Second Annual Conference Tackles Race and Gender

It’s no surprise that racism and misogyny crop up in stadiums and ballparks as much as anywhere else in America today. “Sports are a microcosm of the rest of society,” says Kevin Merida (’79), ESPN senior vice president and editor in chief of The Undefeated sports blog. But now, says Merida, who is also a BU trustee, “athletes are speaking out on issues. They’re seeing the same kind of social issues everyone else is seeing and reacting to them. Because of the influence they have, a lot of their reactions get attention.”

Race and gender in sports are in focus for this Friday’s second annual Play It Forward sports communication summit, cosponsored by the College of Communication and BU Athletics, with additional support from WBUR, BU’s National Public Radio station, and the University’s Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground.

“One of the reasons we’re doing this conference is because in this day and age sports journalists need to be conversant with more than just the Xs and Os, what goes on out on the field, and who was drafted with the first pick,” says COM lecturer and summit host Andrea Kremer, chief correspondent for the NFL Network, correspondent for Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel on HBO, and cohost of We Need to Talk on the CBS Sports Network.

Learn more about Play It Forward.