I’ve been genuinely moved this week (proof that it can still happen!) watching the leadership the NBA has shown with their protests against the injustices that cumulated with the police shooting of Jacob Blake, and it was Sarah who reminded me that ESPN documentary series 30 For 30 “has been highlighting racial injustice and racist coverage for a decade.” (Also, don’t forget Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who lost his dad to gun violence.)
And for every athlete like Colin Kaepernick who advocates against crimes committed by the police, there’s one who’s committed a crime of his own, from Oscar Pistorius (Pistorius, the four-part doc on his crimes, is streaming on Prime) to Netflix’s Aaron Hernandez. And even if you’re one of those people who calls it “sportsball” with a sneer, you’re missing out if you haven’t read Game Of Shadows, a book that shook up athletes from every discipline and almost sent its authors to jail.
Sports is a fertile ground for true crime, is what I’m saying, a potent combination of ambition, brawn, money, desperation, and sudden success that often sets its stars up to be victims and perpetrators. When you think about sports and crime, what comes first to your mind? Is it a field that seems more inclined toward shenanigans, or is that just a matter of perception? How did I get this far before I even thought of GYMNASTICS oh my god?
Anyway. We might not have much in the way of sports to watch these days, so let’s make up for it here. — EB
Game of Shadows is one of my favorites! I'm not a sports person per se (with the exception of college hoops, which as a native North Carolinian is practically required), but sports are of course a microcosm of societal and cultural issues and so I do enjoy a lot of sports commentary (Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post, we Stan; I enjoy Pardon the Interruption and once my husband and I got to sit in on a taping which was delightful). Sexual assault and sports is an area where a lot of important reckoning is happening. Gymnastics of course, but also college football. A couple of titles to recommend on that topic beyond Missoula: Unsportsmanlike Conduct by Jessica Luther and Scoreboard Baby by Ken Armstrong.
Very coincidentally I just finished watching Outcry and the episode of The Innocence Files that featured Patricia Cummings, Greg Kelley’s trial lawyer for his sexual assault trial. I spent most of last night wondering whether she is as black as she was painted in Outcry, or whether she was simply so determined to protect her own reputation that she was willing to damage her former client further in the process. Then I thought about poor Kelley, just trying to get back on the football field, and finally getting his name cleared, getting into UT and attempting to get a walk-on in ooops! 2020, which is not the best year for team sports. No wonder I only got about three hours of sleep. I also love anything 30-for-30, but recommend Buzz Bissinger’s book, Friday Night Lights, which you can practically smell from my bookshelf. Also, Bernard Lefkowitz’s Ou Guys, about the Glen Ridge rape is another great read that ties the hero worship around athletics to a much larger problem. And because I love hockey more than anything, The Game by Ken Dryden - the only crime there is that he quit playing too soon!
When I think of sports and crime, the first things that come to mind are Hillsborough - which is the subject of a lot of good coverage, including an excellent episode of landmark UK drama Cracker - and the HART protests against the Springbok rugby tour in NZ. HART was less about crime than politics, but it did show NZers police brutality & racism up close for one of the first times, and there's a great documentary on Netflix called Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen. It's about a female filmmaker whose involvement in the HART protests leads to police raids on her house.
I think sports, as an offshoot of the entertainment industry, is a field that tends to inflate egos to an unhealthy degree, and with those comes both a propensity for cheating or cutting corners as well as a sense of (if not outright literal) immunity from consequences. Let’s just say that that combination is more likely to create a Barry Bonds than a Cal Ripken Jr.
I always think of university athletes committing crimes, mostly because both the public universities in my state have had scandals associated with this (John Krakauer even wrote a book about one of those universities).
Crime And Social Justice: Talking About Sports
Game of Shadows is one of my favorites! I'm not a sports person per se (with the exception of college hoops, which as a native North Carolinian is practically required), but sports are of course a microcosm of societal and cultural issues and so I do enjoy a lot of sports commentary (Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post, we Stan; I enjoy Pardon the Interruption and once my husband and I got to sit in on a taping which was delightful). Sexual assault and sports is an area where a lot of important reckoning is happening. Gymnastics of course, but also college football. A couple of titles to recommend on that topic beyond Missoula: Unsportsmanlike Conduct by Jessica Luther and Scoreboard Baby by Ken Armstrong.
Very coincidentally I just finished watching Outcry and the episode of The Innocence Files that featured Patricia Cummings, Greg Kelley’s trial lawyer for his sexual assault trial. I spent most of last night wondering whether she is as black as she was painted in Outcry, or whether she was simply so determined to protect her own reputation that she was willing to damage her former client further in the process. Then I thought about poor Kelley, just trying to get back on the football field, and finally getting his name cleared, getting into UT and attempting to get a walk-on in ooops! 2020, which is not the best year for team sports. No wonder I only got about three hours of sleep. I also love anything 30-for-30, but recommend Buzz Bissinger’s book, Friday Night Lights, which you can practically smell from my bookshelf. Also, Bernard Lefkowitz’s Ou Guys, about the Glen Ridge rape is another great read that ties the hero worship around athletics to a much larger problem. And because I love hockey more than anything, The Game by Ken Dryden - the only crime there is that he quit playing too soon!
When I think of sports and crime, the first things that come to mind are Hillsborough - which is the subject of a lot of good coverage, including an excellent episode of landmark UK drama Cracker - and the HART protests against the Springbok rugby tour in NZ. HART was less about crime than politics, but it did show NZers police brutality & racism up close for one of the first times, and there's a great documentary on Netflix called Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen. It's about a female filmmaker whose involvement in the HART protests leads to police raids on her house.
I think sports, as an offshoot of the entertainment industry, is a field that tends to inflate egos to an unhealthy degree, and with those comes both a propensity for cheating or cutting corners as well as a sense of (if not outright literal) immunity from consequences. Let’s just say that that combination is more likely to create a Barry Bonds than a Cal Ripken Jr.
I always think of university athletes committing crimes, mostly because both the public universities in my state have had scandals associated with this (John Krakauer even wrote a book about one of those universities).