Not Just a Game

“Be sure to watch this thrillingly provocative film before you see your next game if you finally want to know what sports is all about. Dave Zirin is wonderful, and the folks at MEF are a national resource. Not Just a Game is a powerful teaching tool.”

“Dave Zirin’s film is both brilliant and, even better than that, honest. The sports world is a far more interesting place when viewed through the lens of Not Just a Game.”

“Although an adage proclaims sports and politics don’t mix, this powerful documentary presents a convincing argument to the contrary. According to sportswriter Dave Zirin, ‘American sports have long been at the center of some of the major political debates and struggles.’ Pairing well-chosen game, interview, and film clips with insightful commentary, Zirin systematically demonstrates the link between athletics and society’s standards. He begins by equating football and its celebration of sacrifice, violence, and masculinity to the military, using football player Pat Tillman’s enlistment and tragic death as an example. Billie Jean King’s celebrated 1973 tennis victory over Bobby Riggs, and her influence on women’s sports is celebrated next. The color barrier is highlighted through footage of boxer Jack Johnson and baseball icon Jackie Robinson. Most involving are scenes of boxing champ Mohammed Ali, who risked fame and fortune to speak out against war and racism, and clips of ostracized athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos whose black power salute at the 1968 Olympics shocked the world and sent a statement. This thought-provoking documentary is sure to jog memories and spark debate.”

“Recommended for libraries for its unusual viewpoint and use of historic film clips.”

“Not Just a Game opens with assertions by two very different athletes —- Jesse Owens and Pete Sampras —- that sports have nothing to do with politics. 'And yet,' observes the tireless and most wonderful Dave Zirin, 'Everywhere we look, there seems to be a strange contradiction of this No Politics rule, prominent in powerful displays of nationalism and patriotism and military might that seem nothing if not political. …Not Just a Game offers the inspiration of those athletes who have opted to resist orthodoxy, to support individual and community rights, to challenge rules that do damage. Like Jackie Robinson and Muhammad Ali, Martina Navratilova, John Carlos and Tommie Smith, John Amaechi, and Scott Fujita have made visible the collision of sports and politics.”

“For those who sympathize with critic Umberto Eco’s characterization of the endless clichés and banal debate that normally pass for sports journalism as the 'glorification of waste,' Zirin is a refreshing voice of both reason and radicalism. Like no one else within the sports-media complex, he has, in his own words,'“made a career out of trying to understand that murky place where sports and politics collide.' Needless to say, I was eager to see Not Just a Game, the new documentary in which Zirin, in collaboration with the Media Education Foundation, shows why arguing that sport is apolitical is like arguing that Hosni Mubarak deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. The film does not disappoint, and it successfully takes on the 'de-politicized, sanitized, and hyper-commercialized sports world' by tackling four main themes: the militarization of sport, struggles for gender equality by female athletes, struggles for racial justice by athletes of color, and the commodification of sport… To be clear, everyone -- sports fans and non-fans alike -- should see this movie. That said, it will be especially useful for those who teach courses on the history and politics of sport in the U.S. My sense is that teachers and scholars have been caught up in an endless repetition of the same three examples -- Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, and the Black Power salute at 1968 Olympics -- whenever they want to prove Zirin’s point that sports and politics do mix. Certainly, these are important stories, and Not Just a Game gives them the attention they deserve. But the documentary does one better by demolishing the sanitized narratives of athletes like Billie Jean King, Jackie Robinson, and Pat Tilman -- athletes who, unlike Ali and Brown, rarely get discussed outside the context of vapid references to ‘tolerance’, ‘colorblindness’, or ‘service to country’. Hopefully, the movie will cause some discomfort for those who, like many of my students, want desperately to believe that the sports they hold so dear are just a game.”

“Zirin’s entertaining narrative will definitely intrigue even the smallest of sports fans.”

“By turns moving, maddening, touching, enlightening, hilarious, and sad. I cannot think of a better way to teach my students about such a wide array of issues than having them watch this film.”

“Not Just a Game is an incredibly powerful and important film. It transcends sports and goes straight to the heart of social struggle in the United States. For educators who have ever battled to keep the attention of students who would rather be checking the latest scores on ESPN.com, this film is the perfect pedagogical intervention -- a highlight reel of critical issues at the intersection of sports and politics from the past fifty years. It’s got everything: gender, race, class, and sex. An anti-bullying message that’s as effective as it is inspiring. Priceless footage, action, and a high-energy history of courageous progressive activism that will keep young people watching. It’s SportsCenter on social-justice steroids. I can’t recommend it highly enough.”

“Not Just a Game doesn’t argue whether sports should or should not be political as much as establishes a strong claim that sports and politics are — and will continue to be -- inextricably linked. Zirin shapes a debate around what athletes and other sports entities do when the spotlight is on them or when they are given the microphone. In doing so, the film makes a strong case for cultural literacy related to sport and the tremendous impact it inherently exudes when we consume it.”

“Not Just a Game is a welcome counter-statement to those who insist that sport and politics do not mix. With passion and wit, Dave Zirin demonstrates persuasively how and why politics are a part of sport, and why sport matters to politics. Not Just a Game is sure to enlighten and enliven any classroom discussion of nationalism, gender, race, and class as they intersect with sport.”

“Not Just a Game puts to rest the myth that sports and politics don’t mix. Instead, David Zirin shows how sports play a central role in creating and sometimes contesting racism, sexism, militarism, and commercialized violence. Zirin, who has emerged as the most important progressive voice in American sport, challenges teachers, students, athletes and sports fans not to deny the existence of politics in sport, but instead, in the tradition of Tommie Smith and Billie Jean King, to take personal risks to ensure that sport becomes a realm for the promotion of egalitarian and peaceful human values and relations.”

“A very challenging documentary, especially for those prone to romanticize sports as a politics-free zone. Engagingly and articulately presented by Dave Zirin and infused with highly evocative file footage, the film illuminates how sports is, and always has been, drenched in the politics of class, race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality. It is a vivid work that does not only educate viewers about sports and its media, but can also educate the sports media about their own tunnel-visioned practice.”

“With a profound commitment to social justice and human rights, Dave Zirin provocatively challenges us to rethink the cultural politics of sport and its impact on everyday life. Whether discussing such topics as the intersection of sport and militarism or the racial logics of sport in late-capitalism, Zirin contests at every turn the taken-for granted assumptions about and underlying power relations governing sport in the historical present. His film is a stunning achievement, boldly leading the next generation of American sportswriters toward a more honest, activist future.”

“Dave Zirin is one of our best critics of sport culture and his excellent documentary provides illuminating images of sports and politics, including both how sports is complicit with U.S. nationalism and militarism, and how sports is a terrain of struggle over issues such as race, gender, and sexuality. Zirin’s doc thus depicts and analyzes the conservative dimensions of sports and how it helped promote civil liberties around race, gender, and sexuality.”

“The close counterpoint between the film’s biting analysis and superb visual presentation is highly believable and profoundly unsettling. The gladiators that our culture celebrates for their irrepressible individualism or exceptional team spirit are in fact little more than pawns in a game that’s all about corporate profit, endless commmodification and chest-thumping patriotism. The true sports heroes that are so often misunderstood or marginalized, those who have rejected corporate excess and reflexive nationalism, are given their full due -- Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, Billy Jean King, Martina Navratalova, Tommy Smith, John Carlos and so many others.”

“The documentary does a fantastic job of showing how sports, especially professional sports, are and have always been deeply and powerfully political -- both because and in spite of the tendency to use them to escape from the problems and tensions of everyday life. Dave Zirin’s analysis explains clearly the ways in which sports have been used to sustain profound social inequality, to justify differential treatment of human beings because of their skin color or gender or sexual preference or religious identity, and to silence dissent and challenges to dominant sociopolitical interests. As divisive and as politically regressive as some aspects of the sporting world are, though, Zirin also highlights the utility of sports for uniting people and achieving politically progressive ends. Exploring the lives and political activities of figures such as Jack Johnson, Jackie Robinson, Billie Jean King, Pat Tillman, and Muhammad Ali, Not Just a Game goes well beyond the ring, field, and court to explore how profoundly the narrative of sports and the men and women competing in them are bent to serve political and economic ends -- and to show clearly how athletes who speak out against the dominant social order are often deliberately misunderstood, ignored, or only selectively remembered. The documentary clearly and concisely articulates, in one hour, the key points I’ve sometimes struggled to convey in an entire semester’s worth of classes about sports and American culture.”

“Not Just a Game exhibits the rare ability to reduce complex issues to their social and political cores, thereby providing audiences -- more readily attuned to the banal superficialities of the sport media -- with an informed critical lens with which to more progressively engage and experience American sport culture. It cleverly uses the popular images, events, and embodiments of American sport culture as an engaging vehicle for critiquing the gendered, sexist, racist, commercialized, and militaristic norms of contemporary American society more generally. Destined to be loathed and pilloried by the sporting mainstream, which is a clear indication of it success and importance as a critical and radical counterpoint.”

“Four Stars! Not Just a Game is a movie that matters. Brilliantly structured, with not a second wasted, and enlivened throughout by Dave Zirin’s perceptive insights and wit, it will prove to be a boon for classroom discussions about the links between homophobia, hypernationalism, racism, sexism, and class exploitation. Viewers who haven’t thought about the politics of sports will enjoy having their eyes opened, while those already engaged will be fortified and encouraged to think in a sophisticated, critical way about the meaning and consequences of their participation in sports as athletes and as fans. I’d nominate Not Just a Game for an Oscar if I could!”

“It’s a long time coming for a documentary like this to be made. Watching it was an absolutely fantastic experience.”

“Not Just a Game is the classroom tool we have all been waiting for. In just one hour this film raises consciousness and knowledge about the history of racism, sexism, homophobia, militarism, activism, and commercialism in the United States -- while keeping students and adults fully engaged. How is that possible? The film draws on the American obsession with sports and is narrated by the dynamic and ever-so-knowledgeable sports columnist Dave Zirin. Zirin’s delivery is as skillful as any radio sportscaster, boiling down all the action to the most exciting and important moves on the field -- or in this case — in history. He makes visible what has been erased from the history books and contemporary imagination. This is one film that can and should be used to raise awareness and discussion in every junior and senior high school classroom in the country.”

“Not Just a Game is not just a documentary on sports and politics: it’s the winning play for teachers who want to kick off student inquiry into issues of race, class, gender, and social justice. Dave Zirin’s passion for sports, and his laser-like focus on how the games we play link up with larger forces in the culture, connected big-time with my students -- especially with those who don’t always sit up their straightest in history class. If you’re looking for new ways to talk about sexism, racism, homophobia, or bullying in your classroom without turning your students off, this is the film for you. A showing of Not Just a Game is now written in ink in my lesson plan book."