“Expos 20: More Than a Game”
 
 
““Shut up and dribble””

When LeBron James encountered this backlash in 2018 after questioning then-President Donald Trump’s fitness to serve, the message was clear:   sports and politics don’t mix.

In fact, as we will find across various media this semester, few things in the past century have been as closely intertwined.

Unit 1

Our first unit will take us to the very heart of this relationship as we see an industry confront an existential threat to its business model amidst a growing chorus of criticism from doctors, scientists, and politicians—the problem of the tobacco industry in the 20th century become that of the National Football League in the 21st.

Or is this analogy a red herring?

We will engage with both visual and textual media to explore the science of CTE (“chronic traumatic encephalopathy”) and the actions of the NFL in responding to it. Once the science is known, where does the burden of risk fall?

Unit 2

“We can’t have the inmates running the prison.”

So Houston Texans owner Bob McNair declared during a discussion of allowing NFL players to kneel during the national anthem. A variation on the old theme—shut up and dribble.

Activism—and racial activism in particular—has always been a fraught undertaking in American sports, with responses that range from verbal scorn to outright violence. In this unit, we will assess four different approaches to activism and identity in the examples of Colin Kaepernick, O.J. Simpson, Michael Jordan, and the Atlanta Dream: each a Black athlete or, in the case of the Dream, a Black-majority team, yet these figures have adopted approaches to politics that diverge in significant ways.

Throughout, you will be faced with the pressing question—are athletes ever just athletes?

Unit 3

Our journey will bring us again and again to the inevitable collision of sports and politics in contemporary life. For our final unit, you will continue this exploration through research into a subject of your choosing. Beginning from one of three topical frameworks, you will have the opportunity to engage with issues of race, gender, and activism in the sporting world.

Muhammad Ali was stripped of his heavyweight boxing title—and nearly lost his freedom—as a result of his opposition to the Vietnam War. Tommie Smith and John Carlos were suspended from Olympic competition and criticized widely for their salute at the 1968 Summer Games. The members of the United States women’s national soccer team have clashed with the national soccer federation over issues including pay equity and on-field protest. Each will be a possible avenue of discovery for you as you progress through Unit 3.

Immersing yourself in this project, you will return to the question that has undergirded the entire course: what makes athletes such compelling avatars of their cultural moment?

Each news cycle seems to bring a fresh story from the sporting world with wider societal implications.

This course will introduce you to an array of competing voices and equip you to take an informed position on the most pressing cultural issues of the day.