Articles By: Dave Zirin

Dave Zirin

Named of the UTNE Reader's "50 Visionaries Who Are Changing Our World", Dave Zirin writes about the politics of sports for the Nation Magazine. He is their first sports writer in 150 years of existence. Zirin is also the host of Sirius XM Radio's popular weekly show, Edge of Sports Radio. He has been called "the best sportswriter in the United States," by Robert Lipsyte. Dave Zirin is, in addition, a columnist for SLAM Magazine, the Progressive, and a regular op-ed writer for the Los Angeles Times. He was Press Action's 2005 and 2006 Sportswriter of the year. His latest book is "A People's History of Sports in the United States," part of Howard Zinn's People's History series for the New Press. As former Yankee and Ball Four author Jim Bouton said of this work, "Finally, the long-awaited prequel to all the sports books you've ever read. Put this first in the line of sports books on your shelf. It will help make sense of all the others." He is also the author of "Welcome to the Terrordome: The Pain, Politics, and Promise of Sports" (with a foreword by the immortal Chuck D.). Sports Illustrated wrote that Terrordome is "a provocative, sometimes chilling, look at sports and society right now." His first book "What's My Name, Fool?" Sports and Resistance in the United States" (Haymarket Books) has entered its third printing and is available in stores and at haymarketbooks.org. Zirin has brought his blend of sports and politics to multiple television programs including ESPN's Outside the Lines, MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann, ESPN Classic, MSNBC's Morning Joe, CNN's The Campbell Brown Show, MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show, Comcast Sports Network's Washington Post Live, Al-Jazeera's The Riz Khan Show, C-SPAN's BookTV, and Democracy Now with Amy Goodman. He has also been on numerous national radio programs including National Public Radio's Talk of the Nation and All Things Considered; Air America's 'On the Real' with Chuck D; The Laura Flanders Show; ESPN radio; Stars and Stripes Radio; The Joe Madison Show; Pacifica's Hard Knock Radio, and many others. He is also a weekly commentator for Canada's Hard Core Sports Radio. Zirin has debated FOX Sports president Ed Goren on college football's Bowl Championship Series for National Public Radio, Bridgestone Firestone President Dan Adomitis in the pages of the LA Times on whether his company should be the "official tire of the Super Bowl" while in court for using child labor in Liberia, and the issue of steroids in sports with Jose Canseco and John Rocker. His writing has also appeared in the Washington Post, the New York Daily News, New York Newsday, the Baltimore Sun, the Houston Chronicle, the San Francisco Chronicle, The Pittsburgh Courier, The Source, and numerous other publications.

Profiles in desecration: Lebron James, Nike, and Muhammad Ali

Profiles in desecration: Lebron James, Nike, and Muhammad Ali
First posted at thenation.com There are certain phrases so imbued with history, their mere recitation evokes a reaction. To hear the words “I have a dream” or “we shall not be moved” is to be involuntarily flooded with awe. For an advertising executive, the operative emotion...
November 15th, 2010 | Featured, Sports | Read More

Flotilla fallout: Are teams right to refuse to play Israel?

Flotilla fallout: Are teams right to refuse to play Israel?
“[We are] saddened by the mixture of politics and sports.” So said a spokesperson for the Israeli Football Association in response to Monday’s news that the Turkish U-19 (under 19) soccer team canceled its match in Israel. Turkey’s team made the move following the Israeli Navy’s...
June 3rd, 2010 | Featured, Sports | Read More

Chuck D on the fight in Arizona

Chuck D on the fight in Arizona
Chuck D. The Hard Rhymer. The man on the mic for the most politically explosive hip-hop group in history, Public Enemy. With albums like “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back,” “Fear of a Black Planet,” and anthems like “Fight the Power” and “Bring the Noise” along with the...
May 19th, 2010 | Featured, Sports | Read More

Los Suns also rise: Phoenix Suns win in more ways than one

Los Suns also rise: Phoenix Suns win in more ways than one
Anyone who believes that sports can’t be an effective platform for social justice, needed only to watch last night’s game between Los Suns of Phoenix and the San Antonio Spurs. The unprecedented decision by the entire Suns organization – from owner Robert Sarver to star players Amar’e...
May 10th, 2010 | Sports | Read More

“A New Era”: Here come the Suns

“A New Era”: Here come the Suns
Originally published in the Nation A battle has been joined for the very soul of Arizona. On one side, there are the Minutemen, the craven state Republican lawmakers, Governor Jan Brewer, and the utterly unprincipled John McCain, all supporting SB 1070, a law that codifies racial profiling of immigrants...
May 4th, 2010 | Sports | Read More

Bud Selig: The choice is yours

Bud Selig: The choice is yours
In the wake of the passage of Arizona’s anti-immigrant Senate Bill 1070, Major League Baseball has been under an increasingly hot spotlight. Boycotts and protests have been called against MLB’s Arizona Diamondbacks. Teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim...
May 4th, 2010 | Featured, Immigration, Sports | Read More