Following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore last week, the city's 39 year old mayor, Brandon Scott, a Black man, stepped out to address the crisis. Hours later, a tweet went viral calling Scott a "DEI Mayor." To which Brittany and her guests, NPR's Gene Demby and Alana Wise, say "wait what?" The three dig into the racism lurking under the surface of this kind of rhetoric.
Then, as March Madness reaches its final nail-biting stages, Brittany takes a look at the reality of "student-athletes." What may feel like an accurate descriptor of these players is actually a legal classification that bars them from asking for worker's compensation and other benefits - benefits usually given to employees. Brittany is joined by sports business reporter Amanda Christovich and Assistant Professor of Legal Studies in Business at Boise State University Sam Ehrlich. They discuss how the recent news of Dartmouth men's basketball team unionizing opens up doors for broader conversations around how we value "work."
Many school districts are headed back to the classroom this week, with students also headed outside to practice sports as the summer heat poses a serious risk.
The main athletic association for Georgia high schools voted Wednesday to ban transgender boys and girls from playing on the school sports teams matching their gender identity. The Georgia High School Association (GHSA) now says that students must play on teams that match the sex listed on their birth certificates at birth.
For Kentucky students wanting to participate in sports, their sex would be determined by the sex printed on their birth certificate and an affidavit from a doctor ascertaining that information.
