What if Muhammad Ali Had Received a Draft Deferment?

What if Muhammad Ali Had Received a Draft Deferment?

What if Muhammad Ali Had Received a Draft Deferment?

Writer Mike Pesca stops by to talk about his new book about the greatest “what-ifs” in sports history.

Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky
Pocket
Email

This week we speak to Mike Pesca from The Gist podcast about his new book, Upon Further Review: The Greatest What-Ifs In Sports History. This was a really fun conversation, and we talk about topics ranging from what if Muhammad Ali had received a draft deferment and Len Bias in a Celtics uniform, to the reaction of Peter Norman had he raised his fist alongside John Carlos and Tommie Smith at the 1968 Olympics. You gotta check this one out!

Also we have Choice Words about Dawuane “D.J.” Smoot’s challenge to NFL leadership over its anthem policy. Our Just Stand Up and Just Sit Down awards go to the brave truth-tellers, Anne Kursinski and Susan Lomenzo Langer, equestrians who came forward to report their legendary coach Jimmy Williams of sexual abuse, and the top brass at the NFL. Our Kaepernick Watch contains news on his collusion case and we got a Patreon shoutout!

Mike Pesca
Twitter: @pescami
Upon Further Review: The Greatest What-Ifs in Sports History

Zirin
Dawuane Smoot and the Subterranean Fire in the NFL

Support The Nation’s June Fundraising Campaign

With the midterm elections now firmly upon us, the question is whether Democratic candidates will do more than merely occupy ballot lines as mild alternatives to the red-hot crisis that is Donald Trump.

As Trump spends over $1 billion a day on a globally destabilizing war on Iran and admits that he doesn’t “think about Americans’ financial situation,” millions across the country are struggling with the surging costs of essentials. Democrats must seize this moment and advance bold, small-“d” populist ideas—not settle for cynical caution that once again snatches defeat from the jaws of victory.

The Nation elevates progressive ideas, movements, and elected officials achieving real change across the country into the national conversation. At the same time, our journalists are exposing how crypto and AI-funded super PACs are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to knock out candidates they oppose, reporting on the devastating impact of the Supreme Court’s evisceration of the Voting Rights Act, and sounding the alarm on attempts by red states to quickly redraw electoral maps, disenfranchising Southern Black voters.

We can play this critical role because of support from readers like you. This June, we’re raising $20,000 to power The Nation’s independent journalism in the run-up to November’s immensely consequential elections.

It’s in our power to build a more just society, and your support at this critical moment brings us closer to that bold vision. I hope you’ll donate today.

Onward,

Katrina vanden Heuvel
Editor and Publisher, The Nation

Ad Policy
x