The only reason I care about the Olympics

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David Zirin writes: "1968. There was never a year when the worlds of sports and politics collided so breathlessly, without mercy or respite. It was the year Muhammad Ali, stripped of his heavyweight title for resisting the draft, spoke on 200 college campuses and asked the question, 'Can they take my title without me being whupped?' ....

"And most famously, it was the year that Tommie Smith and John Carlos took the 200-meter medal stand at the Mexico City Olympics to raise their black gloved fists in a demonstration of pride, power, and politics."

Check Zirin's interview with Tommie Smith here.

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