2009 ARTICLES
Brutus used sports to fight apartheid
Date of Release: December 31, 2009 (Special to ESPN.com)
by Richard Lapchick
Dennis Brutus died in his sleep Saturday in Cape Town, South Africa, at age 85. Between the early 1960s and the end of apartheid in South Africa, the architects of that most racist regime rarely slept, due to the force of major activists such as Brutus. More...
A historic week for minority coaches
Date of Release: December 9, 2009 (Special to ESPN.com)
by Richard Lapchick
One year ago this week, I wrote that we needed a civil rights movement in college football. As of Dec. 8, 2008, there were four African-American coaches left in the FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision), the lowest number in 15 years. More...
Honor Brand with an open, inclusive search for successor
Date of Release: October 26, 2009 (SportsBusiness Journal)
by Richard Lapchick
It is still hard to believe that Myles Brand is no longer with us. We all lost a warrior for student athletes, Title IX and civil rights in sports. On Wednesday, thousands will gather in Indianapolis to pay tribute to his life and achievements. I am sure that many will speak of the difference he made in having college sport live up to its ideals. More...
Latino influence shapes action sports
Date of Release: September 29, 2009 (Special to ESPN.com)
by Richard Lapchick
In the course of researching a book on Hispanic athletes, I expected to find a strong Latino presence in baseball, soccer and boxing, and I did. The area that surprised me most, though, was the Latino presence, success and influence in the X Games, one of the most popular events among Generation X and Generation Y demographics. More...
Mark Sanchez and football's lost past
Date of Release: September 25, 2009 (Special to ESPN.com)
by Richard Lapchick
The New York Jets are off to a 2-0 start and the media is in a frenzy over quarterback Mark Sanchez, especially after he outgunned superhero Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in Week 2 of the NFL season. More...
Brand: 'A friend in the justice world'
Date of Release: September 17, 2009 (Special to ESPN.com)
by Richard Lapchick
America lost a champion for student-athletes, for Title IX and for civil rights in sports with the passing of Dr. Myles Brand on Wednesday. No one did more to make college sport live up to its ideals. We knew he'd been fighting deadly pancreatic cancer since January, but no one was ready when the announcement of his passing came. More...
Date of Release: September 14, 2009 (Special to ESPN.com)
by Richard Lapchick
In Johannesburg earlier this month, all the sports talk was about the 2010 World Cup. It dominated the sports pages and TV time. And yet, the NBA created its own space here with the arrival of its Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Program. More...
S. African trip a vivid example of how sports makes a difference
Date of Release: September 14, 2009 (SportsBusiness Journal)
by Richard Lapchick
I recently returned from Johannesburg, South Africa, as part of the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders program. It was the sixth time I visited South Africa, a country I came to love while helping lead the sports boycott of its apartheid-era government during the 1970s, ’80s and until Nelson Mandela was inaugurated president in 1994. More...
‘Giving back’ more than just words to Magic, owner
Date of Release: June 15, 2009 (SportsBusiness Journal)
by Richard Lapchick
I am unabashedly a fan of the NBA and the Orlando Magic. I grew up in a house with a father who was a coach in the early days of the NBA. Basketball was part of our lifestyle. I love the game but also what the game does for society. More...
Date of Release: May 22, 2009 (Special to ESPN.com)
by Richard Lapchick
In December, I wrote a column calling for a civil rights movement in college football. It focused on the small percentage of African-Americans and other coaches of color among the 119 Bowl Subdivision schools in football, relative to the 46 percent of college football players who are African-American. More...
Date of Release: April 3, 2009 (Special to ESPN.com)
by Richard Lapchick
The image is striking: An African-American man who is a Muslim talking to audiences about Jewish people who were leaders in the early civil rights movement and how African-Americans and Jews shared a common fight against oppression. More...
The DeFrantz credo: 'Yes, you can!'
Date of Release: March 17, 2009 (Special to ESPN.com)
by Richard Lapchick
I have known and been friends with Anita DeFrantz for three decades, since she was a vice president of the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee for the 1984 Summer Games. She is one of sports' true pioneers, both for her marvelous athletic career and for her position as perhaps the most powerful woman in international sport through her role in the International Olympic Committee. Her influence is written all over the Olympics. More...
Jackie Robinson Museum deserves support of America’s sports
Date of Release: March 9, 2009 (Sports Business Journal)
by Richard Lapchick
America needs the Jackie Robinson Museum now. It is that simple. As the Major League Baseball opener draws closer amid the crunch of the economy, we see cutbacks all across the nation. Jobs are being cut, businesses are closing, homes are being emptied after foreclosures, wars are being waged and budgets are being slashed in every sector of the economy. America’s confidence has been shaken. More...
Lilian Thuram's off-the-pitch courage
Date of Release: February 27, 2009 (Special to ESPN.com)
by Richard Lapchick
If you are a soccer fan, you know that Pele called Lilian Thuram one of the 125 greatest soccer players of all time. Thuram, who turned 37 this January, led the 1998 French team to the World Cup and appeared in 16 European championships, retiring in 2008 after a heart problem was discovered. He recently was selected as a member of the federal council of the French Football Federation. More...
Rens' Isaacs a world champion
Date of Release: February 18, 2009 (Special to ESPN.com)
by Richard Lapchick
A circle closed in the history of basketball in America when John "Wonder Boy" Isaacs passed away on Jan. 26. Isaacs, 93, was the last living player for the Harlem Renaissance, the great all-black team in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. More...