Minnesota will host two HBCU opponents this month, but local mainstream media are unlikely to give the games meaningful coverage. HBCU advocates say this pattern fits decades of inequitable sports reporting, making Black owned media outlets like the MSR critical for visibility, respect, and fair representation.
Sports
Local and national sports reporting and commentary by the state’s leading African American sportswriters, including award-winning columnists Charles Hallman and Dr. Mitchell Palmer McDonald, with a special emphasis on the local prep scene and disparities in sports administration and media coverage.
Posted inAnother View
Reeve on women coaches, racial allyship and advocacy
Cheryl Reeve calls the absence of Black female head coaches in the WNBA a major concern. In a recent St. Thomas conversation, she spoke about women coaches, racial allyship, and the Lynx history of advocacy.
Posted inOdds and Ends
Wood leads St. Olaf volleyball to historic season
Alicia Wood guided St. Olaf to one of the school’s best volleyball seasons ever, finishing the MIAC regular season undefeated at 11-0 and earning the league’s top seed in last month’s postseason tournament in her second season on the Hill in Northfield, MN. The Oles captured two of the league’s four major awards: Wood was […]
Posted inThe Prep Scene
Former metro areas star contributing
Fab Five photos This week’s Fab Five photos feature several former metro-area girls’ basketball players who have developed into some of the nation’s top collegiate athletes. University of Minnesota senior guard Amaya Battle (Hopkins), University of Wisconsin senior guard Ronnie Porter, Middle Tennessee State senior guard Alayna Contreras (Hopkins), University of South Carolina junior guard […]
Posted inSports
Cleaning up notebook
A new study shows Timberwolves ticket prices are among the highest in the NBA. This week’s sports roundup also covers brain injury awareness in athletics, congressional delays on the SCORE Act, and Netflix hiring its first full-time sports anchor.
Posted inAnother View
Black athletes too often dehumanized, commodified
At United Theological Seminary in St. Paul, first time author and newly tenured professor Dr. Gary F. Green introduced his book “Playing the Game” with a panel that included Minnesota Vikings fullback CJ Ham, scholar Dr. Lakisha R. Lockhart Rusch and United student Tamice Spencer Helms. Together they explored how terms like “beast” and coded commentary about “natural talent” versus “intelligence” shape the way Black athletes are seen, valued and limited, and how Green’s work offers a powerful challenge to those narratives.
Posted inOdds and Ends
Families and coaching draw transfers to Tommies
After college journeys that took them around the country, Minnesota standouts Savannah McGowan and Jada Hood returned home to join St. Thomas. The two starters have quickly built chemistry, crediting Coach Ruth Sinn for believing in them since high school and celebrating the chance to play in front of family again. With strong academic plans and dreams of pro careers, both players are embracing this new chapter.
Posted inSports
Hopkins starts season with win
Since taking the helm in 2020, Coach Tara Starks has kept Hopkins among the nation’s best, collecting two Class 4A state titles and building a powerhouse roster. The Royals opened their season with a 78 to 74 win over Providence Academy, led by balanced scoring from Jaliyah Diggs, Ava Cupito, Mariahna Davis, Langia Durant and Emma Walker. Hopkins looks every bit like a contender again.
Posted inSports
The pain and insult of rewritten history
Maya Washington has spent years fighting inaccurate portrayals of her father, Gene Washington, and the pioneering Black athletes of Michigan State. Now she is calling for stronger NIL protections for legacy athletes whose names and images sit in archives with little oversight. Washington warns that if institutions can mishandle the legacy of a Hall of Famer, younger athletes could face even bigger risks in the new NIL landscape.
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‘Playing the Game’ calls out stereotyping of Black athletes
United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities in St. Paul will host a new book launch on Wednesday, Nov. 19, of Rev. Dr. Gary F. Green III’s first book, “Playing the Game: Embodied Brilliance beyond the Moral Limits of Race in Sport” (Fortress Press). Green is a pastoral theology and social transformation associate professor and […]
Posted inOdds and Ends
Augsburg, Hamline bring two Black head coaches to the field
Augsburg’s KiJuan Ware and Hamline’s Chip Taylor made MIAC history as two Black head coaches faced each other for only the second time. Charles Hallman highlights why the moment matters for representation in college sports and shares other key MIAC sports updates.
Posted inThe Prep Scene
The man who hired me
Wallace “Jack” Jackman is definitely someone who will be missed. Jackman, who recently passed away at the age of 81, had a profound impact on my journey as a photo journalist. It was the summer of 1996 and I was looking for a place to write a sports column and photograph Black high school student […]
Posted inSports
Michigan State’s ‘65,’66 Spartans subject of book/film controversy
Former NFL and Michigan State football player and local corporate executive Gene Washington, his family, and other former student-athletes have been battling with Michigan State University officials over a published book and a film project based on it that is full of falsehoods and plagiarism. Washington and his daughter Maya have led the fight against […]
Posted inAnother View
St. Thomas men poised to excel on national stage
Tommies football Amari Powell recently put on a show for the ages. The senior QB from California in his first start of the season threw for 265 yards and three TDs, and rushed for a score himself, accounting for four of the seven touchdowns St. Thomas scored in its 55-17 victory over Valparaíso Oct. 18. […]
Posted inOdds and Ends
St. Thomas hockey transfer likes being closer to home
Before the 1970s, hockey uniform numbers typically ranged from 1 to 31 or so, rarely past number 35. Nowadays they are like a Jackie Wilson song: They’ve gone higher and higher. Charlie Schoen wears No. 82, the highest number on St. Thomas men’s hockey team this season. After the team’s first-ever game at Lee & […]
Posted inThe Prep Scene
North defeats Pine Island in state playoffs
This week’s Fab Five photos feature the Minneapolis North Polars football team’s 50-21 victory over Pine Island in the Class 3A state quarterfinals at Totino Grace High School Saturday afternoon November 8, 2025. The defense and blocking of linemen Anthony Palmer, Malachi Tolliver, Jaylen Peterson, Adonis Baker and Musa Abdus-Sahid allowed quarterback Logan Lachermeier to […]
Posted inSports
Former prep standouts come home to local fans
D.J. Jefferson played his first-ever game at The Barn, Williams Arena, last week. The redshirt junior is in his first season at Gardner-Webb, and it was his first time back in town after he attended Minnesota Preparatory Academy (MPA), a local prep school. “For me, I think it was just getting more exposure,” said the […]
Posted inOdds and Ends
Men’s basketball newbies
Minnesota has 13 new additions on its 2024-25 men’s basketball team. Jaylen Crocker-Johnson played for Niko Medved at Colorado State last season. “I set the tone early for the guys on the glass,” said the 6’8” junior forward from San Antonio, Texas. “I’m just trying to be a good two-way player on defense and offense.” […]
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Gopher hoopsters get new Black coaches
Both U of M basketball teams have coaching additions this season. Corey Green is in his first season as basketball operations director for the women’s basketball team. He formerly spent four seasons at Old Dominion in a similar position, and served on coaching staffs at Memphis (three seasons) and Detroit (two years). He got his […]
Posted inOdds and Ends
‘25-’26 U basketball players proud to be representing
There are approximately 100 African American and other student-athletes of color this school year at the University of Minnesota. In an occasional series throughout the 2025-26 academic and sports year, the MSR will highlight many of these players. This week: Gopher WBB redshirt junior Niamya Holloway; MBB newcomers soph Nehemiah Turner, junior Jaylen Crocker-Johnson, and […]