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Mike Freeman is an American sports columnist forUSA Today.
Freeman has written forBleacher Report,The New York Times,Washington Post,Dallas Morning News,Boston Globe,Florida Times-Union andCBSSports.com. He is also the author of five books, including a biography onFlorida State football coachBobby Bowden. His bookESPN: The Uncensored History, which alleged sexual harassment, drug use and gambling, was the first critical study ofESPN.[1][2]
In January 2004, Freeman resigned before starting a columnist job atThe Indianapolis Star after he was discovered lying about his education, specifically falsely claiming a college degree.[3]Tom Jolly, sports editor atThe New York Times, said "Mike's career here speaks for itself, he did some great work here".[4] Freeman subsequently said "There are no excuses and I have never made any. Never will either. I’ll get my degree this summer or fall and start my pursuit of an advanced degree the following spring."[5]
Freeman's columns have included accusations of racism and sexism against his colleagues in the New York press. His columns are often seen as far-left and anti-religious.[6] He was unsuccessfully sued for libel by golferJohn Daly, with a circuit judge ruling that "Freeman's statements were either true or constitutionally protected opinion".[7] In 2002 Freeman called for a tougher program from theNational Football League for monitoring off-the-field violence and drug use.[8] As of 2023 he is a columnist inUSA Today.[9]
In addition to his journalism career, he has authored multiple books, such asJim Brown: The Fierce Life of an American Hero, exploring the life of the NFL legend, andYou Negotiate Like a Girl: Reflections on a Career in the NFL, co-written with Amy Trask.[10]
His work often is racially charged and met occasionally with accusations of racism. In 2007 he wrote an article for CBS Sports mocking a potential matchup between West Virginia and Missouri in the College Football National Championship game calling it the "Hicks versus the Heehaws." A petition demanding his firing collected over 3000 responses, another petition was created while he worked at Bleacher Report garnered over 200 responses.