Ibram X. Kendi launches ESPN+ series on sports and race
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Ibram X. Kendi speaks onstage Stamped From The Beginning panel on August 04, 2023, in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. Photo: Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for MVAAFF
Boston University professor and author Ibram X. Kendi has kicked off an ESPN+ series that focuses on racism in the sports world.
Why it matters: Kendi, whose bestselling books on racism and its history in America have been banned by some schools after complaints by conservatives, is jumping into streaming with the sports project and an upcoming Netflix documentary.
The big picture: His ESPN+ series comes shortly after Kendi was forced to lay off several staffers at Boston University's Center for Antiracist Research, where he's a founding director.
- The center was created shorter after George Floyd's murder by Minneapolis police in 2020, and its goals include creating a nationwide tracker of racial disparities.
- But the center has been plagued by allegations of dysfunction and mistreatment of employees — allegations Kendi has called "baseless."
Zoom in: "Skin in the Game with Dr. Ibram X. Kendi," which began streaming last month on ESPN+, follows Kendi as he interviews athletes, experts and journalists about racism and sports.
- The five-episode series tackles such topics as the mental health of Black women athletes, Latinos in baseball and how sports journalists cover race.
- The series is co-produced by ESPN+ Originals and Andscape, in association with Religion of Sports and Kendi's Maroon Visions.
The series features vignettes from notable names, including W. Kamau Bell and Jemele Hill, and each episode ends with a roundtable discussion led by Kendi.
- The shows use footage from ESPN as participants critique sports coverage and discuss bias and other issues.
Zoom out: "Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You," by Jason Reynolds and Kendi, is one of the most-banned books at schools and libraries, according to the American Library Association.
- Kendi is a frequent target of conservatives on social media for his commentaries on race and discrimination.
Between the lines: The ESPN+ project with Kendi shows its parent company, Disney, is not turning away from tackling topics on race and diversity despite its battle with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who repeatedly has criticized the company's inclusion policies as "woke."
What they're saying: "I hope that people are able, through the series, to not just see their favorite athletes, but also see the lingering challenges of racism in sports and society," Kendi tells Axios.
- Kendi, who was an aspiring sports reporter in college, said watching and dissecting sports allowed him at an early age to question the conditions that surround and foster racism.
- "There are ways in which we all understand the ways in which we understand racism is operating, and there are ways in which we don't," he said.
Of note: Kendi, 41, announced recently that he had recovered from Stage 4 colorectal cancer after being diagnosed in 2018.
What's next: On Nov. 15, Netflix is scheduled to release the documentary "Stamped from the Beginning," based on Kendi's book by the same title.
