Journal of Sport and Social Issues

Black U.S. military affiliated sport fans hold a unique place in society, as their multiple identities (i.e., racial and career) may possess conflicting elements. Militarism preaches nationalism, meritocracy, and bootstrapism, whereas Black sport activism questions if these “American” values extend to people of color. The current study interviewed Black military affiliated individuals (N = 10) to understand their perceptions on nationalism and racism within the landscape of contemporary sport activism. The protests initiated by Colin Kaepernick of the National Football League, who took a knee during the pregame national anthem, was a focal point for discussion with the participants. Three main themes were identified in the interviews: (a) protectors of the first amendment, (b) the “right” and “wrong” way to protest, and (c) new racism and color blindness in sport. This study allows a group that is not often studied to voice their perceptions of nationalism and racism in the context of sport activism.

Major League Baseball's (MLB) unwritten rules and unspoken norms communicate the continuing role that white American cultural values have within the sport. Coded into the past and present, foreign-born players, especially those from Latin America, confront these norms as they arrive to MLB with a distinctly Caribbean tíguere style of play. MLB seeks to overcome these differences by promoting its young Latino superstars through the marketing campaign Let the Kids Play. However, all actors, from The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball to current players, must increase their cultural competency and uproot their essentialist viewpoints to understand that these players are not trying to show up their opponent, but are instead adhering to the style of play they themselves learned and know best.

Participation in sport is often assumed to promote the healthy development of youth. However, research suggests that gender and sexuality policing in sports negatively impacts the self-esteem of LGBTQ + youth. Using moderated mediation analyses, findings suggest that hyper-surveillance and policing of sexual and gender norms, specifically masculinity, through the use of anti-LGBTQ + language in sport not only marginalizes LGBTQ + individuals, but can harm all youth. Among straight cisgender youth, the conditional direct effect of playing sports on self-esteem was positive for only girls, across race, indicating a positive moderated mediation for girls. The positive effect of playing sports on self-esteem had a comparatively lower effect for white boys, when mediated by the frequency of hearing anti-LGBTQ + language. Implications are discussed.

Women from culturally diverse backgrounds are underrepresented in sport leadership, often experiencing increased oppression and discrimination based on intersectionality. The aim of our paper was to scope the literature for facilitators and barriers that exist for women from culturally diverse backgrounds in sport leadership. Four databases with no limits on publication date were searched. A total of 1,838 articles were retrieved and screening revealed 12 eligible peer-reviewed journal articles. The review identified a dominant focus from the USA on experiences of Black or African American women, in basketball coaching or athletic director roles in college athletic departments. Key facilitators and barriers were entwined within four themes including personal characteristics, interpersonal support, organisational support and discrimination. Topics evolved from these themes to create a future research agenda.