The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Dul-Sayin' - Celebrating Activist Women Athletes

Episode Date: August 9, 2021

Dulcé Sloan explores the unsung history of women athletes whose acts of protest made them trailblazers for justice, from Eroseanna Robinson to Allyson Felix. Originally aired March 2021. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to Comedy Central. When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it. This is 60 Minutes. It's a kind of a magazine for television. Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives. But that's all about to change. Like none of this stuff gets looked at. That's what's incredible. I'm Seth Done of CBS News. Listen to 60 Minutes, a second look, starting September 17th, wherever you get your podcasts. Athletes. They're good at running, jumping, and getting hit in the head. But some athletes

are also trailblazers for justice and pioneers for change. Like Muhammad Ali protesting the Vietnam War, or Colin Kaepernick kneeling during the anthem, or J.R. Smith missing all those jump shots. I see what you're saying, J.R. No justice, no threes. But today, I want to talk about the activist female athletes who have been erased from the history books. Women like track star Rose Robinson. Long before Cap Neil to protest police brutality, Rose refused to stand for the flag and anthem during the 1959 Pan American games because she felt they represented war, injustice, and hypocrisy. Her activism was another example of black women in the 1950s perfecting the art of sitting when and where they weren't supposed to.

Whether it was sitting at the front of the bus, the whites-only section of a restaurant, or just sitting around judging white people dancing. Basically, we were experts at using our behinds to say, fuck you to the system. It wasn't long after the protest that the IRS the IRS the IRS the IRS the IRS the IRS the IRS the IRS the IRS the IRS the IRS the IRS that the IRS the IRS the IRS the IRS the IRS that the IRS the IRS the IRS the IRS thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-s, th. thi-s, thi-s, thi-s, thi-s, thi-s, thi-aqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqi, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their,a'a'a'a'a'a'a'a'a'a'a'a'a'a'a'a'a'a'a'a'a'a, the experts at using our behinds to say, fuck you to the system. It wasn't long after the protest that the IRS came for Rose for tax evasion. Mm-hmm. Of course they did. She ended up going to jail and missing the 1960 Olympic Games. The same games where a young unknown athlete named Cash as Clay broke out onto the world stage. History may have been different if the government hadn't Wesley Snipe Robinson over.. th. th. th. th. th, th, th, to. to. to. to to to the to the the to the to the the the the the the the the the th people the th people th people the th people th people th people to th people the the to the people to to tho' the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the protest the protest the protest the protest the protest the protest the protest the protest the protest the protest the protest the the the the the the the the the th people th. the the the the the the the threate threate threate the threate the threate the the the thate thate the the the the th. History may have been different if the government hadn't Wesley Snipe Robinson over $380. Fast forward to a couple of Olympics later, and another brave athlete would have her protest overlooked.

Wyoming Tias was the first athlete in Olympic history, male or female, to win gold medals in consecutive 100-meter events. An accomplishment that took two decades to win gold medals in consecutive 100 meter events, an accomplishment that took two decades to beat. And that's before all these modern improvements in science and nutrition and vegetables. When Tyan set this record, they hadn't even invented kale yet. And in the 1968 Olympics, Wyoming had protested racial segregation by wearing black shorts instead of her uniform shorts.

Unfortunately, her protest did not get the coverage it should have and no one noticed. And part of that was the media's fault. But maybe she could have done something a bit more flashy. If your protest involves clothes, it's either got to be loud clothes or no clothes. If you're running with no bottoms, oh, you've got people's attention. Finally, let's talk about Alice and Felix, one of the greatest sprinters to ever compete in the Olympics. Felix was good enough to get a Nike sponsorship until 2018 when she got pregnant. Then during contract negotiations, Nike offered her a brand new deal with a 70% pay cut,

which is some bullshit. They should have given her 100% more. She's literally growing another sprinter. If it was me, I would have rolled up the Nike and burned that bitch to the ground. But Allison is classy, you know. So she wrote an op-ed in the New York Times to let the sneaker heads know what was up.

The resulting outrage forced Nike to stop reducing endorsements based on an athlete getting pregnant. There was even a th into Nike's maternity policies for athletes. And if you're Nike, you know you need to make changes to policy when Congress is the one telling you to just do it. So the next time you think about athletes taking a stand, don't forget the ladies. They're racking up the bling and fighting the power at the same time. Now, if it'll excuse me, I'm about to go do my own bottomless protest outside Idris Elba's house. What am I protesting?

His wife. The Daily Show with Covernoa, ears edition. Watch the Daily Show weeknights at 11.10 on Comedy Central and the comedy central app. Watch full episodes and videos at the Daily Show.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and subscribe to the Daily Show on YouTube for exclusive content and more.

When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it. This is 60 Minutes. It's a kind of a magazine for television. Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives. But that's all about to change. Like none of this stuff gets looked at. That's what's incredible. I'm Seth Done of CBS News. Listen to 60 Minutes, a second look, starting September 17th.

Wherever you get your podcasts. This has been a Comedy Central Podcast.