Outspoken Black athletes weren’t hard to find before the 1980s, from Arthur Ashe to Muhammad Ali. But the arrival of superstars with hefty endorsement deals made apparel companies—and the athletes they sponsored—averse to social commentary, and some were bluntly punished for it. In 1996, NBA player Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf was indefinitely suspended after sitting out the national anthem in protest. The mood shifted, Anderson explains, once the outrages became too big to ignore, such as Trayvon Martin’s murder in 2012 and virulently racist remarks caught on tape by LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling in 2014. The author’s discussion of how these incidents ushered in a new era of protest, accelerated further by the Black Lives Matter movement, is workmanlike.... A useful primer on the ever shifting playing field of sports and race.
— Kirkus Reviews
In The Black Athlete Revolt, Dr. Anderson takes us on a journey through the history of Black athlete activism. We are reminded of the storied past and given a look at how today’s social justice movement is not only necessary, but alive in the souls of Black athletes.
— Dr. Ashley Baker, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Michigan State University Athletics
This is a well-written, expansive piece on the role sports have played in driving much-needed social change in America for decades. Dr. Shaun Anderson did an excellent job of highlighting myriad Black athletes and movements that have positively impacted marginalized communities in spite of systemic racism and oppression.
— Hunter Patterson, Live News Editor for The Athletic
The Black Athlete Revolt is a necessary read for anyone who desires to truly understand the contentious historical relationship between sports and politics. With this book, Dr. Anderson provides a thorough examination of the Black athletes and political figures who pioneered the call for social justice, and how the Black athletes of today have used that framework as motivation to continue the fight for societal change during one of the most significant periods of racial unrest. Dr. Anderson also delivers an invigorating perspective on how the Black Lives Matter movement has influenced social and political action by Black athletes at the collegiate and professional levels of sports and the role the movement will have in affecting social change moving forward. The Black Athlete Revolt is a credible and necessary resource for those who want to affect change!
— Marlon Edge, Associate Commissioner, Compliance and Governance, Western Athletic Conference