The Game is Not The Game is an insightful, unapologetic expose of the intersection of sports, culture, and politics from veteran journalist Robert Scoop Jackson.
Part play-by-play, part op-ed, The Game Is Not a Game is an illuminating and unflinching examination of the good and evil in the sports industry. Liberating and provocative, with sharp wit and generous humor, Jackson’s essays explore the role that sports plays in American society and the hypocritical standards by which the athletes are often judged. The Game Is Not a Game is distinctly intended to challenge accepted ideology and to push the boundaries of mainstream sports media beyond the comfort zone. Chapters expose “Our Miseducation of LeBron James,” “#ThemToo: The UnRespected Worth of the Woman Athlete,” the duplicity of the NFL in its treatment of Colin Kaepernick and the anthem protests, the cultural bias of analytics, and the power of social activism versus the power and politics of professional sports ownership—all from the sharp, savvy, and self-critical perspective of one of the leading voices for social justice in sports media.
Jackson writes fearlessly and frankly about hot-button issues at the intersection of sports and politics, without the say-too-much-and-you'll-lose-your-paycheck censorship of ESPN to curb his analysis. “This is a book that protests,” Jackson promises at the outset, and he keeps his word, vowing to tell a story “that is not being told at all, or not being told truthfully and completely.” Check out his analysis of the NFL (“The American Hypocrisy”), or “#THEMTOO: The UnRespected Worth of the Woman Athlete,” or the politics of player protests (“I [Still] Can't Breathe”).
“As much as race is at the core of almost everything in the following pages, this book isn't about race,” Jackson explains. “THIS IS A BOOK ABOUT POWER. About the people that don't have it versus the people who do, how that power manifests as entitlement and respect and an authoritarian mentality; and how the abuse of that power through sports impacts and affects humanity.” Provocative and illuminating.
Really enjoyed this breakdown of the intersection of sports and race and politics and protest. Stories I thought I knew were given a fresh angle and I have a new way to think through the point where politics and sports collide.