ESPN is set Tuesday to launch “The Undefeated,” a digital site and news team focused on the intersection of race, sports, politics and culture. NPR profiles “The Undefeated” and its new editor, former Washington Post managing editor Kevin Merida.

Transcript

KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:

A new ESPN website goes live tomorrow. It’s called The Undefeated, and it’s dedicated to the intersection of sports, race, culture and politics. The small staff carries big aspirations, and lots of swagger. But as NPR’s David Folkenflik reports, The Undefeated almost lost the game before it started.

DAVID FOLKENFLIK, BYLINE: Kevin Merida works these days in an abandoned suite of radio offices of the Washington Bureau of ESPN’s corporate sibling ABC News. Merida was previously managing editor of The Washington Post, which he announced in October he would be leaving after 22 years.

KEVIN MERIDA: There wasn’t a whole lot to lose, right? I mean, I felt like I had done a lot. And so I had either reported on or supervised, you know, seven presidential campaigns, so this would have been the eighth.

FOLKENFLIK: Merida’s now editor-in-chief of The Undefeated. Some of his newspaper colleagues were incredulous. But Merida, a sports fan, proved open to a very different path.

MERIDA: When I began to think about this and I took the job, it was like my brain’s on fire, you know? I’m thinking of all kinds of things, different ideas and different things to create.

FOLKENFLIK: As one example, Merida points to the threat of a boycott by black football players at the University of Missouri that toppled their campus’ president.

MERIDA: It’s certainly a story that African-Americans in this country know very well. The history of struggle is one of just incredible overcoming of obstacles and people doubting you and thinking you’re not as smart as you are, as special as you are.

FOLKENFLIK: In recent years, ESPN has encouraged a lot of reporting that deviates from pure sports coverage. The Undefeated’s newsroom now includes a former White House reporter for The Washington Post, a former BuzzFeed editor to cover entertainment, a fashion and style writer, too. The death of Prince – yeah, that would be a story for The Undefeated or this…

MERIDA: The discussion around Serena Williams. Amazingly, there’s more discussion about her body, and she’s the greatest tennis player in the history of the world and one of the greatest athletes. She would have an argument to be the greatest athlete in the history of the world.

FOLKENFLIK: Initially, the site’s name could’ve been the Vanquished. The Undefeated had been the brainchild of the fiery former ESPN commentator Jason Whitlock. Whitlock had never managed a newsroom. Staff rebelled. He was ultimately fired last summer.

RAINA KELLEY: I didn’t want to do it.

FOLKENFLIK: Raina Kelley had a job she liked. She was, until recently, senior editor at ESPN The Magazine. As an an African-American journalist, Kelley watched The Undefeated closely, but kept her distance.

KELLEY: Everything was in a black box, so there was no real information about what the future was going to be.

FOLKENFLIK: Kelley is now managing editor at The Undefeated, and when she speaks of her aspirations, she’s unvarnished, thanks in large part to the hiring of Merida.

KELLEY: We get along so well. We thought so similarly about what we wanted the project to be that I knew we were going to be able to do it and kick it’s [expletive].

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “THE UNDEFEATED”)

DEE-1: (Rapping) Black is beautiful. Beauty is black. Our blemishes apparent, but the beauty intact.

FOLKENFLIK: The site has its own anthem by the New Orleans rapper Dee-1.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “THE UNDEFEATED”)

DEE-1: (Rapping) Sports, music, struggle, it’s all in the black experience.

FOLKENFLIK: ESPN’s television shows have a disproportionately large African-American following compared to the population at large. It’s black digital leadership by contrast is disproportionately small, according to the network. Senior executives say ESPN is especially pursuing male African-American readers between 18 and 34 years old.

As Merida and I talk, he glances through a studio window at Aaron Dotson, a new African-American colleague at the outset of his career.

MERIDA: And we have some young people that are really just in the beginning. And to help them develop, you know, I often get emotional about that just, you know, kind of seeing the young people.

FOLKENFLIK: You’re getting emotional right now.

MERIDA: Yeah because whether it’s him or Justin Tinsley or…

FOLKENFLIK: Here, Merida is weeping unabashedly. I ask him why this project means so much to him.

MERIDA: It’s run by journalists of color, you know? And to be able to do that that hasn’t happened a lot – right? – in big places. People really think about that. And hey, you know, I’m just, you know – particularly when you’re looking at people who – they still have so much of their career ahead of them, so you want to, you know, be part of helping them achieve what they want to achieve.

FOLKENFLIK: Merida’s not so secret hope is to land an exit interview with the nation’s first black president, like Merida, an ESPN fan. David Folkenflik, NPR News, Washington, D.C.

Copyright © 2016 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Suspicious item found at Old Trafford today, which required controlled explosion, was a training device https://t.co/55n06zNwU3

— G M Police (@gmpolice) May 15, 2016

NPR’s Scott Simon talks with NPR’s Tom Goldman about doping among Olympic athletes. They also remember a young athlete who died this week.

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

And it’s time now for sports but no band this weekend. We’re going to pass over the NBA playoffs and baseball to talk about a couple of urgent issues and to mark a young life lost too soon. NPR sports correspondent Tom Goldman joins us. Tom, thanks for being with us.

TOM GOLDMAN, BYLINE: Hi, Scott, how are you?

SIMON: Fine, thanks. Let’s – let’s begin with doping. Reports this weekend of widespread doping by Russian athletes at the Olympics a couple of years ago in Sochi. What do we know?

GOLDMAN: We know that doping is the gift that keeps giving (laughter). We know that Russian athletes and officials are angrily denying these allegations that were laid out in a New York Times article this week. The Russian doctor, now living in the U.S. who ran the Olympic lab in Sochi, he detailed elaborate doping schemes, including mixing banned drugs with alcohol to help athletes absorb steriods faster. The men got whiskey; the women, vermouth. Urine sample bottles are supposed to be tamperproof, but allegedly they were opened. And urine with drugs was replaced with urine without. Allegedly dozens of athletes were involved, including at least 15 Olympic medal winners.

SIMON: You know – and what do you say to people who say it’s the Russian – it’s the Russian Olympic team? Of course they’re doping. This is a long tradition.

GOLDMAN: Yeah. It is a long tradition, a long history of sport in doping and even recent history. The Russian track and field athletes that are currently banned from international competition because of alleged state-sponsored doping – we’re going to find out soon whether that ban will extend to the Rio Olympics. And certainly the Sochi story doesn’t help their case.

SIMON: What about the Kenyan – the team of Kenyan runners? ‘Cause this was – this was a team – has been team with a lot of charisma and international appeal.

GOLDMAN: Yeah. Kenya’s been a dominant power in distance running for so many years but also it’s estimated about 40 Kenyan athletes have failed drug tests in the last five years. This week, the World Anti-Doping Agency declared Kenya is out of compliance with its anti-doping efforts. Still, yesterday, track and field’s international governing body announced it will not ban Kenya from the Rio Olympics. The IOC has a final say on Kenya’s participation.

SIMON: And, Tom, let me ask you about a young athlete, Donovan Hill, who died in Los Angeles this week at the age of 18 – an important story.

GOLDMAN: Yeah. A young man from southern California, paralyzed from the neck down playing football when he was 13, died this week after he went in for what was supposed to be minor surgery related to his condition. His story was important, Scott, because after his injury, caused by a headfirst tackle, he and his mom sued the youth football organization, Pop Warner, and Donovan’s coaches because the coaches allegedly didn’t teach proper tackling.

And when Donovan and his teammates said they were worried about tackling leading with the head, which is prohibited at all levels of football, the coaches allegedly told the players to stop complaining. The lawsuit was recently settled. Terms weren’t disclosed, but apparently an award was in the millions of dollars. And in fact, Donovan and his mom were going to start getting money just this week, the week he died. And they needed it. They didn’t have an accessible apartment, even an accessible bathroom. His mom would have to carry him.

SIMON: Tom, do you see for parents of youngsters who want to join a team or play a sport a lesson here that we ought to abstract?

GOLDMAN: I think so. Not all coaches, youth coaches, are certified or trained properly. Donovan’s coaches admitted they weren’t. Pop Warner offers training for coaches. But according to ESPN’s “Outside The Lines,” which ran a number of stories about Donovan, the national Pop Warner offices didn’t check whether or not coaches complete any training. Part of this young man’s legacy is for parents and players. Make sure an organization or a team or coaches who promise safety actually deliver on that promise.

SIMON: NPR sports correspondent Tom Goldman, thanks so much.

GOLDMAN: You’re welcome, Scott.

Copyright © 2016 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Before the launch of ESPN’s digital site The Undefeated, which will focus on minorities and sport, Editor-in-Chief Kevin Merida explains why the cross section of sports, culture and race is important.

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

After some early false starts and a change in management, a long anticipated branch of espn.com will finally launch next week, called The Undefeated. It’s not your average sports site. This one explores the intersection of race, culture and sport. Its editor-in-chief, Kevin Merida, gave us a preview of what it’s all about.

KEVIN MERIDA: Let’s take Cam Newton’s terrific run as the Most Valuable Player in the National Football League.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JOE BUCK: His great year continues. Second and nine. (Shouting) Newton – end zone – touchdown, Cotchery.

MERIDA: You know, there were lots of discussions about him as a black quarterback – his image, his dancing in the end zone.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: …To just get in the end zone, and then go celebrate with your team.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: He’s arrogant. He’s showing up the opposition.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #3: There’s a virtue, and it’s called humility.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #4: A spoiled brat…

MERIDA: But what always accompanied the dance was him going to the end zone and handing the ball to some kid.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER: You see Cam Newton. He wants that ball. He’s going to go give it to one young kid here in the stands.

MERIDA: That’s the other part of that. When you’re at the top of your profession, whatever profession it is, you know, you often, if you’re African-American, sometimes feel the weight of the entire race on your shoulders. And I think that is oftentimes not handled very well. I think that one of the things that The Undefeated can do is really take black athletes and really show the complexity of their lives. You know, we all want to be understood in multiple dimensions.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

MERIDA: We’re at a time in the country where we need more understanding. It’s a very diverse country now. It’s becoming more and more diverse. And we need to find ways to understand each other – to bring more light than heat.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

MERIDA: I think that race has always been a subject that has, you know, both confounded us and pained us. I think we have an opportunity through the realm of sports and culture to really help push the conversation along and to really lead.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

MONTAGNE: That’s Kevin Merida. He’s editor-in-chief of the new ESPN digital publication The Undefeated, which launches next Tuesday.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

Copyright © 2016 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Final NBA MVP voting results:
1) Steph Curry
2) Kawhi Leonard
3) LeBron James
4) Russell Westbrook
5) Kevin Durant pic.twitter.com/fBIJacdEQc

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 10, 2016

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Turinabol is an oral steroid commonly given to East Germany’s young athletes competing in the 1970s and ’80s, many of whom suffered devastating health consequences later. As ESPN’s T.J. Quinn explains, drug is making a come back in Major League Baseball.

Transcript

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Now it’s time for Words You’ll Hear. That’s where we try to understand stories we’ll be hearing more about by parsing some of the words associated with them. Today, our word is Turinabol. That’s an oral steroid. You might remember hearing about it after the end of the Cold War, after it became known that it was commonly given to East Germany’s young athletes who were competing in the 1970s and the 1980s. Many of them suffered devastating health consequences later.

It turns out it’s making a comeback in major league baseball. Three players have been suspended in recent weeks for taking the drug. We wondered what’s behind this and if there’s more to come, so we’ve called ESPN’s T.J. Quinn, and he’s with us from New York. T.J., thanks so much for joining us.

T.J. QUINN: My pleasure.

MARTIN: Could you start by telling us a little bit more about Turinabol? How does it work? Why would you take it?

QUINN: You take it because it does everything you want an anabolic steroid to do – you get bigger and stronger and faster. It became popular in part because it didn’t have some of the awful side effects that other drugs did when they were – everybody was experimenting on themselves and their athletes in the ‘70s.

MARTIN: You raised two questions that I wanted to ask you about. One is – first of all, I remember the stories when the extent of the East German doping system became known. And the stories about the kinds of health consequences that appeared later are still very disturbing. I mean, you’re talking about kidney failure, chronic joint pain, sterility, impotence, not to mention for women particularly, changes in their physical appearance which are irreversible. So in East Germany, it is understood generally that these kids were forced to take them. Why would anybody still take this, and why would you take it knowing that it’s easily detected?

QUINN: There seems to be this everlasting strain of thought that somehow, it’ll be different for me. And usually, when you’ve got someone who’s taking a drug like that someone is suggesting that they take it. There’s usually somebody in their ear explaining to them why they won’t get caught right up until the time that they are.

MARTIN: The suspended athletes say that they did not know that this is what they were taking. Is it possible that this is a substance that could appear in a legal product without your knowing about it?

QUINN: It’s hard to say. I mean, they make a very strong case, but then so have a lot of athletes who turned out to have cheated. You’ve got three major league baseball players and one UFC fighter, and they’ve all gotten together and said that they are going to compare everything that they’ve done for the last few months of their lives to try to explain why they’ve tested positive for this drug. There is one product on the market that is known to have traces of it and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency put it on their high risk list, but all these athletes say they didn’t take that drug.

MARTIN: What do you make of this, if you don’t mind my asking? I mean, you’ve been following this closely. You cover this. You’re an investigative reporter. What do you make of this?

QUINN: No, it’s funny. You first hear the denials and you think, right, it’s – you know, everybody’s got the same denial. I don’t know how it got in my body. There are a few things that make this case a little different. One is why this drug when there are so many other, better drugs you could take? One thing that really stood out was the fact that two of those players tested positive during spring training, and that’s the one time they know they’re going to be tested.

Baseball looks at that and says well, that’s because they took the drug long before spring training thinking it would clear their systems and didn’t realize that improved testing was going to catch them. The players say to them, that’s proof that they didn’t mean to do it because who would be stupid enough to take something and then test positive in spring training?

MARTIN: T.J. Quinn is an investigative reporter at ESPN, and he was with us from New York. T.J., thank you so much for speaking with us.

QUINN: Any time.

Copyright © 2016 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.