Dave Zirin, a prominent speaker on politics in sports, spoke to a packed audience of students, faculty and community members in the CSU East Bay Theater Feb. 15.
Zirin spoke for around 45 minutes and was the first speaker brought in for the inaugural event, sponsored by the Department of Kinesiology and CSUEB’s Center for Sport and Social Justice
The event first opened up with Dr. Rita Liberti, Director of the Center for Sport and Social Justice, who started by giving a background of the Center for Sport and Social Justice.
“Our aim is to engage, discuss, explore and debate the cultural work at work in sport,” explained Dr. Liberti.
“It’s past and present offers us a unique window onto a larger world – an opportunity to examine and sometimes make sense of broader social issues and tensions. Sport matters and we take it seriously.”
Liberti was followed by Dean Carolyn Nelson of the College of Education and Allied Studies, who spoke briefly before the keynote speaker Zirin was welcomed to the stage by Liberti with a round of applause from the crowd.
After being praised by Liberti, Zirin, dressed in a black polo shirt and jeans, first began with a Tim Tebow and Jeremy Lin joke that caused laughter from the crowd.
“That was a little over the top,” joked Zirin. “That praise far outstrips my abilities; I feel like Tim Tebow.”
Zirin asked the crowd how many were diehard sports fans and then began to give his background into the world of sports.
“I just loved sports,” exclaimed Zirin. “I never thought about the politics of sports…sports [was] just something to do.”
1996 changed Zirin’s view on politics in sports when former Denver Nuggets guard Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf used to refuse to stand for the National Anthem before games, stating that the flag was a symbol of oppression and tyranny to other countries outside the United States.
It was then that Zirin heard on ESPN that Abdul-Rauf was one of many athlete activists, like Muhammad Ali, and began to research.
“Athlete activist; what the hell is that? That was the first step for me. I went to the library and tried to find out what it was,” said Zirin. “And it was there in bits and pieces but it also wasn’t really there, like an actual history of sports and resistance in the United States.”
Zirin then continued to talk about different “athlete activists” such as Ali and Olympic medalists Tommie Smith and John Carlos, who gave a black power salute during the medal ceremony of the 1968 Olympics.
When researching, he had many moments where he sat back and felt lied to because information he learned previously was different.
“I found what I thought I knew wasn’t true,” said Zirin.
Zirin discussed how it was impossible to ignore sports in politics, especially after the Jack Johnson versus Jim Jeffries heavyweight boxing match.
“When people say sports aren’t political…before the fight at the press conference Jim Jeffries said, ‘I’m going into this fight for one reason and one reason only and that is to prove the white man is better than the negro,’” explained Zirin.
He then discussed how after Jack Johnson won there were celebrations in African-American communities and lynch mobs would come and challenge the celebrations, it became the largest race riot until the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
It was all because of sports.
After his speech, Zirin fielded questions that ranged from whether Pete Rose should be in the Hall of Fame to whether or not the City of Oakland should own the Raiders.
After listening to him, Liberti and students felt he was the right choice to speak at this event.
“He was our number one choice. I think his presence will encourage others to come to campus now that he’s been here,” expressed Dr. Liberti.
“It [his speech] was enlightening and I learned a lot. I’m not a big sports person but I appreciated how the sport can be a microcosm of society, and how things that happen in sport happen in the world,” said Kinesiology major Sarah Arnett.
