Sports Illustrated

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today—five years after his passing—to remember one of the most unique talents ever to be drawn to the game.”

Starting July 1, 2021, the Mississippi Fairness Act — signed into law by Governor Tate Reeves — will ban trans women and girls throughout Mississippi from playing school sports on women’s and girls teams.

In 1989, USC had a depth chart of a dozen linebackers. Five have died, each before age 50. Football was inextricably tied to their mortality. These are their stories.

James Morrison and Hilaree Nelson were brought together by death and loss but united in love — for each other, for self challenge, and for the mountains — in their attempt to become the first adventurers to summit Lhotse and ski down.

Mary Cain was a promising distance running star when she began training under the revered Nike Oregon Project long-distance team. But Mary says that the team’s coach, Alberto Salazar, often publicly berated her for her weight, causing her to develop disordered eating and spiral into self-harm. Several former Nike Oregon Project members have come forward to validate Cain’s allegations of abuse.

At age 25, Sidney Gilstrap-Portley had enough of his current situation in Dallas, so he became Rashun Richardson, a homeless teenager who escaped Hurricane Harvey. But Gilstrap-Portley’s gift—he was an athletic slasher and scorer on the basketball court—ultimately doomed the facade he tried to build as Richardson.

“I have learned that the human mind and body are truly resilient.” This is the story of American professional middle-distance runner Gabriele Grunewald, who has battled a rare cancer again and again and again.

Dalvin Cook, a 21-year old running back from Florida State, should juke and stiff-arm his way into the promised land these next four days, joining the likes of Devonta Freeman, Chris Thompson, and Greg Jones (among other Seminoles) to be selected in the NFAL draft. So why are so many people trying to sabotage Cook’s dream?

Nikola Jokic has been in the NBA for just two seasons, but the Serbian center, who plays for the Denver Nuggets, has in that short time managed to completely revolutionize how the position (perhaps) should be played. Though Jokic stands 6-foot-10, he plays with a flash and style that seem suited for someone much smaller, and Sports Illustrated’s Lee Jenkins perfectly illustrates the illusion that Jokic represents—at a time when the NBA is skewing towards hybrids that can stretch the floor while still crashing the glass, Jokic is perfectly comfortable skewering opposing defenses with his deft touch, smoothly disjointed post moves, and absurdly beautiful no look passes.

The best may still be ahead of Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps.