The 3rd Annual Passing the Ball: Race and Sports Conference will take place Saturday, April 18th at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pa. The 1-day event will feature some of the most dynamic athletes, sports activists, journalists and scholars from all across the country. Confirmed participants include: Ben Carrington, Professor of Sociology from University of Texas at Austin; Theresa Runstedtler, noted author of Jack Johnson, Rebel Sojourner; and Scholar-Activist and organizer of T.U.F.F. Girls Leadership program, Mari Morales-Williams.  The featured guest speaker will be Etan Thomas, who played in the NBA for 9 seasons and is the author of Fatherhood: Rising to the Ultimate Challenge. Huffington Post calls him “More than an athlete…a rebounder with a cause.”  The daylong event will include panel discussions and paper presentations on contemporary racial issues in sports including: social media’s influence on the image of athletes of color; academic underachievement of student-athletes; the role of athletes in American society; women athletes of color; and the post-sports life of athletes. Authors will be available for book signing.