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Sports & Politics Intersect: Trump's Twitter tirades target LeBron, NFL
Omar Marques/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Sports & Politics Intersect: Trump's Twitter tirades target LeBron, NFL

“That rhetoric is all based in some longstanding racism in terms of black men with a voice in power. Unfortunately, that’s being revealed more and more as the days go on.” Steph Curry, Golden State Warriors

Last week, LeBron James unveiled his I Promise School, a new, state-of-the-art public school for at-risk youth in his native Akron. In the process of publicizing his good deed, James criticized President Donald Trump, whom he accused of using sports to create discord and division. Last Friday night, Trump struck back in a tweet where he questioned the athlete's intelligence, as well as that of Don Lemon and Rep. Maxine Waters (notably, all three of them are black). The president of the United States then weighed in on the LeBron vs. Michael Jordan, saying that he "liked Mike."

The backlash to Trump was immediate. Fellow basketballers like Donovan Mitchell and Elena Delle Donne (speaking of which, no other league has been more vocal about using its platform than the WNBA, gaining fans in the process) were quick to come at King James' defense. Two-time league MVP Steph Curry took it even further, accusing Trump of racism. Also siding with James were Aaron Rodgers, his new employers, the league commissioner and even Jumpman himself, who issued a barebones statement. That Michael Jordan chimed in at all is noteworthy; there's a long-living apocryphal story about the iconic player reportedly saying that “Republicans bought sneakers too” to explain his apolitical nature.

Also praising the newest Laker was First Lady Melania Trump, who applauded him for empowering his community. Her camp would later clarify that her commendation shouldn't be interpreted as her taking sides. 

By the looks of it, President Trump isn't done chiming in about sports and politics — earlier today, he tweeted about NFL players protesting during their preseason games. But then again, neither is LeBron James — he's producing a docu-series for Showtime called "Shut Up and Dribble" (the title was no doubt inspired by Laura Ingraham's dog-whistling segment) — or other prominent athletes for that matter.

Need to know now: 


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This week in sports and politics history: Lizzie “Spike” Murphy takes the field at Fenway 


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"But most important, she produces the goods and, all in all, she's a real player.” - Eddie Carr, manager of the All-Stars of Boston on Lizzie Murphy

Spike Murphy was one of the biggest draws on the diamond during the summers of the 1920s and early 1930s. This barnstorming ballplayer digging out throws at first base would regularly head into the stands to sell autographs between innings and would become one of the most important players in the game’s history. Murphy went by Lizzie off the field, and on it, she became the first woman to play in an exhibition baseball game against major league competition

Lizzie Murphy began playing amateur baseball on men’s teams when she was 15, and three years later she began her professional career playing for the Providence Independents. Murphy became a huge draw in the games that she played in, and recognizing what she brought to the very first team she played for, she threatened to sit out a game unless she was paid as an equal to her male counterparts. 

At age 24, Murphy connected with Eddie Carr, the manager of the Traveling All-Stars, a barnstorming baseball team that played games from New England to Canada. After negotiating a $5 per game fee plus a percentage at the gate, Murphy stayed with Carr’s team for almost 20 years. 

Just before she signed with Carr, Murphy took first base at Fenway Park with the American League All-Stars against the Boston Red Sox in an exhibition game on Aug. 14, 1922. As the story goes, Harvey McClellan was determined to embarrass Murphy in front of such a huge crowd. After taking a grounder at third base, McClellan put all the mustard he had on his throw to first. Murphy didn’t just bring in the throw, but she had to stretch out for the ball because Murphy threw it a little outside thinking it would sail out of her reach. 

Murphy was an all-around athlete who was an accomplished runner and skater and chopped wood in the offseason to stay in shape. She was a career .300 hitter and excellent in the field. And despite everything she accomplished, Murphy would go on to say, “It’s hard to explain why I liked baseball so much. And the more I think about it, the less I understand the reason.” To be fair, what baseball fan hasn’t felt this exact sentiment at some point in his or her life?

Regardless of how she felt about the game later in life, Murphy became the first woman to play at Fenway against an MLB team in August 1922 and should be celebrated as a pioneer. 

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