Seven Oaks Magazine.

There are two ways to approach a book like Dave Zirin’s What’s My Name, Fool?, a collection of political sports essays. From the perspective of sports writing, the book is a revelation. Zirin has, through his website www.edgeofsports.com and with this book, created a unique position for himself within the sports-writing world. Although other sportswriters periodically discuss politics (some of them, like the late Ralph Wiley, with impressive insight), few sportswriters have been so dedicated to the connection of sports and social issues. In that respect, What’s My Name, Fool? is a fresh and exciting addition to sports literature.

The second way to think about Zirin’s book is politically, and it is here that the book is a little less earthshaking. He has made the extremely important connection between sports and politics; and rarely understood by the left. Although progressives are often ready to offer political commentaries on movies, popular literature, even comic books, it seems that the left continues to ignore professional and collegiate sports, which constitute one of the most significant entertainment sectors in North America.

Part of the difficulty for leftists is that there is no comprehensive theoretical approach to athletics that can account for both the positive and negative aspects of sporting culture. Unfortunately, Zirin has not offered such a framework either (although, in his defense, such was not his intention, either). Instead, Zirin’s book reads like an entertaining hall of heroes and villains, where essays about political athletes like Muhammad Ali rest next to polemics against racist and homophobic institutions and people working within sport.

Zirin has catalogued the key issues in sports over the past two decades, and provides some necessary history as well, in the form of long discussion of Ali; Tommie Smith and John Carlos (sprinters who gave the black power salute on the podium in the ’68 Olympics); Jackie Robinson; and some of the most prominent sports labour leaders of the 60s and 70s. Zirin is at his best in these pieces – his punchy writing style, which moves quickly in his shorter pieces, gets to stretch out a little, and his compelling analysis of the historical impact of these figures shows real sensitivity to his subjects.

Although not all of his short pieces match the analytical strength of his longer ruminations, a few are tremendous. His piece on the confrontation between players and fans at a Detroit Piston’s game last year, which led to criminal charges and several long suspensions, is particularly good. He is the only writer I have found who has highlighted one of the key issues at play in the fight, which is the growing enmity between the mostly African-American players from working class backgrounds and the primarily white middle and upper-class fans who fill the lower bowls at NBA stadia around the league.

Returning to the political tone of the book, it’s worth noting Zirin’s intended audience. He is obviously hoping to inform leftists of the real political value of some aspects of sports, but he is also trying to convince sports fans of the presence, and relevance, of left-wing politics within their favourite pastimes. As a result, he is very generous with some of his subjects, whom he celebrates for making what many leftists might regard as only the smallest of gestures (baseball slugger Carlos Delgado’s unwillingness to leave the dugout for “God Bless America” is one example). This duality of tone is the strength and weakness of the book; it means that there is a little something for everyone within, but that both progressives and sports fans will leave wanting a little more. Zirin demonstrates when discussing Ali and Robinson that he could easily be the one who provides more for both groups, and What’s My Name, Fool? is a great first step.