Sports, pop culture and politics have always gone together. From the comeback story of Meek Mill to the activism of Colin Kaepernick — who just last week settled a collusion case with the NFL out of court — what athletes and musicians do often has bigger implications than just scoreboards and record sales.
That’s always been evident to Justin Tinsley , a sports and culture reporter for The Undefeated, an ESPN website.
He’s written about everything from the politics of the Super Bowl halftime show to what to look forward to in this year’s NBA All-Star game. But his bread and butter is taking a step back and examining how what athletes and musicians do affects the world they live in.
“I’ve always told people I never wanted to just write about what was happening on the field or what happened in a recording booth,” he said. “Because it’s like this: You don’t need me to tell you that LeBron James is good at basketball … but if there’s a correlation, if there’s something about LeBron off the court that parlays to what he does on the court, that’s where the story is for me.”
Tinsley spoke to WGBH News while he was at Harvard’s Shorenstein Center, and he talked about Colin Kaepernick, the effect of the Trump presidency on pro sports and why he doesn’t think activism by athletes is something that will fade away.
“Once you achieve one thing, there’s like two more that you’ve gotta keep fighting for,” Tinsley said. “So I don’t think there’s ever gonna be an end goal.”
Read More: Watch Justin Tinsley's address to Shorenstein fellows
