PERSON: LZ Granderson

ESPN, CNN

Columnist, Contributor

LZ Granderson is a senior writer and columnist for ESPN the Magazine and ESPN.com, as well as a regular contributor for ESPN’s Sports Center, Outside the Lines and First Take. Prior to joining ESPN first as a magazine editor and later as a writer, Mr. Granderson was a sports columnist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. A member of the National Association of Black Journalists, Mr. Granderson was a Columbia University Hechinger Institute Fellow, a 2009 GLAAD Award winner for online journalism and won first place in the opinion writing category for the 2008 Excellence in Journalism awards given by the National Lesbian Gay Journalist Association. <br> <br> Mr. Granderson broke the Sheryl Swoopes’ coming out story, has interviewed many sports greats including Terrell Owens, Dan Marino, Roger Federer, and David Beckham. He recently ignited an intense national community debate with his op ed piece, “Gay is not the new black” on CNN.com. HRC has identified him as one of the most distinct voices in the LGBT movement, and featured him in a national online conversation about race, sexuality and gender. Challenging journalists, in a recent ESPN piece he demonstrated that Hawaii coach McMackin’s slur reveals a larger problem within sports media itself. Granderson now is regularly contributing to CNN for his weekly column in social commentary on race, sports and LGBTQ issues.<br> <br> Mr. Granderson knows deeply the demands of being out from the initial interview, to making his corporate mark at a media giant on the front edge of change, but dominated by a jock culture and hyper masculinity. In his commentary Mr. Granderson has tackled taboo subjects such as usage of the N-word in the black community, the presence of gays in the locker room, and the truths and lies about reverse racism. Blistering honest and insightful, Mr. Granderson spares no one. Not even himself.<br> <br> Perhaps the most visible openly gay sports journalist in the nation, Besides breaking the Sheryl Swoopes coming out story in 2005, hed has been at the fore of the gays in sports discussion for much of his 13-year career, ruffling the feathers of liberals and conservatives alike with his matter-of-fact approach to that and other subjects But Mr. Granderson did not grow to become one of the most popular columnists for ESPN by being a one trick pony. The one time Detroit gang member has tackled other pivotal topics such as race, gender and politics. While other sports columnists may focus on how the game is played, Mr. Granderson focuses on who is playing the game, and who is watching them. <br> <br> Prior to joining ESPN first as a magazine editor and later as a writer, Mr. Granderson was a sports columnist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. A member of the National Association of Black Journalists, Mr. Granderson also served on the board for the National Lesbian Gay Journalist Association and was a Columbia University Hechinger Institute Fellow.He won first place in the opinion writing category for the 2008 Excellence in Journalism awards given by the National Lesbian Gay Journalist Association for his article stemming out of his experiencing anti-gay slurs in New Orleans during NBA All-Star Weekend. Z Granderson is a senior writer and columnist for ESPN the Magazine and ESPN.com, as well as a regular contributor for ESPN’s Sports Center, Outside the Lines and First Take. Prior to joining ESPN first as a magazine editor and later as a writer, Mr. Granderson was a sports columnist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. <br> <br> A member of the National Association of Black Journalists, Mr. Granderson was a Columbia University Hechinger Institute Fellow, a 2009 GLAAD Award winner for online journalism and won first place in the opinion writing category for the 2008 Excellence in Journalism awards given by the National Lesbian Gay Journalist Association. Mr. Granderson broke the Sheryl Swoopes’ coming out story, has interviewed many sports greats including Terrell Owens, Dan Marino, Roger Federer, and David Beckham. He recently ignited an intense national community debate with his op ed piece, “Gay is not the new black” on CNN.com. HRC has identified him as one of the most distinct voices in the LGBT movement, and featured him in a national online conversation about race, sexuality and gender. Challenging journalists, in a recent ESPN piece he demonstrated that Hawaii coach McMackin’s slur reveals a larger problem within sports media itself. <br> <br> Mr. Granderson knows deeply the demands of being out from the initial interview, to making his corporate mark at a media giant on the front edge of change, but dominated by a jock culture and hyper masculinity. In his commentary Mr. Granderson has tackled taboo subjects such as usage of the N-word in the black community, the presence of gays in the locker room, and the truths and lies about reverse racism. Blistering honest and insightful, Mr. Granderson spares no one. Not even himself.<br> <br> Perhaps the most visible openly gay sports journalist in the nation, Besides breaking the Sheryl Swoopes coming out story in 2005, hed has been at the fore of the gays in sports discussion for much of his 13-year career, ruffling the feathers of liberals and conservatives alike with his matter-of-fact approach to that and other subjects But Mr. Granderson did not grow to become one of the most popular columnists for ESPN by being a one trick pony. The one time Detroit gang member has tackled other pivotal topics such as race, gender and politics. While other sports columnists may focus on how the game is played, Mr. Granderson focuses on who is playing the game, and who is watching them. <br> <br> Prior to joining ESPN first as a magazine editor and later as a writer, Mr. Granderson was a sports columnist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. A member of the National Association of Black Journalists, Mr. Granderson also served on the board for the National Lesbian Gay Journalist Association and was a Columbia University Hechinger Institute Fellow.He won first place in the opinion writing category for the 2008 Excellence in Journalism awards given by the National Lesbian Gay Journalist Association for his article stemming out of his experiencing anti-gay slurs in New Orleans during NBA All-Star Weekend.<br> <br> — facebook.com