Face-to-Face with Olympian Feyisa Lilesa and the NFL's Weekend of Dissent

Edge of Sports

Dave Zirin / The Nation

Sports, History, Sports News, News, Politics

4.8 • 619 Ratings

🗓️ 14 September 2016

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

When Feyisa Lilesa crossed won silver at the 2016 Olympics, he raised his arms in an X formation, a symbol of solidarity with the Oromo Liberation struggle in his home of Ethiopia. We speak to Lilesa about why he fears for his life, who he holds dear as his athletic heroes and what message he has for Colin Kaepernick and USA athletes using their platform to speak out for social change. We also have choice words about the weekend of 9/11, national anthem protest in the NFL. We also have choice words about everyone who says that they support Colin Kaepernick but just "disapprove" of his methods. Finally a Just Stand Up award to Michael Oppong, a football player at Doherty Memorial High School in Worcester, Massachusetts who knelt during the national anthem despite the ire of his coach.Zirins ’Choice Words’ columns in The Nation: “Colin Kaepernick Is Winning” https://www.thenation.com/article/colin-kaepernick-is-winning/“Solidarity With Kaepernick Ripples Through the NFL on September 11” https://www.thenation.com/article/the-nfl-protest-you-didnt-hear-about-on-sunday/Feyisa Lilesa GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/2kykuuxs—http://edgeofsportspodcast.com | http://twitter.com/edgeofsports | http://fb.com/edgeofsportspod | email us: edgeofsports@slate.com—music: “What’s My Name” DMX (Self Service production) | “Fayyisaa Leellisaa" by Ittiiqaa Tafarii | “Ruff Ryders Anthem” DMX (Swizz Beats production) | “Come Clean” by Jeru the Damaja (DJ Premier production) | Scarface “Guess Who’s Back?” (Kanye West production) Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Edge of Sports podcast. I'm Dave Ziron. Our guests this week with one gesture, seized the 2016 Olympic spotlight and educated the world.
0:10.8	Ethiopian runner Feisa Lilesa won silver in the marathon, and when he crossed the finish line, he threw his arms up in an X.
0:21.7	He then did it again on the podium and for the press.
0:27.0	The X scene around the world is a symbol of defiance
0:30.4	that demonstrators in the Ebyopia perform at great personal risk.
0:35.2	It's a statement of solidarity with the masses of Oromo people who are
0:39.1	currently being displaced from their homes and farms in order to expand Ethiopia's capital city of
0:44.6	Addis Ababa into Oromia. Beginning just last December, the powers that be have, from behind the
0:52.0	barrel of a gun, uprooted thousands of Aromo and Amhara people
0:55.9	who have cultivated this land for generations. The result is that people are responding with the
1:01.4	most widespread acts of resistance in decades, and they have been met with a brutal crackdown.
1:07.5	According to Human Rights Watch, 400 people have been killed, thousands arrested,
1:12.2	and countless others have been disappeared. The government is insisting that if Feisa Lilesa
1:17.5	returns home, both he and his family will be safe. But Lilesa is not sure, saying if I go back to
1:23.9	Ethiopia, the government will kill me. Today we talk to Olympic silver medalist and
1:29.6	freedom fighter, Faisa Lilesa. Translation of Faisa's words will be done by journalist
1:35.2	Mohamed Ademo. Faisa Lila, how are you doing today? Fayeza Liza Lelisa, I'm doing great. thank you. Awesome.
1:46.0	So my first question is, why did you decide to make that X gesture at the Olympics?
1:54.6	Gaffin who, my name is that olympics?
1:59.8	Because myrish, Sudan, the women that's the day of the Olympics. and olympic it against Sufi, Malif Murtes it. I decided to make that gesture because my people were getting killed and getting imprisoned back in Ethiopia.
2:12.6	My people were saying we've had enough of the killings and the imprisonment and being forced into exile.
2:19.4	And they were asking for justice and equality and freedom.
	...

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