Among the most significant, if often underestimated, dimensions of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement was the largest and most sustained activism of athletes in American sports history. The athletes were driven not by racial problems in sports, but by their desire to contribute to the BLM mobilization against racism in society. Sport sociologist Douglas Hartmann extends the historical scope and analytical frame of athletes’ involvement in BLM to talk not only about protest but about opposition and backlash—especially those driven by MAGA populism—in American sport. 
Drawing on recent struggles and social controversies in sports, Hartmann captures the depth and complexity of political polarization in the United States, as well as the profound significance and impact of sport in contemporary American culture and politics. He also provides a context crucial to understanding why Donald Trump and his MAGA allies have engaged in a series of sports projects and reforms during his second term, why this matters, and what might lie ahead.