Sport Issues
Major League Baseball season on brink of collapse as COVID-19 continues to spread
By Alan Gilman, 3 August 2020
New positive cases have continued to emerge since the first outbreak in the Miami Marlins, causing postponement of 20 percent of last weekend’s games.
Major League Baseball confronted with major COVID-19 outbreak
By Alan Gilman, 29 July 2020
Seventeen members of the Miami Marlins have tested positive for COVID-19 since the weekend, exposing a complete disregard for basic safety precautions.
Texas revises its coronavirus death tally upward by 12 percent
By Bryan Dyne, 28 July 2020
If a similar revision were made to the fatality rate across the US, more than 18,000 new deaths would have to be added to the national toll.
COVID-19 disrupts reopening of US professional sports
By Alan Gilman, 11 July 2020
Professional baseball, basketball, football and soccer are all attempting to resume play without live audiences, but dozens of athletes have fallen victim to coronavirus.
The Last Dance: Basketball star Michael Jordan and professional sports in the 1990s
By Omar Ali, 3 July 2020
The recently released documentary miniseries The Last Dance chronicles the championship season of the 1998 Chicago Bulls, with particular focus on the figure of superstar Michael Jordan.
US professional sports confront an opponent that may be unbeatable: COVID-19
By Alan Gilman, 27 June 2020
Major League Baseball plans to begin play during the pandemic, but as with the other professional sports, and college football, the hope of resuming in the midst of the pandemic seems delusional.
Major League Baseball plans to open season in midst of pandemic
By Alan Gilman, 1 June 2020
As baseball finalizes its reopening plan, the monetary interests of the owners continue to supersede the health and welfare of the players, their families and their communities.
Project Restart: English Premier League puts profit first, players’ health a poor second
By Paul Bond, 25 May 2020
The government aims to use televised play to break down public support for social distancing. The PL’s concerns are more directly financial.
After weeks of delay
Major US professional sport leagues shut down seasons
By Alan Gilman, 13 March 2020
The shutdown has extended to college and university athletics, including the NCAA national basketball tournament.
Australian PM compels minister to resign over sports grants pork-barrelling
By Mike Head, 3 February 2020
Morrison’s removal of McKenzie will intensify the turmoil within the increasingly discredited government and the entire political establishment.
Steven Soderbergh’s High Flying Bird: Sports and racial politics
By Joanne Laurier, 1 February 2020
Steven Soderbergh’s latest film High Flying Bird concerns itself with a fictional National Basketball Association (NBA) lockout, but is essentially an accommodation to identity politics.
The sudden death of basketball great Kobe Bryant produces shock and tributes worldwide
By Alan Gilman, 29 January 2020
The retired basketball star and his teenage daughter were among nine victims of a helicopter crash near Los Angeles.
New doping provocation against Russia prior to 2020 Olympics
By Kevin Reed, 12 December 2019
A four-year ban has been imposed on Russian athletes participating in international competition, including the upcoming Summer Olympics in 2020 and Winter Olympics in 2022.
Ford v Ferrari: Life at high speed
By Joanne Laurier, 27 November 2019
Ford v Ferrari recounts Ford Motor Company’s bid to unseat Ferrari as the reigning champion of Le Mans in the 1960s. The Professor and the Madman tells the fascinating story of the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary .
Remembrance Day and Rearmament:
Why Canada’s elite finally turned on notorious right-wing hockey commentator Don Cherry
By Carl Bronski, 14 November 2019
Don Cherry, the long-time intermission commentator on the iconic “Hockey Night in Canada” television broadcast, was fired Monday after delivering the latest in a decades-long string of right-wing, xenophobic rants.
National Football League continues blacklisting of Colin Kaepernick
By Alan Gilman, 23 September 2019
Despite one-fifth of starting quarterbacks unable to play because of injuries, the National Football League owners continue to refuse to give Colin Kaepernick a tryout, let alone hire him.
Star quarterback Andrew Luck stuns National Football League by retiring at 29
By Alan Gilman, 2 September 2019
The devastating physical and mental toll that professional football players have to endure is compelling some to retire at the height of their careers.
NFL settles Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid’s collusion grievance
By Alan Gilman, 19 February 2019
Kaepernick drew national attention during the 2016 season when he knelt during the national anthem before games to protest social injustice, in particular police killings of African-Americans.
As National Football League season opens
Nike unveils ad featuring blacklisted quarterback Colin Kaepernick
By Alan Gilman, 10 September 2018
The National Football League season has opened against the backdrop of Colin Kaepernick becoming the face of Nike’s new “Just Do It” campaign and a ruling allowing his collusion lawsuit against the NFL to go forward.
NFL players national anthem protests resume at first preseason games
By Alan Gilman, 13 August 2018
Despite attempts by the League, various owners, and Trump to stop player protests, several continued to protest for social justice, equality and against police violence.
France wins football World Cup
By Anthony Torres, 16 July 2018
This Cup, marked by many surprise eliminations of top teams, ended with a match between two countries, France and Croatia, that were far from the favorites to win.
Trump rescinds Philadelphia Eagles’ White House invitation in latest provocation against NFL players
By Alan Gilman, 6 June 2018
On Monday, the day before the football team was to be honored for their Super Bowl championship at the White House, President Donald Trump disinvited the team.
NFL issues new policy forbidding anthem protests by players
By Matthew Taylor, 25 May 2018
The action was a capitulation to President Trump’s bullying, as well as an expression of the owners’ own hostility to players’ protests against police violence.
Leaked audio tapes reveal NFL owners feared both Trump and player protests
By Alan Gilman, 4 May 2018
The tape recording of a secret NFL meeting of owners and players to discuss Colin Kaepernick and Donald Trump was leaked to the New York Times.
Fate of London Stadium epitomises toxic “Olympic legacy”
Part one
By Paul Bond, 30 April 2018
The former Olympic Stadium, which has already cost taxpayers more than £750 million, has left a legacy of corporate venality, corruption and graft.
Craig Gillespie’s I, Tonya: Confessions of a media pariah
By Carlos Delgado, 12 March 2018
The film depicts the life and times of Tonya Harding, the former Olympic figure skater who became the center of a media firestorm after the assault on rival Nancy Kerrigan in 1994.
Money paid to college basketball players reveals the profit greed of the NCAA
By Alan Gilman, 9 March 2018
The widespread corruption that has become the norm in college basketball shows how its unpaid “student-athletes” have been exploited by a multibillion-dollar enterprise.
2018 Winter Olympics held in Korea under shadow of war
By Will Morrow, 13 February 2018
This Olympics, like those that have preceded it, has been dominated by extreme expressions of nationalism and chauvinism, particularly by the US.
CNN suppressed leaked DHS report on Super Bowl LII security operation
By Matthew Taylor, 7 February 2018
CNN’s decision to withhold their report until after the Super Bowl illustrates the media’s role as collaborators with, and mouthpieces of, the military intelligence apparatus.
International Olympic Committee bans Russia from 2018 Olympics in political provocation
By Josh Varlin, 6 December 2017
The move is intended to humiliate and isolate Russia, facilitating a long-term campaign by US imperialism to remove Russia as an obstacle to American hegemony.
Wisconsin construction worker falls to death while working on Milwaukee Bucks stadium
By Jessica Goldstein, 3 November 2017
Few details have been released about the tragic death last week of an electrician who fell from a ladder at the construction site of the new $524 million stadium.
As Trump presses owners to fire protesting athletes
NFL commissioner says football players should stand for national anthem
By Alan Gilman, 19 October 2017
In an angry tweet Wednesday, Trump complained that the NFL owners had decided not to force players to stand for the national anthem.
Kaepernick seeks arbitration over NFL blacklisting
By Alan Gilman, 16 October 2017
The star quarterback has been denied a chance to play in the league because of his role in sparking protests over racial inequality and police violence.
NFL commissioner announces plans against anthem protests
By Trévon Austin, 12 October 2017
NFL Commisioner Roger Goodell and a number of team owners are taking measures to punish football players who kneel during the anthem.
Trump and Pence orchestrate national anthem provocation at NFL game
By Alan Gilman, 10 October 2017
Pence and his wife left the Indianapolis stadium after about 20 members of the San Francisco 49ers “took a knee” during the national anthem.
Intensifying his attack on NFL players, Trump continues to incite the ultra-right
By Alan Gilman, 28 September 2017
Donald Trump has continued his campaign of threats against protesting professional football players and other athletes.
Behind Trump’s attack on the NFL football players
By Patrick Martin, 26 September 2017
Trump’s attacks on NFL players for “disrespecting” the national anthem are a calculated effort to whip up racism and militarism.
Former football star Aaron Hernandez had advanced brain damage
By Alan Gilman, 26 September 2017
Once a star for the New England Patriots, Hernandez committed suicide earlier this year while serving a life sentence for murder.
In defiance of Trump threats, US athletes protest police repression
By Patrick Martin, 25 September 2017
In a campaign speech in Alabama and multiple Twitter messages, the US president demanded total conformity from athletes with his policies of police repression and militarism.
The National Football League’s blacklisting of quarterback Colin Kaepernick
By Alan Gilman, 7 September 2017
Last season, while playing for the San Francisco 49ers, Kaepernick began kneeling during the national anthem in protest against police killings of African Americans in the US.
New York high school football player killed during military-style practice drill
By Warren Duzak, 14 August 2017
Joshua Mileto, a 16-year-old high school football player, was killed last week while participating in a group exercise designed for US Navy SEALs.
Brain damage found in 99 percent of deceased NFL players
By Alan Gilman, 28 July 2017
The study showed that repeated head injuries cause chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
Australian cricket pay dispute escalates
By Oscar Grenfell, 15 July 2017
Cricketing administrators are seeking to boost their control over billions of dollars of broadcasting and online streaming revenue.
Former NFL star Aaron Hernandez found dead in his prison cell
By Alan Gilman, 21 April 2017
On the day that his former teammates were being honored at the White House, former New England Patriot Aaron Hernandez was found dead in his prison cell.
New England Patriots players plan to boycott meeting with Trump
By Alan Gilman, 13 February 2017
Six players from the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots have announced they will not attend a White House event to be held in their honor.
New accusations of Russian state-sponsored doping
By Andrea Peters, 13 December 2016
Authorities have responded to new allegations of doping to demand the indefinite exclusion of Russian athletes from international sports competitions.
US national anthem protests at sporting events continue to spread
By Alan Gilman, 28 September 2016
Quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s refusal to stand for the national anthem before NFL games, in protest of racial injustice and police brutality, has continued to gain support.
NFL football players spread protests over police violence, racism
By Alan Gilman, 20 September 2016
The protest begun by San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick over police violence and racial oppression has been taken up by other athletes.
Professional football quarterback Colin Kaepernick protests US police killings
By Alan Gilman, 30 August 2016
The San Francisco 49ers quarterback refused to stand for the national anthem, protesting the relentless promotion of the police and military during professional sports games.
Russian athletes barred from Paralympic Games
By Andrea Peters, 25 August 2016
In the latest salvo against Russia, the world’s top court of sports has ruled that the country’s disabled athletes cannot participate in the upcoming games.
Cohen of the Times on Rio Olympics: “I’m tired of reading about anger in the slums”
By Bill Van Auken, 17 August 2016
Cohen’s column sums up the social attitudes of a whole privileged layer, who are indifferent to inequality, despise the working class and have embraced imperialism as a necessary foundation of their wealth.
Rio Olympics: Reviving the methods of dictatorship
By Rafael Azul, 9 August 2016
The opening days of the Summer Olympic Games have proven that the Brazilian authorities have zero tolerance for even minimal forms of protest.
Rio 2016: The “Olympic ideal” and the reality of capitalism
By Bill Van Auken, 8 August 2016
The Olympics are being held under conditions of military occupation in Brazil, one of the world’s must unequal countries, wracked by economic, social and political crises.
Rio Olympics overshadowed by social crisis
By Rafael Azul, 5 August 2016
The Rio Olympic Games open in the midst of social crisis.
A week before Rio games, protesters extinguish Olympic flame
By Bill Van Auken, 30 July 2016
The Olympics are being held in a Brazil wracked by political and economic crisis as well as mounting social unrest.
Russian athletes to participate in summer Olympics under discriminatory regime
By David Levine, 26 July 2016
The International Olympic Committee will allow Russian athletes to participate in the 2016 Summer Olympic Games if they can convince sports authorities they are innocent of doping.
The Fort Bragg baseball game, American militarism and the Fourth of July
Niles Niemuth—SEP candidate for vice president, 5 July 2016
Sunday’s baseball game at the Fort Bragg military base was intended to manipulate the celebration of the American Revolution in order to promote militarism and war.
New doping allegations against Russia ahead of summer Olympics
By Barry Grey, 14 May 2016
While it is entirely possible that the Putin government has overseen a program of doping, the unsubstantiated allegations are being used to promote a reactionary geopolitical agenda.
Hillsborough: A powerful and moving account of Britain’s worst sporting disaster
By Robert Stevens, 14 May 2016
The documentary reconstructs key events and includes harrowing footage of the crush and its aftermath, as well as interviews with family members, survivors and police officers on duty.
The Program: The success and calamitous failure of Lance Armstrong
By David Walsh, 9 April 2016
The latest film from veteran British director Stephen Frears dramatizes the saga of cyclist Lance Armstrong’s rise to the top and his subsequent disgrace in a doping scandal.
NFL admits connection between concussions and degenerative brain disease
By Alan Gilman, 19 March 2016
The NFL’s public acknowledgement that playing American football may cause brain damage is motivated by an attempt to protect the organization against future lawsuits.
Concussion: Highlighting the perils of American football
By Alan Gilman, 14 January 2016
Despite its limitations, Concussion serves to bring before a mass audience the grave risks inherent in playing America’s most popular sport.
Report reveals massive pro-war propaganda campaign
Military spectacle and American sport
By Eric London, 6 November 2015
According to a US Senate report, the Pentagon has paid over $50 million for hundreds of pro-war, pro-military propaganda events at sports stadiums in the last three years.
US imperialism and the FIFA corruption investigation
By Chris Marsden, 6 June 2015
No aspect of life is exempt from the impact of mounting economic, political and military antagonisms—and there is no limit to what the US is prepared to do to impose its will.
Media hypocrisy over fate of migrant labour in Qatar
By Mark Blackwood, 5 June 2015
The campaign to overturn FIFA’s decisions to hold the World Cup in Russia and Qatar has spawned a slew of hypocritical articles over the atrocious conditions facing migrant workers.
FIFA head resigns amidst US-led campaign over bribery scandal
By Niles Williamson, 3 June 2015
Sepp Blatter announced his resignation Tuesday in the face of immense pressure from the United States and European powers, upset above all by his closer relations with Russia.
Prince William spearheads UK campaign against FIFA, targeting Russia
By Robert Stevens, 1 June 2015
The campaign against FIFA head Sepp Blatter is part of the geo-political manoeuvres of the United States and its imperialist allies.
US seizes on FIFA corruption to pursue campaign against Russia
By Robert Stevens and Chris Marsden, 29 May 2015
The rampant financial corruption within football’s ruling body is being utilised by the US primarily as a propaganda weapon against Russia, chosen by FIFA to host the 2018 World Cup.
The “Fight of the Century”: An orgy of wealth and profit
By Joseph Santolan, 6 May 2015
The boxing and entertainment industries generated over a billion dollars in profit out of the spectacle of two men punching at each other for thirty-six minutes.
Star US professional football player retires over fears of brain trauma
By Alan Gilman, 24 March 2015
National Football League linebacker Chris Borland, after a starring rookie season, announced last week that he is retiring in order to avoid crippling brain injuries.
Ohio football player, apparent suicide victim, complained of concussions
By Alan Gilman, 5 December 2014
Defensive tackle Kosta Karageorge, 22, reported missing for several days, was found dead in a dumpster in Columbus, Ohio from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The death of Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes
By James Cogan, 2 December 2014
The overblown response of the entire media, political and sporting establishment to Hughes’s death deserves careful and critical scrutiny.
Drone flying “Greater Albania” flag provokes soccer riot in Serbia
By Paul Mitchell, 16 October 2014
The violence at the UEFA qualifying match happened on the eve of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Belgrade to mark the 70th anniversary of the city’s liberation from Nazi occupation in World War II.
The NFL’s Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson—and the moral high ground of American corporations
By David Walsh, 19 September 2014
In response to recent incidents involving US professional football players Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson, a number of large corporations have expressed “concern” or even withdrawn sponsorships.
Brain damage affects 3 in 10 former National Football League players
By Alan Gilman, 18 September 2014
In a lawsuit brought by former players, the National Football League has admitted that nearly a third of retired players will suffer from dementia, Alzheimer’s and other long-term cognitive diseases.
Gas billionaire purchases Buffalo NFL Franchise for record $1.2 billion
By Jason Melanovski, 17 September 2014
Terry Pegula has been awarded the rights to the Buffalo Bills National Football League franchise in a bidding war that lasted for several months.
The Ray Rice case and the violence of American football
By Alan Gilman and Jerry White, 10 September 2014
Nowhere in the round-the-clock media coverage and sanctimonious statements of NFL officials, team owners and political figures has there been the slightest insight into the broader social causes of such violence.
Brazil suffers World Cup rout amid mounting social tensions
By Bill Van Auken, 10 July 2014
Brazil’s unprecedented debacle in its semifinal match with Germany has brought to the forefront the deep-going social conflicts that have surrounded this year’s World Cup.
Anti-Muslim hysteria surrounds World Cup in France
By Antoine Lerougetel, 3 July 2014
Public statements and policies stigmatizing Algerians during the World Cup reflect the escalating anti-immigrant hysteria seizing the French ruling elite.
On opening day of the World Cup, protests continue in Brazil
By Rafael Azul, 13 June 2014
Protests and strikes continued in Sao Paulo, Río de Janeiro and other cities on the opening day of the World Cup.
More National Football League players file suit over injuries
By Matthew Brennan, 26 May 2014
A group of retired NFL players allege that professional football knowingly supplied them with illegal narcotics and addictive painkillers.
Former US baseball pitcher alleges police brutality ended his career
By Tom Hall, 5 April 2014
Former Major League Baseball pitcher Brandon Backe and 11 co-litigants allege that Galveston police indiscriminately attacked a wedding party in 2008.
Joe Louis Arena facing closure, demolition as part of stadium deal with Ilitch
By Thomas Gaist, 19 March 2014
The deal represents yet another huge giveaway to billionaire Mike Ilitch.
UK: Families of Hillsborough disaster victims placed under police surveillance
By Barry Mason, 4 March 2014
Hillsborough family campaigners strongly believed their phone calls were being monitored in the aftermath of the football stadium disaster.
Violence in sports: Two more boxers die from head injuries
By Matthew Brennan, 12 February 2014
On February 3, Mexican featherweight boxer Oscar Gonzalez died from brain injuries sustained during a match with Jesus Galicia in Mexico City.
US media, politicians mobilize against Sochi Olympics
By Andrea Peters, 10 February 2014
The Sochi Olympics opened on Friday amid a propaganda onslaught from the US media, taking its cues from the Obama administration and allied powers in Europe.
Tensions mount between US and Russia in lead-up to Olympics
By Andrea Peters, 27 January 2014
The US government and the Western media are working to turn the Sochi Olympics into a debacle for the Russian government.
Top baseball player Alex Rodriguez suspended through 2014 season
By Alan Gilman, 6 August 2013
Major League Baseball has suspended another 13 players, including New York Yankee star Alex Rodriguez, for using performance-enhancing drugs.
Major League Baseball suspends Ryan Braun for using steroids
By Alan Gilman, 30 July 2013
The latest chapter in the ongoing saga of performance-enhancing drugs shows how the drive for profit has debased professional sports.
Australian media furore over sport “drug cheats”
By Mike Head, 11 February 2013
The source of the constant pressure on athletes to use performance-enhancing drugs is the multi-billion-dollar profits being made from the sports-media-entertainment industry.
Junior Seau’s family sues National Football League over brain trauma
By Bryan Dyne, 26 January 2013
The family of Junior Seau, the former San Diego Chargers football star, is suing the NFL for negligence.
Lance Armstrong and the world of professional sports
By David Walsh, 23 January 2013
Armstrong apparently operated a type of mini-Mafia in cycling, bringing to the sport the very worst of American predatory entrepreneurship.
Baseball great Stan Musial dead at 92
By Alan Gilman, 23 January 2013
During his career Musial won seven batting titles, three World Series titles, was voted the National League’s most valuable player three times and was named to a record-tying 24 All-Star teams.
NHL union lays the basis for massive concessions for hockey players
By Alexander Fangmann, 4 December 2012
The hockey players’ union has agreed in principle to massive reductions in salary and changes in contract structure, with negotiations continuing over their implementation.
The World Series and militarism
By James Brewer, 30 October 2012
Major League Baseball has taken every opportunity to infuse the World Series with patriotism and the glorification of war.
Cyclist Lance Armstrong stripped of Tour de France titles
By Bryan Dyne, 27 October 2012
Lance Armstrong, seven-time winner of the Tour de France, has been barred from further cycling competition by the US Anti-Doping Agency.
NHL lockout of players continues
By Alexander Fangmann, 4 October 2012
The continued NHL lockout threatens regular season games as owners demand massive salary concessions and contract modifications.
National Football League and referees reach tentative agreement
By Alan Gilman, 28 September 2012
NFL referee lockout caused mass anger over officiating mistakes.
Lockout of National Football League referees continues
By Alan Gilman, 20 September 2012
The National Football League lockout of its on-field officials continues into the third week of the NFL season.
The London Olympics and the social crisis
By Chris Marsden, 4 August 2012
Major sporting matches are inevitably coloured by broader economic, social and political factors, and none more so than this, the premier global event.
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