21 | Cancel The Olympics Part 1: NOlympics Los Angeles and the 2028 LA Olympics
After a week off, Miguel shares Part 1 of his Cancel the Olympics series this week. In Part 1 of the series, Miguel spoke to Eric and Taylor, 2 members of NOlympics Los Angeles, “launched by the Housing & Homelessness Committee of the Los Angeles chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America in 2017. The coalition has since expanded to include over two dozen partner organizations based in Los Angeles and California, as well as a growing transnational movement with dozens of groups around the world (https://nolympicsla.com/about/).” Follow them on Twitter: @NOlympicsLA.
First, Eric and Taylor explained how Los Angeles won the 2028 Olympics instead of the 2024 Olympics and broke down who the prominent stakeholders were that made sure Los Angeles hosted the 2028 games. Also, Miguel, Eric, and Taylor discuss the legacy of the 1984 Olympics and its impact on Black and Brown people, the working-class, and the poor.
In particular, Eric and Taylor explain how LAPD Chief Daryl Gates conducted gang sweeps via Operation Hammer before the 1984 games. They also speak about next month’s Summer Olympics Games in Tokyo and the work the comrades in Japan have done to fight the capitalist Olympic machine, plus more!
Lastly, Miguel gives you his Molotov MVP for episode 21, Las Vegas Raiders Defensive End Carl Nassib, who last week was the first active NFL player to come out as openly gay. He ends the podcast with a different approach to his Chicana/o Sports History segment. On Saturday, June 19, 2021, a video went viral on social media of an ugly, racist ending to a CIF San Diego Section championship High School Boys basketball game between Coronado High School and Orange Glen High school. It is important to note that Coronado High School is predominately white and from an affluent area of San Diego, and Orange Gen High school is predominantly Mexican and from a working-class San Diego area city, Escondido.
After Coronado’s buzzer-beating three-pointer in overtime to beat Orange Glen 60-57, players and fans associated with Coronado started hurling corn tortillas towards Orange Glen players and coaches. Orange Glen players, coaches, and fans were outraged and called the incident racist. As a result, a Press conference was held on Tuesday, June 22, 2021, by players, parents, coaches, and Orange Glen High School supporters, condemning this racist act, and the Head Boys Basketball Coach of Coronado High School was fired.
