The Graphic Truth: Racial diversity in US professional sports

In an unprecedented step to protest racial injustice, several US professional sports teams last week staged a walkout after the shooting of an unarmed Black man by a white police officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The boycott was initially led by the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association, a league where three-quarters of players are Black. But Bucks were soon followed by other teams and sports — including several from Major League Baseball, where whites make up nearly two thirds of players. As professional athletes take bolder stands on the contentious conversation about race relations in the run-up to the November presidential election, we took a look at the racial breakdown of the players in five major US professional sports competitions.

More from GZERO Media

- YouTube

Following a terrorist attack in Kashmir last spring, India and Pakistan, both nuclear powers, exchanged military strikes in an alarming escalation. Former Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Khar joins Ian Bremmer on GZERO World to discuss Pakistan’s perspective in the simmering conflict.

- YouTube

A military confrontation between India and Pakistan in May nearly pushed the two nuclear-armed countries to the brink of war. On Ian Explains, Ian Bremmer breaks down the complicated history of the India-Pakistan conflict, one of the most contentious and bitter rivalries in the world.

A combination picture shows Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting with Arkhangelsk Region Governor Alexander Tsybulsky in Severodvinsk, Arkhangelsk region, Russia July 24, 2025.
REUTERS/Leah Millis

In negotiations, the most desperate party rarely gets the best terms. As Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin meet in Alaska today to discuss ending the Ukraine War, their diverging timelines may shape what deals emerge – if any.