The Complex Relationship Between Sports And Politics

In “A People’s History of Sports in the United States,” David Zirin asserts that “...one can hardly say that sports exist in a world separate from politics.” In other words, politics are often intertwined in the inner workings of sports, and sports figures often address and reflect issues seen in politics. The idea that sports and politics are separate and unrelated entities is an overly simplistic and superficial analysis of the complex relationship between sports and politics. Muhammad Ali was an image breaker in the the midst of the age of conformity, where black men had limited options on their public image. He was simply more than a polite and well spoken gentleman such as Patterson, and even more disliked than the public image of the