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Unfair Play
Thursday September 2nd, 2010
 
by John Adams

In just a couple of years, a significant portion of the American public has moved from questioning the patriotism of Barack Obama's pastor (and, by implication, the patriotism of candidate Obama) to wondering whether President Obama is, to turn a phrase, really a Muslim in Christian clothing. In fact, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life recently published the results of a recent survey showing that one-in-five Americans believes the president is Muslim--which dovetails with another poll indicating that only 30 percent of Americans have a favorable opinion of Islam.

These findings are hardly shocking if you watch any amount of news programming or the occasional reality TV show. People have an enormous capacity for delusional thinking and the media are more than willing to give them a platform "to shine." But do the media, specifically the sports media, move beyond providing a platform for shallow opinions to perpetuating the ideas of a narrow segment of the American public? ... read more


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MEDIA ADVISORY: Forum Discusses New Poll Examining Religious Based Attitudes Toward Prop. 8
Friday July 16th, 2010

A comprehensive new poll examining religious based attitudes on same sex marriage says only one-in-five Californians agree that Proposition 8 is a "Good Thing" will be released and discussed by a d ... read more

 
Women of the Wall Challenge Israeli Laws
Thursday April 1st, 2010

In a story based on her reporting from Jerusalem during the JOUR585 trip to Israel-Palesti ... read more
 
New Muslim Cool
Wednesday February 3rd, 2010
In a time of danger and promise--a man, a family and a generation come of age. New Muslim Cool is Islam as you have never seen it. It is also hip-hop as you ... read more
 
Conversation with Ronit Avni
Wednesday February 3rd, 2010
Filmmaker and human rights advocate Ronit Avni discusses her work and screens portions of her documentary Budrus, the story of a Palestinian-led ... read more
 


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Unfair Play
Source:
Posted By: John Adams
Thursday September 2nd, 2010
 


Sports stories about athletes' Jewish or Christian beliefs tend to frame the narrative in a positive way--regardless of whether the player in question is a poster boy (like Tim Tebow, above) or a bad boy (like Ben Roethlisberger, who "turned to God" after dodging sexual assault charges).



Stories about Muslims athletes, on the other hand, usually emphasize the "strangeness" of Islam and focus on the problems that the particulars of the tradition pose both on the field and off.

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John Adams worked as a pastor for 12 years before leaving his church to pursue journalism. He earned a master's in online media from USC Annenberg, and is focused on sports journalism and the web world. He is the co-founder of thesportsunion.com and currently works for NBC Los Angeles as a web editor and content producer. He has published articles on SI.com, WSJ.com, USAToday.com, MSNBC.com and TreeHugger.com to name a few.


The Israel-Palestine Project

USC Annenberg journalism students who traveled to Jerusalem, the West Bank and Tel Aviv in March have created the Israel-Palestine Project to showcase their work. One of the key elements of the project is Checkpoint, a series of profiles spotlighting people whose lives have been sundered by the ongoing conflict. Please check out our work and let us know what you think.
www.annenberg.edu