New York Times Sports Columnist William C. Rhoden to Speak About ‘Dilemmas of the Black Athlete’ at LIU’s Brooklyn Campus on February 11

- Event recognizes Black History Month -

Brooklyn, N.Y. – William C. Rhoden, a sports columnist for The New York Times, will speak about “Dilemmas of the Black Athlete from Jack Johnson, Barry Bonds, Michael Vick and Beyond” at Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus on Monday, February 11. The event, which is free and open to the public, will take place from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in Health Sciences Room 119 at Flatbush and DeKalb avenues in downtown Brooklyn.

Rhoden, a sports columnist for The New York Times since 1983, is the author of “Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall and Redemption of the Black Athlete” published by Crown Publishing in 2006. The controversial book compares the relationship between black athletes and team owners and agents to white plantation owners and slaves of the Antebellum period. His 2007 book, “Third and a Mile: The Trials and Triumphs of the Black Quarterback: An Oral History” was published by ESPN.

A graduate of Morgan State University in Baltimore, Rhoden joined The New York Times in 1981 after serving three for years as a columnist for The Baltimore Sun. He was associate editor of Ebony magazine from 1974 to 1978.

During the discussion by Rhoden, commentary will be provided by Joseph Dorinson, professor of history at Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus, and co-author of Jackie Robinson: Race, Sports and the American Dream, published by M.E. Sharpe in 1998.

Held in recognition of Black History Month, this event is sponsored by the Long Island University chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, the Student Government Association, and Seawanhaka, the student newspaper.

For more information, please contact the Office of Public Relations at (718) 488-1015.

Posted: February 4, 2008

Media contact: (718) 488-1015