The most important man you don’t know
Do you know what the best thing about creating your own thing is? You make the rules. You are in charge. No longer having to do things because “that’s just the way it has always been done.” The standard now gets set by you and if others don’t like it, they can leave.
This debut issue is defined by creation. The creation of a brand new sports magazine and a brand new category from a word that is sure to enter the lexicon sooner than later.
GOAT The Magazine. The brainchild of Andre Brown and Joseph Lee. A magazine that is under the sports umbrella but dives a bit deeper than your typical sports publication and is also more multifaceted. We are giving you human stories, educational articles, and unique sports features. This is a space where casual and legit sports meet and both leave satisfied.
Socioathletic. It’s not a word. Yet. But it is a term that we have created, how we describe our magazine, and that Joe perfectly described:
“The intersection of social dynamics and athletic activities. It encompasses the study and understanding of the social aspects, influences, and implications within the realm of sports and physical activities. This term recognizes that sports are not just about physical performance but are deeply intertwined with social structures, cultural norms, and interpersonal relationships.
It explores how factors such as race, gender, class, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status intersect with sports participation, performance, and experiences. It delves into the social impact of sports on individuals, communities, and societies at large, including issues of inequality, discrimination, identity formation, and socialization.
Additionally, socio-athletic examines how sports can be used as a tool for social change, empowerment, and community development.”
This is what we have created, this is ours and this is what we are sharing with you all. Welcome to the show and enjoy. Also, shout out to Craig Hodges.
With love, Andre Brown
Publisher Andre Brown & Joseph Lee
Editor-In-Chief Andre Brown
Creative Director Andre Brown and Joseph Lee
Writers Andre Brown and Britney Collins
Advertising Joseph Lee
Think about what you know about hockey really quickly. I am sure what came to mind immediately was Canada, the NHL, and white people. You can be honest here, it’s a safe space. And that’s okay that those all came to mind first because that is what we have all been subconsciously trained to think about that game
But 169 years ago, the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes a region in Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island was created Yes, before the National Hockey League 30 something years before as a matter of fact So before the Montreal Canadiens, the Ottawa Senators, and the Original Six, there were the Halifax Eurekas, the Dartmouth Jubilees, and the Charlottetown West End Rangers.
There are a lot of instances in which Black people have to create something because they are not given the same opportunities as others. Or other times they simply invent shit because their mind works like that �� But with the creation of the CHL, the basis for this league was actually religion. Mixing sports and religion is always a good time, isn’t it?
The league was organized and founded by Henry Sylvester Williams, a law student at Dalhousie University, a private university in Halifax, Nova Scotia, James A.R. Kinney, a Cornwallis Street Baptist Church layman, Pastor James Borden from Dartmouth Lake Baptist Church, and James Robinson Johnston, the first Black graduate of the of Dalhousie law program. The league was created to get young Black men to attend church and the first rule book for the league was the Bible. Can’t make this up, folks.
Two of the founders created the first three teams that made up the league; Williams’s church in Halifax founded the Halifax Stanley and the Halifax Eurekas. Pastor Borden would form the Dartmouth Jubilees from his Lake Baptist Church The Stanley won the first-ever CHL championship while the Eurekas were the CHL’s first dynasty, winning the next five championships.
In 1900, five new teams were added to expand the league to eight teams; Africville Sea-Sides, the Truro Victorias, the Charlottetown West End Rangers, the Amherst Royals, and the Hammond Plains Moss Backs and later topped out at 12 teams New century, new league!
This was not your typical sports league that you see today, it more resembled an adult kickball league or something along those lines. There was no set schedule of games, the games were not always played at a rink but sometimes on frozen ponds, and there wasn’t even a commissioner Games were arranged via a letter invite or a challenge in the local paper. Imagine games being set up like that today. The Dodgers TikTok account making a reel challenging the Yankees to a three-game series.
For a league that was not a league, there were consistently great turnouts for games. Attendance ranged from 1000-1200 a game while crowds for white hockey games during that time turned out 200-300 people. The pioneering style of play was a huge reason for that
Much like how the dunk contest and three-point shot were taken by the NBA from the ABA. Much like how the sky cam and the player-led pregame intros were taken by the NFL from the XFL The Colored Hockey League made several contributions to today’s current hockey game that we see today such as the slap shot, the butterfly save move and cross-checking.
Talking about all the good times certainly does not mean there weren’t racial roadblocks that the players and coaches endured. I mean it was still the late 1800s and early 1900s after all.
Rinks were often booked by white teams in the cold months so CHL teams had to take the rinks in late February, late March when the rink ice was soft and slow There was verbal abuse in print and in person from crowds who came to heckle and journalists who wrote racial epithets in the papers.
The foundational reason the Colored Hockey League even existed was to bring young men closer to religious faith, the reason it stopped having a heartbeat was because men had more faith in money, per usual. In 1905, an extended rail service was proposed by provincial and city officials that would be annexation to the city of Africville. Naturally, the residents were infuriated by this and engaged in a legal battle that would span five years to stop the annexation.
In the midst of this legal back-and-forth, rink owners in the Maritimes stopped renting out to, not just the CHL, but any Black people in general Also, the local newspaper stopped their coverage of the league effective immediately. All this as a way to punish the Black people for speaking up against their land being taken from them. With nowhere to play and no way to promote it, the Colored Hockey League was done in 1911
Ten years later, the CHL actually re-emerged! But like it always goes, the sequel doesn’t compare to the original. Except for The Godfather 2. Or Home Alone 2. Or Bad Boys 2! Anyway, you get my point. The soul and essence that made the first iteration were gone. The four founding members had passed, the original players in the original league were older and by this time, a new hockey league had captivated the country’s imagination. The National Hockey League, I think it’s called? I wonder how it ended up doing.
The Colored Hockey League was unconventional, groundbreaking and mostly unknown but it deserves to be talked about, respected and most importantly, known about A group of Black men embarked on something historical not for fame, not for money but because they just wanted to play hockey. The CHL was inducted into the Maritimes Sports Hall of Fame as it should be and also, in 2010, the city of Halifax finally issued an overdue apology in remembrance of the Africville residents and rebuilt the local church that was destroyed over a century ago as a place where current residents that learn about the past community that was driven out.
WHAT IF ...THE DETROIT PISTONS
DRAFTED CARMELO ANTHONY IN 2003?
Melo going to the Pistons sets off a chain of alternate events that changes his perception, the Pistons organization, and the NBA.
In the 2003 NBA Draft, the Detroit Pistons select Carmelo Anthony, from Syracuse University. This move injects a veteran Pistons with some youth and a bonafide iso scorer that could’ve sorely been used on that team. They didn’t know it yet but, a month prior to the 2003 NBA Draft, the Pistons would start a streak of six consecutive Eastern Conference Finals appearances with two NBA Finals appearances and an NBA Title in 2004.
Having Melo during that stretch would have been a game changer. The championship core of Billups, Rip, Big Ben and Tayshaun with a successor to the throne that can drop 25 points in his sleep coming off the bench or in a supporting role? The perfect environment for both parties!
And for the “rings culture” people, that talk wouldn’t pertain to Anthony because he would have a title from 2004 and 2005. He would be the difference maker in that classic Finals match against the Spurs AND he would have been the Finals MVP. Then there’s the LeBron component to all this.
In every sport and in every era, there’s a dominant athlete who comes along and either wins everything or puts themselves in a position to win everything becoming a roadblock. Gretzky in hockey in the 80s and 90s, Serena in tennis in 2000s and 2010s, and Tiger in the 90s and 2000s are just a few examples. As we all know, LeBron was that in 2010s to his peers.
With Melo in Detroit to start his career, he would already have two titles before LeBron even makes the playoffs. The way that would change the narrative of Carmelo before he comes into his own as the elite scorer we know him to be. That LeBron-Melo rivalry that everyone wanted when they first came into the league would be alive and well.
In May 2007, the Detroit Pistons, the aged and battered yet savvy veterans and champions, were battling the Cleveland Cavaliers featuring a 22-year-old LeBron James.
A LeBron James that averaged 26 ppg, 9 rpg and 8.5 apg. A LeBron James who, in Game 5, scored 25 straight points 29 out of the team’s last 30, for a total of 48 points in a breakthrough performance.
Would having Melo on the team have stopped that show? Probably not. Anthony was not known as a defensive stopper. But he definitely would’ve matched James shot for shot in a duel that rivaled Dominque & Bird in ‘88 and AI (the true one) and Carter in 2001. Melo would have not only been the answer to LeBron issue in 2007, he would’ve been the answer to LeBron throughout his entire run in the East, Miami included.
Carmelo being a Piston means that the team would feel good about letting go of its championship core sooner than they intended to and rebuild around Anthony. From 2006-2009, Billups, Big Ben, and Sheed were gone. Rip and Tayshaun stayed until the beginning of the next decade but they were hanging on as fan favorites. With a young superstar ready to take over for the next era of Pistons basketball, the front office now has a selling piece for the fans and fellow players.
So in the memorable summer of 2010 when LeBron James AND Chris Bosh were both free agents, who is to say they wouldn’t strongly consider pairing up with Melo in Detroit to win “not one, not two, not three…..not four, not five, not six” championships? If you don’t think there is any way a Big Three could have been made in the Motor City simply due to Anthony’s presence, you are lying to yourself and, don’t do that. A LeBron/Melo/Bosh dynasty would have been more than possible.
Now this Big 3 goes to the next four NBA Finals. They beat the Dallas Mavericks in 2011 (sorry Dirk) and the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2012, losing to the San Antonio Spurs in 2013, but rebounding with their third title in four years in 2014 by beating the Los Angeles Clippers (yes, seriously) in a better-than-expected six-game series.
Now Carmelo enters his 12th NBA season with four titles, as a Detroit Pistons legend, and approaching being in the top 10 on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. As each season passes and his final season approaches, rumblings get louder on whether Detroit should move on from their alltime leading scorer or let him stay as long as he wants. Not only does he stay a Piston until 2022, his last season but he gets the well-deserved statue outside of Little Caesars Arena in 2027.
There is nothing wrong with Carmelo Anthony’s current career. From his only season at Syracuse to his last season with the L.A. Lakers, he has a career in reality that he should be, and more than likely, is proud of and one that will get him enshrinement into the Basketball Hall of Fame on the first ballot. It’s just always fun to think about what if….
Questions by Andre Brown, words and pictures by Dr. Harry Edwards
Dr. Harry Edwards, Ph.D is your favorite activist’s favorite activist. And at 81, the body might be slowing down but his mind is as sharp as ever.
You don’t know who Dr. Harry Edwards is.
If you were born after 1980, that more than likely refers to you.
You don’t know that he stands 6’8”. That he is a former athlete who played basketball and threw discus. That he was on the draft board of the Minnesota Vikings and the then-San Diego Chargers. Also, was scouted by the Los Angeles Lakers.
You don’t know that he eschewed a professional sports career to make an impact in sports through sociology. Going to Cornell University to earn his Ph.D in sociology.
You don’t know that he worked with the San Francisco 49ers, the Golden State Warriors and Major League Baseball all in consulting roles regarding race relations, player personnel counseling and minority hirings.
You don’t know that in 1967, Dr. Edwards learned that he was on the FBI ADEX list headed by J. Edgar Hoover. The list had people who were deemed “a threat to the state”.
You know his work, however.
The iconic image of John Carlos and Tommie Smith standing on the medal stand at the 1968 Summer Olympics?
They were inspired through being a part of the Olympic Project for Human Rights. An organization created by Dr. Edwards.
When Colin Kaepernick decided to protest police brutality by kneeling during the Star-Spangled Banner, he was being counseled by Dr. Edwards during that period.
The Cleveland Summit, WNBA players protesting and boycotting against then-Atlanta Dream owner Kelly Loeffler, the USWNT protesting gender equality, trans people rights, and equal pay, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf staying true to his religion, all have direct or indirect ties back to Dr. Edwards.
Now you know him a little more. But it still isn‘t enough. So I went to San Jose State University to hear from the man himself and get his thoughts on activism, his legacy, and his favorite meal. It’s deep stuff!
The category that GOAT Magazine has created to explain the kind of content we do, is “socioathletic”. When you hear that term, how would you define it?
Edwards: “Well, when I first approached my committee at Cornell (University) and said, ‘I want to write my dissertation on the sociology of sport’, they said, ‘There’s no such thing’. I said, ‘That’s why I want to write about it.’ My basic perspective was, that sport is legitimate as an institution of society, and in some ways more high profile due to it being on a center stage. It is projecting, confirming, and reaffirming the social values and basic blueprint for life in this society.
Does he feel that he created any change in working with the NFL, NBA, and or MLB throughout the decades or not?
“When it comes to progress, it’s a tricky thing I always say because it depends on who’s keeping the books. The things that I have done over the last halfcentury have generated clarity, and change in terms of policies in the NBA, in the NFL, and many collegiate circles but has it generated progress? That’s a tough one.”
Does he wish he could’ve worked with any other leagues? (NHL, MLS, WNBA)
“I have worked with some athletes from the WNBA. Some of my greatest sheros are Maya Moore, who I think is probably the greatest woman’s basketball player I have ever seen.”
“I have been on panels with them, had chances to speak with a lot of them and I am just a huge admirer of the ladies and what they do on and off the court. I have talked to people who have worked with the NHL (National Hockey League) and various soccer leagues. So I have been blessed to have the credibility and the reach so that if people wanted to ask me questions about what statements to make regarding social justice and how to go about it.”
You have referred to “the 4th wave of athlete activism”, what are the waves of athlete activism?
“The first wave of athlete activism which went all the way to the end of World War II. It got started with Octavious Catto who tried to integrate baseball in Philadelphia back at the time. The second wave was athletes trying to gain access to white spaces led by Jackie Robinson, Larry Doby, Earl Lloyd, and others.
The third wave started at the end of the 1950s with protests from Rose Robinson, Elgin Baylor, and Bill Russell. As well as Arthur Ashe, Tommie Smith and John Carlos and other great athletes of the late 1960s. The fourth wave came after a period of collaborative engagement at the turn of the 21st century and the first person there, of note, to protest was, again, a woman; Ariyana Smith of Knox College in 2014 and Colin Kaepernick just two years later.
The fifth wave started when LeBron, D-Wade (Dwyane Wade), CP3, (Chris Paul), and Melo (Carmelo Anthony) stood on stage at the start of the 2016 ESPYs. Also, the protest inside the 2020 NBA Bubble. We are now approaching the SIXTH wave where women will be at the forefront. They are the biggest and most controversial topic, for lack of a better term, in terms of social disruption, in a good way, and social change.”
How has money impacted athletes getting involved in activism?
“I think that the money is impacting the way that athletes are involved in activism. Instead you’ll find athletes like Steph Curry who helped to fund Howard University’s golf team. Or LeBron, who has opened a school for at-risk students to attend for free! So the money does not change the efforts, it just changes how they go about making that change.”
“No. I think that those mature sports activists among us understand that while we can’t allow the perfect to become the enemy of the possible, we can’t allow the possible to become the enemy of the principled. it was as much of a football decision as it was a social justice issue decision. Kaep moved on because they weren’t making a decision about wanting him to remain the quarterback and he had to do what was right for him.”
Do you believe that there can be White activists in sports?
“Ohhhhhh!! I know that there are! I know that there are. They’ve always been there, we may not hear about them or read about them. They have a critical role, they are in that unity that must change if America is going to be what it ought to be.”
When you were coming up, technology (social media, internet) was not a thing. So do you see technology helping or hurting activism in sports?
*chuckles* “That’s one that I’ve thought about often. During my athlete activist years, we had a rotary phone. Today, go online, type the message, click the word that is the most powerful of any language s-e-n-d and you have a million people tuned in.
The problem with that is that there are no limits in terms of managing access to that media. So you’re flooded with all kinds of fake information. I’m excited for the access but dismayed at the lack of management of it and what this means in terms of a fundamentally confused social environment.”
Looking back at your career, your impact, do you feel you have left everything on the table with what you wanted to say and accomplish? Or do you have little left over for the next generation?
“I have no illusion about completing the mission. I think that the saving grace is that I hopefully have touched enough people on the way to this point so that they can look around and say, ‘I can pick up this piece.’ and somebody else picks up that piece and somebody else picks up that piece.
Nobody gets to finish the mission, that’s part of the deal on this planet. So you do what you can to lay a foundation. You hope that somebody can come along and pick the pieces you left.”
Your last works are the Last Lectures and The Struggles and The Power. Tell us about those!
“We have, for the most part, completed the 14 hour, 12 part series which I titled “The Last Lectures” about three years ago, not knowing that that title would be so prophetic and prescient *laughs* We’ve also finished the last episode of the series, The Struggle and The Power. Both are a survey, essentially, of the 158-59 year movement of Black athlete activism here in America.”
What is your go-to meal no matter what day it is?
“Oh, I probably…..my better two-thirds of the last 54 years fixes a kimchi and cheese grilled cheese sandwich and red pepper and tomato soup. And any time, no matter if it’s lunch or dinner, I always hope there are leftovers because I’m gonna work my way back to it! It’s absolutely delicious and it’s definitely my favorite.”
Who are your top five music artists of all-time?
Oh boy. Well, first of all, Miles Davis because I actually grew up a mile away from Miles in East St. Louis! And then, I got to go with Nina Simone and Aretha Franklin. Next, is John Coltrane and lastly? Ray Charles.
Okay, and last question here! What’s the best traveling trip that you have taken?
“I was invited right after Nelson Mandela got out of prison to come to South Africa and give a series of lectures. And what made it so personal for me was while he was in prison, Mandela had a photo of Smith and Carlos on the podium at the ‘68 Olympics on the wall in his cell. I’ve traveled all over the world but that by far was the most interesting trip I’ve ever taken”.
Caitilin Clark continues to be a lightning rod for discourse not only in basketball but beyond it.
Words by Britney Collins
Photos by Bri Lewerke and Ron Hoskins
Iowa women’s basketball all-world guard, Caitlin Clark was up against a team in South Carolina that was on an incredible run through the entire college basketball season. 37-0 is kind of incredible. This undefeated run and subsequent championship run was “improbable” to some, but to actual hoop purists, wasn’t unfathomable at all.
But as 18.2 million people watched, they did not watch to see if South Carolina, a team full of, mostly, black women, would cap their undefeated season with a championship. Many watched to see if Clark could slay Goliath with a barrage of flashy logo 3s like she had done to reigning and defending national champion LSU only a week before.
This “incredible run” even captured the attention of ESPN personality and journalist, Stephen A. Smith. who had no excuse but to talk about Clark, the purported savior of women’s sports. For a week straight, First Take didn’t just use up a “quick take” segment to rapidly cover what was happening in women’s sports so they could meet their gender equality quota for the day, nah. Instead, they spent the first 30 minutes of each show, Monday through Friday, covering Clark and her growing legend. I’ve never seen anything like this on First Take. Ever.
The last time they intentionally focused a segment on women’s sports was in 2020 during the bubble season when players took to social media to call out the WNBA front office for the repulsive conditions at their residence.
Alysha Clark, who at the time played for the Seattle Storm, was asked to appear on First Take to talk about it for approximately 6 minutes and 35 seconds, and, rightfully so, called out Stephen A. and ESPN for only talking about the WNBA when something bad happened.
“People only want to cover the WNBA when something is wrong,” said Alysha. Well, fast forward four years and Alysha’s wish was granted. Sort of. The media has an obsession with something good that’s happening and it’s unlikely to fade thanks to Clark.
The issue with the amount of coverage on, debatably, the greatest women’s college player ever is not with the player itself, but the direction the arguments go when the new fans who only know her name begin to enter into these types of conversations. It’s the coded nature in which these fans speak, specifically black men when a white woman is dominating a game in a way they’re only accustomed to seeing by men because the men’s game is all they watch.
Then add the social media component. Drop-step fadeaway jumpers by A’ja Wilson aren’t getting the clicks that a logo 3-pointer by Sabrina Ionescu or Caitlin Clark gets on Twitter or TikTok. The type of shit on a 15-second loop in a video posted online is burned into a man’s brain because it provides them with the feeling of excitement they wish the women’s game had. It helps those men whose suggestions include “lower the rims” see the women’s game more palatable. More bearable.
Never mind that most guards in the NBA don’t dunk. Or that the women’s game is only “boring” because the women are more fundamentally sound and disciplined on the court than men who play in an offense-driven league. The men’s league can be seen as sports entertainment where they have to dazzle you by shooting 50 3-pointers a game and fun dunks and forego defense to keep the fans coming.
But ACTUAL hoop purists understand that real basketball is played in the women’s game and the reason why you watch is because that’s where basketball is at its purest form. So when players like Caitlin and Sabrina show up, it’s a breath of fresh air to the thrill-seeking men whose attention span is limited by instant gratification reels on their phones.
Watching a white woman hoop against black women seems to be a Black man’s aphrodisiac. The issue isn’t the focus on Caitlin. It’s how people, specifically black men like the one above, demean the accomplishments of black women to elevate their stature. Just look at Paul Pierce’s comments after the LSU-Iowa Elite Eight game.
“We saw a white girl in Iowa do it to a bunch of black girls.”, said Pierce. “That gained my respect. She didn’t do this to some other little white girls that were over here in Colorado or wherever…she did it to some girls from LSU who we thought were some dawgs, the defending champs, and put them on their knee and spanked them.”
I’m quite sure if Pierce watched the game, he’d know that she didn’t do *anything* to black women because a black woman wasn’t even her primary defender, it was another white woman who fell victim to CC’s stepbacks and 3’s off screens. This does not fit the narrative concocted by Paul because when it comes to Caitlin or any player like her (like Sabrina Ionescu) they are painted as the hero while a team full of black women is seen as villains. And now as her prowess ascends to the WNBA, it will only get worse. On one hand, she’ll bring more eyes to the game which can be a positive. And while for me who has been a fan for all 26 seasons, I can’t feel more anxiety about what comes with those eyes. The ubiquitous nature of social media will hang a cloud over the heads of those black women in the league who have more than paid their dues to earn the type of hype and praise Caitlin with zero years of service will bring with her.
It’s not her fault. You can’t take away her accomplishments on the collegiate level but do not use her talent to further demean the players she’ll have to face who also boast their accolades and have rightfully earned their place at the top of the WNBA. My advice? Come for Caitlin, stay to see the women you’re overlooking make her earn her place. She ain’t in Iowa anymore.
Diary feat. Dawn Staley
Photo by Krystle Evans
Dear Dawn,
First off, how are you? Wait, of course, you’re doing great. You just finished an undefeated season with your 3rd natty (that’s a national championship in case you didn’t…..okay, yeah you got it.)
Your 3rd one in 16 seasons at South Carolina which puts you in rarefied air as one of five women’s college basketball coaches with multiple championships and the only Black woman in that group! I know, I know, you probably want to downplay that aspect of it, I’m sure, but it matters!
You’re certainly not the first as you coach on the shoulders of C. Vivian Stringer, Carolyn Peck, Felicia Legette-Jack, Vanessa Blair Lewis and so many others. And look how your success has prompted a change in the forms of Tomekia Reed, Niele Ivey, Carrie Moore, and Adia Barnes.
You are a culture changer though. Not to say the others are not. You are though. It isn’t for your Hall of Fame career as a player though. Not even for the damn good job you did at Temple University for 8 years. What you have done at the University of South Carolina shows what can happen when Black women are given a coaching opportunity at a Power 5 school in college basketball.
For decades, coaches were always assumed to have to “dress for success”. Had to wear a suit and for the women, a pantsuit or a long pencil skirt. But you Dawn, you changed the game! You’re on the sidelines in Gucci and Balenciaga and rocking so much LV, the streets call you “Louis Vuitton Dawn”! Don’t let Kanye hear that though, he’ll get upset.
Seriously though, you have changed what a coach looks like, dresses like, and sounds like. The culture you have created in Columbia where young Black women are allowed to be themselves and express themselves without judgment or punishment is huge. You win, you have fun, you dance, you teach, you scold, you prepare all while being unapologetically you and always keeping it North Philly. Thanks for doing it for the culture!
Much love.
Dre
