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September 28, 2017|Greg Popovich, Political Divisiveness, sports

Gregg Popovich, Sports, and Politics

by Mike Rappaport|

Gregg Popovich, head coach of the San Antonio Spurs.

I love Gregg Popovich, head coach of the San Antonio Spurs, as a coach and as a personality.  One of the two or three greatest coaches of all time, Popovich’s teams play smart basketball and the colorfulness of his personality adds greatly to the game.  He is even fun to make fun of – see here at 1 minute, 58 seconds. Unfortunately, Popovich has been speaking out on politics recently.  Here is an excerpt from a speech: "Obviously, race is the elephant in the room, and we all understand that, but unless it is talked about constantly, it is not going to…

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June 9, 2014|Egalitarianism, Equality, Europe, sports

America’s Egalitarian Edge over Europe

by Joseph Postell|

World Cup 2014 competition resumes this week, with 32 teams in eight groups competing for 16 spots. Each group features four teams in a round-robin format, so every team will play three matches. The two top point-earning teams in each group will advance to the round of 16. (The Americans’ prospects for advancement appear somewhat but not altogether bleak.)

European football has always puzzled me in comparison to American sports. Europeans often pride themselves in advancing a more egalitarian society in which opportunities for success are widespread rather than concentrated. By contrast, the Americans, they argue, allow for great disparities and inequalities of income and wealth. (Some argue that the facts do not support this fulmination against income inequality, but leave that aside for purposes of this argument.)

The basic impulse of this criticism is a desire to promote equality of outcome, rather than greatness. If some at the top have to be moved down a notch or two, we may sacrifice magnificence at the top, but we will provide greater and more widespread opportunity overall.

The reason I find this puzzling is that, when applied to sports, Americans tend to prefer egalitarianism – known in sports as parity – when compared to their European counterparts. All joking about the Yankees and Lakers aside, championships are more widespread in American sports than in European football.

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May 10, 2013|First amendment establishment, First amendment free exercise, Kountze High School, Leo Strauss, Pleasant Glade Assembly of God v. Schubert, Religious Liberty, sports, theologico-political question

The Theologico-Political Question (Part I), and Texas Cheerleaders

by Ken Masugi|

texas godThe cheerleaders at Kountze High School, 95 miles northeast of Houston, may deploy Christian-themed banners at school sporting events, a State District judge ruled.  Some photos of the banners (with cheerleaders) may be seen here.

In Texas, religious free exercise cuts a wide swath, as its State Supreme Court displayed in Pleasant Glade Assembly of God v. Schubert (2008).  A member of the church, a suffering Laura Schubert, had hands (lots of them) laid on her, as her faith calls for, and came out of the experience with physical injuries and psychological trauma.  The Court concluded that

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Book Reviews

A Mirror of the 20th-Century Congress

by Joseph Postell

Wright undermined the very basis of his local popularity—the decentralized nature of the House—by supporting reforms that gave power to the party leaders.

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The Graces of Flannery O'Connor

by Henry T. Edmondson III

O'Connor's correspondence is a goldmine of piercing insight and startling reflections on everything from literature to philosophy to raising peacocks.

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Liberty Classics

Rereading Politica in the Post-Liberal Moment

by Glenn A. Moots

Althusius offers a rich constitutionalism that empowers persons to thrive alongside one another in deliberate communities.

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James Fenimore Cooper and the American Experiment

by Melissa Matthes

In The American Democrat, James Fenimore Cooper defended democracy against both mob rule and majority tyranny.

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Podcasts

Stuck With Decadence

A discussion with Ross Douthat

Ross Douthat discusses with Richard Reinsch his new book The Decadent Society.

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Can the Postmodern Natural Law Remedy Our Failing Humanism?

A discussion with Graham McAleer

Graham McAleer discusses how postmodern natural law can help us think more coherently about human beings and our actions.

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Did the Civil Rights Constitution Distort American Politics?

A discussion with Christopher Caldwell

Christopher Caldwell discusses his new book, The Age of Entitlement.

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America, Land of Deformed Institutions

A discussion with Yuval Levin

Yuval Levin pinpoints that American alienation and anger emerges from our weak political, social, and religious institutions.

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About

Law & Liberty’s focus is on the classical liberal tradition of law and political thought and how it shapes a society of free and responsible persons. This site brings together serious debate, commentary, essays, book reviews, interviews, and educational material in a commitment to the first principles of law in a free society. Law & Liberty considers a range of foundational and contemporary legal issues, legal philosophy, and pedagogy.

The opinions expressed on Law & Liberty are solely those of the contributors to the site and do not reflect the opinions of Liberty Fund.
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