The Ringer

Jackie Robinson Would Be Appalled

Just How Far Can Spite Take Luka?

Mr. Milchick's Middle-Management Dance

How Mr. Milchick Evolved Past the Middle-Management Dance

A United State of Fear

The (Other) Unlikely Super Bowl Halftime Star

The Shape-Shifting Sound Waves of SZA, the Other Super Bowl Star

The Divine Comedy of the Dallas Cowboys

Yankees Were Unserious, Relentless Losers

In the End, the Yankees Were Unserious, Relentless Losers

These New York Yankees Are Built Different

The Unfinished Legend of Aaron Judge

The Vast Universes of James Earl Jones’s Voice

Staff Writer

Lex writes about race, pop culture, and sports for The Ringer. His work has appeared in the ‘Year’s Best Sports Writing’ anthology. He lives in Harlem.


Lex Pryor

Blackballed

4. A Seat at the Table | Blackballed

3. Integration | Blackballed

2. Kenny, Woody, Bill, and Marion | Blackballed

1. Gentlemen’s Agreement | Blackballed

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<p>In 1933, NFL owners secretly banned Black players from the league. Thirteen years later, four Black players—Kenny Washington, Woody Strode, Bill Willis, and Marion Motley—reintegrated pro football.</p>
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<p class="encore-text encore-text-body-medium encore-internal-color-text-subdued umouqjSkMUbvF4I_Xz6r" data-encore-id="text">The Forgotten Four broke the race barrier in professional football one year before Jackie Robinson’s historic, and widely recognized, debut in the Major Leagues. This is their story.</p>
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<p class="encore-text encore-text-body-medium encore-internal-color-text-subdued umouqjSkMUbvF4I_Xz6r" data-encore-id="text">It&#8217;s a story that&#8217;s been largely buried. But it&#8217;s a story that matters today, to help understand the league&#8217;s complicated relationship with race.</p>
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<p class="encore-text encore-text-body-medium encore-internal-color-text-subdued umouqjSkMUbvF4I_Xz6r" data-encore-id="text">The four-part narrative podcast is hosted by Chelsea Stark-Jones, who worked for the NFL for a decade before coming to <em>The Ringer</em>. It’s co-reported by Lex Pryor, whose voice also appears throughout the series.</p>
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Lex Pryor

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