The Culture of Bruising: Essays on Prizefighting, Literature, and Modern American Culture

Rating:
Summary: deeply troubling
Review: I can't imagine why Mr. Early, an intelligent man no doubt, has so little to say about the chief enemy to Black athletes in this country: white males. While cowardly white males bet on Black prize fighters without having the bravery or the talent to enter the ring against Black opponents (and other people of color), who gets most of the money? The 'backers', the arena owners, etc. This book simply does not spend enough time on the subject. As a white woman, I side with those Black athletes who are subverting the paradigms of sports, especially those recieved notions that competition lends 'dignity' to the contestants. At the heart of athletics today is racism, pure and simple, and white male heterosexist patriarchy is to blame.