29 | Enes Kanter, Sinophobia, and Anti-China Narratives in Sports with Danny Haiphong

Explicit content warning

12/21/21 • 79 min

We are back! Miguel welcomed Independent Journalist Danny Haiphong (@SpiritofHo) to discuss Enes Kanter, Sinophobia, and Anti-China Narratives in sports.
Danny Haiphong is an anti-imperialist independent journalist and researcher in the US. He is a contributing editor to the Black Agenda Report, co-host of the Left Lens, and co-editor of Friends of Socialist China.
Subscribe to Danny Haiphong’s Substack and Patreon.
First, Danny and Miguel discuss Enes Kanter's anti-China crusade, and Danny chronicles how Kanter is a member of the Gulen movement. The Gulen movement is a conservative Islamist Fraternal organization founded by Turkish preacher Fethullah Gulen, who fled to the US in 1998. Gulen currently resides on 25 acres of land in rural Pennsylvania, and the Turkish government considers Gulen a CIA asset.
Danny and Miguel also discuss the US Diplomatic Boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, fueled by the continued US claims of China committing Human Rights violations. However, the allegations originate from erroneous, right-wing sources connected to the US state department. Miguel also asked Danny about the importance of covering China from an anti-imperialist perspective and more!
Additionally, Miguel gives you his Molotov MVP for episode 29, LeBron James. The King responded to Enes Kanter’s criticism, and I enjoyed this segment. Lastly, Miguel gives you this episode's Chicano/Chicana sports history segment. Miguel highlights Ma Jin, a Chinese Diving Coach who has been the Head Coach of Mexico’s Olympic diving team since 2003.
Miguel Garcia produced this episode. The Sports As A Weapon Podcast is now part of the @Anticonquista Collective Media Network. Check out Anticonquista on YouTube and Instagram!
Be sure to listen/subscribe to the Sports As A Weapon Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts,

Miguel Garcia produced this episode. The Sports As A Weapon Podcast is part of the @Anticonquista Media Collective. Subscribe to the ANTICONQUISTA Patreon and follow ANTICONQUISTA on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and Tik Tok!
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Previous Episode

28 | Unionizing Minor League Baseball and MLB Postseason with Tipping Pitches

It's October, which means postseason baseball! This week, Miguel had three guests on the podcast to talk playoff baseball and the topic of unionizing minor league baseball players. Miguel was excited to welcome Alex Bazeley and Bobby Wagner, who hosts one of our favorite podcasts, the Tipping Pitches Podcast (@tipping_pitches). Miguel was also joined on the podcast by comrade Justin Williams of the Redspin Sports Podcast.
First, Miguel asked Bobby and Alex about their podcast and what inspired them to start it. Miguel also asked Bobby and Alex about their "unionize the minor leagues" t-shirts and the National Question of Baseball:
What would it look like to nationalize the national pastime?
Additionally, Miguel, Justin, Alex, and Bobby drive deep (into left field) and discuss unionizing minor league baseball players, the #FairBall protest, the upcoming labor negotiations between the MLB owners and MLPA, and predict if the players and MLBPA will strike for the first time since 1994-95. Lastly, they discuss the MLB postseason and weigh in on who they think will be awarded the MVP and Cy Young for the NL and AL. Note: Originally recorded on October 1, 2021. Unfortunately, you already know the Blue Jays and Mariners didn't make it to October, and the Cardinals and Yankees lost the wild card. But it was still a great episode, and I suggest you listen, trust me.
Miguel gives you his Molotov MVPs for episode 28, minor league right-handed Pitcher Kieran Lovegrove, and the Jersey Shore BlueClaws and Brooklyn Cyclones, minor league players. Finally, Miguel ends the podcast with another Chicana/o Sports History segment. This week, he highlights current Mexican and Chicano Major League Baseball Players playing this October in the Postseason.

Miguel Garcia produced this episode. Sports As A Weapon is now part of the @Anticonquista Collective Network. Check out Anticonquista on YouTube and Instagram!
Be sure to listen/subscribe to the Sports As A Weapon Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music,

Next Episode

30 | Baseball as a Mediated Latinidad and Latino Threat Narratives in MLB with Dr. Jennifer L. Rudolph

Miguel welcomed Dr. Jennifer L. Rudolph to the podcast to discuss Baseball as Mediated Latinidad, including racist Latino Threat Narratives in baseball that are a microcosm of US white supremacy society.
Dr. Rudolph is an Associate Professor of Hispanic Studies at Connecticut College and author of Baseball as Mediated Latinidad: Race, Masculinity, Nationalism, and performance of Identity. Dr. Rudolph's research interests include U.S. Latino expressive cultures, Latino identity formation, transnationalism, urban studies, and teaching Spanish to heritage/native speakers.
First, Miguel asked Dr. Rudolph why it was essential for her to analyze new forms of media, such as social media, for her book, Baseball as Mediated Latinidad? Second, Miguel also asked Jennifer about her opening chapter, "La crema de Sammy Sosa," and her analysis of legendary Dominican and former Chicago Cubs star Sammy Sosa. Specifically, Miguel asked Jennifer to explain how specific events tied to Sosa's career and post-career intersected with race, class, and gender issues.
Next, Miguel and Dr. Rudolph discussed the controversy regarding Marc Anthony singing the national anthem at the 2013 all-star game and how it was another example of Anthropologist Leo Chavez's Latino Threat Narrative. Miguel and Dr. Rudolph also discuss how the World Baseball Classic and the 2017 Puerto Rico National team connect to nationalism, race, assimilation, and masculinity. For example, Dr. Rudolph discussed how her analysis of the Puerto Rican national team showed the contradictions between Latinos perceived as threats by white fans instead of representing nationalistic pride to Puerto Rican fans.
Furthermore, Miguel asked Jennifer about the connections between baseball, language, and racialized capitalism. Lastly, Miguel asked Jennifer about her chapter on Major League Baseball's development, labor structure, and practices at their academias in the Dominican Republic and Venezuela. Dr. Rudolph summarized the system and explained how they resemble the history of US imperialism and colonialism in Latin America.
To end the podcast, Miguel gives you his Molotov MVP for episode 30, the legendary Pittsburgh Pirate and Hall of Famer, Roberto Clemente. Tragically, Roberto Clemente passed away in a plane crash 49 years ago today, on New Years' Eve 1972,