sports

COMMENTARY
In this photo from a 2022 baseball game in Minneapolis, Minnesota, fans pose for a photo in front of a Pride sign at Target Field. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)

Happy Pride Month. Creepy, bully Republican lawmakers are fixated on assaulting our community

BY: - June 8, 2023

Happy Pride Month, America, where LGBTQ+ people are under constant assault by bully Republican lawmakers who are weirdly obsessed with our community, especially the transgender members of it. Transgender people — especially transgender people of color — have been leading the activist charge toward LGBTQ+ human rights and equality since the beginning, literally throwing the […]

COMMENTARY
University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas looks on after swimming the 500 freestyle during the 2022 Ivy League Womens Swimming and Diving Championships at Blodgett Pool on Feb. 17, 2022, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (Photo by Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)

On transgender student athletes: Just let them play

BY: - May 7, 2023

I received some needed clarity from an unlikely source while working on a column about recent legislation that has passed the U.S. House of Representatives targeting transgender athletes. “Trans Marathoner Defeats 14,000 Women in Race after Competing as Man Months Earlier,” reads the National Review headline. The wording seems to support the contention that transgender […]

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signs SB396, to create the Social Media Safety Act, on April 12, 2023, with bill sponsors, Rep. Jon Eubanks (left), R-Paris, and Sen. Tyler Dees, R-Siloam Springs. (Photo by Randall Lee/Governor's Office)

New Arkansas social media age verification law could complicate student-athletes’ publicity efforts

BY: - April 12, 2023

Austyn Dendy, a junior student-athlete at Pine Bluff High School, has college offers from numerous universities, including Tulane, the University of Nevada Las Vegas and the University of Mississippi.  Recruiters discovered Dendy and other outstanding Arkansas athletes like him through his high school coaches’ networks but also on social media.  Dendy, who participates in football, […]

COMMENTARY
Harry Kane #9 of England drives as Tyler Adams #4 of United States defends during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group B match between at Al Bayt Stadium on Nov. 25, 2022 in Al Khor, Qatar. The World Cup series will be played in Kansas City in 2026 (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

When the World Cup comes to Kansas City, tough questions will follow

BY: - December 12, 2022

Last weekend, the team representing the United States at the World Cup in Qatar crashed out of the tournament following a 3-1 loss against the Netherlands. As a fan, I have tracked this team from qualifying in CONCACAF to pre-tournament friendlies, from the group stage into the knockout round, monitoring the pre-match lineups and coaching […]

Two men place wagers on smart phones while sitting on sofa and watching soccer match together

Mobile sportsbooks off to a slow start in Arkansas

BY: - August 18, 2022

Arkansans wagered over $12.6 million on sports betting in June — a new monthly high, fueled by the rollout of mobile apps this spring by two of the state’s three casinos. But that figure remains paltry compared to neighboring states. In June, operators in Louisiana reported a combined “handle” — the total wagers placed at […]