The B/R Interview: Dave Zirin

To start the series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dave Zirin, a writer who has never shied away from exploring the relationships between sports and politics.  Zirin, Press Action’s 2005 and 2006 Sportswriter of the year, has been called “The best young sportswriter in America,” by Robert Lipsyte, author and former New York Times sports columnist. 

Zirin’s weekly column is featured on his website edgeofsports.com, and his Edge of Sports radio show airs at 12 noon (EST) on Saturdays, XM Satellite Channel 167.  His books include Welcome to the Terrordome, Muhammad Ali Handbook, and What’s My Name, Fool!.  In addition, Zirin is a columnist for Nation Magazine, SLAM Magazine, the Progressive, SI.com, and an op-ed writer for the Los Angeles Times.  He has also appeared on such television programs as CNBC’s The Big Idea with Donny Deutch, ESPN’s Outside the Lines, and C-SPAN’s BookTV.  Just recently he was featured on National Public Radio’s Talk of the Nation and All Things Considered.

In his newest book, A People’s History of Sports in the United States (The New Press), Zirin explores the role sport has played in relation to politics, race, pop culture, and society throughout the history of the United States.  Jim Bouton, author of Ball Four, said of the book, “Finally, the long-awaited prequel to all the sports books you’ve ever read.  Put this first in the line of sports books on your shelf.  It will help make sense of all the others.” 

Part of Howard Zinn’s A People’s History series, Zirin has been able to effectively demonstrate how influential sports in the United States have been with respect to civil rights, gender equality, and corporate America.  This is a must read for any sports fan with an interest in politics, and a book that I wish I had had in high school while I struggled to stay focused in my US History classes.  

Enjoy.

--Max

MT: Hi Dave, thanks for chatting with me today. 

DZ: Sure.

MT: I came across your new book, actually my Mom told me about your new book, A People’s History of Sports in the United States, after she heard you on National Public Radio (NPR).  So naturally, as I always heed the advice of my Mother, I picked up your book and as I began reading I couldn’t help but wish this book had been around when I was in high school, enrolled in American History 101.  Your book, through examining the roles sports have played in society, is able to engage the reader on some of the major issues and political events throughout American History.  It is really a great read.

DZ: [couple laughs], Thank you very much. 

MT: Okay, we’ll come back to the book, but to get things started would you mind going into your background a bit for our readers and how you got into sports writing.

DZ: Sure, I was born and raised in New York City, grew up just an absolute insane sports fan with very little interest in history or politics, but that really did change for me as I went to Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota.

The thing that made me start thinking about the intersection between politics and sports was the controversy that surrounded Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, the Denver Nuggets player who refused to participate in the National Anthem before games.  I heard several commentators compare him to people like Tommie Smith, John Carlos, or Muhammad Ali, saying [Abdul-] Rauf was following in the tradition of these other sports radicals.   And that really opened my mind up because I had no idea, even being such a big sports fan, that there was a tradition of these sports radicals; that there were these political athletes and that any tradition between politics and sports even existed.  At that point, the seed was planted in my head, which was about 12 years ago, for this book.  And I really wanted to find a book that chartered that tradition, but it didn’t exist.

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