“In Soccer, We Have the Opportunity to Call Attention to Certain Things”: An Examination of Media Framing of Activism for Human Rights in German Sport

in International Journal of Sport Communication

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Yannick Kluch Center for Sport Leadership, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA

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https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1916-2264 *
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Evan L. Frederick Department of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA

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https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3541-7899
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Nina Siegfried Department of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA

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https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0121-1611
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1123/ijsc.2023-0101
Keywords:
athlete activism; Europe; Germany; social justice
First Published Online:
19 May 2023
In Print:
Ahead of Print
Page Range:
1–10
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The goal of this study was to extend the contemporary athlete activism literature by (a) exploring athlete activism beyond a strictly North American context and (b) examining how athlete activism at an organizational/institutional level (i.e., sport organization) may be framed differently than activist efforts at an individual level (i.e., athlete). By examining two examples of activism in German soccer, we show that the framing of both athlete-enacted and organization-enacted examples of activism highlighted the importance of speaking up when human rights are violated, called for the display of solidarity, and discussed the broader political implications for such protests. Additionally, framing of both examples of activism included voices of criticism regarding the sport organizations governing global sport. As calls for accountability of sport organizations suppressing athlete expression are becoming increasingly common in global sport, this study adds to a shifting focus of activism research targeting the sport institutions that often perpetuate the various injustices individual athletes call attention to.

Frederick https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3541-7899

Siegfried https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0121-1611

Kluch (ykluch@illinois.edu) is corresponding author, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1916-2264

Siegfried is now at Capgemini Deutschland GmbH, Frankfurt, Germany.

Kluch is now with the Department of Recreation, Sport and Tourism, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA.

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