Hello there,
I’m Andie Crossan. You may know me as the GRC’s executive director and the host of State of Play. I’m excited to share that we are bringing you bonus episodes of the podcast. Over the next few weeks, we’re zooming in on sports, politics, and human rights.
For the first episode, we take a hard look at the world’s most popular sport – soccer – specifically the FIFA Club World Cup. This tournament, which is currently taking place in cities across the US (including LA), pits the world’s top club teams from each region against one another. It’s an event that has flown under the radar for many people. Especially for those in LA, since the soccer party is happening at the same time that immigration sweeps are taking place and anti-ICE protests are happening. So I called up the person I know who follows all things LA: urbanist and journalist, Alissa Walker. Alissa’s Torched LA newsletter focuses on the city’s sports industrial complex and its impact on LA’s infrastructure.
It is dangerous for half of the city’s population to be outside in public spaces right now. I don’t know any other way to put it. They are doing racial profiling, attacking and kidnapping people based on what they look like. So, how do you have things like fan zones, watch parties, and open streets events?
—Alissa Walker, urbanist and journalist
Alissa’s concerns are echoed by another expert I know — Jules Boykoff. You may remember Jules from last season when he and I were in Paris ahead of the Olympics. Jules is a professor of sports politics and political activism at Pacific University in Oregon, and has unique insights into major soccer tournaments, having been a former professional soccer player.
“Trump is not likely to squander an opportunity to engage in sports washing using sports to self-aggrandize on the global stage, while at the same time stoking nationalism, bolstering the state security apparatus and deflecting attention from domestic social problems.”
—Jules Boykoff, professor of sports politics and political activism at Pacific University in Oregon
Get an update from LA and a look at how U.S President Donald Trump and FIFA head Gianni Infantino have become BFFs. Listen to the first bonus episode here. ⚽
Andie Crossan,
Executive Director
