Logo for ROS Presents: Counterattack

ROS Presents: Counterattack

Religion of Sports | PRX

ROS Presents is home to Religion of Sports’ most ambitious and engaging audio storytelling, existing at the intersection of sports and society.

We are now in our fourth season with Counterattack, which follows the journey of Sinead Farrelly from hometown soccer star to league whistleblower to comeback kid. Sinead’s experiences in professional soccer and her brave decision to speak out ignited the revolution taking place in professional women’s soccer today. She and her fellow players are continuing a long tradition of sisterhood in women’s soccer. They are changing the game and forging a new path forward—for themselves, for their league, and for the next generation of little girls with big soccer dreams.

Our first season, Crushed, presented a fresh take on legacy the home run race of ’98 and baseball’s steroid era.

Season 2, the award-winning series False Idol, examined the murder of Reeva Steenkamp and the myths surrounding her killer, Oscar Pistorius.

Season 3, Roughhousing, took listeners inside America’s locker rooms to explore hazing in high school sports today — why we do it, what it says about us, and whether change is possible.

ROS Presents is home to Religion of Sports’ most ambitious and engaging audio storytelling, existing at the intersection of sports and society.

We are now in our fourth season with Counterattack, which follows the journey of Sinead Farrelly from hometown soccer star to league whistleblower to comeback kid. Sinead’s experiences in professional soccer and her brave decision to speak out ignited the revolution taking place in professional women’s soccer today. She and her fellow players are continuing a long tradition of sisterhood in women’s soccer. They are changing the game and forging a new path forward—for themselves, for their league, and for the next generation of little girls with big soccer dreams.

Our first season, Crushed, presented a fresh take on legacy the home run race of ’98 and baseball’s steroid era.

Season 2, the award-winning series False Idol, examined the murder of Reeva Steenkamp and the myths surrounding her killer, Oscar Pistorius.

Season 3, Roughhousing, took listeners inside America’s locker rooms to explore hazing in high school sports today — why we do it, what it says about us, and whether change is possible.

17hr 45min
Thumbnail for "ROS Presents: Elena Delle Donne on In The Moment with David Greene".
In 2019, WNBA star Elene Delle Donne’s moment played through three herniated discs, a broken nose and an injured knee in a decisive Game 5 for the Washington Mystics in the WNBA finals against the Connecticut Sun. She sits down with ROS to talk about that moment and what she learned.
April 27, 202335min 6sec
Thumbnail for "ROS Presents: Carli Lloyd on In The Moment with David Greene".
In this episode of In the Moment, Carli Lloyd relives her historic hat trick during the 2011 Women's World Cup final.
April 6, 202333min 8sec
Thumbnail for "ROS Presents: NFL Great Larry Fitzgerald on In the Moment with David Greene (and an announcement...)".
The host of our upcoming series on hazing in high school sports, "Rough Housing," shares an interview with Larry Fitzgerald, one of the best wide receivers of all time. Fitzgerald is expected to be a first ballot NFL Hall of Famer and is also executive chair of the Arizona Super Bowl LVII Host Committee.
February 9, 202334min 42sec
Thumbnail for "ROS Presents: MLB Hall of Famer Pedro Martínez relives "Who's Your Daddy" rivalry on In the Moment with David Greene".
Former Red Sox ace Pedro Martínez reveals new details about the historic 2004 pennant race against the Yankees in this exclusive interview from "In the Moment with David Greene."
October 25, 20227min 16sec
Thumbnail for "CRUSHED Bonus Episode: The New Steroid Problem".
Has drug testing in the MLB gone too far?
October 26, 202127min 50sec
Thumbnail for "CRUSHED Bonus: The Sticky Solution".
Is MLB’s latest crackdown on ball doctoring going after the right culprit?
July 13, 202115min 48sec
Thumbnail for "CRUSHED Part 1: The Feel-Good Story".
What happens when your love of a sport is built on a major-league lie?
April 1, 202137min 40sec
Thumbnail for "CRUSHED Part 2: The Snoop".
A reporter’s locker-room discovery sparks a controversy that will cast a shadow over Mark McGwire’s record.
April 8, 202134min 51sec
Thumbnail for "CRUSHED Part 3: The Magic Shot".
Every player during the steroid era faced difficult choices, which could make — or upend — their careers.
April 15, 202138min 44sec
Thumbnail for "CRUSHED Part 4: The Cheater's Rulebook".
Where do we draw the line between cheating and getting an edge?
April 22, 202133min 7sec
Thumbnail for "CRUSHED Part 5: The Dirty Truth ".
Why did we focus on finding a villain when we should've been searching for the truth?
April 29, 202135min 8sec
Thumbnail for "CRUSHED Part 6: The Reckoning".
Two American institutions—Major League Baseball and the government—collide on Capitol Hill.
May 6, 202140min 40sec
Thumbnail for "CRUSHED Part 7: The Fallout ".
What did the steroid era destroy, and what did it leave behind?
May 13, 202136min 33sec
Thumbnail for "Trailer: CRUSHED".
What happens when your love of a sport is built on a major-league lie?
March 24, 20213min 24sec
Thumbnail for "FALSE IDOL: Trailer".
Introducing False Idol, the newest podcast from Religion of Sports and PRX, examining the rise and fall of Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee sprinter from South Africa.
August 12, 20213min 40sec
Thumbnail for "FALSE IDOL Part 1: The Blade Runner".
Two Paralympic sprinters raise questions about Oscar Pistorius’ blades, the integrity of their races, and how he rose to the top of their sport.
August 26, 202143min 53sec
Thumbnail for "FALSE IDOL Part 2: Oscarmania ".
Pistorius made history at the 2012 Olympic Games, but scientists and experts wonder aloud whether he deserved to be there in the first place.
August 26, 202138min 7sec
Thumbnail for "FALSE IDOL Part 3: A Loaded Gun".
As Pistorius rose to fame, the media began learning more about him, and some of the details seemed … troubling. The details of his private life were even worse.
September 2, 202136min 46sec
Thumbnail for "FALSE IDOL Part 4: Reeva".
Reeva Steenkamp was a model, a law student, an activist. She was on the rise when she met Pistorius in the Fall of 2012. Three months later, he would shoot her dead.
September 9, 202134min 32sec
Thumbnail for "FALSE IDOL Part 5: Ready to Run?".
After Pistorius was charged with murder, prosecutors Gerrie Nel and Andrea Johnson fought to hold him accountable and get justice for Reeva.
September 16, 202138min 24sec
Thumbnail for "FALSE IDOL Part 6: Swart Gevaar".
During his murder trial, Pistorius claimed he mistook Reeva for an intruder, when he shot her in his home. Lots of South Africans recognized the coded meaning behind his words.
September 23, 202135min 4sec
Thumbnail for "FALSE IDOL Part 7: Culpability".
Finally, the judge delivered her verdict, and Pistorius learned his fate. Now, how would the Paralympic community, the prosecution team, and the Steenkamp family move on?
September 30, 202133min 46sec
Thumbnail for "Introducing False Idol".
Joan Niesen talks with Tim Rohan, host of False Idol, the latest narrative podcast from Religion of Sports and PRX.
August 5, 20216min 29sec
Thumbnail for "ROUGHHOUSING: Trailer".
For many teen athletes, going through some type of hazing is just part of growing up, gaining acceptance, making the team. But how far is too far? Roughhousing, a new narrative series exploring the culture of hazing in high school sports, launches February 23.
February 16, 20232min 56sec
Thumbnail for "ROUGHHOUSING Part 1: Hell Week".
Young Rodney Kim Jr. had dreams of being the next Tom Brady or Patrick Mahomes. Instead, a hazing incident ended his NFL dreams before his high school football career even started.
February 23, 202334min 51sec
Thumbnail for "ROUGHHOUSING Part 2: The Line".
What if the person being hazed is kinda having fun? Is all hazing a bad thing? Host Iggy Monda looks into his own past, and depictions of hazing in U.S. culture, to try to find the line between horseplay and abuse.
March 2, 202331min 41sec
Thumbnail for "ROUGHHOUSING Part 3: The Coach".
What makes a good coach? Some might say it’s the ability to win. Others might say they have to be a true leader. But when hazing happens on a team, how does a good coach respond?
March 9, 202332min 12sec
Thumbnail for "ROUGHHOUSING Part 4: The Snitch".
We’ve all heard that ‘snitches get stitches.' It’s a rule on the streets but also on many sports teams. So what happens when kids speak out about being hazed in high school?
March 16, 202337min 15sec
Thumbnail for "ROUGHHOUSING Part 5: The Good Fight".
The effort to stop hazing has been going on in the U.S. for decades. But how effective has it been? And is it even possible to change something so ingrained in our culture?
March 23, 202333min 52sec
Thumbnail for "ROUGHHOUSING Part 6: F*ck Closure".
In our final episode, we’ll find out how Rodney and others have dealt with and learned from their hazing experiences years down the road.e road. 
March 30, 202333min 10sec
Thumbnail for "COUNTERATTACK: Trailer".
A story about the women of soccer—the dream that inspires us, the sisterhood that unites us, and the fight that gets us back up and moving constantly towards the goal.
May 4, 20232min 14sec
Thumbnail for "COUNTERATTACK Part 1: The Dream".
The '99 US Women’s National Team's historic World Cup captured the world's attention and changed the narrative for female athletes. It also inspired a generation of soccer-loving kids like Sinead Farrelly, a little girl in small-town Pennsylvania with big soccer dreams.
May 11, 202325min 23sec
Thumbnail for "COUNTERATTACK Part 2: The Reality".
Sinead Farrelly leaves college early to play professional soccer. But when she gets there, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Abysmal pay, poor conditions, and league instability all conspire to create a culture in which players have little protection or power.
May 18, 202327min 32sec
Thumbnail for "COUNTERATTACK Part 3: The Whistleblower".
The launch of the NWSL means new opportunities for elite female soccer players, including Sinead Farrelly. But the power imbalances and lack of oversight that defined former women's leagues continue, leaving a new crop of young players in the same vulnerable positions.
May 25, 202335min 33sec
Thumbnail for "COUNTERATTACK Part 4: The Awakening".
Inspired and empowered by the MeToo movement, Sinead decides its time to break the silence.
June 1, 202322min 52sec
Thumbnail for "COUNTERATTACK Part 5: The Reckoning".
Sinead Farrelly and Mana Shim go public with their stories of abuse and coverup in the NWSL and, in doing so, inspire a reckoning across women’s soccer.
June 8, 202329min 17sec
Thumbnail for "COUNTERATTACK Part 6: The Comeback".
Telling their stories opens the door for Sinead Farelly and Mana Shim — and the league itself — to undergo radical transformations.
June 15, 202331min 29sec

COUNTERATTACK: Trailer

Thumbnail for "COUNTERATTACK: Trailer".
May 4, 20232min 14sec

World Cup champion goalkeeper Briana Scurry follows the journey of Sinead Farrelly from young soccer phenom to league whistleblower to comeback kid in Counterattack, launching May 11.

Sinead’s experiences in professional soccer and her brave decision to speak out ignited the revolution taking place in professional women’s soccer today.

Through determination and collective action, she and her fellow players are continuing a long tradition of sisterhood in women’s soccer. They are changing the game and forging a new path forward—for themselves, for their league, and for the next generation of little girls with big soccer dreams.