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Governance and Policy in Sport Organizations, 5th ed.
Andrew Sellers
We are Courageous: Speaking Out Boldly and Acting for Change: Women in Sport and Exercise Academic Network Conference, 20–22 June, 2023
Milly Blundell, Tori Sprung, and Zoe Knowles
Gender (In)Equity in the Brazilian Paralympic Committee Coverage of the Paralympic Games
Ianamary M. Marcondes, Ruth E. Cidade, Josep Solves, and Doralice L. de Souza
This study investigated the following questions: Was there gender equity in the coverage by the Brazilian Paralympic Committee of the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games? If not, what were the main differences in the treatment of male and female athletes? We compiled all of the Brazilian Paralympic Committee’s publications during both Paralympic Games editions, computed their distribution by gender, and assessed whether the newsworthiness criteria and aspects of text composition were consistently applied across genders. We conducted a quantitative and qualitative analysis of all available publications on the committee’s website during both events. We found that women received less visibility, fewer speech quotations, and fewer protagonist roles. Additionally, we observed that the application of newsworthiness criteria favored men. Our findings reveal issues that can contribute to advancing gender equity in the coverage of national paralympic committees and other media outlets.
Volume 17 (2024): Issue 2 (Jun 2024)
Volume 41 (2024): Issue 2 (Jun 2024)
A Therapeutic Landscape for Some but Not for All: An Ethnographic Exploration of the Bethlem Royal Hospital Parkrun
Garcia Ashdown-Franks, Michael Atkinson, and Catherine M. Sabiston
This study sought to explore the experiences of those involved in the Bethlem parkrun. A mobile ethnography employing participant observation and informal discussion was conducted on the grounds of the hospital in London, United Kingdom. The findings focused on “what it is like” to participate in this parkrun and were organized into two themes: (a) Bethlem as a Shared Leisure Space and (b) Shared Leisure Space, But for Whom? Findings illustrated the emplaced and relational experiences of some participants in this “therapeutic landscape,” while highlighting that the events were exclusionary for others, namely service-users. These findings contrast the therapeutic landscapes literature, which largely assumes their benefits are experienced equally. This work may provide further understanding of the individual and collective experiences of parkrun.
Interview With Jane MacNeille, Senior Vice President of Player Communications at LIV Golf
Trajan Cunningham
Playing in Front of the Bench: Courtside Selection and Its Impact on Team Performance
Finn Spilker and Christian Deutscher
This paper analyzes the strategic decision of basket choice in the National Basketball Association. Before games start, the away team chooses whether to play on offense in front of their bench in the first or second half. Based on eight regular seasons and 9,308 games, we identify the standard strategy for away teams to play on offense at their own benches in the first half. Results indicate that both home and away teams score more points when they play on offense in front of their bench. More importantly, there is a strategic advantage for the away team to play with the offense in front of the bench in the second half, deviating from the standard strategy in the league. Finally, we demonstrate that the choice of the basket for the away team can partially offset the home advantage under normal spectator conditions and entirely nullify it in ghost games.
What Is a Girl Worth?: Gender-Based Violence and Accountability in SportsWorld
Marissa Kiss, Katelyn E. Foltz, Angela Hattery, Katie Mirance, and Earl Smith
Despite having clear policies that address athlete misconduct, including gender-based violence, at the collegiate and professional levels, members of SportsWorld—athletes, coaches, and staff—are rarely, if ever, held accountable. And, even when they face a penalty, more than 80% are allowed to either remain on the team or transfer and continue playing. In this paper, we explore the impact of this lack of accountability, including the “positive” benefits to players that include the opportunity to play in national playoffs and secure lucrative contracts as well as the negative impacts on victims and communities, most disturbingly the impact of serial abusers like Larry Nassar whose unfettered access to athletes resulted in hundreds of victimized individuals.
Mandating Women Board Members in Sport Organizations: Change via Coercive Institutional Pressure
Kathleen B. Wilson, Adam Karg, Emma Sherry, Kasey Symons, and Tim Breitbarth
Boosting board representation of women redresses structural unfairness and improves corporate governance and performance. The Change Our Game initiative, running over 3 years statewide in Victoria, Australia, mandated 40% representation of women on state sport boards. At the start, only 44% of state sport boards had 40% women representation; by the mandate deadline, this had increased to 93%. Using an institutional theory lens, the authors qualitatively analyzed four stakeholder groups: mandators, policy champions, operationalists, and mandate targets. Stakeholder sentiments were analyzed pre- and postmandate deadline over 3 years. Sentiments ranged from positive to equivocation to denigration. The mandate’s coercive pressure, supported by institutional legitimacy and work to accelerate changes, led to institutional change and achieved a significant increase in women board members. Change was grounded in strong ethical and cognitive support from mandate champions. Microsocial expressions of denigration and change resistance did not prevent successful change.