Howard Bryant is a senior writer for ESPN.com and appears regularly on the sports network and NPR. His most recent book “The Heritage: Black Athletes, A Divided America, and the Politics of Patriotism” is about the responsibility often placed upon professional black athletes from Jackie Robinson to LeBron James to be role models for social justice. In their conversation, Bryant tells host Robert Scheer that black athletes often come up against the conflict between their corporate sponsors and their desire for social justice and action. He says that unlike many black athletes that came before him, LeBron James seems to be successfully navigating this tension. And Bryant says the attacks on September 11th changed how sports are marketed to the public, having become a propaganda and recruitment opportunity for the military and police during games.

Photo credit Brittany Martin.