football

If Football is America's Religion, Jim Brown was its Leading Saint

Dave Zirin, a Brown biographer, says that the hall of famer's complicated politics, advocacy for players in the pre-union era, and mistreatment of women all demand treating his life as a subject of study, not veneration.

Medical Historians: We've Been Taught to Forget What We Used to Know about Head Injuries in Sports

Stephen Casper, Emily Harrison and Jeremy Greene argue that league-affiliated researchers who claim the jury is out about whether head injuries in competition contribute to long-term cognitive and mental deterioration are ignoring a long archive of medical studies that solidifies the link. 

Why Did it Take Until 2023 for Two Black QB's to Start the Super Bowl?

by Kate Aguilar

While Patrick Mahomes bested Jalen Hurts in Sunday's Super Bowl, historically the game signified the slow eclipse of prejudices keeping Black players from the all-important quarterback position.

Masculinity and Trauma in War and Football

by Sarah Handley-Cousins

Sports have been cast as a (relatively) peaceful way of inculcating a set of masculine virtues otherwise associated with war. But the experience of injury and grief will continue to confound the rules of manhood—and football fans and citizens should pay attention. 

1957 Jerry Jones Photo Shows How Close The Past Really Is

"We know, at least in the abstract, what happened in the days and years after this photo of Jones was taken. He was there and he is here."

Corporate America Copied the NFL's "Rooney Rule"—But Also its Lack of Enforcement

The NFL teams' agreement to interview minority candidates for coaching jobs always had a fault: nothing happened to teams who abused the process and interviewed candidates with no intention of hiring them. 

The Dangerous Myth that Pop Warner was Jim Thorpe's Savior

by David Maraniss

Most people understand the relationship of the star athlete and his football coach through the story told by a 1951 movie. A biographer says the coach chose hypocrisy and self-protection when Thorpe needed him most – when his Olympic medals were stripped for having played professional baseball with Warner's knowledge.

Former Star Keyshawn Johnson: Football Hall Must Honor "Forgotten Four" Integration Pioneers

Kenny Washington, Marion Motley, Woody Strode and Bill Willis reintegrated the NFL in 1946, breaking a "gentlemen's agreement" among the owners not to sign Black players. 

As the Washington Football Team Rebrands, Remember an All-Native Pro Team from 100 Years Ago

Walter Lingo started the "Oorang Indians" in Ohio to promote his dog kennels, hired Jim Thorpe to play and coach, and launched an episode of sports history that highlights the tradeoffs Native athletes had to make between opportunity and participation in caricatured performances of "Indianness." 

The Century-Long History of the College Football Coaching Carousel

by Andrew McG

Mass media helped build the lucrative world of college sports by establishing sports as a news beat; today's highly-paid and transient coaches ride the wave of an economy that thrives on making a splash in the headlines. 

Ryan Russell: Jon Gruden Emails Should Have Shocked Me. They Didn't

"The long delay in disclosing these emails, coupled with their conversational nature, suggests that others in the N.F.L. are, at best, tolerant of these divisive views. At worst, they share them."

Don't Feel Guilty for Loving Football (Just Be Honest About It)

by Stephen T. Casper

"Football is not going away, so don’t feel guilty above loving the game. But do stop quibbling about whether football is dangerous—and be radically honest about how dangerous it is."

Texas and Oklahoma's Move to the SEC is a Major Blow to the NCAA

by Andrew McGregor

The move by two power programs in college football will create a Southeastern Conference that rivals the NCAA in power, part of a longstanding battle between individual colleges and the NCAA that may overthrow the rules of amateurism in college sports. 

Carl Nassib's Coming Out Will Save Lives; How Many Depends on the NFL's Support

by John Howard

Carl Nassib just became the first active NFL player to come out as gay. His personal courage shouldn't obscure the work of previous activists or the obligation of the league to take positive steps to fight homophobia.

A University of Texas Report Will Find That ‘The Eyes of Texas’ Has “No Racist Intent”

A University of Texas Commission's report will likely serve as reinforcement for the administration's decision to keep the tradition of playing "The Eyes of Texas" after football games, pleasing many rich donors and angering student activists. 

Conservative Donors Have Their Own Cancel Culture

"In 1903, the two students premiered their song at an annual campus minstrel show, where white musicians performed it in blackface. It became a tradition at subsequent minstrel shows and was soon embedded in the university’s culture. Some people apparently want to keep it there forever."

“UT Needs Rich Donors”: Emails Show Wealthy Alumni Supporting “Eyes of Texas” Threatened to Pull Donations

A number of wealthy University of Texas alumni have threatened to withhold donations unless "The Eyes of Texas," a song with roots traced to blackface minstrelsy and the Lost Cause mythology, is reinstated as the Longhorns' postgame anthem. 

Japanese Internment, Football, and a Legendary Team

Dave Zirin's Edge of Sports podcast hosts Bradford Pearson, the author of "The Eagles of Heart Mountain," the story of a group of interned Japanese American teens whose football team dominated the state of Wyoming. 

The Buccaneers Embody Tampa’s Love of Pirates. Is that a Problem?

by Jamie L.H. Goodall

  "Perhaps time has dulled us to the atrocities committed by these 17th and 18th century outlaws. Or perhaps it’s the fact that if pirates of the Golden Age were bloodthirsty, so too were the nations who opposed them."

As College Football Grapples with the Coronavirus, it also Confronts its Racist History

by Bennett Parten

It's no coincidence that the south is the heartland of college football. The region first embraced the game as an expression of southern honor culture. While southern colleges were slow to adopt integrated rosters, today's Southeastern Conference teams rely heavily on the unpaid labor of Black players.