This study offers a critical inquiry into a sample of 230 hockey-themed beer vessels to explore how hockey is represented on these items and how such imagery links to broader social and cultural significances. Positioned within material cultural studies, the research uses iconology to interrogate how these beer vessels reflect and shape symbolic and ideological narratives. Four dominant themes emerged: team identity, national identity, hockey icons, and nostalgic vignettes. Notably absent were women, racialized individuals, and representations of diverse hockey communities. The discussion critiques how this beer vessel collection enshrines gender and racial inequities, glorifies problematic hockey figures, and perpetuates the celebrated, yet problematic, bond between hockey and beer in Canada.
The mainstream discourse of sport diplomacy perpetuates a form of epistemic liberal Eurocentrism that sidesteps questions of capitalism, (neo)colonialism, and imperialism. Against this colonial amnesia, this paper draws upon theories of counterinsurgency to examine the contemporary sport diplomacy programs directed by the U.S. government and carried out by various state/nonstate actors. A critical reading of diplomatic cables and public sources reveals that, on the one hand, sport diplomacy was discussed internally by U.S. diplomats as a crucial means to reestablish U.S. legitimacy overseas; on the other hand, it was presented to the public as a depoliticized, good-for-all activity. This analysis situates U.S. sports diplomacy within an ensemble of counterinsurgency tactics to advance foreign policy objectives of the U.S. settler empire.
Sport-based interventions in youth justice promise inclusion and behavior change, yet can enact soft discipline and social control. This article advances sport criminology by showing how a researcher's embodied positionality co-produces these dynamics. Drawing on 18 months of embodied ethnography in a rugby intervention with justice-involved young men (16-18), I examine how my rugby-legible body shaped recognition, misrecognition, and everyday governance. Three vignettes connect sensory experience and role fluidity to surveillance, conditional participation, and aspirational bodily norms. Methodologically, I engage in and present "uncomfortable reflexivity" to reveal how carceral logics travel through bodies and spaces, with implications for ethnography and youth justice practice.
This study examines the emotional, gendered, and economic dimensions of inspiration in women's sport through in-depth interviews with 43 women's soccer fans. Drawing on theories of affective economies and feminist political economy, we conceptualize inspiration as an economically consequential affect-produced through athletes' affective and reproductive labor -which generates use-value for fans through emotional connection while producing exchange-value for organizations as these attachments are appropriated to enhance visibility and growth. Fans' interpretations of inspirational performances reveal tensions between authenticity, obligation, and exploitation, as some value emotional connection to athletes, while others question whether inspiration constitutes labor or critique its limits as a promotional strategy. Findings demonstrate that inspirational labor helps sustain women's sport, yet it also reinforces gendered inequalities when its costs are borne by athletes while its value is captured by institutions.
Using data from the National Sports and Society Survey (N= 3,993) and logistic regression analyses, this study drew upon social control, differential association, and life course theories to examine relationships between sport participation and acts of violence. Although initial results found a positive association between organized youth sport participation and violence, subsequent findings indicated that playing organized sports and dropping out while growing up was uniquely and positively associated with ever committing violence. In addition, playing heavy-contact sports was also positively associated with ever committing violence. There was also evidence that playing organized youth sport and recently playing sport regularly were positively associated with recent acts of violence. Overall, this study contributes to understanding of how sport participation may be connected to violence.
This study examines the media coverage of Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White's domestic violence, an occurrence that featured a video showing White slapping his wife. We analyzed coverage (N = 163 articles) across major sport media platforms, conducting a critical discourse analysis that reveals a stark disparity compared with how other sports figures who have committed similar acts have been covered. Despite White's stature, many major sports media outlets provided minimal coverage, and White faced no significant professional or reputational consequences. Sports media accepted his apology with little follow-up coverage, and prominent figures publicly defended him. Notably, despite prior research indicating that video evidence significantly influences media narratives of domestic violence, White's case stands as an exception as neither the video nor his admission altered the tone or extent of coverage. This study contributes to the growing body of literature on racial bias in sports media and the intersection of power, privilege, and discourse in sports journalism.
Over the past decade, the gambling landscape in the United States has shifted dramatically, with sports betting becoming more accessible and widespread than ever. Sports gambling is linked to sanctified constructs and rituals involving masculinity, leisure, sport, nation, and religiosity, complicating traditional moral deterrents related to it. To investigate connections between religiosity and sports gambling, we drew on the National Sports and Society Survey data (N= 3,701) on U.S. adults. Findings challenge assumptions that religiosity uniformly suppresses gambling behavior. Those who attended religious services infrequently (e.g., once or twice a year) were more likely to gamble and wager more money than both weekly attenders and nonattenders. Catholics were especially likely to engage in sports gambling. Yet, gender moderated these relationships, with religious women significantly less likely to gamble on sports or wager large sums. Still, religiosity did not appear to determine sports gambling outcomes (i.e., wins/losses), among those who gambled. Overall, our findings reveal a complex, contingent relationship between religion and sports gambling.
Few theoretical connections have been drawn between the policing and exclusion of transgender and nonbinary athletes and pregnant and mothering athletes in sport, leading to siloed understandings of how dominant gendered discourses oppress "nonnormative" bodies in sport. In this commentary, we outline how dominant gender discourses (re)produce the discourse "nonnormative bodies disrupt gender binaries" to justify how transgender, nonbinary, pregnant, and mothering athletes are policed in and excluded from sport. We then discuss how those supporting pregnant and mothering athletes can draw from strategies used to support transgender and nonbinary athletes, such as mythbusting, policy analysis, and voice amplification, to build broader movements challenging gender binaries and oppressive sport discourses.
Within the institutional setting of collegiate athletics in the United States, wearable technology devices are regularly issued to competing college athletes for the purpose of harvesting their personal biometric performance data. Although data harvested from college athletes by institutionally issued wearable technologies are of potential value from a performance standpoint, a robust third-party marketplace also exists for athletes' biometric performance data. At present, and in accordance with intensifying financial demands in collegiate athletics, the National Collegiate Athletic Association permits the unilateral harvest and sale of college athletes' personal biometric data. Accordingly, the present study sought to explore current college athletes' perceptions of the proprietary usage and sale of their personal biometric data. Findings illuminate both the necessity of informed governance with regard to protecting athletes' privacy amid novel technological integration and legal and financial considerations given college athletes' ability to monetize their name, image, and likeness.
Using Curry's Man-Not genre, we analyze a promotional video of a college athlete being recruited shared via social media. We argue that the video reflexively captures the modern white supremacist state and cultural apparatus in operation. The video depicts excesses of luxury and desire shilled onto Black male athletes, as they enter an athletic center. Through a multimodal critical discourse analysis, we draw on our knowledge of the historical and contemporary context to situate the video's content as a scene of political power and control. We argue that the scene is a profound public display of social coercion, overtly reasserting white supremacist dominance. It depicts the intentional separation of Black culture from the people producing it. It is a display of subjugation. It is racial castration.
Major League Baseball (MLB) introduced a pitch clock in 2023, forcing players to speed up their motions. This paper first contextualizes the pitch clock as a form of workplace time discipline. Second, it analyzes thousands of reactions on social media to determine how fans interpret the clock. Three prominent themes emerge in their discourse: approval, qualified approval, and disapproval. This paper analyzes these themes and argues that (1) fans often convey audience centrism, whereby positive viewing experiences take precedence over the time discipline of players, (2) many treat baseball as a detached preserve, meaning fans ignore connections to factors outside of sports, and (3) fans exhibit contradictions. For example, traditionalists regularly decry the clock, even though it is shortening games to lengths more common in the 1980s.
Significant barriers limit disabled young people's opportunities in sport and active recreation. This is both a health and human rights issue: physical activity is vital for well-being, and equitable access to sport and active recreation is mandated by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006). Using Q methodology, a participatory mixed-methods approach that uncovers shared viewpoints through statistical analysis of participant-ranked statements, we examined ableist attitudes in Aotearoa New Zealand that privilege nondisabled access while marginalizing disabled peers, despite decades of inclusionary rhetoric. Forty participants from sport, physical education, and recreation sectors ranked 40 attitudinal statements on disability inclusion. Factor analysis of these rankings revealed three distinct ableist "viewpoints." We present these viewpoints, propose a "variants of ableism" framework, and discuss implications for parity in participation in sport and physical activity.
National Collegiate Athletic Association coaches build relationships with athletes and shape team culture; yet, research on their attitudes toward transgender athlete inclusion is limited. We surveyed 1,143 coaches on their attitudes toward and intentions in coaching transgender athletes. One third of coaches agreed with transgender women's and about half agreed with transgender men's sport participation; yet, most also agreed they would welcome (60.2%) and create inclusive environments (81.7%) for transgender athletes. Findings revealed that more knowledge of transgender identities, such as affiliating with Democrat or Independent parties, identifying as LGB+, and contact with LGB+ individuals correlated with more positive attitudes. Findings underscore the need for education to foster more inclusive environments for transgender athletes.
This study investigates the motivations of intersectionally marginalized female athletes engaging in activism during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Using qualitative content analysis of secondary-sourced interviews with three U.S. Olympians, the research identifies five areas influencing activist behavior. The findings reveal that the interplay of psychological needs- autonomy and self-identification, competence and controllability, and belonging and community connection-alongside socialization and personal identity drive these athletes' actions. By highlighting these motivational factors, the study provides valuable insights for sporting organizations, offering future directions on fostering environments that support athlete activism while addressing systemic inequities.
This study explores how elite junior male hockey players in Western Canada engage with health care in the context of sport. Using a constructionist approach, interviews with elite junior hockey players (ages 17-20) explored how masculinity shapes health-seeking behaviors. Despite growing awareness of athlete health, playing through injury was often normalized, reflecting ideals of toughness and stoicism. Two themes, old and new, and authority and influence illustrate how historical and evolving masculinities shape decision making. Coaches, managers, and trainers were identified as key figures who either reinforce or challenge these norms. This research offers insight into how the junior hockey environment impacts help-seeking practices and contributes to broader discussions on masculinity, sport, and athlete well-being.
This study explores the Vietnamese American experience in sport and physical activity. Framed through Lisa Lowe's conceptions of hybridity, heterogeneity, and multiplicity, results from 18 semi-structured interviews generated three themes: connection to Vietnamese community and culture, desire for Vietnamese representation, and Vietnamese American sport and physical activity identities. Findings illustrate how sports and physical activity participation conjured mixed feelings regarding how participants see themselves in relation to the makeup of their identities while also underpinning their connection to Vietnamese culture and community. By focusing on a specific ethnic group, this study disaggregates Asian Americans in studies of sport and physical activity to address empirical gaps related to particular ethnocultural populations.
The focus of this study was investment in the Master Cultural Narrative (MCN) of being authentically one's self for Black male college athletes in the post name, image, and likeness policy era of Division I athletics. As part of a multimethod qualitative interviews via Zoom. The MCN of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) was assessed through an archival analysis of events through 10 publicly available interviews via NCAA representatives to examine: What are the NCAA and Black male college athletes' MCNs in the post name, image, and likeness policy era? Black male college athletes determine their MCNs via perception of self, perceived self, and authenticity, while NCAA's MCN is determined via hybrid institutional logic.
