sports
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Not a Single Player Taken in the 2021 NFL Draft Played for an HBCU. How Did That Happen?
The 2021 NFL Draft has come and gone. Yet despite the fact that nearly 260 players transitioned from college students to professional athletes throughout the course of that evening, there wasn’t a single one who was drafted from an HBCU. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Not a single one. Division III standout Quinn Meinerz got snatched up…
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Allyson Felix Leads With Love as She Prepares for Her Final Trip to the Summer Olympics
We live in a society of celebrity worship, in which human beings are far too often reduced to what they do instead of who they actually are. This happens all the time with athletes like LeBron James, who are celebrated for their feats on the court, yet admonished for having the audacity to speak out…
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If You've Been Longing for a Four-Hour Documentary About Mike Tyson, Your Prayers Have Finally Been Answered
Mike Tyson, who—at 54 years old, still somehow talks shit, smokes weed and beats people up for a living—is the subject of a new documentary, courtesy of the fine folks at ABC News. The upcoming four-hour doc (yes, you read that correctly) Mike Tyson: The Knockout “will chronicle the former champion’s climb, crash, and comeback,…
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ESPN's The Undefeated Promotes Raina Kelley to Editor-in-Chief
On Monday, news began to circulate that media OG-triple-OG Kevin Merida was stepping down from his position as the editor-in-chief at ESPN’s blackstravaganza, The Undefeated, in order to pursue greener pastures. More specifically (since you’re so damn nosey), he accepted a role as the brand spanking new executive editor at the L.A. Times, which sounds…
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Sorry, LeBron. I Wanna See Russell Westbrook In the Play-In Tournament
OK, so maybe I was wrong. Entering Monday night’s game against the Denver Nuggets, the battered and bruised Los Angeles Lakers (37-28) were clinging for dear life to the 6th seed in the Western Conference. A win would propel them to the 5th seed—and a likely first-round slobberknocker against either the Clippers, Nuggets, or Mavericks…
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Naomi Osaka Discusses Empowering the Next Generation of Leaders With Expansion of Play Academy: 'We Need to Take Action Now'
As one of the premier athletes in professional sports, tennis champion Naomi Osaka is committed to ensuring that her success creates other opportunities for women and girls eager to follow in her footsteps. To support that cause, last summer she launched the Play Academy with Naomi Osaka in Tokyo, which provides grants and training for…
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What Were Some of My Favorite Moments From the 2021 NFL Draft? I'm Glad You Asked
On the eve of America’s new favorite holiday and the release of a new DJ Khaled album, football connoisseurs far and wide were treated to a beautiful evening of tears and triumph as the 2021 NFL Draft gave us all everything we needed and more—unless you’re The Root Senior Editor Stephen Crockett Jr., who was…
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College Debate Tournament Canceled After Morehouse and Other Colleges Withdrew, Citing Racism of Other Schools
The debate team for Atlanta’s Morehouse College recently withdrew from a tournament for reasons that, as far as I can tell, boil down to one thing: Black people can’t exist in predominantly white spaces without battling racism. The incidents that led to the team leaving the competition began at round five of the British Parliamentary-style…
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The Sacramento Kings Just Made History for All the Wrong Reasons
You ever had that friend that just can’t get right? They meet the perfect girl and fuck it all up? Or get fired from their job for the stupidest reason? That’s the Sacramento Kings. In a past life, they were the creme of the crop. But with Chris Webber, Peja Stojaković, and Mike Bibby no…
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It's Draft Day! Let's Talk About It
The only thing better than waking up yesterday and hearing that Rudy Giuliani’s Upper East Side apartment was raided by the feds is waking up today and remembering that we’re less than 12 hours away from the 2021 NFL Draft. And because I’m such a kind, giving soul, here are your answers to some of…