Thread by @axios

🏈HARD TRUTHS DEEP DIVE: SPORTS

We think of sports as the great equalizer. But from youth sports to the professional world, glaring inequities, often along racial lines, mirror our society.
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In theory, sports are an escape. In reality, they are a mirror — often perpetuating the most unjust aspects of society.

At each step along the athlete's journey, there are glaring inequities, often along racial lines, @TheKendallBaker writes.
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Throughout history, white American athletes have been afforded the opportunity to improve unimpeded while minorities have been left to scratch and claw for every inch.
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TIMELINE: Athletes throughout history have used their platform to bring attention to systemic inequalities including U.S. sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos and football player Colin Kaepernick. axios.com/hard-truths-de…

Youth sports have become a $19 billion industry centered around suburban life, propped up by the ubiquity of pay-to-play leagues, personal trainers and constant travel. The status quo has created a system that disproportionately affects children of color. axios.com/hard-truths-de…

College sports is a multibillion-dollar industry built largely on the backs of Black student-athletes who can't profit off their name, image and likeness and graduate at far lower rates than their white teammates.
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Asian Americans are among the fastest-growing U.S. ethnic groups, yet are underrepresented in professional sports.
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Despite an overwhelming majority of players being people of color, those numbers are nowhere near matched in coaching, management and senior administration — with the NFL having the furthest to go. axios.com/hard-truths-de…

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