Sports

Gay Former NBA Player Takes Maher Into the Locker Room

Staff / Truthdig Feb 20, 2007 John Amaechi tells Bill Maher that NBA locker rooms are "the gayest places I have ever seen" -- full of ostensibly macho guys primping and preening in front of each other. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Retired NBA Player Comes Out

Staff / Truthdig Feb 8, 2007 John Amaechi has become the first current or former NBA player to come out of the closet, and only the sixth such professional athlete from the four major American sports to do so. The former center for Orlando, Utah and Cleveland has written a memoir in which he describes life in the NBA as he started to open up about his sexuality, including mixed reactions from his team's owner, coach and players. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Podcast: Super Bowl Edition

Staff / Truthdig Feb 3, 2007 Former All-America linebacker and author Dave Meggysey joins James Harris, Robert Scheer and Joshua Scheer for a discussion on the NFL's racist history, the black coach milestone and more in this special Super Bowl edition of the Truthdig podcast. Above, Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith (at left) and Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Jabari Asim: Curt Flood, a Star on and off the Field

Jabari Asim / Truthdig Oct 24, 2006 The nearly forgotten hero staged a legal battle against Major League Baseball that paved the way for free agency, huge salaries and players' ability to veto trades. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Tour de France Winner Flunks Drug Test

Staff / Truthdig Jul 27, 2006 Floyd Landis tested positive for high levels of testosterone, which Landis claims is either a mistake or the result of natural bodily processes. He was tested after his near-superhuman comeback win on an Alpine stage of the race, which the New York Times called perhaps the greatest single-day push in Tour history. If this accusation proves true, Wheaties may have to find a new cover boy. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Head-Butting Soccer Star: Opponent Insulted My Family

Staff / Truthdig Jul 13, 2006 According to the AP: "Zinedine Zidane apologized for head-butting an Italian opponent during the World Cup final, saying Wednesday that he was provoked by harsh insults about his mother and sister." Watch the interview (in French, no subtitles) Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Agassi to Retire After U.S. Open

Staff / Truthdig Jun 25, 2006 The greatest serve-returner in the history of the game, and the man whose rivalry with Pete Sampras fueled tennis' popularity in the 1990s, just announced that his next U.S. Open will be his last professional outing. The 36-year-old is one of only five players to have won every single Grand Slam tournament. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

U.S. Penalty Leads to Elimination in World Cup

Staff / Truthdig Jun 22, 2006 America fell 2-1 to Ghana, ending U hopes of advancing in the competition The game was tied 1-1 until an American defender pushed a Ghanaian player near the penalty area--which triggered a penalty kick that won the game for Ghana . Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Duke Reinstating Lacrosse Team

Staff / Truthdig Jun 6, 2006 Duke University President Richard Brodhead said about his decision: "I am, I know, taking a risk in reinstating men's lacrosse [but] if we did not allow these players the chance to take responsibility for creating a new history for their sport at Duke, we would be denying another very fundamental value: the belief in the possibility of learning from experience, the belief in education itself" . Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

U.S. Soccer Team Bus Will Show No Flag

Staff / Truthdig May 5, 2006 If you want an idea of America's image in the world, consider this: Of the 32 official buses transporting teams competing in soccer World Cup, only America's will not bear its national flag--for security reasons. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

The ‘Slave Side’ of NFL Sundays

James Harris / Truthdig Mar 10, 2006 In his new book, "The Slave Side of Sunday," former NFL player Anthony Prior writes about the legacy of racism in professional sports "We are not looked at as leaders, rather, just a labor force where the money is generated Plantation capitalism is still alive today," he tells Truthdig contributor James Harris (Audio and text interview with the author) . Dig deeper ( 13 Min. Read )

An Olympic Athlete With No Tragic History? That Won’t Do!

Andy Borowitz / Truthdig Feb 12, 2006 A member of the U.S. Olympic ski team was disqualified from competition today when it was learned that he did not have a sufficiently compelling human storyline to exploit on the NBC telecast of the worldwide sporting event. (satire) Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )