Raise a fist, take a knee Race and the illusion of progress in modern sports

Review by Booklist Review

Feinstein--whose columns and books range in subject from the PGA to college and pro hoops, the NFL, major- and minor-league baseball, and pro tennis, among other sports--pulls together the disparate threads of his career into this examination of racism in sports. "None of us is trying to make race an issue. Race is an issue," says Feinstein, stating what should be, but isn't, obvious. The hiring numbers bear him out, but it's even more obvious in the conversations he shares here with household-name sports figures whose lives and stellar careers have been marred by racism: John Thompson Jr., Willie Randolph, Tommie Smith, John Carlos, Warren Moon, Doug Williams, Tony Dungy, and Dave Stewart, among dozens of others. Feinstein, who's white, argues strongly, and often, that he will never comprehend how racism might feel to a Black man. He also argues equally, and sadly, that perhaps only a white sportswriter could write this book. "If I write this book," a Black colleague told him, "it will be written off by a lot of people as a Black guy trying to create racial issues that aren't there."

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

---

Review by Library Journal Review

Drawing on multiple interviews, veteran sportswriter Feinstein highlights such issues as a lack of diversity among coaching and managerial staff, the undervaluation of Black quarterbacks, and negative responses to players who "raise a fist, take a knee" before the game to demonstrate that professional sports in America are infused with--and in fact perpetuate--racial inequality. With 75,000-copy first printing.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

---

Review by Kirkus Book Review

One of our most prolific sportswriters examines race and racism in sports. Black players are prevalent in many areas of professional and college sports. Of the front office and the coaching staff, writes Feinstein, the representation is more skewed. One of the subjects of this fine book is George Raveling, the pioneering Black coach who took the helm of Washington State's basketball program in 1972 and led it to two NCAA tournaments. "Where I grew up," he tells Feinstein, "if you were Black, there wasn't much chance to dream. It was all about survival." Nonetheless, during his time at Villanova, Raveling played alongside 10 other Black students, all of whom were exemplary: All graduated in four years, half have doctorates, one earned a gold medal in the Olympics, another headed a major corporation. Given equal opportunities, executive performance by Black and White coaches is, yes, equal. However, as Feinstein notes, only one NFL coach has ever been fired after a 10-6 season, and that one was Lovie Smith, who is Black--even though he had led the Chicago Bears to a Super Bowl and three playoff berths and been named Coach of the Year. Protests sometimes make a mark, but mostly not. Even with the famed case of Colin Kaepernick and the spread of his custom of taking a knee, the result has been mostly White rage. One Sunday soon after Kaepernick's first protest, Feinstein notes, "more than two hundred NFL players either knelt or stayed in the locker room during the playing of the anthem. The issue came roaring back--which may have been what Trump wanted: make white America angry at Black America." Racial tension is endemic and at every level of the game. As Feinstein writes near the end, only a few analysts and sportswriters are Black, and no matter what the race, all "are under what amounts to a gag order on air," forbidden to raise thorny issues. A sobering, carefully written assessment of ongoing inequalities dotted with small victories. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

---