Not Just a Game: Power, Politics & American Sports

In this Age of $elling Out, it's refreshing to look back at the accomplishments of some of our more spiritually substantial superstars of Sport. For me, the highlight of this documentary was the clearly-drawn distinction made between $ell-out$ like Lebron James and Michael Jordan and True Greats like Muhammad Ali and Tommie Smith and John Carlos. (With the possible exception of Larry Holmes, I haven't seen an athlete whose career was worth following since the retirement of Muhammad Ali- and, although Holmes had the "form" of an Ali, he most definitely didn't have the Substance. That's not a knock on Holmes, it's just a fact- and the fact that No One stood up and spoke out against The Iraq War tells you all you need to know about where it's at for most of today's high-priced athletes.) The price paid by men like Ali, Smith, and Carlos is probably unimaginable by today's Mathlete$. More's the pity: this being the kind of world it is, we could use a few more like them.