Remembering John Feinstein

Read the Full Transcript

• Amna Nawaz:

  Before we go, we want to take a moment to remember author, sportswriter and a frequent guest on our program, John Feinstein, who died just today.

  John wrote about basketball, football, golf, and other sports, much of the time as a columnist for The Washington Post. He also wrote more than 40 books, including "A Good Walk Spoiled," "A Civil War," novels for young readers, and his breakthrough in 1986, "A Season on the Brink." That chronicled a tough season for the Indiana Hoosiers and their explosive coach, Bobby Knight.

  John was incisive, he was funny, and he could be biting too, whether he was criticizing the NCAA or the NFL, as he did in his 2021 conversation with Judy Woodruff about his book "Raise a Fist, Take a Knee."

• John Feinstein, Sportswriter/Author:

  Race plays a role in our entire society, as we see all the time nowadays, but very much in sports. It's not hard if you're a player to get a chance to play, because playing is a meritocracy.

  But getting a job as a head coach in the NFL, getting a job as a head coach in college football or basketball, general managers jobs, CEO jobs, those are much harder. And there are numbers that back up those facts. In fact, the last 20 NFL jobs that have opened, 75 percent of the players are Black. Two Black coaches have been hired.

  And believe me when I tell you there are plenty of qualified candidates for these jobs, and they're not getting them.

• Amna Nawaz:

  Our friend John Feinstein was 69 years old, and he will be missed.