A&S All Star Professor Ricky Jones presents
"Game Theory: The Politics of Race & Sport" 

Jones’ “Game Theory” is rooted in the belief that black athletes ranging from Jack Johnson and Jackie Robinson to Muhammad Ali and Cookie Gilchrist have transformed their sports, and in doing so, have impacted American society in unique in ways that perhaps only sports can. Jones will tie the exploits of athletes like, to name a few, Frederick Douglass “Fritz” Pollard, Althea Gibson, Bill Russell, Arthur Ashe, Venus and Serena Williams, and UofL’s own Lawrence Simmons and Wade Houston to the ways in which black agency and humanity are perceived. Jones will ask the audience to reflect on how and why race and sport impact society so profoundly.

Admitted “sports nut” Professor Ricky L. Jones is Chair of Pan-African Studies and Founding Director of the Center on Race and Inequality at UofL. The Atlanta native did undergraduate work at the U.S. Naval Academy and has a B.A. in Political Science from Morehouse College. He earned his Ph.D. in Political Philosophy and Comparative Politics from the University of Kentucky. He is the author of books, scholarly articles, book chapters, and opinion columns on subjects ranging from politics to love.