Sidelines

All Bets Are Off: A Gambling Counselor on Legal Sports Betting

A gambling addiction nearly ruined Arnie Wexler’s life in the 1960s. Since then, he and his wife, Sheila, have dedicated their lives to helping compulsive gamblers recover. Now, as states rapidly legalize sports betting, Wexler warns of an industry that prioritizes profit over people. Wexler, a certified gambling counselor, co-wrote All Bets Are Off: Losers, Liars, and Recovery from Gambling Addiction with Sheila.

Jimmy Carter’s Sporting Legacy

Peanut farmer, president, humanitarian… and distance runner. Jimmy Carter was both an athlete and a devoted sports fan—just not of golf. Sports played a surprising role in his life and presidency, shaping key moments and controversies. Jonathan Alter, author of His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, a Life, joins me to explore the little-known story of Carter and sports.

The First High School Football League to Ban Kickoffs

When the Riverdale Falcons’ football season was cut short due to a series of injuries, Athletic Director John Pizzi reached out to the Concussion Legacy Foundation with a mission: “change football.” This moment, followed by a comprehensive study, led to a series of reforms, the most significant being the elimination of the kickoff. Riverdale, along with its peers in the Metropolitan Athletic League, made history [https://concussionfoundation.org/news/press-release/new-york-high-school-football-league-bans-kickoffs/] by becoming the first high school football league in the nation to ban kickoffs. So, what made Riverdale football the first of its kind? Will more high schools follow their lead? And with all the talk of “reforming football” and “player safety,” could this small New York league be providing the blueprint for meaningful change?

The History and Politics of the American Stadium

Columbia University professor and sports historian Frank Guridy traces the political history of American stadiums—from the circus to the Sugar Bowl to taxpayer-funded arenas—showing how politics unfold in these spaces “all the time.” Guridy is the author of The Stadium: An American History of Protest, Politics, and Play.

Political Football 2024

Writer and former New York Times sports columnist, Robert Lipsyte, talks about the politics of sports—and the sport of politics—ahead of the 2024 US election.