Search results for: “node/olympics”
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Donald Sterling Case Underscores Whiteness of Press
Why Wasn’t Owner’s History Given Greater Play Earlier? The saga of Donald Sterling’s racist remarks, which could cost him ownership of the Los Angeles Clippers, put black commentators in the spotlight in a way rarely seen recently. At least two related the NBA owner’s situation to the low numbers of journalists of color or of…
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Richard Sherman, NFL Players School Harvard Students on Race
Richard Sherman wants to make a couple of things clear: First, he was fully aware of the impact that his NFC championship game rant would cause and second, and maybe more importantly, he liked it that way. On Wednesday, the outspoken Seattle Seahawks cornerback told a standing-room-only crowd at the Harvard Business School that the…
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The First Ones: 17 African Americans Who Broke Barriers
On April 13, 1997, Tiger Woods became the first African American to win the Masters. Here are 16 other black trailblazers who have broken barriers and set records for future African Americans to follow in their footsteps. Angelou is the first African-American poet to participate in a presidential inaugural ceremony. She recited her poem “On…
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Hank Aaron’s Home Run Record Meant Everything 40 Years Ago. It Still Does
April 8 marks the 40th anniversary of Henry Aaron passing Babe Ruth as the major league’s career leader in home runs. It was one of the most significant sports feats of the 20th century, and like many others—heavyweight Joe Louis’ defeat of Max Schmeling in 1938 and Jesse Owens’ four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics in…
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Former World Champion Boxer Arrested in Florida
Former world champion boxer Antonio Tarver was arrested in Florida earlier this week on a felony theft and bad check warrant stemming from unpaid IOUs at a Las Vegas Strip casino, the Associated Press reports. The Florida Highway Patrol arrested Tarver after a traffic stop led to the discovery of a warrant, which had been…
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Michelle Obama Offers Kale Chips to Jimmy Fallon and Will Ferrell in Tonight Show Skit
Michelle Obama may always be a fun and down-to-earth guest to have on your show, but the first lady is also one who never forgets her message of healthy eating and daily exercise. In an “Ew!” sketch with Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon and entertainer Will Ferrell, the first lady, while talking about the Olympics…
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Figure Skater Surya Bonaly Flipped Her Way Into Our Hearts
Winter Olympic sports are notoriously lacking in racial diversity, but there have been a handful of black stars to emerge at the games over the years. One of them is Surya Bonaly. The figure-skating legend won the national title in France a record nine times and was a world silver medalist three times. She appeared at…
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Lolo Jones: Controversy Follows Her to Sochi Olympics
Olympic triumph may be the gold standard for exhilarating moments of unsurpassed athletic glory. But just as compelling are those heartrending moments—the slip off the balance beam, the wipeout around the last curve of the ice oval, the crash on the closing triple-toe loop or the final flight off a mogul—when it all goes terribly…
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Angelo Henderson Dies, ‘Buoyant’ Pulitzer Winner
Report: Medical Examiner Cites Natural Causes Angelo B. Henderson, a Detroit radio personality who won a Pulitzer Prize in 1999 while at the Wall Street Journal, died in his home in Pontiac, Mich., Saturday, according to Detroit news reports. Henderson died “after being rushed to the hospital in the morning. The 51-year old had been…
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How Bobsledding Became a Black Winter Sport
Willie Davenport was born in central Alabama and was a college track standout in Baton Rouge, La. He qualified for four consecutive U.S. Olympic track teams as a hurdler, winning the gold medal at 110 meters in Mexico City in 1968 and a bronze eight years later in Montreal, and, in 1982, was inducted into…