Dave Zirin to speak on sports, politics Feb. 15 at CSUEB
Dave Zirin
- January 4, 2012
Dave Zirin, prominent speaker on politics in sports and a writer for Nation Magazine and other media outlets throughout the country, will speak on “Sports, Politics, and Resistance in the United States” at ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥, East Bay, Wednesday, Feb. 15.
Zirin, who has discussed and debated numerous topics in sports and politics on the national stage, will make his presentation at the inaugural event for ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥’s Center for Sport and Social Justice, in the University Theatre, on CSUEB’s Hayward Campus, 25800 Carlos Bee Blvd. The program begins at 7 p.m.; admission is free. The program is sponsored by the university’s Department of Kinesiology.
The first sports writer hired in the 150-year history of Nation Magazine, Zirin also produces columns for SLAM Magazine and the Progressive.
Called “the best sports writer in the United States” by former New York Times and CBS News journalist Robert Lipsyte, Zirin has authored several books – his most recent being “The John Carlos Story” (Haymarket Books), published in September. It tells the story of Carlos, the African American track and field athlete, who with Tommie Smith, gave the famous clenched fisted “Black Power” salute during the 1968 Summer Olympics.
Other books penned by Zirin are “Bad Sports: How Owners are Ruining the Games We Love” (Scribner) and “Welcome to the Terrordome: The Pain, Politics, and Promise of Sports” (Haymarket Books).
Zirin has frequently appeared on national TV networks and shows, including NBC’s Last Call with Carson Daly, ESPN’s Outside the Lines, MSNBC’s Countdown with Keith Olbermann and The Rachel Maddow Show, and C-SPAN. His articles have been published by numerous newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, New York Daily News, New York Newsday, Baltimore Sun, Pittsburgh Courier, and the Source.
The goal of ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥’s Center for Sport and Social Justice is the encouragement and dissemination of political discussion and action around sport, including race, class, gender, and disability.
“The center’s programs and activities seek to promote the creation of more humane and socially just sport practices and opportunities for all,” said Rita Liberti, director of the Center for Sport and Social Justice and a professor of kinesiology at CSUEB.
Further information about Zirin’s presentation and the Center for Sport and Social Justice is available by contacting Liberti at rita.liberti@csueastbay.edu or (510) 885-3050.