A significant examination of how athletes have fought for inclusion and equality on and off the playing field, despite calls for them to "stick to sports." There is a common cry in many public discussions that athletes should just "stick to sports," that sports and politics are somehow sealed off from one another, even while team owners, directors, managers, and entire leagues insist on using patriotic displays such as the playing of the National Anthem in order to project a sense of unity. The truth, however, is that unity in sports and American society is far from the reality, and that athletes have as much a right as anyone to fight for a more inclusive world. In Don't Stick to Sports: The American Athlete's Fight for Inclusion, Derek Charles Catsam carefully explores this disparity. He examines how, throughout sports history, minority athletes have had to fight every step of the way for their right to compete, and continue to fight for equity today. From African Americans and women to LGBTQ+ and religious minorities, Catsam shows how these athletes have taken a stand to address the underlying injustices in sports and society despite being told it's not their place to do so. While it's impossible for a single book to tell the entire history of exclusion in sports in the United States, Don't Stick to Sports illustrates the ways in which both exclusion and the fight against that exclusion have helped to define a system that often claims to be based on meritocracy but has proven to be far from the truth.
Derek Catsam is professor of history and the Kathlyn Cosper Dunagan Professor in the Humanities at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin where he teaches courses on race, politics, and sports. His most recent books include Beyond the Pitch: The Spirit, Culture, and Politics of Brazil's 2014 World Cup and Flashpoint: How a Little-Known Sporting Event Fueled America's Anti-Apartheid Movement. Catsam has won awards, fellowships, and grants from a number of respected institutions and was named the 2016 Hugh Le May Fellow in the Humanities at Rhodes University. Catsam appeared in the Emmy award winning PBS "American Experience" documentary, Freedom Riders, and on C- Span's Book TV.
Acknowledgments Introduction The Binded and the Protected Chapter 1 "The Highest Point of the Game's Enthusiasm": The National Anthem, Patriotism, and the 1918 World Series Chapter 2 Of "Dead Sparrows" and "Muscle Molls": Gender Expectations and Women's Sport Chapter 3 Jackie Robinson, The Army, and Sam Huston College: The Dilemma of the Black Athlete in 1940s Chapter 4 A Tale of Two Cities: The Integration of Professional Sports in Boston and Cleveland Chapter 5 The 1960s and the Limits of "Integration" in American College Sports Chapter 6 Oh Say Can You See?: Rebellion, Anger, and Contested Americanisms Chapter 7 Raised Fists, Black Shorts, and a Fallen Queen: Race, Politics, and Sex-pectations in Track and Field Chapter 8 Gaps Between Ideals and Reality: Exclusion and Modern Sport Conclusion Taking a Knee: Sport and Politics in 21st Century America Bibliography Index About the Author
A significant examination of how athletes have fought for inclusion and equality on and off the playing field, despite calls for them to "stick to sports."
