"That is why it is illuminating that sports media in the United States is so quiet in the face of the biggest story in the world: Israel’s war on the civilians of Gaza. It is not like there is a shortage of sports angles. We have an organization, Athletes for a Ceasefire, whose members will give interviews and talk about what’s happening. We have Israel killing top-level Palestinian players and Olympic coaches. We have the push to ban Israel from the Olympics and World Cup. We have the Palestinian National Women’s Soccer Team traveling to Ireland, where they were feted as heroes. We have Palestinian teams playing amid unimaginable hardship and carnage. The stories are there for those who want to tell them. Instead the most recent article on Gaza on ESPN’s website is from five months ago, and it’s just a reprint of an Associated Press story about an Israeli soccer player who was “investigated” by Turkish authorities for trying to raise awareness about the hostages while on the pitch. That’s it."
Dave Zirin on Sports, The Nation
One reason media ignore the story is because reporters, academics, people are getting canceled for supporting the civilians of Gaza or criticizing Israel. Zirin knows this. He's Jewish, which adds to his perspective. Some rightwing pol in Israel yesterday called Jewish street protesters against the Netanyahu gov part of "Hamas." For crying out loud, Greil Marcus was calling college protesters in the US agents of Hamas. Needless to say, speaking up for Gazans or speaking out against Israel's war, on any kind of sizable platform (social media, etc), takes courage.
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