31:T4d5,

This study investigates how diverse crisis response strategies and communicators, considering fans’ identification, influence Chinese fans’ perceptions following the sexual harassment incident involving Manchester City player Kyle Walker. Utilizing a factorial design, the experiment manipulated between-subject factors with a 2 (response source: coach vs. team) x 2 (response strategy: punishing vs. distancing) configuration, involving a sample size of 391 participants. The findings reveal that the impact of crisis response strategies on team reputation and crisis responsibility was insignificant. However, the response strategies significantly affected support for the Manchester City, with the punishing strategy eliciting higher levels of support compared to the distancing strategy. Neither the communicator nor the interaction between the communicator and response strategy had a significant effect on the dependent variables. Regardless of the crisis response strategy employed, a higher level of team identification predicted a higher level of team reputation, a lower attribution of crisis responsibility, and increased support for Manchester City among fans. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

32:T428,

As name, image, and likeness (NIL) continues to be a fixture within conversations surrounding collegiate athletics, the present study sought to examine the manner in which local television media in the United States framed NIL during news broadcasts. Through the lens of media framing, researchers conducted a comprehensive analysis of all local television broadcast content across the United States during the Fall of 2024. This analysis identified 1677 local news segments in which the term “NIL” or phrase “name, image, and likeness” were spoken on-air. Analysis revealed a similar proportion of comments that framed NIL as a positive change in collegiate athletics (promotion) and negative alteration to collegiate athletics (disruption). The findings of this study allude to the nature in which NIL is presented on local television in distinct geographic communities and is of practical significance to collegiate administrators given the strategic importance of distinct geographic communities to NIL efforts.

33:T42d,

This study explores how FoMO fosters sports fan attachment and enhances team identification in the context of online sports fandom. Grounded in social capital theory and social identity theory, this paper investigates how sports fans’ experiences with FoMO activate socially driven behaviors, particularly social media involvement, which build attachment to sports and deepen team identification. An online survey of 451 U.S. based participants revealed that FoMO strongly correlates to social media involvement, which in turn enhances sports attachment and team identification; additionally, a moderating effect was observed among sports fans with moderate to high levels of bridging social capital, suggesting that fans with broader weak-tie networks gain more from FoMO-driven engagement. These findings reframe FoMO as a prosocial motivator within digital fan communities. The research also provides theoretical insights into FoMO’s role in identity-building and recommends practical approaches for sports organizations to boost long-term fan engagement.

34:T47d,

Nationality swapping in sports has surged in the age of globalization but stirred controversy in the Chinese context. Drawing from social identity theory and the disposition theory of sports spectatorship, the current study utilized a 2 × 2 between-subjects experiment to examine how national team identity and two types of nationalism predicted Chinese basketball viewers’ mixed attitudes toward nonethnic naturalized athletes. Results demonstrate that Chinese women’s national basketball team identity, civic nationalism, and Russia as the country of origin increase sports-related national pride, whereas ethnic nationalism and naturalization costs decrease sports-related national p