William C. Rhoden

William C. Rhoden is a sports columnist for The New York Times. He has been in his current role since March 1983. Previously, he was a copy editor in the Sunday Week in Review section since October 1981 when he joined the newspaper.

Before joining the Times, Mr. Rhoden spent more than three years with The Baltimore Sun as a columnist. Before that, he was associate editor of Ebony magazine from 1974 to 1978. Rhoden is a frequent guest on ESPN's The Sports Reporters.

He attended Morgan State University in Baltimore and while there acted as assistant sports information director.

Satirical Videos

Rhoden contributes periodic videos for The New York Times Fifth Down Blog, discussing various topics regarding the National Football League. In the videos, he takes a satirical perspective, expressing inane and pointless viewpoints on inane and pointless NFL "stories." In contrast to the common "shock jock" sports-radio commentator, Rhoden takes on a calm, fatherly demeanor while discussing topics such as whether Ryan Fitzpatrick can be called an underdog as a Harvard graduate or whether Tim Tebow's crediting of success to a higher power is meaningless without crediting the failures as well. Rhoden's brilliant portrayal as the anti-radio host- all while discussing matters so stupid that those same radio hosts wouldn't touch them- has made him a fan favorite of sports fans across the United States.