Why The Right Is So Mad About Trans Athletes
Edge of Sports
Dave Zirin / The Nation
4.8 • 616 Ratings
🗓️ 4 April 2022
⏱️ 51 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week we speak to Purdue University’s Cheryl Cooky about her column defending trans swimmer Lia Thomas and the hellacious backlash that followed. It's a very fascinating discussion you don't want to miss.
We've also got Choice Words about Brittney Griner, who continues to be imprisoned in Russia with a chilling silence surrounding the situation. There are Just Stand Up awards for some brave souls at the NCAA Final Four calling attention to Brittney Griner. And we give a Just Sit Down award to Coach K, who’s career has thankfully come to an end. Plus: a brand new Kaepernick Watch! All this and more on this week’s show!
Cheryl Cooky
Twitter: ProfCooky
Zirin, Portland Soccer Feels the Power of Protest
https://www.thenation.com/article/society/portland-timbers-merritt-paulson-rctid/
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the Edge of Sports podcast. I'm Dave Ziron. This week we are talking to Dr. Cheryl Cookie. |
| 0:17.5 | She is a professor at Purdue University who studies the intersections of |
| 0:21.5 | sport, gender, culture, and media. But we're talking about her because she wrote a column this |
| 0:25.9 | week that went completely viral and earned her a tidal wave of hate and vitriol from the |
| 0:33.8 | fascistic right wing on questions of transgender athletes. |
| 0:38.7 | She wrote a piece called Leah Thomas' NCAA championship performance gives women's sports |
| 0:44.0 | a crucial opportunity. |
| 0:46.9 | And she writes, anyone who cares about the advancement of sports and women's sports in particular |
| 0:52.1 | should celebrate her win. I'm so glad Cheryl Cookie's |
| 0:56.7 | going to talk to us about her column and the uproar it caused and give her the chance to speak |
| 1:01.6 | about what she's been through the last week because it's been something else, no joke. |
| 1:07.8 | Also, I've got some choice words about why I believe the tactical silence around Brittany Griner is just not working. |
| 1:18.5 | I've also got Just Stand Up and Just Sit Your Ass Down Awards. |
| 1:22.6 | I've also got Kaepernick Watch and more. |
| 1:25.6 | But first, let's talk to Cheryl Cookie. |
| 1:32.0 | So, Professor Cookie, how are you? I'm doing well. How are you? Doing very nicely. |
| 1:38.8 | On this lovely Saturday, first, I just wanted to ask you, just to start, how did this column come about? |
| 1:47.6 | I mean, why did you feel the imperative to write something? And how did you make the connection |
| 1:52.2 | with NBC News? Like, how did this come to be? Yeah, so I had an editor at NBC Think reach out to me a few weeks ago and asked if I'd be interested. |
| 2:04.8 | They were looking for someone to write on, you know, sort of gender, sport, culture, and |
| 2:10.6 | those intersections. And this was sort of in the lead up to the Super Bowl. So I wrote a piece about |
| 2:16.3 | NFL cheerleaders and the incredible, |
... |
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