Dave Zirin (; born 1974) is an American political sportswriter. He is the sports editor for The Nation, a weekly progressivism magazine dedicated to politics and culture, and writes a blog named Edge of Sports: the weekly sports column by Dave Zirin.
Early life and education
Zirin was born in New York City.
[ Bleacher Report: "The B/R Interview: Dave Zirin" by Max Tcheyan" November 4, 2008] He is of
American Jews descent.
He graduated from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Career
Zirin was the host of the
Edge of Sports Podcast, hosted by the Slate/
Panoply Media network. He also co-hosted "The Collision: Where Sports and Politics Collide on Pacifica Radio" with former NBA player
Etan Thomas. Zirin is a contributor to
The Nation, and has been a columnist for
SLAM Magazine, and
The Progressive. He has been a guest on
ESPN's
Outside The Lines and
Democracy Now!.
His first book, What’s My Name, Fool? Sports and Resistance in the United States (Haymarket Books) has entered its third printing.
Zirin has published Welcome to the Terrordome: The Pain, Politics, and Promise of Sports, and A People’s History of Sports in the United States, a sports-related volume in the manner of Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States series for The New Press.
Zirin is the co-author with John Carlos of The John Carlos Story: The Sports Moment That Changed the World (Haymarket Books, 2011).
He writes a blog named Edge of Sports: the weekly sports column by Dave Zirin.
Political views
Zirin has repeatedly called for boycotts of certain teams, states, or nations for political reasons.
Call for boycott of Arizona
On April 27, 2010, writing for
The Guardian, Zirin called for a boycott against sports teams from Arizona, in particular the Diamondbacks, to protest the Arizona SB 1070, the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act.
He expressed support during the 2010 NBA Playoffs for the
Phoenix Suns, who went by "Los Suns" as a statement against the Arizona immigration law.
Support of boycotts of Israel
On June 2, 2010, writing for
The Nation, Zirin justified the decision of the Turkish U-19 soccer team to boycott a match against Israel. He described the Gaza flotilla raid as an act of
state terror committed by the Israeli government and proposed a boycott of Israel.
Criticism of Hank Williams Jr.
On October 6, 2011, during a live interview conducted on the sports cable television network
ESPN, Zirin referred to Hank Williams Jr. as
racism and
proslavery after Williams, the writer and singer of ESPN's then-Monday Night Football theme song, made a political statement comparing
multiracial US President
Barack Obama to
Adolf Hitler.
Defense of Barry Bonds
In an undated interview, Zirin said, "I never wrote that I believe Bonds has never done steroids." He continued: "unlike oh so many others, the man never actually failed a steroids test. Is there a ton of circumstantial evidence that the man juiced? Absolutely. But he is still the best player I've ever seen. The best player of what will go down as the anabolic era."
Zirin said that, rather than steroid use, "much of the reaction to Bonds is simply bad old-fashioned racism".
Bibliography
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What's My Name, Fool? Sports and Resistance in the United States, Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2005. |
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Welcome to the Terrordome: The Pain, Politics, and Promise of Sports, Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2007. |
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Muhammad Ali Handbook, Chicago: MB Press, 2007. |
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A People's History of Sports In The United States, The New Press, 2008. |
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Bad Sports: How Owners Are Ruining the Games We Love, New York: Scribner Books, 2010. |
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The John Carlos Story: The Sports Moment That Changed the World, Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2011. |
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Game Over: How Politics Has Turned the Sports World Upside Down, The New Press. 2013. |
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Brazil's Dance with the Devil: The World Cup, the Olympics, and the Fight for Democracy, Haymarket Books. 2014.
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Things That Make White People Uncomfortable Hardcover – Apr 13 2018
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Jim Brown: Last Man Standing Hardcover – May 15, 2018
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The Kaepernick Effect: Taking a Knee, Changing the World—September 14, 2021 - Hardcover
Movies in DVD format
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Not Just a Game – Power, Politics & American Sports, Media Education Foundation, 62-minutes, 2011 |
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Race, Power & American Sports, Featuring Dave Zirin, Media Education Foundation, 45-minutes, 2013 |
External links
