Keith Parry

Dr. Keith D. Parry is Head of Department in the Department of Sport & Events Management at Bournemouth University (UK) and an Adjunct Fellow at Western Sydney University (Australia). He is an award-winning writer and educator.

Dr Parry's research is based on identity and in/exclusion in sport and the role of the media in presenting and shaping discussions on these topics. These issues are largely a result of the broader context within which sport operates and it serves to highlight wider social problems. His research is situated within the fields of sport sociology and cultural studies. Although he do not limit himself to one particular area of discrimination, he has published widely on race, gender, and sexualities. Dr Parry's recent concept, Organisational Cultural Lag not only generated new knowledge but also provides a framework for understanding why sport (and other organisations) are slow to respond to social movements in a meaningful and authentic way. While the conceptualisation of Organisational Cultural Lag was based around marriage equality, it is applicable to any social movement.

The other key focus of Keith's research is on concussion/brain injuries in sport. This topic is now increasingly recognised as a public health issue rather than just a ‘sport issue’ and he is one of the founders of the Acquired Brain Injury Research Network, which has been set up to research this area and extend awareness of the topic. His research here has two foci, the experiences of family members of those who have suffered brain injuries in sport and media reporting on this topic.

From a theoretical perspective, a growing number of Keith's publications are based on media framing of sport-related stories. Given the prominent role that the media plays in presenting and portraying sport, it is vital that its role in influencing public attitudes is well understood. His research on the media framing of topics such as gender, sexualities, and brain injuries has identified areas for improvement within the media and provides greater understanding of these topics more generally. In addition, the rise of social media has allowed sport consumers to be creators of content and so it is important to understand this bottom-up representation of sport. Through a variety of netnographic methods, Keith is able to examine the extent to which media discourses influence the values and beliefs of sport consumers.

Dr Parry is currently working on projects related to the influence of masculinities in media reporting of mental health in sport (and hence athletes’ willingness to discuss it), ongoing research into concussion and brain injuries in sport (and media reporting of these issues), informal sport and social inclusion, and the experiences of BAME coaches in the UK.

Keith is also passionate about teaching and engaging students through innovative teaching practices. He is active on Twitter and this is one of the tools which he uses in his teaching practice.

Keith still plays a variety of sports and also confesses to being a sports fan.