Summer Olympic Games, setting off decades of displays of Cold War sporting nationalism on both sides of the Iron Curtain, but particularly exemplified by the competition between the U</span><a href="https://direct.mit.edu/jcws/article-abstract/25/4/127/118951/The-Olympics-and-the-Cold-War-A-Historiography?redirectedFrom=fulltext" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">SSR and the United States</span></a><span lang="EN">.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">The Olympics became the largest stage for nationalistic competition. Every four years, the Cold War rivalries played out on the global stage of the Summer and Winter Olympics. Some of the most famous moments in Olympic history include the controversial end of the </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/09/sports/olympics/usa-soviet-union-olympics-basketball.html" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">1972 Olympic basketball</span></a><span lang="EN"> final, during which the Soviet Union beat the U.S. team by one point under questionable rule interpretations, and the </span><a href="https://www.ushockeyhalloffame.com/page/show/831562-the-1980-u-s-olympic-team" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">1980 Miracle on Ice</span></a><span lang="EN"> in the semifinal of the ice hockey tournament, when amateur U.S. players defeated the Soviet Union.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">Both events exemplified the rivalry between these superpowers. The 1972 Olympics also included the </span><a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/12/13/nx-s1-5126526/munich-1972-massacre-olympics-september-5" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">tragic terrorist attack by Black September</span></a><span lang="EN"> militants, leading to the murder of 11 Israeli athletes—an example of how ethnic-nationalism, sport and violence can intersect.</span></p><p><span lang="EN"><strong>Boycott and protest</strong></span></p><p><span lang="EN">Boycotting sporting events and protest actions during competition have also been responses to various forms of nationalism and political tensions. The pending boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympic Games in Moscow by the United States intensified the attention on the competition between the USSR and the United States in Lake Placid during the Winter Games that year.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">Recently, hockey reemerged as a forum for nationalism as the United States and Canada faced off twice in the </span><a href="https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2025/02/21/politics-intersect-with-4-nations-face-off-around-finale/" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">National Hockey League (NHL)-run 4 Nations Face-Off</span></a><span lang="EN">. The tournament was limited to NHL players, so the teams were not technically the national teams of the countries included in the tournament. It did feature four of the five countries with the largest representation in the NHL (Russia was excluded due to the invasion of Ukraine), with the league leveraging nationalistic feelings between Finland and Sweden and United States and Canada. The heightened tension between the North American teams was due, in part, to comments by U.S. President Donald Trump regarding the annexation our northern neighbors. This may serve as a preview of the heightened nationalism around the 2026 Olympic men’s and women’s ice hockey tournaments, especially if Russian athletes are permitted to compete.</span></p><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-xlarge"><div class="ucb-callout-content"><p>&nbsp;</p> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/2025-02/1968%20Olympics%20raised%20fists.jpg?itok=vmkagnXC" width="1500" height="1229" alt="Olympic sprinters raising fists in protest at 1968 Summer Olympics medal ceremony"> </div> <span class="media-image-caption"> <p class="small-text">U.S. sprinters Tommie Smith (first place) and John Carlos (third place) raised their fists to protest U.S. segregation and racism during the medical ceremony for the 200-meter sprint at the 1968 Summer Olympics; Australian sprinter Peter Norman (second place) wore a badge for the Olympic Project for Human Rights. (Photo: Angelo Cozzi/Mondadori Publishers)</p> </span> </div></div><p><span lang="EN">The Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc countries in turn boycotted the </span><a href="https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/soviets-announce-boycott-of-1984-olympics" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles</span></a><span lang="EN">. The </span><a href="https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/qfp/104481.htm#:~:text=In%201980%2C%20the%20United%20States,countries%20sent%20athletes%20to%20compete." rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">1980 boycott was triggered by the Soviet Union’s</span></a><span lang="EN"> invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">White nationalism and racial discrimination have also been a frequent motivator for protest and boycotts. </span><a href="https://globalsportmatters.com/1968-mexico-city-olympics/2018/10/08/olympic-project-for-human-rights-lit-fire-for-1968-protests/" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">The Olympic Project for Human Rights</span></a><span lang="EN"> promoted a boycott of the 1968 games in Mexico City, with several athletes—including </span><a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kareem-abdul-jabbar-social-critic-on-substack/#:~:text=He&amp;apos;d%20meet%20the%20moment,made%20his%20by%20staying%20home.&amp;text=He%20chose%20not%20to%20play,of%20America%2C%22%20he%20said." rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">Kareem Abdul Jabbar</span></a><span lang="EN">—deciding not to go based on continuing discrimination of Blacks in the United States, lack of African American representation on the coaching staffs of Olympic teams, Muhammad Ali’s loss of his heavyweight championship due to his refusal to be drafted into the Vietnam War and apartheid policies in South Africa and Rhodesia.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">Track and field athletes </span><a href="https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20231011-in-history-how-tommie-smith-and-john-carloss-protest-at-the-1968-mexico-city-olympics-shook-the-world" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">Tommie Smith and John Carlos</span></a><span lang="EN"> did decide to compete but famously raised their fists in protest after winning gold and bronze respectively in the 200 meters.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">Apartheid policies also led to the South African Olympic Committee being </span><a href="https://www.olympics.com/en/news/why-south-africa-barred-from-the-olympics-apartheid" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">expelled from the IOC in 1970</span></a><span lang="EN">. Prior to South Africa’s expulsion, several other organizations had banned the nation from hosting events as far back as 1934 due to their policies forbidding non-white participants to compete. After the New Zealand rugby team toured South Africa in 1976, 29 mostly African nations boycotted the Montreal Games that same year after the IOC refused to ban New Zealand.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">This put pressure on Commonwealth countries to adopt the </span><a href="https://thecommonwealth.org/news/archive-gleneagles-agreement-sport" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">Gleneagles Agreement&nbsp;</span></a><span lang="EN">to expand the sporting boycott of South Africa. Taiwan also boycotted the 1976 games the day before the Opening Ceremony after the Canadian government’s refusal to </span><a href="https://www.olympics.com/ioc/news/diplomatic-controversies" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">recognize their nation as the Republic of China.</span></a></p><p><span lang="EN">Sports like cricket and football are important cultural experiences in countries like Pakistan and India, but their presence is evidence of those countries’ colonial past and of </span><a href="https://newhistories.sites.sheffield.ac.uk/volumes/2010-11/volume-2/issue-4-sport-and-leisure/not-quite-cricket-crickets-relationship-with-british-colonialism" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">nationalism emanating from the British Empire</span></a><span lang="EN">. Most British colonies around the world adopted the sport soon after occupation, serving as historical examples of cultural imperialism.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">Since international competition started in the 19th century, sports like cricket and events like the World Cup can simultaneously bring people together and promote community while also inflaming nationalistic tensions. For over 70 years, </span><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/12/india/india-pakistan-cricket-world-cup-intl-hnk-dst-spt/index.html" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">the intense cricket rivalry between India and Pakistan&nbsp;</span></a><span lang="EN">has done both.</span></p><p><a href="/ethnicstudies/people/core-faculty/jared-bahir-browsh" rel="nofollow"><em>Jared Bahir Browsh</em></a><em>&nbsp;is an assistant teaching professor of&nbsp;</em><a href="/ethnicstudies/undergraduate-programs-and-resources/critical-sport-studies" rel="nofollow"><em>critical sports studies</em></a><em>&nbsp;in the Ҵýƽ&nbsp;</em><a href="/ethnicstudies/" rel="nofollow"><em>Department of Ethnic Studies</em></a><em>.</em></p><hr><p><em>Did you enjoy this article?&nbsp;</em><a href="https://cu.tfaforms.net/73" rel="nofollow"><em>Subscribe to our newsletter.</em></a><em>&nbsp;Passionate about critical sports studies?&nbsp;</em><a href="https://www.givecampus.com/campaigns/50245/donations/" rel="nofollow"><em>Show your support.</em></a></p><p>&nbsp;</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>The International Cricket Council Champions Tournament, beginning this week, highlights how national rivalries and geopolitical tensions can meet on playing fields.</div> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Related Articles</div> </div> </h2> <div>Traditional</div> <div>0</div> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/2025-02/National%20Bank%20Stadium%20in%20Karachi.jpg?itok=_KOx9VtD" width="1500" height="880" alt="National Bank Stadium in Karachi, Pakistan"> </div> </div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> <div>National Bank Stadium in Karachi, Pakistan (Photo: Baseer Piracha/Wikimedia Commons)</div> Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:48:23 +0000 Rachel Sauer 6074 at /asmagazine Breaking the color barrier in baseball leadership /asmagazine/2025/01/30/breaking-color-barrier-baseball-leadership <span>Breaking the color barrier in baseball leadership</span> <span><span>Rachel Sauer</span></span> <span><time datetime="2025-01-30T12:01:20-07:00" title="Thursday, January 30, 2025 - 12:01">Thu, 01/30/2025 - 12:01</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/2025-01/Frank%20Robinson%20Nationals.jpg?h=bf16e58d&amp;itok=0FNuQPP-" width="1200" height="800" alt="Frank Robinson on field at Nationals Park"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/889"> Views </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/1097" hreflang="en">Black History</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/913" hreflang="en">Critical Sports Studies</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/1240" hreflang="en">Division of Social Sciences</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/484" hreflang="en">Ethnic Studies</a> </div> <span>Jared Bahir Browsh</span> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><p class="lead"><em><span lang="EN">Fifty years after Frank Robinson became the first Black manager in Major League Baseball, the league is struggling with a significant decline in Black players and leaders</span></em></p><hr><p><span lang="EN">As Black History Month begins Feb. 1 and Major League Baseball celebrates the </span><a href="https://www.mlb.com/orioles/fans/frank-robinson" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">50th anniversary of Frank Robinson&nbsp;</span></a><span lang="EN">making his debut as the first Black manager, the sport is at a point of introspection with the lowest number of African Americans players in </span><a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2023/04/14/mlb-percentage-black-players-baseball-jackie-robinson-day/11657961002/" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">Major League Baseball since the 1950s.</span></a></p><p><span lang="EN">The milestone is both a reminder of how far baseball came since segregation and how delicate inclusion efforts are in baseball and other institutions in the United States.</span></p><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-medium"><div class="ucb-callout-content"> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/article-image/jared_browsh_1.jpg?itok=aL4xTN06" width="1500" height="2187" alt="Jared Bahir Browsh"> </div> <span class="media-image-caption"> <p class="small-text"><span>Jared Bahir Browsh is the&nbsp;</span><a href="/ethnicstudies/undergraduate-programs-and-resources/critical-sport-studies" rel="nofollow">Critical Sports Studies</a><span>&nbsp;program director in the Ҵýƽ&nbsp;</span><a href="/ethnicstudies/" rel="nofollow">Department of Ethnic Studies</a><span>.</span></p> </span> </div></div><p><span lang="EN">As the United States emerged from World War II, </span><a href="https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/plessy-v-ferguson" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">Plessy v. Ferguson</span></a><span lang="EN"> and </span><a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/freedom-riders-jim-crow-laws/#:~:text=The%20laws%20affected%20almost%20every,of%20the%20enforced%20racial%20order." rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">Jim Crow laws</span></a><span lang="EN"> continued to keep the country largely segregated. The war, however, was also a turning point for African Americans, who demonstrated that their service was of equal value to others who fought in the war.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">One such soldier was Jackie Robinson, the first athlete to letter in </span><a href="https://100.ucla.edu/timeline/barriers-broken" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">four sports at UCLA</span></a><span lang="EN">. His teammates </span><a href="https://nflpa.com/posts/meet-the-four-men-who-broke-the-nfl-s-color-line" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">Kenny Washington and Woody Strode</span></a><span lang="EN"> broke the color barrier in the NFL in 1946, while </span><a href="https://www.mlb.com/phillies/community/educational-programs/uya-negro-league/road-to-baseball-integration" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">he did the same in baseball the following year</span></a><span lang="EN">—seven years before </span><a href="https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/brown-v-board-of-education" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">Brown v. Board of Education</span></a><span lang="EN"> determined that “separate but equal” thresholds for segregation were unconstitutional. Jackie Robinson’s last season as a player was 1956, the same season a young Frank Robinson debuted with the Cincinnati Reds.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">In 1972, the Reds played the Oakland Athletics in the World Series. By that point, Frank Robinson had been traded twice and spent the season playing for Jackie Robinson’s former team, the Dodgers.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">During Game 2 of the series in Cincinnati, </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/3702849/2022/10/21/jackie-robinson-world-series-1972/" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">Jackie Robinson was honored 25 years after breaking the color barrier in baseball</span></a><span lang="EN">. During his speech accepting the honor, </span><a href="https://baseballhall.org/discover/breaking-baseball-barriers-from-one-robinson-to-another#:~:text=It%20was%20only%20a%20few,a%20Major%20League%20Baseball%20team." rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">he appealed to MLB leaders to hire the first Black manager</span></a><span lang="EN">, an opportunity he never got despite his expressed desire to manage a team. Jackie Robinson died nine days after his speech—Oct. 24, 1972—never seeing Frank Robinson hired as the first Black player-manager two years later.</span></p><p><a href="https://baseballhall.org/discover/inside-pitch/robinson-breaks-ground-for-big-league-managers" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">Robinson was traded to Cleveland</span></a><span lang="EN"> during the 1974 season after openly campaigning for the manager position with the Dodgers. Cleveland was the first American League team to sign a </span><a href="https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1915&amp;dat=19741003&amp;id=EdtGAAAAIBAJ&amp;sjid=P_gMAAAAIBAJ&amp;pg=1209,526759" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">Black player in 1947, Larry Roby</span></a><span lang="EN">, and broke ground again 28 years later by hiring Robinson. He was the first player to win MVP in both the National and American League, but had a rocky tenure with the team, often being pushed to play when he wanted to focus on managing and </span><a href="https://baseballhall.org/discover/frank-robinson-made-history-as-manager" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">butting heads with the star player, Gaylord Perry</span></a><span lang="EN">. He did lead the team to its first winning record in eight years in 1976, the last season he played, before being fired during the following season.</span></p><div class="ucb-box ucb-box-title-hidden ucb-box-alignment-left ucb-box-style-fill ucb-box-theme-lightgray"><div class="ucb-box-inner"><div class="ucb-box-title"><a href="/recreation/home/inclusive-sports-summit" rel="nofollow"><strong>Inclusive Sports Summit</strong></a></div><div class="ucb-box-content"><h2 class="text-align-center"><a href="/recreation/home/inclusive-sports-summit" rel="nofollow">Inclusive Sports Summit</a></h2><p class="text-align-center lead"><em><strong>We change the game: Embracing the value of inclusive sports and recreation</strong></em></p><p><strong>When: </strong>9 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 5</p><p><strong>Where:</strong> <span>Dal Ward Athletic Center and Main Student Recreation Center</span></p><p><strong>During this summit participants will</strong></p><ul><li>Identify challenges, opportunities and best practices for advancing diversity, equity and inclusion work as practitioners and supporters.</li><li>Learn tangible takeaways to build bridges and build unity across similarities and differences.</li><li>Build skills and practice techniques for addressing inequities to help increase student retention, engagement and success.</li><li>Connect with departments and programs across campus that are available to support students, staff and faculty.</li></ul><p><strong>The Inclusive Sports Summit is free and open to faculty, staff, students and community members.</strong></p><p><a class="ucb-link-button ucb-link-button-gold ucb-link-button-default ucb-link-button-regular" href="https://cuboulder.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bww1zS6kKkdvQAm" rel="nofollow"><span class="ucb-link-button-contents">Register for the Inclusive Sports Summit</span></a></p></div></div></div><p><span lang="EN">Robinson went on to manage the San Francisco Giants and his former team, the Baltimore Orioles, winning manager of the year in 1989. He was fired from the Orioles during the 1991 season—the year Major League Baseball had the highest percentage of African American players in the league, 18% of all players. The following season, </span><a href="https://www.milb.com/news/cito-gaston" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">Cito Gaston became the first African American manager</span></a><span lang="EN"> to win a World Series.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">Robinson continued to work in the league office after his time with the Orioles, returning to the dugout after being tapped by </span><a href="https://andscape.com/features/how-frank-robinsons-baseball-contributions-went-from-underrated-to-historic/" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">MLB to manage the Montreal Expos</span></a><span lang="EN">, which the league owned at the time. The team moved to Washington D.C. in 2005 and his final season as manager was the first season for the newly founded Washington Nationals.</span></p><p><span lang="EN"><strong>Declining youth participation</strong></span></p><p><span lang="EN">The dearth of opportunities for African Americans to coach and assume leadership positions in sports is not new; however, baseball has seen the most precipitous drop in participation, </span><a href="https://amsterdamnews.com/news/2024/12/26/african-americans-in-mlb-continued-to-decline-in-2024/#:~:text=Opening%20Day%20in%202024%20saw,point%20from%207.2%25%20in%202022." rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">down to 6% during the 2024 season</span></a><span lang="EN">.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">Contributing to this drop is the lack of African Americans in leadership positions, with only two African American managers, </span><a href="https://ouresquina.com/2024/reggie-jackson-baseball-still-behind/" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">Ron Washington (Angels) and Dave Roberts (Dodgers)</span></a><span lang="EN">, and one </span><a href="https://www.mlb.com/astros/team/front-office/dana-brown" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">general manager, Dana Brown (Astros</span></a><span lang="EN">). In spite of these paltry numbers, three of the last five World Series winners have been </span><a href="https://www.si.com/mlb/dodgers/news/dodgers-rumors-dave-roberts-ranked-as-second-best-manager-in-mlb-cn2002" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">led by African American managers.</span></a></p><p><span lang="EN">The numbers are even worse in college baseball, with </span><a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/06/27/nx-s1-5015698/why-the-dearth-of-black-college-baseball-coaches-is-a-problem" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">only 5% of players and 3% of managers in Division I identifying as African American in 2024</span></a><span lang="EN">; of these 26 managers, 17 were from historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). The lack of visible leadership affects scouting, mentorship and even participation when players cannot see a career in the sport they love if they do not make it to the major leagues.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">The low numbers of African American athletes in the college pipeline to the major leagues is only one of the reasons for the continued decline of African Americans in professional baseball. Like many sports, the privatization of youth sports is forcing many lower- and even middle-income families to reconsider their </span><a href="https://www.dailynews.com/2024/04/14/why-does-major-league-baseball-have-so-few-black-players/" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">children’s participation in baseball</span></a><span lang="EN">. Local governments and schools have slashed recreation and athletic budgets, leading to more expensive sports like baseball to be cut, which in turn leads to a higher reliance on private leagues.</span></p><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-xlarge"><div class="ucb-callout-content"><p>&nbsp;</p> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/2025-01/Frank%20Robinson%20dugout.jpg?itok=KBjBzyP_" width="1500" height="1000" alt="Frank Robinson in Cleveland Indians dugout in 1975"> </div> <span class="media-image-caption"> <p class="small-text"><span>In 1975, Frank Robinson became Major League Baseball's first Black manager, assuming the role with the Cleveland Indians. (Photo: Jeff Robbins/Associated Press)</span></p> </span> </div></div><p><span lang="EN">Many families ultimately balk at the cost of playing baseball, steering their children into more accessible sports as&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/2022/05/19/catholic-youth-sports-little-league-club-baseball-243016" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">youth and high school baseball is increasingly privatized</span></a><span lang="EN">. The relatively low number of Division I&nbsp;</span><a href="https://gmtm.com/articles/how-many-scholarships-each-collegiate-sport-offers" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">baseball scholarships (11.7 maximum per team) and programs (300) compared to basketball (</span></a><span lang="EN">13 maximum scholarships across </span><a href="https://gmtm.com/articles/how-many-scholarships-each-collegiate-sport-offers" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">352 schools) and especially football with 133 teams at the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level, 128 teams at the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level and with 85 maximum scholarships per team in FBS and 63 per team maximum in FCS.&nbsp;</span></a><span lang="EN">This also leads some families to encourage their children to focus on other sports to earn a college scholarship.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">Even if amateur baseball players get drafted and signed, minor league salaries are so low that the same issues can arise that exist in youth baseball: players who cannot afford to remain in the sport. Minimum salaries are between just under </span><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/chrisdeubert/2024/03/13/minor-league-baseball-players-say-no-thanks-to-minimum-wage-laws/" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">$20,000 and $40,000 depending on the level, which is a significant increase from 2022</span></a><span lang="EN">, when minor league players unionized and negotiated a raise from a minimum salary between $4,800 and $17,500.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">Salary expectations have led many scouts to focus on international players, particularly from Latin America, where teams will make verbal agreements with children as </span><a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2020/06/16/mlb-international-free-agents-deals-underage-prospects/5334172002/" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">young as 12</span></a><span lang="EN"> in spite of the fact that teams </span><a href="https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/26711751/13-years-old-mlb-deal-why-some-ready-change" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">technically cannot sign players until they are 16</span></a><span lang="EN">. MLB turns a blind eye to these agreements that often push children as young as 10 from countries like the Dominican Republic to leave school to pursue baseball. These players may be given performance-enhancing drugs to make them look more mature and artificially improve their athleticism. These players are ripe for exploitation, including lower salaries since they are beholden to Major League clubs with which they make these “handshake” deals—while their families take out&nbsp; loans based on future earnings, </span><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/fcre.12682?saml_referrer" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">which may never appear</span></a><span lang="EN">.&nbsp;</span></p><p><span lang="EN"><strong>Hope for long-term results</strong></span></p><p><span lang="EN">Economics and leadership are not the only factors in the decline of African Americans in professional baseball. The sport has declined as “America’s pastime” for decades, and for many is considered less “cool” than sports due to its slower pace—as well as kids’ alternative activities in the summer months—leading to a drop in viewership, </span><a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/10/27/sport/baseball-world-series-viewership-problem-spt-intl/index.html" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">especially among young viewers</span></a><span lang="EN">.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">African Americans have also been historically discouraged from playing certain positions, particularly the on-field leadership positions of catcher and pitcher, the latter of which is the most visible position in the sport. </span><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/289712663_Occupational_Segregation_on_the_Playing_Field_The_Case_of_Major_League_Baseball" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">This position “stacking”</span></a><span lang="EN"> has historically impacted all sports, including basketball (</span><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/16138171.2015.11730364" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">point guard)</span></a><span lang="EN"> and football </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/sep/20/black-quarterbacks-history-stereotypes" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">(quarterback)</span></a><span lang="EN"> due to discriminatory and false assumptions that African American players were not intelligent enough to play those positions. Basketball and football have seen dramatic shifts at these positions while baseball still sees limitations for </span><a href="https://amsterdamnews.com/news/2024/12/26/african-americans-in-mlb-continued-to-decline-in-2024/#:~:text=Opening%20Day%20in%202024%20saw,point%20from%207.2%25%20in%202022." rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">African Americans at certain positions.</span></a></p><p><span lang="EN">As with viewership, some of the issues pushing African Americans from baseball are emblematic of the decline in baseball’s overall popularity. However, there are some glimmers of hope for the future of African Americans in the sport. The House v. NCAA settlement will allow schools to increase the number of student athlete scholarships up to the roster limit, which is 34 in Division I—</span><a href="https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/how-college-baseball-scholarship-expansion-hurts-mid-major-programs-chances-at-college-world-series-success/#:~:text=For%20most%20schools%2C%20the%20jump,an%20equivalent%20sport%20for%20women." rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">nearly triple the current limit.</span></a></p><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-xlarge"><div class="ucb-callout-content"><p>&nbsp;</p> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/2025-01/Frank%20Robinson%20in%20stadium.jpg?itok=Hk3oVnIU" width="1500" height="1003" alt="Frank Robinson at Orioles Stadium"> </div> <span class="media-image-caption"> <p class="small-text">Frank Robinson had a distinguished career as a player before becoming a manager. (Photo: Bettmann Archives/Getty Images)</p> </span> </div></div><p><span lang="EN">The opportunity to earn compensation directly from schools may also support continued involvement in the sport. Much like </span><a href="https://www.si.com/fannation/name-image-likeness/news/unequal-nil-funding-in-baseball-highlights-college-sports-concerns-noah9" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">name, image and likeness opportunities</span></a><span lang="EN">, however, revenue sharing will disproportionately go to the top-earning sports: </span><a href="https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/as-college-athletics-prepares-for-revenue-sharing-fallout-leaders-wonder-is-a-breakaway-from-the-ncaa-next/" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">reports from school point to about 75% of revenue sharing going to football and 15% going to basketball with other sports sharing the rest</span></a><span lang="EN">.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">Outside of the college ranks, MLB has been actively involved in a number of initiatives to try to increase participation among young players, including </span><a href="https://www.mlb.com/rbi" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI)</span></a><span lang="EN"> that was started in 1989 and is now sponsored by Nike. Players like Jimmy Rollins and recent Hall of Fame inductee C.C. Sabathia are both alumni of the program, but results have been less impactful in recent years with fewer alumni from the United States advancing to professional baseball. </span><a href="https://www.mlb.com/dream-series" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">MLB also runs the Dream Series in Arizona</span></a><span lang="EN">, a training academy focused on African American pitchers and catchers, in conjunction with USA Baseball during the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. </span><a href="https://www.mlb.com/youth-baseball-softball/andre-dawson-classic" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">The Andre Dawson Classic</span></a><span lang="EN">, named for the Hall of Fame player, is a round-robin tournament for HBCU baseball programs that runs every year at the Jackie Robinson Training Complex in Florida.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">There is hope these efforts will yield long-term results and reverse the decline of African American players in baseball. The sport still needs to address its </span><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/07/sport/mlb-opening-day-baseball-popularity-spt-intl/index.html" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">diminishing cachet among young sports fans</span></a><span lang="EN"> in the United States and the lack of African American mentors and leaders in the sport, but some of the structures are there to encourage a renaissance of great Black baseball figures 50 years after Frank Robinson broke the managerial glass ceiling.</span></p><p><a href="/ethnicstudies/people/core-faculty/jared-bahir-browsh" rel="nofollow"><em>Jared Bahir Browsh</em></a><em>&nbsp;is an assistant teaching professor of&nbsp;</em><a href="/ethnicstudies/undergraduate-programs-and-resources/critical-sport-studies" rel="nofollow"><em>critical sports studies</em></a><em>&nbsp;in the Ҵýƽ&nbsp;</em><a href="/ethnicstudies/" rel="nofollow"><em>Department of Ethnic Studies</em></a><em>.</em></p><hr><p><em>Did you enjoy this article?&nbsp;</em><a href="https://cu.tfaforms.net/73" rel="nofollow"><em>Subscribe to our newsletter.</em></a><em>&nbsp;Passionate about critical sports studies?&nbsp;</em><a href="https://www.givecampus.com/campaigns/50245/donations/" rel="nofollow"><em>Show your support.</em></a></p><p>&nbsp;</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>Fifty years after Frank Robinson became the first Black manager in Major League Baseball, the league is struggling with a significant decline in Black players and leaders.</div> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Related Articles</div> </div> </h2> <div>Traditional</div> <div>0</div> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/2025-01/Frank%20Robinson%20Nationals%20cropped.jpg?itok=_kUNwnRW" width="1500" height="522" alt="Frank Robinson on field at Nationals Park"> </div> </div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> <div>Frank Robinson at Nationals Park. (Photo: Nick Wass/Associated Press)</div> Thu, 30 Jan 2025 19:01:20 +0000 Rachel Sauer 6063 at /asmagazine Who lives in a pineapple and announces football games? /asmagazine/2025/01/10/who-lives-pineapple-and-announces-football-games <span>Who lives in a pineapple and announces football games?</span> <span><span>Rachel Sauer</span></span> <span><time datetime="2025-01-10T08:30:05-07:00" title="Friday, January 10, 2025 - 08:30">Fri, 01/10/2025 - 08:30</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/2025-01/SpongeBob%20and%20Patrick%20screen%20grab.jpg?h=3a689c57&amp;itok=8L5KDVTV" width="1200" height="800" alt="SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star wearing football announcer headphones"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/889"> Views </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/913" hreflang="en">Critical Sports Studies</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/1240" hreflang="en">Division of Social Sciences</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/484" hreflang="en">Ethnic Studies</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/1235" hreflang="en">popular culture</a> </div> <span>Jared Bahir Browsh</span> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><p><em><span lang="EN">The success of simulcasts means that fans can expect to see more creative takes on traditional sports, including SpongeBob SquarePants calling Saturday’s NFL Wild Card game</span></em></p><hr><p><span lang="EN">As the final seconds of Super Bowl LVIII ticked off, according to social media, the biggest star was not MVP Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce or even Taylor Swift; it was a sea sponge and his starfish best friend. </span><a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/how-nickelodeon-brought-spongebob-to-super-bowl-1234967974/" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">The Nickelodeon alternate broadcast of the Super Bow</span></a><span lang="EN">l starring SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star as commentators was a huge hit, with on-field graphics and animations featuring Nickelodeon stars and, of course, slime.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">This was not the first time a media conglomerate aired or streamed a simulcast as a companion to its main broadcast to attract more fans. ESPN’s first basic simulcast was in 1987 after the network gained partial rights to the NFL—the first cable network to air the NFL—agreeing to simulcast the game on </span><a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/1987/03/16/nfl-finally-opens-the-door-to-cable/" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">local networks of the competing teams</span></a><span lang="EN">. When ESPN2 launched in October 1993, it offered a second ESPN network to sports fans and within a year ran its first alternative broadcast, bringing in-car views to </span><a href="https://www.espnfrontrow.com/2022/05/visual-history-dating-back-decades-traces-espns-leadership-in-alternative-productions-megacasts/" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">IndyCar fans as a companion to the main broadcast on ESPN</span></a><span lang="EN">.</span></p><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-medium"><div class="ucb-callout-content"><p>&nbsp;</p> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/article-image/jared_browsh_1.jpg?itok=aL4xTN06" width="1500" height="2187" alt="Jared Bahir Browsh"> </div> <span class="media-image-caption"> <p class="small-text"><span>Jared Bahir Browsh is the&nbsp;</span><a href="/ethnicstudies/undergraduate-programs-and-resources/critical-sport-studies" rel="nofollow">Critical Sports Studies</a><span>&nbsp;program director in the Ҵýƽ&nbsp;</span><a href="/ethnicstudies/" rel="nofollow">Department of Ethnic Studies</a><span>.</span></p> </span> <p class="small-text"><span>Jared Bahir Browsh is the&nbsp;</span><a href="/ethnicstudies/undergraduate-programs-and-resources/critical-sport-studies" rel="nofollow">Critical Sports Studies</a><span>&nbsp;program director in the Ҵýƽ&nbsp;</span><a href="/ethnicstudies/" rel="nofollow">Department of Ethnic Studies</a><span>.</span></p></div></div><p><span lang="EN">In 2006, the network created </span><a href="https://www.espn.com/college-sports/news/story?id=2347040" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">“ESPN Full Circle,”</span></a><span lang="EN"> later renamed the Megacast, leveraging the popular basketball rivalry between Duke University and the University of North Carolina to offer local broadcasts and alternative camera views for the game. The previous year, ESPN had launched its college-focused ESPNU and ESPN360, its broadband broadcast service, and used these newer platforms along with its </span><a href="https://www.espnfrontrow.com/2022/05/visual-history-dating-back-decades-traces-espns-leadership-in-alternative-productions-megacasts/" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">existing networks to offer eight different ways to watch the game</span></a><span lang="EN">.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">ESPN offered statistics and other data on its high-definition networks, which were still separate from the standard-definition networks, and even offered polling through ESPN mobile before social media exploded.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">These simulcasts and “Megacasts” aimed to give dedicated fans a more in-depth look at the game or event that was being broadcast. At the same time, leagues and sports broadcasters were looking for different ways to attract young and casual fans who enjoyed sports but were not the obsessive fans at which these Megacasts were targeted.</span></p><p><span lang="EN"><strong>Courting younger fans</strong></span></p><p><span lang="EN">For a long time, leagues took young fans for granted, </span><a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/krulwich/2011/10/24/141649929/how-we-become-sports-fans-the-tyranny-of-fathers" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">relying on parental, peer and geographic influence to produce new fans.</span></a><span lang="EN"> In today's expanding media environment, young and casual fans have infinite options for entertainment, so leagues and their broadcasting partners have had to strategize new ways to attract new audiences.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">One of these efforts debuted in 1973: Peter Puck, an anthropomorphic hockey puck created by NBC executive Donald Carswell and animated by Hanna Barbera. NBC had just obtained the rights to the NHL, which was struggling to grow its audience in the United States. Carswell thought Peter would be a great way to teach U.S. audiences the rules of professional hockey through three-minute shorts between periods. Although NBC stopped airing the NHL in 1975,</span><a href="https://thehockeynews.com/news/peter-puck-returns-on-his-50th-anniversary-to-promote-safe-fun-hockey#google_vignette" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN"> Peter’s legacy lives on more than 50 years later.</span></a></p><p><span lang="EN">The 1980s brought a sea change for sports as cable and improved marketing began to create the enormous sports media environment we experience today. As networks competed for viewers, sports became a reliable form of entertainment to attract audiences who had more choices than ever. As football continued to dominate the sports landscape, buffered by the 1984 Supreme Court decision to allow college football broadcasting to </span><a href="https://theconversation.com/40-years-ago-the-supreme-court-broke-the-ncaas-lock-on-tv-revenue-reshaping-college-sports-to-this-day-222672" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">expand beyond the control of the NCAA</span></a><span lang="EN">, other leagues strategized to draw fans to television, stadiums and arenas.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">Throughout the 1970s, teams had built larger stadiums and debuted mascots like the </span><a href="https://www.mlb.com/phillies/fans/phillie-phanatic" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">Phillie Phanatic</span></a><span lang="EN"> to entertain fans. The following decade, as the NBA struggled to find a broadcaster to air its championship games live, David Stern—who took over the league as commissioner in 1984—</span><a href="https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Journal/Issues/2020/01/06/Leagues-and-Governing-Bodies/Stern-Disney.aspx" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">“Disneyfied”</span></a><span lang="EN"> the NBA experience, making attending games more family friendly with more timeout and halftime entertainment.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">It just so happened that same year that the most marketable athlete of all time came into the league. Michael Jordan was not only a boon for adult basketball fans, but also kids who wanted to </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0AGiq9j_Ak" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">“Be like Mike.”</span></a><span lang="EN"> In 1992, Jordan co-starred with Bugs Bunny in the Nike advertising campaign </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QeG-noRMPs" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">“Hare Jordan.”</span></a><span lang="EN"> He retired the next year to play baseball before returning to the NBA in March 1995. The following summer, Bugs and Jordan reunited to film </span><a href="https://ew.com/article/2016/11/15/space-jam-20th-anniversary-joe-pytka/" rel="nofollow"><em><span lang="EN">Space Jam</span></em><span lang="EN">,&nbsp;</span></a><span lang="EN">which grossed more than a quarter of a billion dollars after it premiered early into the NBA season in November 1996.</span></p><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-xlarge"><div class="ucb-callout-content"><p>&nbsp;</p> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/2025-01/SpongeBob%20broadcast.jpg?itok=2e2zFyF_" width="1500" height="843" alt="Noah Eagle, Nate Burleson, SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star announcing Super Bowl LVIII"> </div> <span class="media-image-caption"> <p class="small-text">Announcers Noah Eagle and Nate Burleson with SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star announcing Super Bowl LVIII. (Screenshot: <span>Nickelodeon/YouTube)</span></p> </span> </div></div><p><span lang="EN">As a part of this effort to draw new fans, leagues also produced shows aimed at younger fans like </span><a href="https://www.si.com/mlb/2016/06/29/baseball-bunch-oral-history-johnny-bench" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">“The Baseball Bunch,”&nbsp;</span></a><span lang="EN">which debuted in 1980 and featured MLB players and managers teaching baseball fundamentals. Ten years later, “</span><a href="https://www.nba.com/watch/video/hall-of-fame-class-of-2024-curt-gowdy-media-award-nba-inside-stuff-ahmad-rashad-speech" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">NBA Inside Stuff”&nbsp;</span></a><span lang="EN">premiered on NBC’s Saturday morning schedule, joining a growing sports media industry aimed at kids that included publications like </span><em><span lang="EN">Sports Illustrated for Kids</span></em><span lang="EN"> and video games like the Madden, FIFA and NBA 2k series, among the most popular video game series of all time.</span></p><p><span lang="EN"><strong>Primetime slimetime</strong></span></p><p><span lang="EN">The consolidation of the U.S. media system throughout the 1980s and 1990s led to massive media conglomerates. Unsurprisingly, NBC held the network broadcast rights for the NBA when “NBA Inside Stuff” aired. As broadcast and cable networks came under the same corporate umbrella as film and animation studios, new opportunities for cross promotion emerged. Disney bought ESPN and opened the </span><a href="https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/destinations/wide-world-of-sports/" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex</span></a><span lang="EN">, named after the anthology series that aired under one of their other subsidiaries, ABC, from 1961 until 1997&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;. Disney also founded an NHL team, </span><a href="https://www.nhl.com/ducks/news/ducks-disneyland-resort-to-host-anaheim-ducks-day-at-disneyland-california-adventure-park" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim</span></a><span lang="EN">, in 1993—named after the popular 1992 kids hockey movie—and in 1996 debuted “</span><a href="https://www.saturdaymorningsforever.com/2015/03/the-mighty-ducks-animated-series.html" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">Mighty Ducks: The Animated Series”</span></a><span lang="EN"> on ABC, which featured anthropomorphic hockey playing superhero ducks.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">The success of </span><em><span lang="EN">Space Jam</span></em><span lang="EN"> and the continued media conglomeration strengthened the relationship between animation and sports. NASCAR rights holder FOX debuted </span><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0236915/" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">“NASCAR Racers,”</span></a><span lang="EN"> an animated action series featuring NASCAR branding, a day before the 1999 race season finale. Cartoon Network aired the marathon </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDztggvDOs8" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">“NBA All-Star Slam”</span></a><span lang="EN"> in 2003, featuring interstitial interviews with NBA players in the lead-up to the All-Star Game, which aired the evening of the game on TNT (both networks were owned by Warner subsidiary Turner).</span></p><p><span lang="EN">In 2016,</span><a href="https://screenrant.com/teen-titans-go-show-lebron-james-episode/" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">&nbsp;LeBron James</span></a><span lang="EN"> appeared on the Cartoon Network series </span><a href="https://www.cartoonnetwork.co.uk/show/teen-titans-go" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">“Teen Titans Go!”&nbsp;</span></a><span lang="EN">the same night as a TNT basketball doubleheader and a few days before the All-Star Game. Later, the </span><a href="https://press.wbd.com/ca/media-release/cartoon-network-9/teen-titans-go-3/teen-titans-go-takes-court-cartoon-network-special-edition-nba-all-star-slam-dunk" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">Teen Titans offered commentary</span></a><span lang="EN"> of the 2023 NBA Slam Dunk Contest in the lead-up to the NBA&nbsp;All-Star Game airing on TNT.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">Although these series and specials expanded the visibility of league branding and special events, the engagement with actual games was limited. When Viacom and CBS merged again in 2019, after splitting 14 years earlier, they began strengthening the relationship between former Viacom network </span><a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/nfls-nickelodeon-play-is-a-messy-savvy-strategy-with-one-key-goal-in-mind-202533619.html" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">Nickelodeon and broadcast network CBS</span></a><span lang="EN">. They began featuring Nickelodeon content on CBS All-Access, now Paramount+, and in 2021 Nickelodeon aired an</span><a href="https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nickelodeon-renews-partnership-with-nfl-for-2021-season-will-broadcast-2022-wild-card-round-again/" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN"> NFL simulcast of the Wild Card playoff game</span></a><span lang="EN"> between the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints featuring Nickelodeon live-action and animated stars joining the real-time NFL broadcast with alternate announcers Nate Burleson and Noah Eagle. Current Denver Broncos coach </span><a href="https://www.nfl.com/news/sean-payton-slimed-by-nickelodeon-following-saints-wild-card-win" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">Sean Payton, then the coach of the Saints, volunteered to be slimed</span></a><span lang="EN">, similar to the traditional Gatorade shower.</span></p><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-xlarge"><div class="ucb-callout-content"><p>&nbsp;</p> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/2025-01/Sean%20Payton%20slimed.jpg?itok=cgeqkkjv" width="1500" height="893" alt="Sean Payton sitting on floor and doused in green slime."> </div> <span class="media-image-caption"> <p class="small-text"><span lang="EN">Current Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton, then the coach of the New Orleans Saints, gets "slimed" after a 2020 Wild Card win against the Chicago Bears. (Screenshot: Nickelodeon/YouTube)</span></p> </span> </div></div><p><span lang="EN">The following season, </span><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15409276/" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">“NFL Slimetime”</span></a><span lang="EN"> premiered on Nickelodeon, a highlight show hosted by Burleson that strengthened the relationship between the NFL and Nickelodeon. This relationship exploded during last years’ Super Bowl as the Nickelodeon simulcast on the cable network and Paramount+ was credited for a growth in game viewership, especially among younger and casual fans who appreciated the</span><a href="https://apnews.com/article/nfl-super-bowl-nickelodeon-8ceff4f753d8e3e58e5f818aa0ac1a79" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN"> irreverent approach to the game.</span></a></p><p><span lang="EN"><strong>A pineapple under the arena</strong></span></p><p><span lang="EN">As media conglomerates continue to leverage sports rights to attract audiences and increase subscriptions to their streaming services, they have also leaned into the popularity—and meme-making possibilities—of these simulcasts. Several months after the Nickelodeon simulcast of the Wild Card Playoff, Disney leveraged its Marvel Cinematic Universe to produce a simulcast, </span><a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/espn-makes-deal-genius-sport-133904295.html" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">“Marvel Arena of Heroes,”</span></a><span lang="EN"> on ESPN2 and its streaming service, which was similar to the Wild Card game on Nickelodeon and featured special graphics and superhero-themed content related to the real-time NBA games between the Golden State Warriors and New Orleans Pelicans. </span><a href="https://www.geniussports.com/newsroom/espn-amplifying-its-data-driven-storytelling-and-broadcasts-through-new-agreement-with-genius-sports/" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">ESPN and Genius Sports,</span></a><span lang="EN"> the company behind augmented games like the Arena of Heroes simulcast, extended their contract in the summer of 2024.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">In 2023, Disney aired its own fully animated simulcasts with the </span><a href="https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-big-city-greens-classic-adds-new-dimension-to-rangers-capitals-gam-342182936" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">“Big City Greens Classic”&nbsp;</span></a><span lang="EN">NHL broadcast in March and the </span><a href="https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/an-animated-behind-the-scenes-look-at-espns-toy-story-funday-football/" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">“Sunday Funday”</span></a><span lang="EN"> Toy Story-themed NFL game in September. Both regular-season games included a rendering of the real-time broadcasts featuring stars from its animated franchises. Disney followed this up in December 2024 with another </span><a href="https://www.nfl.com/schedules/simpsons-funday-football" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">“Sunday Funday”&nbsp;</span></a><span lang="EN">featuring “The Simpsons” and the Christmas Day </span><a href="https://www.nba.com/news/spurs-knicks-dunk-the-halls-animated-christmas-game-disney" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">“Dunk the Halls”</span></a><span lang="EN"> animated simulcast featuring classic characters like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. In between these two games, NBC’s Peacock service offered an alternate stream of the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans featuring graphics from the </span><a href="https://apnews.com/article/nbc-peacock-madden-chiefs-texans-c3d9a9eed0ed707b601f9798f1deeaf7" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">popular video game series Madden.</span></a></p><p><span lang="EN">As SpongeBob and Patrick prepare to announce the Nickelodeon simulcast of the 2025 NFL Wild Card game between the Houston Texans and Los Angeles Chargers Saturday, fans should be prepared for more of these simulcasts as networks and streaming services try to market these games to young and casual fans, boosted by social media memes like &nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.sbnation.com/2022/12/26/23526373/patrick-star-nickelodeon-russell-wilson-interception-denver-broncos" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">Patrick roasting the starting quarterback</span></a><span lang="EN"> and </span><a href="https://www.wvxu.org/media/2024-12-10/simpsons-won-monday-night-football-bengals-cowboys-tvkiese" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">Lisa Simpsons scoring a touchdown against Homer</span></a><span lang="EN">.</span></p><p><a href="/ethnicstudies/people/core-faculty/jared-bahir-browsh" rel="nofollow"><em>Jared Bahir Browsh</em></a><em>&nbsp;is an assistant teaching professor of&nbsp;</em><a href="/ethnicstudies/undergraduate-programs-and-resources/critical-sport-studies" rel="nofollow"><em>critical sports studies</em></a><em>&nbsp;in the Ҵýƽ&nbsp;</em><a href="/ethnicstudies/" rel="nofollow"><em>Department of Ethnic Studies</em></a><em>.</em></p><hr><p><em>Did you enjoy this article?&nbsp;</em><a href="https://cu.tfaforms.net/73" rel="nofollow"><em>Subscribe to our newsletter.</em></a><em>&nbsp;Passionate about critical sports studies?&nbsp;</em><a href="https://www.givecampus.com/campaigns/50245/donations/" rel="nofollow"><em>Show your support.</em></a></p><p>&nbsp;</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>The success of simulcasts means that fans can expect to see more creative takes on traditional sports, including SpongeBob SquarePants calling Saturday’s NFL Wild Card game.</div> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Related Articles</div> </div> </h2> <div>Traditional</div> <div>0</div> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/2025-01/SpongeBob%20simulcast%20cropped.jpg?itok=3LbyuAeY" width="1500" height="522" alt="Noah Eagle, Nate Burleson, SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star in football announcer booth"> </div> </div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Fri, 10 Jan 2025 15:30:05 +0000 Rachel Sauer 6049 at /asmagazine Floating like a butterfly, stinging like a bee /asmagazine/2024/11/11/floating-butterfly-stinging-bee <span>Floating like a butterfly, stinging like a bee</span> <span><span>Rachel Sauer</span></span> <span><time datetime="2024-11-11T10:30:13-07:00" title="Monday, November 11, 2024 - 10:30">Mon, 11/11/2024 - 10:30</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/2024-11/Rumble%20in%20the%20Jungle.jpg?h=bc3c37d2&amp;itok=W296WbWv" width="1200" height="800" alt="Muhammad Ali and George Foreman boxing in the former Zaire"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/889"> Views </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/913" hreflang="en">Critical Sports Studies</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/1240" hreflang="en">Division of Social Sciences</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/484" hreflang="en">Ethnic Studies</a> </div> <span>Jared Bahir Browsh</span> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><p class="lead"><em><span>Fifty years after the famed ‘Rumble in the Jungle,’ Muhammad Ali is remembered not only as the heavyweight champ, but as a champion of civil rights</span></em></p><hr><p><span>It is hard to imagine, but coming off of his more than three-year exile from boxing, Muhammad Ali spent four years regaining his position as the top heavyweight in boxing. He lost everything by&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/-muhammad-ali-convicted-refusing-vietnam-draft" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN-US">taking his stance against being drafted into the Vietnam War</span></a><span>—not just his boxing career and his promotional business, but also derailing his budding advertising and media career.</span></p><p><span>Ali was born in Louisville, Kentucky, winning the&nbsp;</span><a href="https://olympics.com/en/athletes/muhammad-ali-2" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN-US">light heavyweight gold medal at the 1960 Rome Olympics</span></a><span> before turning professional as a heavyweight. A myth emerged that he threw his gold medal into the Ohio River after returning to his home city as&nbsp;</span><a href="https://jimcrowmuseum.ferris.edu/question/2005/august.htm" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN-US">Olympic champion and was still denied service in a restaurant</span></a><span>.</span></p><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-medium"><div class="ucb-callout-content"> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/article-image/jared_browsh_1.jpg?itok=aL4xTN06" width="1500" height="2187" alt="Jared Bahir Browsh"> </div> <span class="media-image-caption"> <p class="small-text"><span>Jared Bahir Browsh is the&nbsp;</span><a href="/ethnicstudies/undergraduate-programs-and-resources/critical-sport-studies" rel="nofollow">Critical Sports Studies</a><span>&nbsp;program director in the Ҵýƽ&nbsp;</span><a href="/ethnicstudies/" rel="nofollow">Department of Ethnic Studies</a><span>.</span></p> </span> <p><span>Jared Bahir Browsh is the&nbsp;</span><a href="/ethnicstudies/undergraduate-programs-and-resources/critical-sport-studies" rel="nofollow">Critical Sports Studies</a><span>&nbsp;program director in the Ҵýƽ&nbsp;</span><a href="/ethnicstudies/" rel="nofollow">Department of Ethnic Studies</a><span>.</span></p></div></div><p><span>His experiences negotiating racism and segregation as an Olympic hero would inform his outspoken approach to civil rights and make him a hero to millions across generations.</span></p><p><span>Ali won his first 20 professional matches—and became heavyweight champion—at age 22, defending the championship across nine challenges before he was stripped of his championship and exiled from the sport in 1966. He appealed his draft reclassification, which happened in spite of his dyslexia and his position as a conscientious objector. Other athletes who were draft-eligible were placed with National Guard units or protected by their teams,&nbsp;</span><a href="https://slate.com/culture/2018/05/how-the-nfl-helped-players-dodge-the-draft-during-the-vietnam-war.html" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN-US">as in the NFL</span></a><span>, so it was particularly curious that the most popular athlete in the country was reclassified and drafted.</span></p><p><span lang="EN"><strong>Conscientious objector</strong></span></p><p><a href="https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/clay-knocks-out-liston" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN-US">After winning the heavyweight championship against Sonny Liston in 1964</span></a><span>, the boxer then known as Cassius Clay changed his name first to Cassius X and then to Muhammad Ali. He had&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.biography.com/activists/muhammad-ali-malcolm-x-relationship" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN-US">befriended Malcolm X and joined the Nation of Islam</span></a><span>, but did not reveal his conversion until he was secure in his boxing career after winning the championship. He fell out with Malcolm X after the civil rights leader left the Nation following revelation that leader Elijah Muhammad had children out of wedlock; Malcolm assumed Ali would support him,&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2016/02/25/467247668/muhammad-ali-and-malcolm-x-a-broken-friendship-an-enduring-legacy" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN-US">but Ali remained loyal to the Nation.</span></a></p><p><span>In 1966,</span><a href="https://library.louisville.edu/ali/boxing_excellence" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN-US"> Ali founded Main Bout Inc.</span></a><span> to promote his fights and oversee the closed-circuit broadcasting of his fights. The Nation of Islam held many of the shares in Main Bout Inc., including through Ali’s manager, Jabir Herbert Muhammad, third son of the Nation’s leader; other shareholders included football legend Jim Brown. To help forge relationships, boxing promoter Bob Arum was included and after the company folded due to Ali’s arrest,&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.toprank.com/about-us/" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN-US">Arum and Muhammad went on to found Top Rank Boxing.</span></a></p><p><span lang="EN">Ali’s religious conversion and his perspective that America should not be involved in the Vietnam War led to his refusal to be inducted. He was arrested and convicted of breaking Selective Service laws, and he continued to protest the war as he appealed. His conviction was </span><a href="https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/-muhammad-ali-convicted-refusing-vietnam-draft" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">overturned in June 1971</span></a><span lang="EN">, although he returned to boxing in late 1970 as sentiment against him softened and boxing commissions granted Ali licenses to fight again. He fought three matches before the Supreme Court ruled in his favor,</span><a href="https://www.wbaboxing.com/boxing-news/ali-vs-frazier-i-more-than-just-a-fight" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN"> including the first loss of his career against Joe Frazier.</span></a></p><p><span lang="EN">As Frazier and Ali worked toward a rematch, a young boxer rose up the ranks after winning the heavyweight gold medal at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games. George Foreman entered the fight against Joe Frazier at 37-0, </span><a href="https://andscape.com/features/foreman-frazier-at-50-revisiting-the-shocking-iconic-heavyweight-title-fight/" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">emerging as champion and disrupting the planned rematch between Frazier and Ali</span></a><span lang="EN">. Ali also lost his second match, this time against Ken Norton, but after Foreman beat Norton, </span><a href="https://www.history.com/news/rumble-in-the-jungle-muhammad-ali-george-foreman" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">Don King signed contracts with both Ali and Foreman for a superfight promising each boxer a $5 million purse.</span></a></p><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-xlarge"><div class="ucb-callout-content"> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/2024-11/Foreman%20going%20down.jpg?itok=ErP5wQw1" width="1500" height="1011" alt="George Foreman goes down in boxing match while Muhammad Ali looks on"> </div> <p>Defending world champion George Foreman goes down in the eighth round during his Oct. 30, 1974, bout against Muhammad Ali in Kinshasa, Zaire. (Photo: Richard Drew/Associated Press)</p></div></div><p><span>King did not have the money on hand, and the huge monetary promise to both boxers led other promoters to avoid working with King to organize the event. King, who had been released from jail in 1972 after being convicted of second-degree murder, forged a relationship with Ali after promoting a charity fight, but was unable to come to agreement with any venue in the United States to stage the fight. As a result, he looked at other countries to stage it. Fred Weymar, who was an advisor to Zairean dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, convinced&nbsp;</span><a href="https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/rumble-jungle/" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN-US">Seko that funding and staging the fight would help garner</span></a><span> support for his regime,&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.humanrights.unsw.edu.au/students/blogs/what-is-sportswashing" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN-US">an effort known today as sportwashing</span></a><span>. King also pulled in funding from&nbsp;</span><a href="https://fightnews.com/the-colonel-remembers-the-rumble-in-the-jungle/143011#google_vignette" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN-US">Risnelia Investment, the Hemdale Film Corp. and Video Techniques Inc.</span></a><span>, with Hemdale and Video Techniques Inc. as official co-promoters. Color commentators included Brown, Frazier and journalist David Frost.</span></p><p><span lang="EN"><strong>Rumble in the Jungle</strong></span></p><p><span>Promoted as the Rumble in the Jungle, the fight was an incredible spectacle, even by today’s sporting standards. Originally scheduled for Sept. 25, 1974 (it would have been broadcast Sept. 24 in the United States due to the time difference), it was pushed back to Oct. 30 due to a&nbsp;</span><a href="https://time.com/4637842/muhammed-ali-george-foreman/" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN-US">cut Foreman got while sparring</span></a><span>. A three-day music festival called&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.npr.org/2017/06/14/532636128/before-the-rumble-in-the-jungle-music-rang-out-at-zaire-74" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN-US">Zaire 74 took place between Sept. 22-24</span></a><span>, originally scheduled to precede the match, which included James Brown, Bill Withers, B.B. King, The Spinners and Celia Cruz alongside more than a dozen African artists.</span></p><p><span>Although Ali arrived in Zaire as a 4-1 betting underdog, he was the overwhelming favorite of the Zairean/Congolese people.&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/boxing/2014/10/29/muhammad-ali-george-foreman-rumble-in-the-jungle-40th-anniversary/18097587/" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN-US">Foreman arrived in Zaire with his German shepherd</span></a><span>, which was the dog breed used by the Belgian occupying forces against the Congolese people, further cementing his status as the villain. Foreman and Ali were polar opposites, with Ali seen by many as unpatriotic in America, but a hero in Africa. Foreman, on the other hand, represented Cold War nationalism after beating Soviet Jonas Čepulis in the 1968 Olympic gold medal match, leading to the famous image of the very large&nbsp;</span><a href="https://olympics.com/en/athletes/george-foreman" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN-US">Foreman waving a tiny American flag after his victory in Mexico.</span></a></p><p><a href="https://www.opb.org/article/2024/10/29/ali-foreman-rumble-jungle-boxing-anniversary-congo/" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN-US">Fans chanted "Ali boma ye," or “Ali kill him,” throughout his visit and the fight</span></a><span>. Although the event itself did not go as planned—King assumed hundreds of high-profile boxing fans would travel to Zaire, but only a few dozen ended up making trip—the fight is seen as one of the greatest. The match&nbsp;</span><a href="https://screenrant.com/did-george-foreman-beat-muhammad-ali-rumble-in-the-jungle/" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN-US">earned more than $100 million</span></a><span> from closed-circuit broadcasts in U.S. theaters and other broadcasts rights globally, leading to an estimated audience of more than 500 million people worldwide.</span></p><p><span>The legendary status of the fight was cemented by Ali’s upset win against the younger and stronger Foreman. Ali and his trainers understood that he would be unable to outpunch Foreman, so they relied on Ali’s skill and speed. By the second, round Ali was leaning against the ropes, avoiding and absorbing blows with his arms and body, which did not earn Foreman points with the&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.sportingnews.com/us/boxing/news/what-rope-dope-how-muhammad-ali-kod-george-foreman/b8acd746335122d85c61f558" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN-US">judges since they were not clear blows against Ali</span></a><span>. Eventually, Foreman exhausted himself and Ali took advantage, knocking out the future grill entrepreneur in the eighth round.</span></p><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-xlarge"><div class="ucb-callout-content"> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/2024-11/Ali%20and%20Liston_0.jpg?itok=Q1pE-FG4" width="1500" height="1098" alt="Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston"> </div> <p>In one of the most famous photos of Muhammad Ali ever taken, the boxer stands over Sonny Liston during a May 1965 bout in Lewiston, Maine. (Photo: John Rooney/Associated Press)</p></div></div><p><span lang="EN"><strong>Approaching retirement</strong></span></p><p><span lang="EN">In his next bout, Ali fought Chuck Wepner and was knocked down in the ninth round, at least partially due to a light training schedule. Ali still won, and the fight would inspire Sylvester Stallone to write </span><em><span lang="EN">Rocky</span></em><span lang="EN">, </span><a href="https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/apollo-creed-from-rocky-based-on-real-boxer/#:~:text=In%20fact%2C%20it%20was%20widely,image%2C%20reflect%20Ali&amp;apos;s%20public%20image." rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">with the character Apollo Creed based on Muhammad Ali.</span></a></p><p><span>Ali retained the heavyweight title for more than three years,&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.ringtv.com/424457-from-the-ring-magazine-14-rounds-of-pure-hell/" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN-US">a run that included the Thrilla in Manila</span></a><span>, the third match in the trilogy between Ali and Frazier that saw the champion employ the “rope-a-dope” again, as both fighters struggled in the heat of Quezon City, near the Philippine capital of Manila. Ali lost to Leon Spinks in February 1978 on a split decision, before beating&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/2022/09/14/look-back-at-the-legendary-1978-muhammad-ali-vs-leon-spinks-ii-fight/" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN-US">Spinks in their rematch seven months later.</span></a></p><p><span>Ali sent his letter of retirement to the World Boxing Association before returning to the ring to face his former sparring partner Larry Holmes for the vacant World Boxing Commission title, reportedly taking the fight&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.ringtv.com/610941-larry-holmes-remembers-muhammad-ali-40-years-on-from-the-last-hurrah/" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN-US">partially due to money issues</span></a><span>. Before the fight, he was ordered to undergo examination at the Mayo Clinic because there was a concern as to whether he was fit to return to the ring—he had begun to&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/boxing/article-8798739/Muhammad-Alis-battering-hands-Larry-Holmes-torturous-memory-40-years-on.html" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN-US">display symptoms of what would be diagnosed as Parkinson's syndrome in 1984</span></a><span>.</span></p><p><span>The fight was so one-sided that&nbsp;</span><a href="https://athletesquarterly.com/athletes/king-of-the-ring/" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN-US">Holmes reportedly voiced concern to the referee, who refused to stop the match.&nbsp;</span></a><span>Holmes went on to win after Ali’s long-time trainer finally stepped in to stop the fight. Stallone attended the fight in Las Vegas and compared it to&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2007/jan/07/boxing.features" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN-US">“an autopsy on a man who's still alive.”</span></a><span> Ali fought one more time before ultimately retiring.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">As time went on, Ali struggled with the impact that Parkinson’s had on his health—a condition related to taking an </span><a href="https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2017/10/28/a-new-biography-of-muhammad-ali" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">estimated 200,000 hits over his amateur and professional boxing career</span></a><span lang="EN">. He continued to make public appearances, including his inspiring lighting of the Olympic torch in the 1996 Atlanta Games. He continues to be a </span><a href="https://www.biography.com/athletes/muhammad-ali" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">revered sports and civil rights legend</span></a><span lang="EN">, considered the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time.</span></p><p><a href="/ethnicstudies/people/core-faculty/jared-bahir-browsh" rel="nofollow"><em>Jared Bahir Browsh</em></a><em>&nbsp;is an assistant teaching professor of&nbsp;</em><a href="/ethnicstudies/undergraduate-programs-and-resources/critical-sport-studies" rel="nofollow"><em>critical sports studies</em></a><em>&nbsp;in the Ҵýƽ&nbsp;</em><a href="/ethnicstudies/" rel="nofollow"><em>Department of Ethnic Studies</em></a><em>.</em></p><hr><p><em>Did you enjoy this article?&nbsp;</em><a href="https://cu.tfaforms.net/73" rel="nofollow"><em>Subscribe to our newsletter.</em></a><em>&nbsp;Passionate about critical sports studies?&nbsp;</em><a href="https://www.givecampus.com/campaigns/50245/donations/" rel="nofollow"><em>Show your support.</em></a></p><p>&nbsp;</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>Fifty years after the famed ‘Rumble in the Jungle,’ Muhammad Ali is remembered not only as the heavyweight champ, but as a champion of civil rights.</div> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Related Articles</div> </div> </h2> <div>Traditional</div> <div>0</div> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/2024-11/Rumble%20in%20the%20Jungle%20cropped.jpg?itok=Q8Eal-VK" width="1500" height="650" alt="Muhammad Ali and George Foreman boxing in the former Zaire"> </div> <span class="media-image-caption"> <p><span>In a bout called "Rumble in the Jungle," Muhammad Ali, left, and George Foreman, right, fight on Oct. 30, 1974, in Kinshasa, Zaire. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)</span></p> </span> </div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> <div>In a bout called Rumble in the Jungle, Muhammad Ali, left, and George Foreman, right, fight on Oct. 30, 1974, in Kinshasa, Zaire. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)</div> Mon, 11 Nov 2024 17:30:13 +0000 Rachel Sauer 6011 at /asmagazine Remembering the player behind ‘Fernandomania’ /asmagazine/2024/10/24/remembering-player-behind-fernandomania <span>Remembering the player behind ‘Fernandomania’</span> <span><span>Anonymous (not verified)</span></span> <span><time datetime="2024-10-24T12:44:00-06:00" title="Thursday, October 24, 2024 - 12:44">Thu, 10/24/2024 - 12:44</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/article-thumbnail/fernando_valenzuela_pitching.jpg?h=4997dc06&amp;itok=2VNVvyBJ" width="1200" height="800" alt="Fernando Valenzuela pitching"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/889"> Views </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/913" hreflang="en">Critical Sports Studies</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/1240" hreflang="en">Division of Social Sciences</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/484" hreflang="en">Ethnic Studies</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/686" hreflang="en">Research</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/1053" hreflang="en">community</a> </div> <span>Jared Bahir Browsh</span> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default 3"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><p class="lead"><em>Fernando Valenzuela, who died Tuesday, was more than just the first Mexican superstar in Major League Baseball; he helped soothe longstanding resentments in a displaced community</em></p><hr><p><a href="https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/41952316/dodgers-legendary-pitcher-fernando-valenzuela-dies-63" rel="nofollow">The Los Angeles Dodgers announced</a> Wednesday that Fernando Valenzuela passed away&nbsp;late Tuesday night at the age of 63. The legendary pitcher debuted late in the 1980 season as a 19-year-old, but it would not be until his first full season when the rookie would initiate “<a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/fernando-valenzuela-dies" rel="nofollow">Fernandomania</a>,” fascinating not only Dodgers and baseball fans, but people throughout the United States and Latin America.</p><p>Valenzuela helped the <a href="https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/what-1981-dodgers-vs-yankees-world-series-matchup-was-like-according-to-fans/3541918/" rel="nofollow">Dodgers beat the Yankees to win the World Series in 1981</a>, the last time the two teams met. At a time when the Dodgers struggled to soothe their relationship with Mexican American fans, Valenzuela was not only the balm, but also initiated a wave of players from Mexico that continues today.</p><p>The Dodgers’ relationship with the large Chicanx community in Los Angeles had long been fraught after the building of Dodger Stadium. Following passage of the Federal Housing Act in 1949, then-Mayor Norris Poulson chose Chavez Ravine, a shallow canyon in Los Angeles, as the location to build 10,000 housing units, promising the Mexican American community living there that they would have their first choice of housing.</p><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-large"><div class="ucb-callout-content"><div> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/article-image/jared_browsh_6.jpg?itok=GtPzgPAl" width="750" height="1093" alt="Jared Bahir Browsh"> </div> <p>Jared Bahir Browsh is the&nbsp;<a href="/ethnicstudies/undergraduate-programs-and-resources/critical-sport-studies" rel="nofollow">Critical Sports Studies</a>&nbsp;program director in the Ҵýƽ&nbsp;<a href="/ethnicstudies/" rel="nofollow">Department of Ethnic Studies</a>.</p></div></div></div><p>Yet after most of the neighborhood was razed, the project was delayed, and when the Dodgers decided to move from Brooklyn to Los Angeles, <a href="https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/chavez-ravine-evictions/" rel="nofollow">the area was chosen to build the new Dodger Stadium</a>. The broken promises led to decades of resentment between the team and the Mexican American community in the city, as the remaining residents were forced out of the neighborhood.</p><p><strong>Selling out stadiums</strong></p><p>Valenzuela was scouted by several teams, but when legendary Cuban-American scout <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/09/sports/baseball/mike-brito-dead.html" rel="nofollow">Mike Brito went to evaluate him </a>in <a href="https://ladodgertalk.com/2022/10/13/the-importance-of-a-mexican-star/" rel="nofollow">Silao, Mexico</a>, he convinced the Dodgers to buy out Valenzuela’s contract in the summer of 1979, just beating out the Yankees. He worked his way up from the minor leagues, debuting with the Dodgers in September 1980 after learning what became his signature pitch, the screwball, which breaks the opposite direction of a curveball or slider.</p><p>He spent the final month of the season as a reliever, helping the team contend for the <a href="https://www.walteromalley.com/dodger-history/team-histories/1980/" rel="nofollow">West Division before they lost to the Houston Astros in a one-game playoff</a>.</p><p>The following season, the 20-year-old Valenzuela was tapped to be the Dodgers’ opening-day starter after pitcher Jerry Reuss was injured the day before the game. This set off <a href="https://laist.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/thank-you-fernando-how-a-dodgers-legend-captured-my-childhood-heart" rel="nofollow">Fernandomania</a>, as he went 8-0 with five shutouts and an earned run average of 0.50. <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2020/03/15/1981-mlb-season-coronavirus-delay-baseball/5054780002/" rel="nofollow">The 1981 season was cut short due to a strike </a>in June, but when the season resumed in August, Valenzuela helped the team win the World Series, becoming the first pitcher to win both the National League Rookie of the Year and Cy Young awards in the same season.</p><p>Valenzuela sold out stadiums both at home and away, becoming a phenomenon only a few years after first signing to the Mexican league from his small, rural hometown in Sonora. An international Horatio Alger story, Valenzuela’s rise is one of the most unbelievable in modern sports history.</p><p>Valenzuela spoke very little English and struggled to communicate with many of his teammates; however, team manager Tommy Lasorda spent time in the Caribbean winter leagues and helped Valenzuela’s transition to the major leagues, while Mike Scioscia learned enough Spanish to become the young pitcher’s personal catcher. Valenzuela would go on to make six straight All-Star games before <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1993/03/13/fernando-looking-up-at-32-sees-the-legend-of-20/d506e961-cb18-4825-b769-2176786dd690/" rel="nofollow">shoulder issues related to overuse and the strain of throwing the screwball </a>derailed his career. He ultimately played 17 seasons and threw a no-hitter for the Dodgers in 1990, but his legacy goes far beyond his phenomenal rise.</p><p><strong>The first Mexican superstar</strong></p><p>Walter O’Malley had owned at least a minority stake in the Dodgers since 1944, accumulating a larger stake in the team and eventually becoming its president in 1950. He was part of the ownership group that signed <a href="https://news.law.fordham.edu/blog/2024/08/08/historic-archive-of-dodgers-owner-walter-omalley-donated-to-national-baseball-hall-of-fame-and-museum/#:~:text=O&amp;apos;Malley%20was%20the%20Dodgers,to%20Los%20Angeles%20as%20president." rel="nofollow">Jackie Robinson and led the move to Los Angeles in 1958.</a> O’Malley was tired of the Brooklyn Dodgers living in the Yankees’ shadow—their Ebbets Field had less than half the capacity of Yankee Stadium (32,000 vs. 67,000) and the Dodgers lost six of the seven World Series matchups with the Yankees in the 1940s and 1950s. O’Malley saw a business opportunity in moving to the West Coast and building his own stadium in spite of the displacement of the Mexican American community there.</p><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-xlarge"><div class="ucb-callout-content"><div> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/article-image/fernando_valenzuela_wining_up_for_pitch.jpg?itok=9EsGUmwG" width="750" height="500" alt="Fernando Valenzuela wining up for a pitch"> </div> <p>Fernando Valenzuela, known for his signature 'screwball' pitch, winds up during the Dodgers' April 8, 1986, home opener. (Photo: Tony Barnard/Los Angeles Times)</p></div></div></div><p>Much like Robinson brought Black fans to the Dodgers, and baseball more generally, O’Malley <a href="https://www.walteromalley.com/biographies/walter-omalley-reference-biography/the-last-inning/" rel="nofollow">sought a Mexican player to draw Latine fans</a> who refused to watch the Dodgers not only because of resentment over the displacement, but also because the Dodgers were seen as a team for the white community in Los Angeles. Walter O’Malley died a month after the organization signed Valenzuela, so he never saw the impact of the first Mexican superstar in baseball.</p><p>Though famous, Valenzuela still faced many of the same issues other Mexican immigrants faced coming to America. The language barrier led to isolation early in his career, and after his historic rookie season, he was threatened with deportation as he held out for a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1982/03/05/sports/sports-people-us-eyes-valenzuela.html" rel="nofollow">new contract in 1982, since he was in the United States on a work visa.</a> It was said that <a href="https://www.latimes.com/sports/nfhkikii9eq-123" rel="nofollow">Ronald Reagan pushed for immigration reform</a> partly due to meeting Valenzuela in 1981.</p><p>Despite the disappointment of being cut by the Dodgers during 1991 spring training, Valenzuela maintained his legendary status with the team, becoming their color commentator in 2003 and having his number, 34, retired in 2023.</p><p>His jersey is still one of the most popular, with Valenzuela jerseys seen throughout Dodgers stadium <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2024/10/23/fernando-valenzuela-remembrance-los-angeles-dodgers/75803450007/" rel="nofollow">34 years after he threw his last pitch for the team.</a> In spite of his status as the greatest player from Mexico to play in the Major Leagues, he has not been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, although many artifacts from Fernandomania sit in the museum in Cooperstown.</p><p><a href="/ethnicstudies/people/core-faculty/jared-bahir-browsh" rel="nofollow"><em>Jared Bahir Browsh</em></a><em>&nbsp;is an assistant teaching professor of&nbsp;</em><a href="/ethnicstudies/undergraduate-programs-and-resources/critical-sport-studies" rel="nofollow"><em>critical sports studies</em></a><em>&nbsp;in the Ҵýƽ&nbsp;</em><a href="/ethnicstudies/" rel="nofollow"><em>Department of Ethnic Studies</em></a><em>.</em></p><p><em>Top image:&nbsp;Fernando Valenzuela pitches a two-hit, 4-0 victory over the Montreal Expos at Dodger Stadium May 21, 1986. (Photo:&nbsp;Marsha Traeger/Los Angeles Times)</em></p><hr><p><em>Did you enjoy this article?&nbsp;</em><a href="https://cu.tfaforms.net/73" rel="nofollow"><em>Subscribe to our newsletter.</em></a><em>&nbsp;Passionate about critical sports studies?&nbsp;</em><a href="https://www.givecampus.com/campaigns/50245/donations/" rel="nofollow"><em>Show your support.</em></a></p><p>&nbsp;</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>Fernando Valenzuela, who died Tuesday, was more than just the first Mexican superstar in Major League Baseball; he helped soothe longstanding resentments in a displaced community.</div> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Related Articles</div> </div> </h2> <div>Traditional</div> <div>0</div> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/feature-title-image/fernando_valenzuela_pitching.jpg?itok=-yXVPJsp" width="1500" height="998" alt> </div> </div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Thu, 24 Oct 2024 18:44:00 +0000 Anonymous 6002 at /asmagazine Balancing opportunity and exploitation as the NBA forges new ground in Africa /asmagazine/2024/10/22/balancing-opportunity-and-exploitation-nba-forges-new-ground-africa <span>Balancing opportunity and exploitation as the NBA forges new ground in Africa</span> <span><span>Anonymous (not verified)</span></span> <span><time datetime="2024-10-22T12:19:39-06:00" title="Tuesday, October 22, 2024 - 12:19">Tue, 10/22/2024 - 12:19</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/article-thumbnail/tanzania_basketball.jpg?h=f950d01d&amp;itok=492Tjges" width="1200" height="800" alt="Men playing outdoor basketball in Tanzania"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/889"> Views </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/913" hreflang="en">Critical Sports Studies</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/1240" hreflang="en">Division of Social Sciences</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/484" hreflang="en">Ethnic Studies</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/1187" hreflang="en">cultural politics</a> </div> <span>Jared Bahir Browsh</span> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default 3"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><p class="lead"><em>The recent death of Dikembe Mutombo and the start of the NBA regular season today highlight the fraught realities of building a talent pipeline between lower-income countries and the NBA</em></p><hr><p>On Sept. 30, Basketball Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo passed away after a two-year battle with brain cancer. As a young NBA fan, I looked at Mutombo as someone both figuratively and literally larger than life.</p><p>Even as a fan of the Philadelphia 76ers, one of my favorite basketball memories was when Mutombo helped lead the Denver Nuggets to an upset of the No. 1-seed Seattle Supersonics, which featured an iconic highlight of Mutombo holding the final rebound as he celebrated on the ground. I later had the joy of watching him as a Sixer when the team made a run to the NBA Finals in 2001.</p><p>Mutombo’s legend went beyond his size, with an incredible backstory that might seem too unbelievable for a Hollywood script. <a href="https://thehoya.com/news/dikembe-mutombo-gu-basketball-legend-and-nba-hall-of-famer-dies-at-58/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">He enrolled in Georgetown University on a USAID</a> academic scholarship at 21, originally <a href="https://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/dikembe-mutombo/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">intending to pursue a career in medicine</a>. But after being recruited to play basketball, and knowing very little English, he majored in linguistics and diplomacy, earning internships with U.S. Rep. Robert Matsui and the World Bank.</p><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-large"> <div class="ucb-callout-content"><div class="image-caption image-caption-"><p> </p><div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/article-image/jared_browsh_5.jpg?itok=sLqpJuAM" width="750" height="1093" alt="Jared Bahir Browsh"> </div> <p>Jared Bahir Browsh is the&nbsp;<a href="/ethnicstudies/undergraduate-programs-and-resources/critical-sport-studies" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Critical Sports Studies</a>&nbsp;program director in the Ҵýƽ&nbsp;<a href="/ethnicstudies/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Department of Ethnic Studies</a>.</p></div></div> </div><p>My sister attended Georgetown, and Mutombo stories were common—with his intelligence, gregarious nature and success on the court making him a legend at the university. He was drafted by the Nuggets on the day after his 25th birthday and played 18 years with several teams, including the Houston Rockets, where he was a mentor to another international player, Yao Ming.</p><p>During his playing career, Mutombo began <a href="https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/dikembe-mutombo-believed-in-the-american-idea" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">participating in humanitarian work</a>, started his own foundation to support his native Congo and served as the <a href="https://www.specialolympics.org/about/ambassadors/dikembe-mutombo" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">first youth emissary for the United Nations Development Program.</a> He also began working with <a href="https://bwb.nba.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Basketball without Borders</a>, a program started by the NBA to encourage friendship and tolerance through basketball camps run globally.</p><p>The program was first introduced in 2001 in the Balkan states after the Yugoslav Wars, before entering Africa in 2003. It has become a pipeline for future all-stars like Pascal Siakam and Joel Embiid to earn college scholarships and be drafted into the NBA.</p><p>In 2023, the NBA had a record 125 international players on team rosters, with 19 of those players from African nations. The last six MVP awards have been won by three international players, two of whom, <a href="https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/38730875/africa-nba-presence-more-giannis-antetokounmpo-joel-embiid" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Embiid (Cameroon) and Giannis Antetokounmpo </a>(born in Greece to Nigerian parents) have deep ties to Africa. Mutombo followed <a href="https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/30119079/from-olajuwon-embiid-how-africa-relationship-american-hoops-evolved" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Hakeem Olajuwon (drafted from Nigeria in 1984) and Manute Bol (drafted from Sudan in 1985)</a> as a part of the first wave of African players to enter the NBA. There was a dramatic increase of international players entering the NBA that began with the fall of the Soviet Union and accelerated after the <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/27521453/how-1992-dream-team-sparked-global-nba-fandom" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">success of the 1992 Olympic Dream Team.</a></p><p><strong>Still-rare success</strong></p><p>The success of players like Olajuwon, Mutombo and Embiid is still fairly rare in spite of the internationalization of basketball. <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/38734176/record-125-international-players-nba-opening-night-rosters" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Of the 125 international players on rosters last year,</a> 72% were from Canada or Europe, representative of the strong basketball pipeline within the Global North and evidence of the developmental resources maintained by these Western nations with strong youth programs and professional leagues.</p><p>Players who emerge from outside of these pipelines are often exceptional in <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2012/11/13/opinion/masai-ujiri-africa-basketball/index.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">skills and physical attributes</a>, overcoming a lack of developmental support. Recent evidence of the wide gap in resources was the relative success of the <a href="https://www.fiba.basketball/en/events/mens-olympic-basketball-tournament-paris-2024/teams/south-sudan" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">South Sudan men’s national team at the Paris Olympics</a>, which challenged top teams in spite of there being no<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/article/2024/jul/27/basketball-south-sudan-olympics-nba-luol-deng" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> indoor basketball courts</a> in the nation. <a href="https://www.unhcr.org/us/prominent-supporters/luol-deng" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">South Sudan’s basketball federation president is Luol Deng</a>, whose family escaped the war-torn country and settled in Great Britain before Deng enrolled at Duke for a year, becoming a two-time All-Star during his 15-year NBA career.</p><p>For every Deng, Antetokounmpo or Mutombo who make it to the NBA or other professional leagues around the world, like the <a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/story-telling/11095/13043824/how-africa-changed-the-premier-league" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">English Premier League</a>, there are thousands of others who don’t. It is a lottery that creates competition domestically among lower-income groups, including members of the African diaspora in the United States, where social mobility only seems accessible<a href="https://www.africanleadershipmagazine.co.uk/more-than-just-a-game-benefits-of-sports-in-africa/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> through sports and entertainment</a>.</p><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-xlarge"> <div class="ucb-callout-content"><div class="image-caption image-caption-"><p> </p><div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/article-image/dikembe_mutombo_rebound.jpg?itok=ljG7lS7v" width="750" height="496" alt="Dikembe Mutombo celebrating with rebound ball"> </div> <p>The now-iconic image of then-Denver Nugget Dikembe Mutombo celebrating an overtime win against the Seattle Supersonics May 7, 1994. (Photo: Bill Chan/Associated Press)</p></div></div> </div><p>The desire to leverage sports to achieve social mobility is not new, but it has become increasingly international as domestic sports leagues continue to globalize, driven by access through <a href="https://eric-weinberger.medium.com/the-changing-sports-media-landscape-an-evolutionary-perspective-621077372877#:~:text=Globalization%20and%20Market%20Expansion&amp;text=This%20global%20reach%20not%20only,passion%20on%20a%20global%20scale." target="_blank" rel="nofollow">digital media and growing their fan and revenue bases.</a></p><p>Earlier efforts to globalize were focused on wealthier nations in Europe and Asia, with the NBA and NFL holding exhibitions in countries like <a href="https://www.fiba.basketball/news/basketball-takes-big-leap-with-first-mcdonalds-open" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Germany and Japan and leveraging the rivalry with the USSR</a>. Since the 1970s, the NFL has attempted to expand beyond the United States, <a href="https://www.profootballhof.com/news/2012/10/news-nfl-europa/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">eventually creating the World League of American Football that would evolve into NFL Europe,</a> which officially launched in 1991. After NFL Europe folded in 2007, the league looked toward expanding beyond U.S. borders—self-tasked with expanding not only the NFL brand but American football in general.</p><p>The NBA, on the other hand, has focused on expanding as the top basketball league in the world, leveraging the international popularity of the sport. This growth was supported by the fall of the Iron Curtain and growth of professional basketball globally, driven both by television and the popularity of players like Michael Jordan. <a href="https://usopm.org/1992-mens-basketball-team/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">The NBA’s agreement with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA)</a> to allow their professionals into the Olympics led to the 1992 Dream Team, which only accelerated this growth.</p><p><strong>Big in China</strong></p><p>Understanding of how international players can expand the game, and brand, was further evidenced by the success of Yao Ming in popularizing the NBA in China. <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/38740244/nba-first-class-china-conflicts-yao-ming-says" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Yao’s success also shows the geopolitical complications</a> that can arise, considering the Chinese government’s requirement that Yao hand over half his earnings to the government, and later conflicts ignited when <a href="https://www.scmp.com/sport/basketball/article/3281999/will-china-host-nba-games-again-5-years-after-row-over-daryl-moreys-hong-kong-tweet" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Daryl Morey made comments related to repression in Hong Kong.</a></p><p>The growth of basketball in Europe and <a href="https://www.jpost.com/j-spot/article-760042" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">wealthier nations like Israel</a> has opened opportunities for American players to continue their professional basketball careers outside the United States and for top European athletes to play in the NBA. The stability of this pipeline, and the success of players like Olajuwon and Mutombo, led to Basketball without Borders. The NFL has run several international development and scouting programs since 2007, leading to the current <a href="https://www.americanfootball.sport/2024/01/19/player-pathway-2024/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">International Player Pathway Program</a>. Dozens of international NFL players have entered the NFL through this program, creating a strong pipeline in countries like Nigeria, and supported by Osi Umenyiora, a Nigerian-British former NFL All-Pro.</p><p>However, the high cost of entry and potential for injury has limited this growth, leading the<a href="https://www.reuters.com/sports/nfl/league-talks-clear-players-flag-football-2028-olympics-2024-08-19/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> NFL to strongly support the growth of flag football,</a> which will make its Olympic debut in the Summer 2028 Games in Los Angeles. NFL officials have mentioned hopes that it will have the same impact as the Dream Team had for NBA basketball. In a similar vein, FIBA has also been working to leverage 3x3 basketball to expand <a href="https://www.usab.com/3x3-basketball-get-involved" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">participation and success to other nations.</a></p><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-xlarge"> <div class="ucb-callout-content"><div class="image-caption image-caption-"><p> </p><div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/article-image/nba_africa_event.jpg?itok=EMcdtVOk" width="750" height="500" alt="Players in 2017 NBA Africa Game"> </div> <p>Several NBA players participated in the 2017 NBA Africa Game, including then-Dallas Maverick&nbsp;Dirk Nowitzki, center. (Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/usembassysa/36378100746/in/photostream/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">U.S. Embassy South Africa</a>)</p></div></div> </div><p>This growth is not without complications. Along with walking a fine line between free speech, politics and growth—as evidenced by the conflict between the <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/nba/news/daryl-morey-on-hong-kong-tweet-im-very-comfortable-with-what-i-did" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">NBA and China during the 2019-2020 season</a> over Daryl Morey’s tweet in support of Hong Kong protesters, as well as 2024 <a href="https://www.refugeesinternational.org/statements-and-news/public-call-to-nba-cancel-pre-season-games-in-uae-in-solidarity-with-the-people-of-sudan/#:~:text=WASHINGTON%E2%80%94In%20an%20open%20letter,fueling%20of%20atrocities%20in%20Sudan" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">exhibition games between the Denver Nuggets and Boston Celtics in the United Arab Emirates</a>—there are also claims of cultural and economic imperialism as leagues and their sponsorship partners leverage the sport and operate in other nations.</p><p>One of the clearest examples of this imperialism and cultural disconnect is represented in the <a href="https://bal.nba.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Basketball Africa League (BAL)</a>, which is overseen by NBA Africa and FIBA. Early investors included Mutombo, with <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/nba-fiba-preisdent-obama-partner-form-basketball-africa-league-215939191.html?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAB_37AChtNcAAIH6xMrUYo0Vzcfs8tEaLo0KeynVazhwXETu4LBuPtrFwd2K8GF8t5kp8Mi5GsCDPqmTY8u_TDEiHKuI-zHWqM24_CSHyj2a0bOI2ZmII1cWDgPQ62MbbUXvXJhkNHX4cj4q7wMn3WDuh3QkJzWL7cmte8thRmpu" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Barack Obama and Grant Hill, and corporations like Pepsi and Nike, becoming the primary investors</a>. These corporations are looking to leverage the league to expand their brand recognition, which furthers criticism regarding exploitation of labor and resources, <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/who-owns-water/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">including water privatization by beverage companies like Pepsi and Coca-Cola</a>.</p><p>There is clearly a disconnect between expectations and realities on the African continent, with <a href="https://www.afrikavantage.com/post/nba-africa-s-dreams-turn-into-nightmares-and-regrets" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">fans unable to afford tickets, a lack of facilities and the talent drain to the NBA</a> and European leagues. Unsurprisingly, the BAL and NBA Africa are headquartered in South Africa, in the shadow of apartheid and colonialism.</p><p><strong>Ethically fraught global expansion</strong></p><p>In spite of these issues, NBA Africa is reportedly valued at over $1 billion, and similar to NBA China, much of the value, and investment, is based on access to potential consumers on the continent, whose population is nearing 1.4 billion. Also, similar to NBA China, there have been issues with the relationships formed to create these subsidiaries. Leaders in nations like Rwanda, Russia and Saudi Arabia have been accused of investing in sport to distract from human rights violations and improve their reputation on the world stage.</p><p>The NBA and NFL are far from the only corporations engaging in ethically fraught global expansion; however, the long Western history of exploiting of groups of color, particularly African Americans, only exacerbates concerns regarding globalization of North American sports leagues. Programs like Basketball without Borders present themselves as philanthropic but are actually investments to help expand corporate footprints and open pipelines to talent that removes players from their communities—mirroring similar pipelines between lower-income communities in the United States and major college athletics programs.</p><p>Mutombo’s passing reminds us of the positive and negative potential of global sports: the opportunity for social mobility, philanthropy and community, and the risk of widespread exploitation.</p><p><em><a href="/ethnicstudies/people/core-faculty/jared-bahir-browsh" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Jared Bahir Browsh</a>&nbsp;is an assistant teaching professor of&nbsp;<a href="/ethnicstudies/undergraduate-programs-and-resources/critical-sport-studies" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">critical sports studies</a>&nbsp;in the Ҵýƽ&nbsp;<a href="/ethnicstudies/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Department of Ethnic Studies</a>.</em></p><p><em>Top image: Men play basketball in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (Photo: <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/a-group-of-young-men-playing-a-game-of-basketball-MhQxeXhE-GI" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Rohan Reddy/Unsplash</a>)</em></p><hr><p><em>Did you enjoy this article?&nbsp;<a href="https://cu.tfaforms.net/73" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Subcribe to our newsletter.</a>&nbsp;Passionate about critical sports studies?&nbsp;<a href="https://www.givecampus.com/campaigns/50245/donations/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Show your support.</a></em></p><p>&nbsp;</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>The recent death of Dikembe Mutombo and the start of the NBA regular season today highlight the fraught realities of building a talent pipeline between lower-income countries and the NBA.</div> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Related Articles</div> </div> </h2> <div>Traditional</div> <div>0</div> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/feature-title-image/tanzania_basketball_0.jpg?itok=mTj4fpSw" width="1500" height="822" alt> </div> </div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Tue, 22 Oct 2024 18:19:39 +0000 Anonymous 6000 at /asmagazine Uncovering the surprising similarities between sports and politics /asmagazine/2024/10/10/uncovering-surprising-similarities-between-sports-and-politics <span>Uncovering the surprising similarities between sports and politics</span> <span><span>Anonymous (not verified)</span></span> <span><time datetime="2024-10-10T04:31:43-06:00" title="Thursday, October 10, 2024 - 04:31">Thu, 10/10/2024 - 04:31</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/article-thumbnail/fox_nfl_hero.jpg?h=bcc5e01b&amp;itok=CnfU92k-" width="1200" height="800" alt="Denver Broncos play Washington Chiefs; Fox News truck"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/889"> Views </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/913" hreflang="en">Critical Sports Studies</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/1240" hreflang="en">Division of Social Sciences</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/690" hreflang="en">Ethic Studies</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/686" hreflang="en">Research</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/1187" hreflang="en">cultural politics</a> </div> <span>Jared Bahir Browsh</span> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default 3"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><p class="lead"><em>In just a few decades, Fox went from being ‘the fourth network’ airing </em>The Simpsons<em> and baseball to being a leading voice in U.S. politics</em></p><hr><p>Every four years, Americans oscillate between sports and coverage of the presidential election, and outside of trash talk between competitors, many overlook the commonalities between the two.</p><p>The media corporations responsible for covering both sports and politics are the same, and as we experience increasing polarization, it’s important to highlight the direct link between the partisan media and sports media rights—which has existed for 30 years, since <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1993/12/18/us/fox-network-outbids-cbs-for-rights-to-pro-football.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Fox first aired NFL football after outbidding CBS</a> for the broadcast rights. That winning bid helped legitimize the nascent broadcast network and establish the partisan cable news environment we are familiar with today.</p><p>Fox owner Rupert Murdoch is now known for overseeing one of the largest media empires in the world, but through the early 1980s he was known as a publisher of newspapers, specifically tabloids. He inherited a news publication after his father’s death in 1952, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-66875222" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">The News in Adelaide</a>.</p><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-large"> <div class="ucb-callout-content"><div class="image-caption image-caption-"><p> </p><div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/article-image/jared_browsh_4.jpg?itok=Z2EaJwOf" width="750" height="1093" alt="Jared Bahir Browsh"> </div> <p>Jared Bahir Browsh is the <a href="/ethnicstudies/undergraduate-programs-and-resources/critical-sport-studies" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Critical Sports Studies</a> program director in the Ҵýƽ <a href="/ethnicstudies/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Department of Ethnic Studies</a>.</p></div></div> </div><p>He expanded his news empire to New Zealand and the United Kingdom through the ‘50s and ‘60s. Although he became known for his ownership of tabloids, his corporation also oversaw more traditional broadsheet newspapers, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-14078128" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">including Australia’s first national newspaper, The Australian.</a></p><p>By the 1980s, Murdoch had set his eyes on electronic media, particularly television. He struggled to break into the British broadcast market, so he focused his energy on pay TV, buying a controlling stake in <a href="https://www.skygroup.sky/our-history" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Satellite Television Limited, later renamed Sky</a>. After being excluded from the consortium overseeing British Satellite Broadcasting (BSB), he launched his own satellite-based service, circumventing British ownership laws by using the Astra satellite operating in Luxembourg.</p><p>Sky launched in 1989, 13 months before BSB’s launch in March 1990.&nbsp; The two competed for the rights to the FA Premier League, with Sky’s bid, nearly double that of any competitor, seen as overpaying. However, Murdoch saw sports as a <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/special_report/1999/03/99/murdochs_big_match/167937.stm" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">“battering ram” for pay television</a>, helping to attract viewers who might otherwise balk at spending money for scripted shows and news.</p><p>During this time, Murdoch and News Corporation set their sights on the United States, purchasing <a href="https://www.axios.com/2023/09/21/rupert-murdoch-network-fox-news" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Marc Rich’s stake in 20th Century Fox </a>after Rich became a fugitive for tax evasion and selling oil to Iran during the hostage crisis. He bought the stake from oil magnate and investor Marvin Davis, and 20th Century Fox was considering buying Metromedia, which owned broadcast stations. Davis opposed the purchase while Murdoch and executive Barry Diller pushed to expand the media reach of the troubled studio. Davis sold his stake in 20th Century Fox in 1985, incorporating Davis Petroleum in Denver the next year. Murdoch gained American citizenship, since legally he could not own a broadcast network as a foreign citizen, and in fall of 1986 the Fox Broadcasting Company launched with <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/money/barry-diller-chairman-iac-expedia-group" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Diller as chairman and CEO.</a></p><p>The six original stations purchased from Metromedia were in major markets including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Fox Broadcasting Company, or FBC, was renamed <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fox-network-history-facts-2012-5" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Fox to leverage the media legacy of 20th Century Fox</a>, and it officially launched on April 5, 1987.</p><p><strong>The fourth network</strong></p><p>Fox was considered the fourth network, if people had access to its programming at all. Network programmers purposely scheduled just below the minimum number of hours required for network status to avoid federal regulatory restrictions, including <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/FR-1995-09-21/95-23366" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Financial Interest and Syndication Rules</a>.</p><p>As it built its affiliate base, Fox took lessons from ABC to boost its visibility, building a young audience through its <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20131203061048/http:/variety.com/2001/tv/news/fox-kids-net-adopted-by-fox-tv-ent-1117852436/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Fox Kids</a> programming, prime-time teenage and young adult soaps like <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/aaron_spelling" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><em>Beverly Hills 90210</em> and <em>Melrose</em><em>Place </em></a>and reality television, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/09/13/1036716845/cops-returns-to-tv-fox-streaming-service" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">most notably <em>COPS</em></a>. However, following the precedent of BSkyB leveraging sports to accelerate growth, Fox made a bid for <a href="https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/ROA-Times/issues/1993/rt9312/931219/12190148.htm" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Monday Night Football in 1987, </a>after ABC hesitated in renewing its contract with the NFL. Fox met the NFL’s asking price, but ABC came back and matched, due to ABC’s more extensive reach. The NFL renewed with ABC.</p><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-xlarge"> <div class="ucb-callout-content"><div class="image-caption image-caption-"><p> </p><div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/article-image/2005_major_league_baseball_season_7045045693.jpg?itok=w-ds5Ows" width="750" height="563" alt="Los Angeles Dodgers play Cincinnati Reds"> </div> <p>In November 1995, Fox obtained a partial contract for Major League Baseball. (Photo:&nbsp;Ryosuke Yagi/<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2005_major_league_baseball_season_(7045045693).jpg" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Wikimedia Commons</a>)</p></div></div> </div><p>At the end of the 1993 season, however, both the NFC and AFC contracts were up for renegotiation, and Fox ultimately outbid <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1993/12/18/us/fox-network-outbids-cbs-for-rights-to-pro-football.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">CBS for the NFC rights</a>. As a result, Fox executives made a major push to gain affiliates with stronger broadcast signals in major markets, since the network was still using lower-quality UHF frequencies in many markets. This led to a major realignment of affiliations, with stations in markets like Dallas-Fort Worth, Phoenix, Detroit and Cleveland switching from CBS to Fox.</p><p>In November 1995, Fox obtained a partial contract for Major League Baseball, airing 16 Saturday games as well as the <a href="https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Journal/Issues/2020/10/12/Media/Fox.aspx?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTTJKaVpqWXlPR1ppWm1FMCIsInQiOiJ0aTZWXC9VaFpKOFM0QlZXMG92ckd6WkEwY2l6NVVOeDVpazhrMkpsbnpVTUczV3VFbG9qcUdVN1g3T1BXWHVhTmtcLzE5a1wvZUYyS3NyTHRiVXpnYVZ4MHgxNzlySGY0V3V5Y0RlNlh5U0c2MitkRDM3cFNUQmtiUTlERzRIOEJSbiJ9" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">1996 World Series.</a> By the end of the decade, Fox would also agree to air the Cotton Bowl and NASCAR.</p><p><strong>Taking risks</strong></p><p>Sports and risk-taking in its entertainment programming boosted Fox’s profile, and the network entered the cable market with <a href="https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a28981/what-fx-looked-like/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">FX (stylized fX at launch) in 1994</a> as an interactive network embracing the then-emerging Internet. FX rebranded in 1997 as the network dedicated to Fox’s largest demographic, men 18-49, while also serving as a platform for its expanding sport portfolio and a place to rerun popular Fox series.</p><p>Throughout Fox’s early years, several other segments of the media were also quickly expanding. CNN had launched as the first 24-hour news network in 1980, but coverage of the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2016/03/01/politics/wolf-blitzer-gulf-war-iraq-kuwait-cnn/index.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Gulf War in 1990-1991</a> helped Fox grow into a major news source on par with other national outlets. In 1987, the Fairness Doctrine was officially repealed, leading to an explosion of conservative radio personalities like <a href="https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2021/how-rush-limbaughs-rise-after-the-gutting-of-the-fairness-doctrine-led-to-todays-highly-partisan-media/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity</a>. Lastly, the continued deregulation of the media—which was further formalized through the <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/technology/268459-bill-clintons-telecom-law-twenty-years-later/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Telecommunications Act of 1996</a>—consolidated the radio market, allowing for more nationally syndicated shows like Limbaugh’s and motivating the major media corporations to further expand, including into cable.</p><p>In 1994, NBC spun the news network America’s Talking off from CNBC; it was created by former Republican strategist Roger Ailes, who was <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/roger-ailes-how-cruelest-lesson-fueled-rise-fox-news-chief-n761676" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">president of the financial network at the time</a>. Ailes left <em>America’s Talking</em> under controversy, after allegedly making antisemitic comments to NBC executive David Zaslav, who is now the CEO and president of Warner Bros. Discovery.</p><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-xlarge"> <div class="ucb-callout-content"><div class="image-caption image-caption-"><p> </p><div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/article-image/fox_news.jpg?itok=XfFj9M5p" width="750" height="501" alt="Fox News broadcast from 2012 Democratic National Convention"> </div> <p>Fox News launched Oct. 7, 1996, and has become a significant voice in U.S. politics. (Photo: Steve Bott/<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2012_DNC_day_3_Fox_News_(7959676796).jpg" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Wikimedia Commons</a>)</p></div></div> </div><p>Ailes was hired by News Corp as founding CEO of Fox News, which launched on Oct. 7, 1996. Three months earlier, NBC had replaced <a href="https://pagesix.com/2014/07/02/msnbcs-predecessor-americas-talking-commemorated/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">America’s Talking with MSNBC,</a> a collaboration between NBC and technology company Microsoft. MSNBC sought its approach through programming with several conservative commentators, including Laura Ingraham, Ann Coulter and Tucker Carlson. MSNBC would not find its identity until after Microsoft divested, becoming the left-leaning alternative to Fox News and abandoning the balance it previously tried to find along the political spectrum.</p><p>Unsurprisingly, Murdoch and News Corporation took a more heavy-handed approach, paying cable companies to carry the network. Three days after Fox News launched, Time Warner bought Turner Broadcasting, which owned CNN. Because of an antitrust consent decree (in which the government sues a company and the defendant agrees to stop alleged illegal conduct), Time Warner Cable was forced to carry a second news station and selected MSNBC, with News Corp claiming that this broke an agreement to carry Fox News.</p><p>Citing the fact that its U.S. headquarters were in New York, and leveraging connections, News Corp convinced Rudy Giuliani’s mayoral administration to pressure <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1996/10/04/nyregion/giuliani-pressures-time-warner-to-transmit-a-fox-channel.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Time Warner to carry Fox News</a>. Although Time Warner ultimately won the initial battle, Fox News won the war when Time Warner began carrying Fox News. The ordeal displayed Murdoch’s willingness to leverage his close relationships with the Republican Party to support his media empire.</p><p>This relationship is at the core of the seemingly real-life <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/rupert-murdoch-children-family-money-b2614204.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><em>Succession</em> episode currently playing out in Nevada</a>, as Murdoch attempts to rewrite his trust to ensure his more conservative son Lochlan takes over Fox Corporation upon his death and maintains the network’s current place on the political spectrum. Even as the media giant sold off some of its assets in the sale of <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/3/20/18273477/disney-fox-merger-deal-details-marvel-x-men" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">21st Century Fox to Disney in 2019</a>, Murdoch retained Fox’s national sports and news entities—including Fox News, the <em>New York Post</em> and <em>The Wall Street Journal</em>, along with its cable and broadcast networks—as he continues to leverage sports as a battering ram to protect his international media empire.</p><p><em><a href="/ethnicstudies/people/core-faculty/jared-bahir-browsh" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Jared Bahir Browsh</a>&nbsp;is an assistant teaching professor of&nbsp;<a href="/ethnicstudies/undergraduate-programs-and-resources/critical-sport-studies" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">critical sports studies</a>&nbsp;in the Ҵýƽ&nbsp;<a href="/ethnicstudies/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Department of Ethnic Studies</a>.</em></p><hr><p><em>Did you enjoy this article?&nbsp;<a href="https://cu.tfaforms.net/73" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Subcribe to our newsletter.</a>&nbsp;Passionate about critical sports studies?&nbsp;<a href="https://www.givecampus.com/campaigns/50245/donations/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Show your support.</a></em></p><p>&nbsp;</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>In just a few decades, Fox went from being ‘the fourth network’ airing The Simpsons and baseball to being a leading voice in U.S. politics.</div> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Related Articles</div> </div> </h2> <div>Traditional</div> <div>0</div> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/feature-title-image/fox_nfl_hero.jpg?itok=f50O0aQX" width="1500" height="836" alt> </div> </div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Thu, 10 Oct 2024 10:31:43 +0000 Anonymous 5988 at /asmagazine Does that player in the video game look familiar? /asmagazine/2024/08/26/does-player-video-game-look-familiar <span>Does that player in the video game look familiar?</span> <span><span>Anonymous (not verified)</span></span> <span><time datetime="2024-08-26T17:31:50-06:00" title="Monday, August 26, 2024 - 17:31">Mon, 08/26/2024 - 17:31</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/article-thumbnail/college_football_25.jpg?h=efc5709a&amp;itok=rOI9KbdX" width="1200" height="800" alt="Cover of EA Sports College Football 25 video game"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/889"> Views </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/913" hreflang="en">Critical Sports Studies</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/1240" hreflang="en">Division of Social Sciences</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/484" hreflang="en">Ethnic Studies</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/1108" hreflang="en">student athletes</a> </div> <span>Jared Bahir Browsh</span> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default 3"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><p class="lead"><em>Fifteen years after Ed O’Bannon’s groundbreaking lawsuit, college athletes continue to benefit from greater control of their name, image and likeness</em></p><hr><p>As an elder Millennial, I remember waiting each year for the announcement of the cover athlete for EA Sports’ collection of college sports video games. As<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/national-spotlight-shines-colorado-ea-sports-college-football-25-video-game-release/" rel="nofollow"> CU celebrates Travis Hunter’s</a> inclusion on this year’s cover, it’s a good time to look back at the fight for student-athlete compensation that led to the reintroduction of the NCAA College Football video game series.</p><p>On July 19, thousands of video game players fired up their consoles and, for the first time in 11 years, could build a dynasty as their favorite college football program. However, the lawsuit that led EA Sports and other video game developers to <a href="https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/39569777/new-ea-sports-college-football-game-details-features-nil-realignment" rel="nofollow">abandon development of college sports video games</a> to avoid further lawsuits helped college athletes gain control of their name, image and likeness (NIL) and further compensation, altering the financial power structure in college sports.</p><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-large"><div class="ucb-callout-content"><div> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/article-image/jared_browsh_3.jpg?itok=5gCRH_XV" width="750" height="1093" alt="Jared Bahir Browsh"> </div> <p><a href="/ethnicstudies/people/core-faculty/jared-bahir-browsh" rel="nofollow">Jared Bahir Browsh</a> is an assistant teaching professor and director of the <a href="/ethnicstudies/undergraduate-programs-and-resources/critical-sport-studies" rel="nofollow">Critical Sports Studies</a> Program in the <a href="/ethnicstudies/" rel="nofollow">Department of Ethnic Studies</a>.</p></div></div></div><p>In 2009, Ed, O’Bannon—a former UCLA standout named Most Outstanding Player in the 1995 NCAA basketball tournament, which UCLA won—was playing EA Sports’ <em>NCAA Basketball 09 </em>when <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/obannon-v-ncaa-case-challenges-business-model-college-sports-n126241" rel="nofollow">he noticed a starting forward on the team</a> had his same attributes, looks and number, even though he was not named in the game. It was common for sports video games to mirror classic teams—including, in this instance, the 1995 UCLA Bruins.</p><p>Sonny Vaccaro, a legendary basketball marketer, <a href="https://www.on3.com/nil/news/sonny-vaccaro-nil-legacy-movie-air-ed-obannon-case/" rel="nofollow">convinced O’Bannon to file a lawsui</a>t alongside 19 other former college basketball players, including athlete labor and civil rights advocates Oscar Robertson and Bill Russell. In 1970, Robertson, then-president of the NBA players’ association, filed an antitrust suit against the NBA to bring free agency to the NBA, while Russell led a boycott during a 1961 preseason game after several teammates were <a href="https://www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/2022/08/02/bill-russell-boston-celtics-basketball-alastair-moock" rel="nofollow">denied service in segregated Lexington, Kentucky</a>. Both Hall of Famers were part of the boycott of the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1964/01/15/archives/nba-players-threaten-strike-in-dispute-over-pension-plan.html" rel="nofollow">1964 NBA All-Star Game</a> that led to the NBA recognizing the player’s union.</p><p>Along with signing Michael Jordan to Nike, and being played by Matt Damon in the film <em>Air</em>, Vaccaro has long been an advocate for amateur athletes. O’Bannon was an ideal lead plaintiff given that the image in the game was undeniably him, not only matching his height, weight, shaved head and skin tone, but also his left-handedness. O’Bannon was no longer in basketball, so he didn’t risk the retribution that <a href="https://athletesquarterly.com/athletes/oscar-robertson/" rel="nofollow">Robertson and</a> Curt Flood, <a href="https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/curt-flood/" rel="nofollow">the legendary baseball player who challenged the Reserve clause</a> and helped bring free agency to professional sports, both faced.</p><p>The case went to trial in June 2014, and on Aug. 8, Judge Claudia Ann Wilken of the Northern District of California ruled that withholding compensation to student athletes was a violation of antitrust laws. She cited <a href="https://theconversation.com/40-years-ago-the-supreme-court-broke-the-ncaas-lock-on-tv-revenue-reshaping-college-sports-to-this-day-222672" rel="nofollow">NCAA v. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma</a>, which ended the NCAA’s exclusive control of college football television rights 30 years earlier. Immediately before the trial, <a href="https://www.espn.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/11010455/college-athletes-reach-40-million-settlement-ea-sports-ncaa-licensing-arm" rel="nofollow">EA Sports and the Collegiate Licensing Company settled for $40 million</a>, while the NCAA was ordered to pay more than $42 million before appeal—but more importantly, this set the stage for a radical change in college athlete compensation and the structure of college athletics.</p><p>The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/04/sports/ncaa-obannon-case-ruling-supreme-court.html" rel="nofollow">ruled in 2016 that NCAA rules were an unfair restraint on compensation</a>, but amateurism was an important concept to uphold and all compensation needed to be educationally related. As O’Bannon and the other plaintiffs waited for the trial, decision and results of the NCAA appeal, a number of other current and former student athletes also filed suit. Eventually, those lawsuits were combined into a class action suit, <a href="https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-135/ncaa-v-alston/#footnote-ref-18" rel="nofollow">NCAA v. Alston</a>, with Judge Wilken ruling against the NCAA and confirming that the organization placed an unfair restraint on compensation.</p><p>In 2019, California passed the first state law that permitted athletes to be compensated for NIL; the NCAA began allowing such compensation in 2021, although<a href="https://www.ncsasports.org/name-image-likeness" rel="nofollow"> laws related to NIL still vary by state.</a></p><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-xlarge"><div class="ucb-callout-content"><div> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/article-image/ed_obannon.jpg?itok=aU8MzYRn" width="750" height="478" alt="Ed O'Bannon playing for UCLA and in video game likeness"> </div> <p>Ed O'Bannon as a UCLA player (left) and in video game likeness in EA Sports' <em>NCAA Basketball 09</em>. (Photos: Al Bello/Getty Images, left, and EA Sports, right)</p></div></div></div><p>In 2021, the Alston case reached the U.S. Supreme Court, whose majority decision stated that blocking compensation beyond educational benefits was an antitrust violation, ultimately ending the O’Bannon case seven years after Wilken’s original decision. Wilken also heard the recent case <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5660945/2024/07/26/ncaa-house-settlement-college-sports/" rel="nofollow">House v. NCAA</a>, in which the defendants—including the power conferences ACC, SEC, Big 10, Big 12 and Pac 12—agreed to a settlement allowing revenue sharing between schools, conferences and student athletes. The House case also ended scholarship limits, instead instituting roster caps and <a href="https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2024/05/duke-athletics-ncaa-house-settlement-nil-revenue-sharing-college-sports-hubbard-carter" rel="nofollow">potentially opening up to nearly 800 more scholarships for Division-I schools.</a></p><p>Several cases are still undecided, including the Dartmouth College Basketball players’ lawsuit, <a href="https://www.thedartmouth.com/article/2024/08/wang-landmark-case-for-student-athletes-moves-forward" rel="nofollow">Johnson v. NCAA</a>, which is another effort for college athletes to be recognized as employees of the school, which is supported by the National Labor Relations Board. There is another lawsuit that was filed by former University of Kansas guard <a href="https://apnews.com/article/march-madness-lawsuit-df283cf473400c0cbf739ae1bff22486#:~:text=The%20lawsuit%20says%20the%20NCAA,Southern%20District%20of%20New%20York." rel="nofollow">Mario Chalmers and other former players</a> immediately after the House settlement. Chalmers and his co-claimants allege that the NCAA and media partners utilize the images of former athletes without permission to market college sports and March Madness.</p><p>No single lawsuit can untangle the web of NCAA control that schools and athletes have been challenging for nearly half a century. It is also important to note much of this has been driven by the growth of media money, first through television rights and now branding and expanded access through digital media, which includes video games, streaming and social media platforms.</p><p>The NCAA still remains one of the most influential sporting organizations in the world, as evidenced by the <a href="http://www.ncaa.org/sports/2024/4/3/olympics-games.aspx" rel="nofollow">Summer Olympics and Paralympics</a>, in which hundreds of athletes earned medals in Paris after training at NCAA-affiliated universities. As these successful athletes bring attention—and money—to their schools, they deserve a fair share of the revenue. It is important not to forget Ed O’Bannon’s role in facilitating a more equitable compensation system for student-athletes.</p><p><em>Top image: The cover of EA Sports' </em>College Football 25<em>, featuring Travis Hunter in the center. (Photo: EA Sports)</em></p><hr><p><em>Did you enjoy this article?&nbsp;</em><a href="https://cu.tfaforms.net/73" rel="nofollow"><em>Subscribe to our newsletter.</em></a><em>&nbsp;Passionate about critical sports studies?&nbsp;</em><a href="https://www.givecampus.com/campaigns/50245/donations/" rel="nofollow"><em>Show your support.</em></a></p><p>&nbsp;</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>Fifteen years after Ed O’Bannon’s groundbreaking lawsuit, college athletes continue to benefit from greater control of their name, image and likeness.</div> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Related Articles</div> </div> </h2> <div>Traditional</div> <div>0</div> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/feature-title-image/college_football_25_0.jpg?itok=L2qxbiKT" width="1500" height="821" alt> </div> </div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Mon, 26 Aug 2024 23:31:50 +0000 Anonymous 5958 at /asmagazine Carrying a torch for country and sports /asmagazine/2024/07/25/carrying-torch-country-and-sports <span>Carrying a torch for country and sports</span> <span><span>Anonymous (not verified)</span></span> <span><time datetime="2024-07-25T09:19:49-06:00" title="Thursday, July 25, 2024 - 09:19">Thu, 07/25/2024 - 09:19</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/article-thumbnail/olympics_fans.jpg?h=650b38ea&amp;itok=oayCgSRK" width="1200" height="800" alt="Olympics fans"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/30"> News </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/913" hreflang="en">Critical Sports Studies</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/1240" hreflang="en">Division of Social Sciences</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/484" hreflang="en">Ethnic Studies</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/686" hreflang="en">Research</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/1053" hreflang="en">community</a> </div> <a href="/asmagazine/rachel-sauer">Rachel Sauer</a> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default 3"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><p class="lead"><em>As the 2024 Olympics begin in Paris, Ҵýƽ scholar Jared Bahir Browsh considers how nationalism can inform and influence the games</em></p><hr><p>During the long jump medal ceremony of the 1906 Olympics in Athens, Greece, second-place finisher <a href="https://heritage.wicklowheritage.org/places/wicklow_town/peter_oconnor_olympic_champion" rel="nofollow">Peter O’Connor</a>, an Irish athlete unhappy with having to accept his medal under the flag of Great Britain, climbed the 20-foot flagpole and waved a large green flag proclaiming “<em>Erin Go Bragh</em> (Ireland Forever).” Two of his Irish teammates stood at the base of the flagpole to fend off members of the Greek military.</p><p>O’Connor’s flag waving was seen not just as a political protest in support of Irish Home Rule, but a statement of nationalism.</p><p>Since the Olympic Games were revived in 1896—and perhaps even in the ancient games when male athletes from various city-states competed—the Olympics have been touted, per the <a href="https://stillmed.olympics.com/media/Document%20Library/OlympicOrg/General/EN-Olympic-Charter.pdf" rel="nofollow">Olympic Charter</a>, as placing “sport at the service of the harmonious development of humankind, with a view to promoting a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity.”</p><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-large"><div class="ucb-callout-content"><div> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/article-image/jared_browsh_2.jpg?itok=lk-a9OW9" width="750" height="1093" alt="Jared Bahir Browsh"> </div> <p>“Sports can be a symbol and a surrogate for what’s happening politically, socially and economically in a country and between one country and another," says&nbsp;Jared Bahir Browsh, a Ҵýƽ assistant teaching professor in the Department of Ethnic Studies and incoming director of the Critical Sports Studies program.</p></div></div></div><p>However, when the 2024 Olympic Games open in Paris Friday, they are just as likely to be noteworthy for national anthems and national flags, for fans’ faces painted in homage to their countries and for national rivalries that can range from good-natured to tense and geopolitically fraught.</p><p>“At the international level of the Olympics, it can be really difficult to separate sports from nationalism,” says <a href="/ethnicstudies/people/core-faculty/jared-bahir-browsh" rel="nofollow">Jared Bahir Browsh</a>, a University of Colorado Boulder assistant teaching professor in the <a href="/ethnicstudies/" rel="nofollow">Department of Ethnic Studies</a> and incoming director of the <a href="/ethnicstudies/undergraduate-programs-and-resources/critical-sport-studies" rel="nofollow">Critical Sports Studies</a> program. “Sports can be a symbol and a surrogate for what’s happening politically, socially and economically in a country and between one country and another.</p><p>“So, any time we have these big, international events—the Olympics, the FIFA World Cup, the Cricket World Cup—you can see these interactions between nations, and see these issues bubbling up, in a way that might not happen on the floor of the United Nations.”</p><p><strong>Modern Olympic origins</strong></p><p>Despite what author George Orwell <a href="https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-foundation/orwell/essays-and-other-works/the-sporting-spirit/" rel="nofollow">declared about international sporting competitions</a>—that they are “war minus the shooting”—when Baron Pierre de Coubertin proposed reviving the ancient Olympic Games, he is generally credited with proposing them in good, if myopic and culturally appropriating, faith.</p><p>“Wars break out because nations misunderstand each other,” <a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/pierre-de-coubertin/peace-through-sport" rel="nofollow">de Coubertin said</a>. “We shall not have peace until the prejudices that now separate the different races are outlived. To attain this end, what better means is there than to bring the youth of all countries periodically together for amicable trials of muscular strength and agility?”</p><p>However, Browsh says, the notion that all are equal on the playing fields of sport ignores centuries of economic disparities and social inequity between nations. “The infrastructure and systems that countries have to train athletes vary widely. High-income nations a lot of times are who you see represented on the medal stand because they’re able to spend huge amounts of money on getting their athletes there.</p><p>“So, that might reinforce this capitalist idea that wealthy nations are somehow more deserving of gold medals, which perpetuates inequity and the narrative of dominance.”</p><p>The Olympics also, perhaps inevitably, are shaped by world events happening at the time the games take place, Browsh adds, citing the infamous <a href="https://www.history.com/news/blood-in-the-water-1956-olympic-water-polo-hungary-ussr" rel="nofollow">“Blood in the Water”</a> water polo match between Hungary and the USSR at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. The match happened a few weeks after Soviet forces violently quashed the Hungarian Revolution, and from the starting whistle it devolved into punching and kicking before referees halted the match early and named Hungary the winner.</p><p>And since the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Taiwan—officially known as the Republic of China—has competed as Chinese Taipei as a result of the <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2759241?seq=6" rel="nofollow">Nagoya Resolution</a> and International Olympic Committee concessions to the People’s Republic of China.</p><p><strong>Thinking about the Olympics</strong></p><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-xlarge"><div class="ucb-callout-content"><div> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/article-image/olympic_rings_at_the_trocadero_1.jpg?itok=_0UVKvKS" width="750" height="750" alt="Olympic rings in front of Eiffel Tower"> </div> <p>The Olympic rings illuminated in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. (Photo:&nbsp;Stéphane Kempinaire/Paris 2024)</p></div></div></div><p>The Paris Olympics are happening at an interesting and fraught time around the world, Browsh says, with nationalism continuing to grow not just in the United States, but throughout Europe, Central and South America, Asia and Africa.</p><p>“In a way, we might see sports as helping define who we are as a nation,” Browsh says. “We might see our athletes as symbols of our national strength, and when they’re successful, that might get translated into a sense of rightness or even superiority.”</p><p>While <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/00207659.2017.1264835?needAccess=true" rel="nofollow">a 2017 study</a> by the Norwegian School of Sport Science found that educational attainment and income correlate with levels of sports nationalism—in general, the higher both are, the lower the sense of sports nationalism—the Olympic Games are unique “because suddenly, as a spectator, you’re really invested in a sport that you may never even think about the rest of the time,” Browsh says. “For these 16 days, you’re watching this sport and really cheering for your country.”</p><p>In a <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/08/12/the-olympic-spirit-is-unbridled-rabid-nationalism/" rel="nofollow">2016 essay for Foreign Policy</a>, scholar David Clay Large observed of the Olympics, “In part, it’s the beauty of supreme athleticism and the sizzle of carefully choreographed spectacle. But, more fundamentally, it’s the games’ capacity to dip repeatedly into a deep well of communal passion harbored by competitors and spectators alike. Whatever the organizational inadequacies and logistical screw-ups, these purported celebrations of one-world togetherness succeed because they indulge precisely what they claim to transcend: the world’s basest instinct for tribalism.”</p><p>However, Browsh says, “these are going to be incredible games. I’ll be watching and celebrating these athletes.”</p><p>Perhaps more than any other international athletic competition, the Olympics have given rise to incandescent moments of achievement and perseverance, to athletes transcending their various nations’ politics and coming together in genuine fellowship, to fans at home pausing their desire to beat the commies and happily cheering for the athletes from another country.</p><p>As spectators, Browsh says, whether it’s a matter of compartmentalizing concerns about corruption in the IOC or fears of toxic nationalism or negotiating how to celebrate athletes’ hard work while not unquestioningly accepting nation building, “love of sport is a factor in that negotiation. We ignore some of the corruptions of the media, for example, to enjoy our favorite TV show. We negotiate these spaces in order to get some joy out of life.</p><p>“Like with a lot of things, I think there needs to be a level of criticality when we consider the Olympics. I’m not saying we should stop watching or stop enjoying them—that’s not something I’d ever want to do—but I am saying we should think about them and how we can do them better.”</p><p><em>Top image:&nbsp;Robert Laberge/Getty Images</em></p><hr><p><em>Did you enjoy this article?&nbsp;</em><a href="https://cu.tfaforms.net/73" rel="nofollow"><em>Subscribe to our newsletter.</em></a><em>&nbsp;Passionate about ethnic studies?&nbsp;</em><a href="https://giving.cu.edu/fund/ethnic-studies-general-gift-fund" rel="nofollow"><em>Show your support.</em></a></p><p>&nbsp;</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>As the 2024 Olympics begin in Paris, Ҵýƽ scholar Jared Bahir Browsh considers how nationalism can inform and influence the games.</div> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Related Articles</div> </div> </h2> <div>Traditional</div> <div>0</div> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/feature-title-image/olympics_fans.jpg?itok=ZZz66MUd" width="1500" height="816" alt> </div> </div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Thu, 25 Jul 2024 15:19:49 +0000 Anonymous 5941 at /asmagazine