Politics and sports were once kept separate—the ballfield a refuge from the world's turmoil, athletes celebrated as heroes, fandom innocent and uncomplicated. That era has ended. Today's sports arenas serve as stages for American patriotism and law enforcement reverence, yet this intersection has always carried deeper complexity for Black athletes, who from their earliest presence were inherently making a political statement simply by competing. Journalist Howard Bryant traces how Black ballplayers wielded extraordinary influence in twentieth-century America, shouldering immense social responsibility. This heritage spans from the radical activism of Paul Robeson, Jackie Robinson, and Muhammad Ali through the 1960s, through decades when figures like Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods distanced themselves from politics, to the resurgence of engaged athletes like LeBron James and Colin Kaepernick in the post-Ferguson era. The Heritage chronicles athlete activists' rise, decline, and powerful return. Drawing on extensive research and interviews with sports icons—Kaepernick, David Ortiz, Charles Barkley, Chris Webber—alongside law enforcement and military perspectives, Bryant examines how post-9/11 patriotism in sports collided with the politically conscious Black athletes of our time.
Paperback, 288 pages.
