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Edge of Sports

Robert Lipsyte Suffers No Fools, Takes No Prisoners

Edge of Sports

Dave Zirin / The Nation

News, Sports News, Sports, History, Politics

4.8616 Ratings

🗓️ 15 April 2016

⏱️ 69 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Today's guest hold the informal title of "greatest living sportswriter," Robert Lipsyte. Lipsyte distinguished himself with multiple stints at the New York Times, covering Muhammad Ali when he was still known as Cassius Clay. He is also noted for his recent tenure as an unflinching Ombudsman at ESPN. The author of celebrated books such as "SportsWorld: An American Dreamland" and his memoir “An Accidental Sportswriter,” Lipsyte offers Dave Zirin unvarnished opinions on the likes of Muhammad Ali, Billie Jean King, Bill Simmons and ‘Grantland,’ Derek Jeter and ‘The Player’s Tribune,’ the delays besetting ESPN’s ‘The Undefeated,’ Donald Trump, and his most indelible memory in sports: helping a Nigerian boxer named Dick Tiger mail his medal back to the Queen of England in protest.“Superbowling” by Robert Lipsyte, New York Times (January 18, 1969) http://nyti.ms/264VMclRobert Lipsyte New York Times archive http://nyti.ms/23AhWVgRobert Lipsyte website http://robertlipsyte.comRobert Lipsyte in The Nation http://thenation.com/authors/robert-lipsyteRobert Lipsyte's current column 'Codger' http://shelterislandreporter.timesreview.com/author/rlipsytehttp://edgeofsportspodcast.com | http://twitter.com/edgeofsports | http://fb.com/edgeofsportspod | email us: [email protected] by ctkrecording http://soundcloud.com/ctkrecording Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcript

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0:00.0

This episode of Edge of Sports is brought to you by Casper Mattresses, an obsessively engineered

0:04.8

mattress at a shockingly fair price. Get $50 off any mattress purchased by visiting

0:10.8

www.carsper.com slash Edge and using promo code Edge. Terms and conditions apply.

0:18.8

Welcome to the Edge of Sports podcast. I'm Dave Ziron.

0:23.4

We have an unbelievable show this week.

0:25.7

We are talking to longtime New York Times sports writer, former ombudsman for ESPN,

0:32.1

a man who covered Muhammad Ali back when he was known as Cassius Clay, the author of two of the most classic sports

0:39.3

books ever written, The Accidental Sports Writer and Sports World, an American Dreamscape.

0:44.3

I am talking about the legendary Robert Lipsight.

0:58.8

Muhammad Ali made possible Joe Namath, Billy Jean.

1:05.0

I mean, he kind of opened the way for people to stand up for whatever principles they had.

1:13.5

I think that ESPN wanted and needed to get rid of Bill Simmons.

1:17.0

Bill Simmons is fun and talented. I don't think he brought real money into the company.

1:21.6

And ultimately, you know, ESPN is totally bottom line.

1:25.8

Trump is the exquisite exemplar

1:29.4

of the worst features of jock culture,

1:32.3

the bullying, the domination.

1:35.1

Never say you're sorry.

1:37.2

Never apologize.

1:39.3

The need to win.

1:41.1

It's not even enough to win,

1:43.0

but you have to dominate and stomp the opposition to the ground.

...

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