In the West, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is always seen as one of two things: KGB spy or judo master. But to anyone who’s ever lived in the Soviet Union, Putin is something else entirely: a street kid. Join journalist Julia Ioffe as she explores how Putin’s childhood taught him lessons that shape his thinking and actions to this day.

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In an historic moment in college sports, Texas Western becomes the first team to start five black players in the 1966 NCAA national championship. Their defeat over the University of Kentucky marked a victory over racial discrimination and changed college sports forever. Sportscasters Michael Wilbon and Verne Lundquist join Doc Rivers to look back on this historic moment in sports history.

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It’s the Atlanta Braves versus the Los Angeles Dodgers on a warm spring day in 1974. One pitch changed everything when Hank Aaron’s milestone home run broke Babe Ruth’s legendary record. Major League Baseball manager and former player Dusty Baker joins Doc Rivers to talk about Hank Aaron’s achievements and his election into the baseball Hall of Fame in 1982. They discuss the adversity Aaron faced as he was forced to confront racism in his pursuit to become one of the most accomplished baseball players of all time.

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In 2008, expectations were running high for Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow. The previous year, the Heisman Trophy winner set many major SEC records and was expected to continue leading the team to success. Tim Tebow joins Doc Rivers to discuss his humbling speech after the Florida Gators took a shocking loss to Ole Miss in 2008. Football coach Urban Meyer and sportscaster Verne Lundquist look back on Tebow’s college career and inspiring moments.

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In 1973, Billie Jean King wins the Battle of the Sexes, defeating her male opponent on the tennis court. And off the court, she uses her talent to make sea changes in the broader world, opening the way for female athletes to reach an entirely new level of public fame and fair compensation. In this episode, Billie Jean King joins Doc Rivers to talk about how she uses her voice today as a vibrant force for equality and opportunity for women in sports--and beyond. Plus, decorated athlete and trailblazer, Ann Meyers Drysdale, joins the conversation about gender equality in sports.

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Heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali was perhaps the most famous man on Earth, and not only for his epic skill in the ring. In this episode, Doc Rivers is joined by legendary sportscaster Al Michaels and longtime sports journalist Michael Wilbon to discuss Ali’s powerful and revolutionary words about race, politics, culture, and sport, especially during the height of the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War. His words made their mark then--and live on now.

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Legendary sports broadcaster Jack Buck delivers a patriotic and impassioned speech just days after the September 11 attacks on the United States. The nation froze, events were cancelled, and sports put on hold. But to signal America’s return to professional sports, Buck recites a poem of his own composition the day baseball resumed at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Monday, September 17, 2001.

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We hold speeches from the world of sports deep in our hearts and minds as timeless and historic moments that still, to this day and beyond, bring us inspiration, historical context, empathy, education and more. We remember these iconic moments so that we too can share them with current and future generations as a way to remember why they touched us personally, and why they remain so relevant and important today. Welcome to It Was Said: Sports, Season one, a documentary podcast that guides you through six of the most impactful and timeless speeches in sports history, including Jack Buck’s “For America” poem following the 9/11 attacks, Muhammad Ali protesting the Vietnam War, Billie Jean King championing equal pay, Tim Tebow’s promise, Hank Aaron’s Hall of Fame acceptance speech, and co-captain Harry Flournoy’s powerful statement on race during Texas Western's Basketball Hall of Fame induction. From the team that brought you the Webby Award-winning Best Series of 2021, It Was Said, comes the sports version of the franchise, narrated by NBA legend, Doc Rivers, written by Pulitzer-Prize Winning Historian, Jon Meacham, and directed, produced and created by award-winning C13Originals Studios, a Cadence13 company. With first-hand perspective behind some of the most memorable and influential moments in sports, propelled by the voice of Rivers, the writing of Meacham and the production of C13Originals, this timeless documentary is meant to inspire, educate, and keep these historical moments as relevant as ever, and for generations to come. It Was Said: Sports is a presentation of Shining City Audio, a C13Originals and Jon Meacham Studio.

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