Sports talk radio: NO-lympics + diversity "pressure" at ESPN

Hello, and welcome to Asian American Sports Talk radio—from the site of the 2032 Olympics!

Three topics today:

First, the Chinese Communist Party held a massive centennial celebration last week (here’s Andy talking about it), and China-watchers pounced on one phrase from Xi Jinping’s speech: that haters would suffer “broken heads and spilled blood” (頭破血流). Hey, imperialist pigs, nothing to see here!

(8:20) Second, we discuss the racist origins, wasteful history, and cruel policies of the Olympic Games, ahead of the Tokyo games this month (and LA 2024, baby!). Also: some nostalgia for the 1988 Seoul Games, less so for Beijing 2008, and some proposals for how to continue watching some people run really fast in the future—but sustainably!

(53:10) Finally, we weigh in on revelations that ESPN journalist Rachel Nichols criticized the promotion of colleague Maria Taylor on “diversity” grounds, as detailed by Kevin Draper in the Times. We talk about the meaning of “hard work,” private conversations, media no-nos, and how to talk about diversity (or not) in 2021.

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