Why It Matters That Emmitt Smith Spoke Out About DEI in Florida

Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin are joined by Great Expectations author Vinson Cunningham to talk about the fracas between the LSU and South Carolina women’s basketball teams. They also discuss Steve Garvey, DEI in Florida, and other intersections between sports and politics in 2024.

• Support Hang Up and Listen by subscribing to Slate Plus.

• Buy Vinson Cunningham’s book Great Expectations, which got rave reviews in Slate and the Washington Post.

• Read Vinson in the New Yorker and listen to him on the New Yorker’s weekly Critics at Large podcast.

• A fight broke out near the end of South Carolina’s win over LSU in the SEC women’s tournament final.

• Meanwhile, Caitlin Clark led Iowa to the Big Ten championship, JuJu Watkins helped USC win the farewell Pac-12 championship, and Connecticut star Paige Bueckers announced that she would return for another college season.

• On the men’s side, North Carolina beat rival Duke in a game that featured a possibly intentional trip by a Duke player and Duke fans hurling drinks at North Carolina players.

• The Washington Post on baseball legend Steve Garvey’s Senate candidacy.

• The University of Florida fired all of its DEI employees, which led Emmitt Smith to speak out.

• Birmingham, Alabama, mayor Randall Woodfin has advised “Black parents and athletes to attend other institutions outside of the state where diversity and inclusion are prioritized.”

Hang Up and Listen’s weekly Faloo:

Josh’s Faloo: the U.S. women’s national team’s Gold Cup victory and what it all means.

On this week’s bonus segment, Joel, Stefan, Josh, and Vinson discuss the rise and fall (and possible resurgence?) of the 2023-2024 New York Knicks.

Podcast production and edit by Patrick Fort.

You can email us at hangup@slate.com.