Jason Kornwitz has reported that Ron Thomas, director of Morehouse College’s Journalism and Sports Program, will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Sports Journalism from Sport in Society this summer.

Ron Thomas, Director of Morehouse College’s Journalism and Sports Program

“Sports,” Thomas recalled believing, “was the one place where black people’s achievements couldn’t be denied.”

But a Sports Illustrated exposé on racial discrimination against black athletes, which was published when Thomas began studying at the University of Rochester, forced the young sports fan to reconsider. “I realized there was racism in sports and how virulent that discrimination could be,” he explained.