Dave Zirin

“The People's Historian: The Outsized Life of Howard Zinn” (2026)

“The Kaepernick Effect: Taking a Knee, Changing the World” (2021)

The Kaepernick Effect: Taking a Knee, Changing the World

“Brazil's Dance with the Devil: The World Cup, The Olympics, and the Struggle for Democracy” (2014)

As The 2014 World Cup And The 2016 Olympic Games Approach, Ordinary Brazilians Are Holding The Country's Biggest Protest Marches In Decades. Sports Journalist Dave Zirin Traveled To Brazil To Find Out Why. In A Rollicking Read That Travels From The Favelas Of Rio De Janeiro To The Fabled Maracanã Stadium To Zirin Examines How Athletic Mega-events Turn Into Neoliberal Trojan Horses. Finding Michael Jackson In Brazil -- Brazil: A Country For Everyone -- There Is No Sin Below The Equator -- Oh, Lula! -- Futebol: The Journey From Daring To Fear -- Killing Santa -- Neoliberal Trojan Horses And Sporting Shock Doctrines -- Target Fevelas -- Fifa-quality Schools By Dave Zirin. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 217-236) And Index.

“Game Over: How Politics Has Turned the Sports World Upside Down” (2013)

Sportscaster Howard Cosell dubbed it “rule number one of the jockocracy”: sports and politics just don’t mix. But in Game Over, celebrated alt-sportswriter Dave Zirin proves once and for all that politics has breached the modern sports arena with a vengeance. From the NFL lockout and the role of soccer in the Arab Spring to the Penn State sexual abuse scandals and Tim Tebow’s on-field genuflections, this timely and hard-hitting new book from the “conscience of American sportswriting” (The Washington Post) reveals how our most important debates about class, race, religion, sex, and the raw quest for political power are played out both on and off the field. Game Over offers new insights and analysis of headline-grabbing sports controversies, exploring the shady side of the NCAA, the explosive 2011 MLB All-Star Game, and why the Dodgers crashed and burned. It covers the fascinating struggles of gay and lesbian athletes to gain acceptance, female athletes to be more than sex symbols, and athletes everywhere to assert their collective bargaining rights as union members. Zirin also illustrates the ways in which athletes are once again using their exalted platforms to speak out and reclaim sports from the corporate interests that have taken it hostage. In Game Over, he cheers the victories but also reflects on how far we have yet to go. Combining brilliant set pieces with a sobering overview of today’s sports scene in Zirin’s take-no-prisoners style, Game Over is a must read for anyone, sports fan or not, interested in understanding how sports reflect and shape society—and why the stakes have never been higher.

“Bad Sports: How Owners Are Ruining the Games We Love” (2012)

Bad Sports: How Owners Are Ruining the Games We Love