African-American athletes' roots have always been in social justice. It has also been a specter for them. As individuals, black athletes want to compete. As members of a team, they are conditioned to put their own interests aside. Outweighing their individual needs and the pressure to perform for their teammates, however, is the crushing tension of trying to make a difference for their race, aiming to achieve not just equality on the field, but in the society which they live.

From the producers of the Signal Award-winning series The League and hosted by Emmy Award-winning journalist Jemele Hill comes the audio documentary series, Shadowball: Rise of the Black Athlete.

Among the stories featured include a football player’s tragic death in his second college game in 1923; a female track star's courageous fight for de-segregation, including remaining seated during the national anthem at the Pan-Am Games in the late 1950’s; the ascension of African-American quarterbacks in the NFL; a WNBA team’s courageous efforts to change the tide of the 2020 election, and a baseball player who left Tiger Stadium in his uniform in the middle of the the Detroit Rebellion of 1967 to quell the violence in his city.

This Audible Originals series offers a window into the history of the black athlete's role and how it has led us to where we are today, recounting a dark past, but showing inspirational triumphs that provide hope for future generations.