The magazine business is hurting right now. Every month, a handful of magazines announce that they're folding or going strictly digital. And ESPN magazine is trying its hardest not to be one of those mags that falls from grace. Its plan? Get a bunch of athletes to get naked for the cover. This month, "The Body Issue" will hit shelves with a naked Serena Williams gracing the cover. Williams is one of six athletes featured on six covers. Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard and MMA fighter Gina Carano are among the athletes that also join Williams in having their own covers.
"The issue honors athletes of diverse shapes, sizes, genders and races within the boundaries of taste and frontiers of creativity upon which ESPN The Magazine and ESPN have built their reputations," ESPN magazine said in a press release. "It is a testament to the work the athletes do, the effort they exert and the price they sometimes pay in reliance on their most important asset – their bodies."
The issue will hit shelves Oct. 9 and feature more than 80 athletes, including Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Torry Holt, boxer Manny Pacquiao, U.S.A. Soccer's Natasha Kai and WNBA's Cappie Pondexter of the Phoenix Mercury.
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Serena Williams
BEIJING: Serena Williams of the USA hits a return to opponent Kala Kanepi of Estonia during day three of the 2009 China Open at the National Tennis Centre in Beijing, China.
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Comments: (165)
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By: AfroSwirl on 10/08/2009 12:26AM
YOU GO SERENA!! You look great, we're so proud of you. All my sisters take heed and love the beautiful brown skin you're in!
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By: ummm on 10/10/2009 12:20AM
Your comment is ughhhh.
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By: AfroSwirl on 10/08/2009 7:14PM
ummm: So is your attitude. Move on hater!
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By: RBG on 10/08/2009 9:09PM
You're absolutely right, sistas need to love their skin and physiques because they are truly beautiful. But I have to admit, I'm not a fan of black women (and even black men) posing nude on magazine covers. It only keeps the cycle of misogyny going.
I won't judge Serena, because at the end of the day she is a grown woman who can make her own choices. I just wish she didn't turn her body into a commodity. She's so much more powerful than that......
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By: ummm on 10/10/2009 12:18AM
Hater huh...what a typical response from you Afro I did not see that word comming,lol.It would almost be funny if you weren`t so damn blind.
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By: Marty on 10/11/2009 11:46AM
I agree with you. I'm white but color shouldn't matter. She is beautiful in many ways as well as inspiring to all women in genera.
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By: bodyconstruction on 10/15/2009 11:55PM
Miss swirl, she's a whore like most black women who have to take their clothes off for attention. I guess that takes place of no brains!!!
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By: Odassa on 10/23/2009 2:07AM
GOD bless the skin that you are in. If GOD had ment for us all to be nude EVE would not have eaten wrong fruit. So keep your clothes on. Be blessed
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By: lala on 10/22/2009 12:36PM
serena does what she whats! ypu go girl! and white people are the dirty sluts.
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By: Andrew Thompson on 10/08/2009 6:18AM
Just maybe if people would recognize Serina for her skills at tennis rather than to talk and compare her with other women for her body [arms, thighs and butt] TO ME THE GIRL IS FINE AS IS
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