tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/boxing-3513/articlesBoxing – The Conversation2024-03-14T17:19:15Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2253892024-03-14T17:19:15Z2024-03-14T17:19:15ZMike Tyson is getting back in the ring at 58 – what could go wrong?<p>If at 58, I were to agree to a boxing match with a person half my age, much alarm would be caused. My daughters would burst into tears, my partner would have strong words, and my students would have final confirmation that I had lost the plot. I, however, am not “Iron Mike” Tyson.</p>
<p>On <a href="https://talksport.com/sport/1783383/mike-tyson-new-training-footage-fans-jake-paul-fight/">July 20</a>, the former heavyweight boxing world champion is due to step into the ring at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, to fight YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul. Tyson will be 58, Paul will be 27.</p>
<p>Let’s take a look at what will be going on biologically for Iron Mike.</p>
<p>Receiving repeated blows to the body can tire a boxer out, and a well-aimed shovel hook to the liver can cause a “technical knockout”, but the head is the main target. Boxers are always looking for the knockout blow – and that only happens if you hit the head.</p>
<p>However, the head takes many forceful blows before a knockout is achieved – if it is achieved at all. Many boxers “go the distance” – in other words, manage to fight till the end, which can be anywhere from four to 12 rounds, each lasting three minutes. So what are the potential effects of all this head trauma?</p>
<p>The immediate effects may be minimal; the boxer may simply recover. But on some occasions, the effects may be devastating: a <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/subdural-haematoma/">subdural haematoma</a> can occur. In this condition, shearing forces cause tearing of <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25052244/">bridging veins</a> between the brain and blood vessels within the brain coverings, or meninges. </p>
<p>Bleeding from these torn veins causes a collection of blood that presses on the brain. This causes confusion, loss of consciousness, neurological disability and, in some cases, death.</p>
<p>In older people, the brain tends to lose volume. This lengthens the bridging veins and makes them more vulnerable to rupture. Alcoholism is known to accelerate brain shrinkage, and it appears that Tyson has this as a <a href="https://www.essence.com/news/mike-tyson-im-verge-dying-alcoholism/">past risk factor</a>.</p>
<p>I recall a patient, a boxer who had previously sustained a <a href="https://www.imperial.nhs.uk/-/media/website/patient-information-leaflets/neurosurgery/subdural-haematoma--final-march-2021.pdf?rev=c5e687418d7947f38186d63cac47b012&sc_lang=en">subdural haematoma</a> and had physical disability and terrible depression. These were devastating permanent effects.</p>
<p>Shearing forces on the brain cause injury to neurons (brain cells). Nerve fibres can be torn and this can lead to effects that are either subtle or quite significant. This so-called <a href="https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/traumatic-brain-injury#:%7E:text=Diffuse%20axonal%20injury%20is%20the,different%20parts%20of%20the%20brain.">“diffuse axonal injury”</a> is cumulative over time and may lead to early loss of cognitive function. This is known as dementia pugilistica, or <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470535/">chronic traumatic encephalopathy</a> (CTE). </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/sport-induced-traumatic-brain-injury-families-reveal-the-hell-of-living-with-the-condition-172828">Sport-induced traumatic brain injury: families reveal the 'hell' of living with the condition</a>
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<p>Repeated injuries lead to the accumulation of abnormal tau proteins in the brain. As a result, brain cells are lost and the brain shrinks. The patient experiences changes in behaviour, mood and the ability to think.</p>
<p>In some instances, a condition resembling Parkinson’s disease may result from loss of neurons in a part of the brain called the substantia nigra. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/jun/04/muhammad-ali-parkinsons-greatest-battle">Muhammad Ali </a> may have been afflicted with this, but it was <a href="https://mbi.ufl.edu/2022/10/24/neurologists-who-treated-muhammad-ali-provide-evidence-for-primary-parkinsons-diagnosis/">never confirmed</a>.</p>
<h2>Heart problems</h2>
<p>Middle age sees an increase in the likelihood of cardiac events such as arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat), angina (reduced blood flow to heart muscles), and myocardial infarction (heart attack). Keeping fit protects against cardiovascular disease, and Tyson’s exercise regime will benefit him greatly. However, the temptation to overdo it in the gym is always there. </p>
<p>Extreme exercise can <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3538475/">lead to cardiac fibrosis</a> (scarring of the heart muscles), which over time may lead to heart failure or, sometimes, <a href="https://health.clevelandclinic.org/can-too-much-extreme-exercise-damage-your-heart">sudden death</a>. </p>
<p>Coronary atherosclerosis (narrowed heart arteries) is common in middle age, even in seemingly healthy people. However, it can lead to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0735109714071770">sudden death during exercise</a>. Although regular exercise reduces this risk, a <a href="https://www.cureus.com/articles/55486-cocaine-and-cardiotoxicity-a-literature-review#!/">cocaine habit elevates it</a> considerably – and Tyson has been known to have <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/boxing/article-9171725/Mike-Tyson-reveals-giving-cocaine-alcohol-changed-life.html">used the drug</a> in the past.</p>
<p>A blow to the chest can also prove troublesome. <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-blow-to-the-heart-can-kill-you-or-bring-you-back-to-life-224197">Commotio cordis</a> is a condition in which the heart muscle is damaged by such a blow. This can lead to an irregular heartbeat, reduced ability of the heart muscles to contract, and death. Quite uncommon, but coronary artery disease might make things worse.</p>
<h2>Age doesn’t have to be a barrier</h2>
<p>So far, I have concentrated on Iron Mike, but what of his opponent, Jake Paul? He is a much younger man and may well be free of cardiac disease and brain atrophy, which may protect him, to an extent. However, he has less boxing experience and is a late entrant to boxing. </p>
<p>There are plenty of examples of <a href="https://boxingnewsonline.net/10-boxers-who-competed-into-their-50s-and-60s/">boxers in their 50s and 60s</a> still fighting well and defeating younger competitors. If Tyson retains his speed, power and ability to outwit Paul, then Tyson may prevail. </p>
<p>Finally, let us remember that exercise at all ages is good for us, and there is good evidence that boxing in moderation has <a href="https://health.clevelandclinic.org/benefits-of-boxing">many health benefits</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225389/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Hughes does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A look at the physiology of the older pugilist.Stephen Hughes, Senior Lecturer in Medicine, Anglia Ruskin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2118022023-09-26T14:03:09Z2023-09-26T14:03:09ZTyson Fury’s Netflix series highlights the mental health challenges faced by Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities<p>The Netflix documentary series, <a href="https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81615144">At Home With The Furys</a>, provides a fascinating look at the day to day life of Tyson Fury, family man and heavyweight boxing world champion. </p>
<p>A particular source of pride for Tyson is his heritage as a member of the Traveller community, his boxing moniker being “The Gypsy King”. Yet despite the glitz and glamour that comes with being a millionaire celebrity, Fury has had his internal, as well as external, battles to fight. These include a long history of anxiety and depression, bipolar disorder, substance abuse and suicidal thoughts. </p>
<p>Mental health issues within Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) communities have long been described as being at <a href="https://www.lenus.ie/handle/10147/111897">crisis point</a> due to a combination of complex factors that are not fully understood because of a <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/irish-journal-of-psychological-medicine/article/rapid-review-of-irishtraveller-mental-health-and-suicide-a-psychosocial-and-anthropological-%20perspective/D15DCA7BC128965514E1476C065756E9">lack of research</a>. Indeed, GRT communities are among the most socially and economically <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/educationandchildcare/bulletins/gypsiesandtravellerslivedexperienceseducationandemploymentenglandandwales/2022">disadvantaged</a> groups in the UK and Republic of Ireland. </p>
<p>It is a situation which impacts housing, education, employment, and crucially, mental health and access to healthcare. But we don’t know enough about what the causes are or how to stop them from happening.</p>
<p>My team and I conducted <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/355046420_Mental_Health_Support_Needs_Within_Gypsy_Roma_and_Traveller_Communities_A_Qualitative_Study_PDF_Proof">a study</a> on the mental health support needs of people from GRT communities. We interviewed nine people from across the UK about their mental health and their experiences with getting support: four women, four men and one non-binary individual. </p>
<p>Three main themes emerged from our interviews:</p>
<p><strong>1. Longing for acceptance</strong></p>
<p>This related to a feeling of being ostracised from wider society. One participant said: “We face a lot of racism and discrimination in our daily lives which affects our mental health. And also that even with medical professionals, there is internal racism and discrimination.” </p>
<p><strong>2. Increased vulnerability</strong></p>
<p>This theme related to the impact of economic deprivation, lack of educational prospects and future goals, as well as adverse life experiences. </p>
<p>Focusing on education, one person told us: “There’s a lot of people who think ‘it’s too late you know, my dad never went to school, his dad never went to school, I went for a bit and then I got bullied and then I didn’t go. So what am I going to do?’ There’s lots of people that feel proper stuck.” </p>
<p>The combination of economic deprivation and lack of educational prospects makes members of GRT communities more vulnerable to mental ill health. </p>
<p><strong>3. Barriers to seeking help</strong></p>
<p>The barriers to seeking help for poor mental health highlighted by our interviews were perhaps the most telling sign of a crisis in this community. We identified issues in terms of awareness of mental health support services, especially the challenges of knowing what support is available while travelling. </p>
<p>The unsuitability of services was another issue. One participant described the difficulties of even accessing emergency help: “An ambulance won’t actually come to the [Traveller] site until they have a police escort, and you are suicidal, and they treat you as if you’re a criminal and you might actually attack them.”</p>
<p>Stigmas surrounding mental health issues also cropped up. “My mother and my brother are very, very uncomfortable with me discussing my issues and they basically, they don’t acknowledge it and they don’t want to talk about it,” one person told us. </p>
<p>Participants described their lack of trust in support services too. One person said: “It’s a real driven, fear-based thing why a lot of the time we don’t access those things. It’s like a discrimination thing that’s gone down and a fear of like actual services coming and taking your kids. If you reach out with your mental health, that mental health issue may be used as a reason for taking away your children or involving social services.” </p>
<p>All of these factors negatively impacted the mental health of members of the GRT communities and prevented engagement with relevant support services. </p>
<p>Our research illustrates the importance of providing services to Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people with the cultural understanding, knowledge and resources to support them. A starting point for such an initiative would be an in-depth investigation of the psychological, social, environmental and institutional factors that make this community vulnerable and disadvantaged in their mental health care. </p>
<p>Building trust within these communities is also vital to improving their engagement with services. Dedicated outreach teams, alongside easier access to mainstream services, may be an effective method for achieving this. </p>
<p>The courage shown by Tyson Fury in discussing his mental health battles sets an example for other Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people to show that it is not a sign of weakness to experience mental ill health, and that support is beneficial and available for anyone in need.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211802/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Philip Tyson wishes to thank Rebecca Thompson for her invaluable contribution to this research, particularly in terms of interviewing members of the GRT community. He would also like to thank Bridie Stone for her assistance in writing the journal article.</span></em></p>Tyson Fury has a history of mental ill health, something which is reflected in his series, At Home With The Furys on Netflix.Philip Tyson, Associate Professor of Psychology, University of South WalesLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2004092023-02-23T14:03:59Z2023-02-23T14:03:59ZJake Paul v Tommy Fury: whoever reigns in the ring, it’s no contest when it comes to social media<p>Jake Paul, an American social media celebrity turned professional boxer, has made a name for himself in the ring. After defeating former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva by unanimous decision in October 2022, he now turns his attention to the UK’s Tommy Fury, brother of world champion <a href="https://theconversation.com/tyson-fury-defeated-deontay-wilder-in-the-social-media-fight-as-well-as-in-the-ring-132548">Tyson Fury</a>. </p>
<p>The twist is that Tommy Fury is Paul’s opposite – a professional boxer turned reality TV star (he rose to fame on ITV’s dating show, <a href="https://theconversation.com/love-island-2019-why-bromance-matters-as-much-as-romance-to-viewers-117626">Love Island</a>), which sets up a hotly disputed showdown between the two in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, February 26. Tyson Fury took to social media to tell his brother to “<a href="https://www.manchesterworld.uk/people/tyson-fury-tommy-fury-saudi-arabia-jake-paul-3999647">stay in Saudi Arabia</a>” if he loses the fight, so the prestige of the Fury name is also at stake. </p>
<p>Paul has not only been victorious in his first six fights in the ring, but he has also won the support of social media followers worldwide. In the battle of the personal brands, Paul knocks Fury out. </p>
<p>We examined the pre-match fight on social media to compare how each fighter’s profile brand performed worldwide. The table below provides a head-to-head social media comparison of the two fighters. </p>
<p>With over 70 million followers across YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and Twitter, Paul is a big hitter on social media. Despite Fury’s celebrity status and social media influencer girlfriend <a href="https://theconversation.com/love-island-molly-mae-hague-and-the-working-life-of-a-social-influencer-118407">Molly-Mae Hague</a>, he is a relative rookie in the social media stakes. </p>
<p>Paul punches around ten times his weight in the social media battle, cementing himself as a <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Digital-and-Social-Media-Marketing-A-Results-Driven-Approach/Heinze-Fletcher-Cruz/p/book/9780367236021">mega influencer</a> (over 100,000 followers) on every channel. Meanwhile, Fury can be classified as a macro-influencer (between 10,000 - 100,000 followers) on most channels <a href="https://www.instagram.com/tommyfury/?hl=en">besides Instagram</a>, where he has mega status.</p>
<p>In a straight fight between boxers or other sports personalities, success in their sport often leads to more followers on social media through the <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1977-10287-001">“basking in reflected glory” effect</a>, where fans want to be associated with successful sports stars and teams. </p>
<h2>Are social media stars diluting the sport?</h2>
<p>This new phenomenon of influencers turned sportspeople and vice versa, however, puts a twist on using social media followers to gauge the level of sporting prowess. Paul gained this massive following before becoming a professional boxer, so he now faces the fight of his life in the ring. </p>
<p>There have been criticisms towards social media influencers <a href="https://thebookofman.com/body/sport/youtuber-boxers/">from traditional boxing enthusiasts</a> for entering the sport and calling out established professional fighters, as they perceive it to be damaging to the sport of boxing. However, because social media influencers attract such a high following and are mega influencers, there is always the potential to bring in new fans and the associated money to be made. </p>
<p>Paul has thousands of users retweeting and commenting on his posts. The network of users is so vast it is similar to that of a <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/22779752211017275">high-engagement sports team</a>. </p>
<p>In a <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@georgegrovesboxingclub/video/7200813244758461701">recent interview</a> with The George Groves Boxing Club, boxing promoter Frank Warren notes how Tommy Fury and Jake Paul are capitalising on their following and eclipsing traditional professional boxing events at this level. </p>
<p>As our data shows, the two top locations interested in the fight are the US and UK. However, the event also has a global interest, with users actively engaging from South America, Africa, Europe, Australia and Asia. With this level of international interest, more people are exposed to boxing than might not otherwise have engaged with the sport. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1626543422919135233"}"></div></p>
<p>In the lead up to the fight, one of the top pre-fight social media posts came from Paul. In the above tweet, which reached 1.4 million people, he uses his social media status to provide pre-fight updates. </p>
<p>The fight has already been cancelled twice, once due to injuries and once due to a visa issue. In his tweet, Jake Paul assures fans that Fury is on his way to Saudi Arabia and that the fight will probably go ahead. </p>
<p>In terms of quantity of followers, macro social media influencer Paul wins the contest, hands down. In the bravado stakes of showing off and appearing confident and relaxed through social media posts, Paul outshines Fury’s more modest status. In terms of the betting world, too, Paul is also currently <a href="https://talksport.com/sport/betting-tips/1339642/tommy-fury-jake-paul-boxing-free-bets-betfair/">odds on to beat Fury</a>. </p>
<p>Fans will find out on Saturday what the fight’s outcome will be and the impact of millions of fans viewing pre- and post-match updates through various social media channels. </p>
<p>Despite criticism from purists, these mega sporting events have added <a href="https://talksport.com/sport/boxing/1235120/jake-paul-fight-anderson-silva-result-pay-per-view-buys-upsetting/">a new lease of life</a> to boxing, potentially attracting casual fans to the sport. Despite the detractors, as social media audiences continue to tune in, boxing matches between influencers are set to remain popular.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200409/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>We examined the pre-match fight on social media to compare how each fighter’s profile brand performed worldwide.Wasim Ahmed, Senior Lecturer in Digital Business, University of StirlingAlex Fenton, Head of Centre for Professional and Economic Development, University of ChesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1955772022-12-11T19:06:00Z2022-12-11T19:06:00ZBoxing empowered me to express my trauma – now, I help other abuse survivors do the same, combining it with creative writing<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499488/original/file-20221207-10588-41dnqc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=442%2C11%2C3391%2C2144&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ella Sowinska</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The first time I got punched in the face in a training session I cried afterwards in my car.</p>
<p>It wasn’t so much that it hurt: it was the shock. I froze, but I was encouraged to punch back. Boxing brought up buried emotion deep inside of me. As much as it didn’t seem very tough to shed tears, the process felt part of my healing journey.</p>
<p>I started <a href="https://theconversation.com/boxing-can-the-sport-really-help-turn-young-men-away-from-violent-crime-114881">boxing</a> in my mid-thirties. I was angry and I knew it was directly related to my childhood sexual abuse and trauma. Secretly I felt drawn to boxing, its visceral nature. The prospect of hitting someone in the face and maybe even knocking them out excited me. </p>
<p>Little did I know that within a few months of signing up to a boxing gym, I would be training for my first fight. I went on an 18-month beginner’s journey into the world of master’s boxing, an amateur division for those aged 35 and older.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499205/original/file-20221206-26-1i0jaw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499205/original/file-20221206-26-1i0jaw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499205/original/file-20221206-26-1i0jaw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499205/original/file-20221206-26-1i0jaw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499205/original/file-20221206-26-1i0jaw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499205/original/file-20221206-26-1i0jaw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499205/original/file-20221206-26-1i0jaw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499205/original/file-20221206-26-1i0jaw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Donna Lyon says boxing became part of her journey of healing from childhood sexual abuse and trauma.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ella Sowinska</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<h2>Fighting as a metaphor</h2>
<p>My first fight was my most memorable. I fought a woman in her fifties who had a gold tooth. She was tough with a mean look in her eye and I loved every bit of the experience. The brilliance of naivety! It was a split decision, but the final point went to her. I lost, but I didn’t care. I felt elated. The feeling was short-lived, as I fought another three times and lost.</p>
<p>The more I took fighting into the competitive space, the more disempowered I became. Lack of experience was a key factor, but performance anxiety overtook me. I practised mindfulness (a difficult task for someone who had experienced dissociation her whole life). I tried to visualise winning and work with my inner children to quell the fear and voices, but to no avail. I dissociated in the ring.</p>
<p>As I lost fights, the chant of negative voices became louder within me. The unconscious beliefs I had – about being a failure, a loser and worthless – started to overtake me. I kept powering on, fighting hard to battle through the negativity. Fighting became a metaphor for recovering from my abuse.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499210/original/file-20221206-13-8o2ip2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499210/original/file-20221206-13-8o2ip2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499210/original/file-20221206-13-8o2ip2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499210/original/file-20221206-13-8o2ip2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499210/original/file-20221206-13-8o2ip2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499210/original/file-20221206-13-8o2ip2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499210/original/file-20221206-13-8o2ip2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499210/original/file-20221206-13-8o2ip2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Fighting became a metaphor for recovering from abuse.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ella Sowinska</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>The training motivated me; I trained five times a week. I started running to increase my cardio. I got a trainer and we spoke daily about my routine and mental health. I remember driving to a sparring session with him one day. He said, “You are the most difficult person I have ever trained.” I looked confused. He went on; “Most people when they get hit, punch straight back. When you get hit, you just freeze.” </p>
<p>I responded that it was instinctual. I would dissociate. Boxing triggered the feeling of the loss of control and anxiety associated with my past trauma. But I kept returning to it, determined to crack the code to release me from my bind and break through to the other side. Yet my trauma continued to undermine my boxing. </p>
<p>I struggled to think logically and stay calm, let alone be present. I loved how boxing challenged me to try to overcome these fears, but the self-criticism, judgement, disappointment and confusion connected to trying to win became harder to reconcile. </p>
<p>After my final loss, I ended up having a win, in a small interclub fight. The stakes weren’t as high as the other fights and I didn’t even know it was a win/lose fight. I took home a medal and it felt bittersweet. At least I could say I won one, I guess.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/more-than-half-of-australians-will-experience-trauma-most-before-they-turn-17-we-need-to-talk-about-it-159801">More than half of Australians will experience trauma, most before they turn 17. We need to talk about it</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Boxing as a recovery tool</h2>
<p>I loved being a fighter, even if I wasn’t very good at it. I have mostly been determined to fight my way through life and work through things, rather than running from them. </p>
<p>After a period of reflection, I knew that what I enjoyed about boxing hadn’t changed. Hitting a bag hard, training, sweating, focusing on my body and breath, movement and speed; toying with being relaxed and calm, yet sharp and on point. Boxing is a delicate interplay between the physical and the mental. It is both art and skill. It is these elements that have kept me coming back to this sport.</p>
<p>Although my fighting career was over, I began to wonder if there were other women like me; survivors, who could use boxing as a recovery tool, a mode of <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-use-therapeutic-writing-for-empowerment-without-revisiting-trauma-158373">empowerment</a> to express their trauma. I wanted to not only box with survivors – I wanted to hear their stories and share my experiences of trauma. </p>
<p>My background is as an educator, a filmmaker, and an arts practitioner, so the juxtaposition of writing and boxing, although contradictory, felt right to me. I wanted to know what would happen if you put a bunch of survivors in a gym to firstly <a href="https://theconversation.com/lit-therapy-in-the-classroom-writing-about-trauma-can-be-valuable-if-done-right-145379">write about their trauma</a> and then learn the basics of boxing to channel the feelings. </p>
<p>And so, in 2018, I set up <a href="https://www.leftwritehook.com/">Left/Write//Hook</a>, which I ran independently. In 2019, I became a level one boxing coach. In 2020, I took the project into the research space at University of Melbourne, where I lecture in producing for film and television.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KWeYx6hNEjs?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Left/Write//Hook processes trauma through a combination of boxing and writing.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Left/Write//Hook is not about becoming a writer, or a fighter. I believe survivors need to give their trauma expression. I believe survivors are already fighters. </p>
<p>I knew what it was like to fight through shame, negative thinking, addiction, toxic beliefs – and even for the will to <em>want</em> to survive and live life. I knew that other survivors felt the same. Journal writing had helped me in the past, but I found it hard to do. </p>
<p>I felt sleepy after I wrote, as though expressing the trauma and then just leaving it there on paper was only one part of the process. I needed to give the words emotion, the memories a purpose. I needed to move the trauma through my mind, then into and out of my body.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-body-keeps-the-score-how-a-bestselling-book-helps-us-understand-trauma-but-inflates-the-definition-of-it-184735">The Body Keeps the Score: how a bestselling book helps us understand trauma – but inflates the definition of it</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>A virus had been with us all along</h2>
<p>In 2020, I spent two weeks with a group of survivors of childhood <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-real-to-them-so-adults-should-listen-what-children-want-you-to-know-to-help-them-feel-safe-113834">sexual abuse</a> and trauma, sitting in a boxing gym writing about our experiences. After the first hour of writing, I taught them how to box and get angry with the boxing bag. </p>
<p>The workshops were meant to go for eight weeks, but by the end of the second week, Covid pushed everyone online. Little did I know we would be spending most of that year together writing and boxing in our bedrooms and lounge rooms. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499209/original/file-20221206-429-e8tpo.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499209/original/file-20221206-429-e8tpo.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499209/original/file-20221206-429-e8tpo.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499209/original/file-20221206-429-e8tpo.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499209/original/file-20221206-429-e8tpo.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499209/original/file-20221206-429-e8tpo.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499209/original/file-20221206-429-e8tpo.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499209/original/file-20221206-429-e8tpo.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Donna Lyon taught the participants in Left Right Hook to ‘get angry with the boxing bag’ after writing about their experiences of trauma.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ella Sowinska</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While the threat of the virus had reduced our capacity to physically interact, we reflected that a virus had been there with us all along. Inside our homes, in our nightmares, underneath our sheet covers, disintegrating our relationships – with our bodies and minds. </p>
<p>We wrote to prompts, designed to connect us to our trauma and provide context and perhaps relief to our shared experiences. Many of us had never spoken about our trauma beyond our therapist’s office. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lit-therapy-in-the-classroom-writing-about-trauma-can-be-valuable-if-done-right-145379">'Lit therapy' in the classroom: writing about trauma can be valuable, if done right</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Breaking the silence</h2>
<p>I set up the workshop to break the silence of sexual abuse that I had been carrying since I was little. By the end of 2020, we had written an incredible body of work and decided to co-curate an anthology. Our writings had begun to offer an insight into the narratives we told ourselves, the lies that we believed – gently offering an alternative narrative, in the hope that it would one day become thicker. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499211/original/file-20221206-1581-wz1k2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499211/original/file-20221206-1581-wz1k2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499211/original/file-20221206-1581-wz1k2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=916&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499211/original/file-20221206-1581-wz1k2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=916&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499211/original/file-20221206-1581-wz1k2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=916&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499211/original/file-20221206-1581-wz1k2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1151&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499211/original/file-20221206-1581-wz1k2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1151&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499211/original/file-20221206-1581-wz1k2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1151&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<p>When we heard each other’s stories of shame, disgust, fear and self-loathing, we related and felt empathy. We didn’t see each other the way we described ourselves. We saw each other as tough and brave, fierce and beautiful. And if we saw each other that way, then maybe we could learn to see ourselves in the same way.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Left-Write-Hook-Survivor-Creative/dp/1615995803">Left Write Hook: Survivor Stories from a Creative Arts Boxing and Writing Project</a> collects our writings over three rounds of workshops held in 2020. It tells a story of a group of women and gender-diverse adults who are profoundly grappling with the long-term effects of childhood sexual abuse and trauma. They tell the story of friendship, belonging, connection, disconnection – but most importantly, of solidarity.</p>
<p>During the process of creating Left/Write//Hook (and related projects, including research, that have grown from it), each survivor has been given as much personal agency as possible at each moment. Some of us have gone on to publish journal articles together. We are making a documentary film about the project and we just launched this book together. </p>
<p>This agency ensures the survivor’s voice is always amplified. We are not subjects to be researched on or about – rather, with and by. We are experts of our own narratives, and in reclaiming and reauthoring our lives.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article is excerpted and extended from the book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Left-Write-Hook-Survivor-Creative/dp/1615995803">Left/Write//Hook: Survivor Stories from a Creative Arts Boxing and Writing Project</a>, edited by Donna Lyon.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195577/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Donna Lyon is the founder of Left Write Hook and is the producer of the Left Write Hook documentary film. She received seed funding from the University of Melbourne Faculty of Fine Arts and Music Creativity and Wellbeing Research Institute for the workshop and a Faculty of Fine Arts and Music Research Grant for the design and cover of the book. </span></em></p>Fighting became a metaphor for Donna Lyon to recover from her childhood abuse. When her boxing career finished, she wondered if boxing – combined with creative writing – could help others like her.Donna Lyon, Lecturer-Master of Producing, Film and Television. Associate Director Teaching and Learning, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1943932022-12-05T14:57:17Z2022-12-05T14:57:17ZShould sports cheats be prosecuted? When violence in the ring or on the field becomes criminal<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497213/original/file-20221124-12-i6i0cu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=301%2C184%2C6159%2C2802&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/box-professional-match-on-dark-background-1702868416">Andrey Burmakin / Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Professional boxing is no stranger to controversy. The <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/335/7618/469.1#:%7E:text=The%20BMA%20has%20been%20campaigning,olds%20as%20a%20first%20step.&text=And%20the%20argument%20that%20the,%E2%80%9Cbetter%E2%80%9D%20themselves%20is%20patronising">British Medical Association</a>, the trade union for doctors in the UK, has called for years for the sport to be banned due to its damaging effects. It has a <a href="https://sk.sagepub.com/reference/sportsmedicine/n76.xml">higher potential</a> for injury than any other contact sport.</p>
<p>Boxing encourages participants to knock out their opponent. Such conduct often involves the deliberate infliction of grievous bodily harm. Outside of the ring, this conduct could land you with a prison sentence. When boxers break the rules of a contest, there is also the potential for criminal charges.</p>
<p>Infamously, US boxer Luis Resto spent time in prison <a href="https://www.nysportsday.com/2022/08/15/the-fight-that-still-haunts-luis-resto/">for assault</a> after replacing the padding in his gloves with plaster before a 1983 fight. This seems like an obvious case for prosecution, but the line is not always so clear. Now, a doping scandal has raised the question: how does the law decide when sports violence or misdemeanours become criminal?</p>
<p>In October, welterweight contender Conor Benn failed two drug tests ahead of his highly anticipated bout with Chris Eubank Jr. A fighter failing a doping test is nothing new. But this information was revealed in a tabloid days before the fight, suggesting that without the exposé, the bout would have gone ahead. </p>
<p>Benn has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/oct/26/conor-benn-relinquishes-boxing-licence-with-allegations-of-misconduct-upheld">maintained his innocence</a>, but voluntarily relinquished his boxing licence in the weeks following the tests. This sidestepped a full misconduct hearing, in a move that <a href="https://boxing-social.com/news/dan-rafael-slams-conor-benns-team/">some queried</a>. </p>
<p>In response, boxer and commentator Spike O'Sullivan has called for steroid users to be charged with <a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport-columnists/arid-40978646.html">attempted murder</a>. But in cases of sporting foul play, it’s not always obvious when the criminal courts should intervene.</p>
<h2>Sports cheat or violent criminal</h2>
<p>Luis Resto’s case was clear cut. The victim, Billy Collins Jr, did not consent to the specific risks associated with fighting an opponent with “loaded gloves” just by taking part in the boxing match. </p>
<p>When it comes to other forms of cheating, the legal response has been murkier. </p>
<p>One example is the 2004 case <a href="https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Crim/2004/3246.html">R v Barnes</a>, where a footballer appealed his conviction for grievous bodily harm inflicted on an opponent during a match. He performed a hard and high sliding tackle but maintained that the injury to his opponent’s leg was accidental.</p>
<p>The court of appeal overturned the conviction, reasoning that by taking part in a legitimate sport, someone effectively consents to the risk of injury, insofar as it is incidental to the game. This provides a potential defence for the accused, even if they broke the sport’s rules (for example, by fouling another player). </p>
<p>What remains unclear is what behaviour (including cheating) is actually incidental to “legitimate sport” – an important factor that depends on context.</p>
<p>Courts have intervened when competitors have engaged in “off the ball” violence. Footballer Eric Cantona was convicted of assaulting a fan during a match by leaping into the crowd and executing a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/from-the-archive-blog/2015/jan/25/eric-cantona-kung-fu-kick-20-1995-archive#:%7E:text=In%20a%20packed%20court%20room,granted%20bail%20pending%20an%20appeal.">“kung-fu kick”</a> in 1995. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A football referee in a light blue jersey holds up a red card during a match" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497348/original/file-20221125-16-rbczh9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497348/original/file-20221125-16-rbczh9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497348/original/file-20221125-16-rbczh9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497348/original/file-20221125-16-rbczh9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497348/original/file-20221125-16-rbczh9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497348/original/file-20221125-16-rbczh9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497348/original/file-20221125-16-rbczh9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Courts have said that playing a sport means consenting to possible injury – even if it breaks the rules of the game.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/kyiv-ukraine-december-6-2016-referee-532120480">Review News / Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>The Barnes case was concerned with tackles and foul play during a game, rather than preemptive cheating to maximise one’s potential to inflict serious injury ahead of a contest. Luis Resto’s gloves would fall under the latter category, but performance-enhancing drugs are a grey area. Neither the UK courts nor parliament have paid close attention to the boundaries of the consent defence in such circumstances.</p>
<p>Interestingly, in the now hypothetical case of Benn and Eubank Jr, <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2022/10/05/chris-eubank-jr-accuses-conor-benn-of-lying-as-drug-test-drama-takes-new-twist-17510268/">it was reported</a> that Eubank Jr was happy to proceed with the contest despite his opponent’s positive test: “I’ve prepared, I have done my job and now it is in the hands of the promoters, the governing bodies to make this fight happen. All I can do is be ready.” In such dangerous circumstances, it is questionable whether any prior consent could provide a defence to a subsequent charge of serious violence. </p>
<h2>Why is boxing legal, anyway?</h2>
<p>Legally, boxing rests on shakier foundations than other sports. Boxing originally appears to have been regarded as lawful not through any application of principle, or by reference to the legal rules applying to other sports. Rather, it appeared to 19th-century judges to be tamer than the bare-knuckle prizefights they were keen to <a href="https://www.lawcom.gov.uk/app/uploads/2016/08/No.134-Criminal-Law-Consent-and-Offences-Against-the-Person-A-Consultation-Paper.pdf">outlaw</a>. This exceptional category of legally permissible violence has endured only because of its popularity – no government has (yet) seen fit to ban it. </p>
<p>Professional and amateur boxing are also regulated. Bouts have referees, padded gloves, weight classes and other rules to mitigate medical risks to participants. The courts have found that, due to these factors, consensual boxing would be a “legitimate sport”, exempt from the ordinary operation of criminal laws prohibiting <a href="https://swarb.co.uk/regina-v-coney-qbd-18-mar-1882/">serious violence</a>.</p>
<p>Unlicensed forms of boxing, such as <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0038026119829762">white collar</a> contests and resurgent <a href="https://theculturetrip.com/europe/united-kingdom/england/london/articles/the-rise-of-bare-knuckle-boxing-in-london/">bare-knuckle boxing</a> are not so clearly exempt. The position of other combat sports such as Thai boxing and mixed martial arts is also uncertain. These are subject to varying degrees of regulation, and the senior courts in England and Wales have simply not yet had the opportunity to <a href="https://www.cps.gov.uk/publication/agreement-handling-incidents-falling-under-both-criminal-football-regulatory">definitively rule</a> on their lawfulness.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194393/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joe Purshouse does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When cheating in sport leads to injury, it’s not always clear when the courts should intervene.Joe Purshouse, Senior Lecturer in Criminal Law and Justice, University of SheffieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1647652021-08-26T15:08:36Z2021-08-26T15:08:36ZProfessional boxing and influencer culture: Are fights like Jake Paul vs. Tyron Woodley bad for the sport?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416870/original/file-20210818-23-1b9hkc5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=22%2C0%2C4984%2C3333&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Jake Paul is pushed into a closet to get him away from boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. after a scuffle broke out during a news conference.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Marta Lavandier) </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>On Aug. 29, YouTuber-turned-boxer <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKhOJvLj3o0">Jake Paul will make his fourth trip to the prize ring to face former UFC champion Tyron Woodley</a>. The pair are the main event of the evening, scheduled to box eight rounds or fewer in the cruiserweight (176-200 pounds) division. </p>
<p>Paul’s fight is the latest in a recent boom of celebrity boxing match-ups, including an exhibition in June <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aONT7atzqfw">between his brother, Logan Paul, and five-division world champion Floyd Mayweather Jr</a>.</p>
<p>Prior to the Paul brothers entering the boxing ring, their fans didn’t click “subscribe” to see them do anything specific — they followed along to see them do anything at all, to see so-called “real life.” As <em>Boxing Scene</em> columnist Corey Erdman observed:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Every person who traffics in the online economy is always sure to use the buzzword ‘authenticity’ in describing what they do. In every video, there’s at least a sliver of it — it’s a lens into that person’s dwelling, their fashion, their musical taste, something. The social media landscape is predicated on a perceived connection with the creator.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Jake and Logan Paul entering boxing is just an extension of the “real life” scenarios their fans happily consumed on YouTube. The Paul brothers have a legion of fans who will watch them do anything, from the mundane to the outrageous, anywhere and anytime. The money follows.</p>
<p>Stephen Espinoza, president of <em>Showtime Sports</em>, <a href="https://www.sportskeeda.com/mma/news-he-desire-convert-jake-paul-fans-boxing-fans-showtime-president-stephen-espinoza-says-jake-paul-serious-boxing-given-credit">considers the Paul saga an opportunity</a>. “This isn’t all about Jake Paul. This is about Jake doing his events but also he has a desire to convert Jake Paul fans into boxing fans.” </p>
<p>Others don’t understand Espinoza’s vision. In a sport plagued by controversy, surely a novice like Paul pulling in millions by boxing retired mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters, YouTubers and <a href="https://www.boxingscene.com/nate-robinson-finds-his-true-self-ring-against-jake-paul--153483">basketball players</a> detracts from the legitimacy of the sport. It’s a short-term business decision, plain and simple.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Jake Paul defeats Nate Robinson in a second-round knockout.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>More business than sport</h2>
<p>Boxing fans and experts are <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10005407-eddie-hearn-rips-floyd-mayweather-vs-logan-paul-fight-absolute-dog-s--t">understandably divided</a> over the Paul brothers and similar “attractions.” The professional prizefighter, more than any other athlete, can be the living embodiment of the American dream, that old — largely inaccurate — fable touting <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0038026119829762">hard work and perseverance as a salve for poverty</a>, catapulting the worthy from rags to riches.</p>
<p>But the Paul brothers are the opposite. White, straight, male and wealthy, they’re the epitome of privilege. </p>
<p>The Pauls made millions through YouTube, but <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/highest-paid-youtubers-top-ten-jake-logan-paul-dropped-2019-2019-12">stopped daily posts</a> in 2018 to seek out “other opportunities.” In 2019, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5to980XceD4">Logan made his professional boxing debut, losing to fellow newcomer JJ Olatunji</a>, better known for his YouTube handle KSI, by split decision in a headlining fight, despite the presence of two world title bouts on the card.</p>
<p>If Paul-Olatunji headlining wasn’t enough to turn heads, the <a href="https://www.badlefthook.com/2019/11/9/20956452/ksi-vs-logan-paul-purses-main-eventers-listed-900k-devin-haney-biggest-purse-dazn-boxing-news">purses for that evening certainly were</a>. As debutants, they each made at least US$900,000 for the four-round bout. Devin Haney and Billy Joe Saunders, both champions defending their belts, earned US$1 million and US$750,000 respectively.</p>
<p>If the rise of the Pauls has taught the sports world anything, it’s that professional boxing remains more business than sport. And marketability is everything. </p>
<p>For celebrities, boxing offers the possibility of another big payday, based entirely on non-boxing popularity. It’s not about talent, as the <em>New York Times’</em> Morgan Campbell observed, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/11/28/sports/tyson-jones#whos-bankrolling-this-spectacle">it’s all about spectacle</a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/05/sports/floyd-mayweather-vs-logan-paul.html">and entertainment</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two men box in a boxing ring with a referee in the background, the man in the foreground throws a right hook towards his ducking opponent" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416871/original/file-20210818-19-14kr8v0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416871/original/file-20210818-19-14kr8v0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416871/original/file-20210818-19-14kr8v0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416871/original/file-20210818-19-14kr8v0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416871/original/file-20210818-19-14kr8v0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416871/original/file-20210818-19-14kr8v0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416871/original/file-20210818-19-14kr8v0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Logan Paul fight during an exhibition boxing match at Hard Rock Stadium in June 2021.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Paul brothers are a symptom, not the cause of boxing’s woes</h2>
<p>The millions of dollars earned by novice celebrity boxers like the Paul brothers are a symptom of boxing’s troubles, but certainly not the cause. Professional boxing is free-market capitalism run amok. <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/shame-boxing/">Promoters and managers</a> used to be to blame, now it’s the <a href="https://www.ibroresearch.com/boxing-sanctioning-bodies-a-brief-chronology-and-rundown/">alphabet soup of “world title” sanctioning bodies</a> tearing the sport apart.</p>
<p>It’s nearly impossible to explain the championship situation to a casual fan. <a href="https://www.dazn.com/en-US/news/boxing/major-boxing-championship-belts-list/ge65lf29o3kw1pmzktuzbad4a">There are four main championship bodies</a>, including the World Boxing Association (WBA), plus an endlessly changing roster of minor “world” bodies, all issuing their own recognition.</p>
<p>The WBA is in a league of its own when it comes to watering down the sport’s upper echelon, creating three world-title belts for each division. Kevin Iole <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/racist-tweets-controversial-scorecards-and-champions-galore-wba-is-failing-boxing-and-its-fans-211357808.html">of <em>Yahoo Sports</em> sums up the WBA situation well</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“This is hard to follow for the people in the sport, like those who manage or promote the fighters. Imagine what it must be like for fans who simply want to know the stakes of what they’re watching.… Imagine if an NFL team won a playoff game, but the next week the NFL ordered a new playoff game to be held.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>On Aug. 7, Mykal “The Professor” Fox lived up to his ring name, giving Venezuelan Olympian Gabriel Maestre a boxing lesson in a bout for the interim WBA welterweight title. Despite winning virtually every round, <a href="https://www.espn.com/boxing/story/_/id/32006241/wba-suspending-judge-gloria-martinez-rizzo-controversial-scorecard-discovery-racist-tweets">not a single judge</a> scored the contest in Fox’s favour. The scorecard belonging to judge Gloria Martinez Rizzo, the WBA’s 2019 female judge of the year, scored the contest ten rounds to two for Maestre. With an inexplicable scorecard dominating the <a href="https://danrafael.substack.com/p/notebook-after-horrendous-decision">boxing news cycle</a>, <em>Boxing Scene</em> reporter Corey Erdman dug deeper, adding some troubling context to the situation.</p>
<p>On Twitter, <a href="https://twitter.com/corey_erdman/status/1424244494417924101">he shared several problematic tweets from Rizzo</a>, including one in which the judge called Michelle Obama “monkey face.” That a judge with a public history of anti-Black racism could be approved to score any boxing match, let alone a championship featuring a Black boxer, illustrates the utter lack of care the WBA has for athletes competing for its titles. </p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/ProfessorMyke/status/1424436844360523782">Fox took it in stride, tweeting</a>: “Guess I’ll have to settle with People’s Champ … for now.” Fox is getting a rematch, but that’s hardly sufficient. He won the title, the sport let him down.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tY49DYDCWWs?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Highlights from Mykal Fox vs. Gabriel Maestre.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There’s no shortage of scholars examining the intersection of race and boxing. Historians like <a href="https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/85mdc3na9780252061455.html">Jeffrey T. Sammon</a>, <a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/B/bo38298879.html">Kasia Boddy</a>, <a href="https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/85zhc7cg9780252041341.html">Louis Moore</a> and <a href="https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/george-dixon-the-short-life/9781682261774-item.html">Jason Winders</a> all detail the struggles and triumphs of Canada’s George Dixon, who broke the “colour line” in 1892 becoming the first black champion of the world. Yet, here we are, over 100 years later, watching an openly racist judge get the call to score a WBA title fight.</p>
<h2>The bottom line</h2>
<p>The Paul brothers get to make further millions by entering boxing and adding the sport to their reality-themed empire of content. But highly skilled athletes like Fox are treated to racist judges and denied the accolades and opportunities they deserve. </p>
<p>As boxing stands, why would anyone want more eyes on the sport? Or should I say business.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/164765/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>MacIntosh Ross does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Influencers boxing retired MMA fighters, YouTubers and basketball players detracts from the legitimacy of the sport. It’s a short-term business decision, plain and simple.MacIntosh Ross, Assistant Professor, Kinesiology, Western UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1634132021-06-30T12:11:37Z2021-06-30T12:11:37ZWhen a Black boxing champion beat the ‘Great White Hope,’ all hell broke loose<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408713/original/file-20210628-15-12h7z86.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=40%2C0%2C4514%2C2642&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Black heavyweight champion Jack Johnson, right, beat James Jeffries in 1910, sparking racial violence.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85066387/1910-07-06/ed-1/seq-9/">George Haley, San Francisco Call, via University of California, Riverside, via Library of Congress</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>An audacious Black heavyweight champion was slated to defend his title against a white boxer in Reno, Nevada, on July 4, 1910. It was billed as “the fight of the century.”</p>
<p>The fight was seen as a referendum on racial superiority – and all hell was about to break loose in the racially divided United States.</p>
<p>Jack Johnson, the Black man, decisively beat James Jeffries, nicknamed “the Great White Hope.” Johnson’s triumph ignited <a href="https://timeline.com/when-a-black-fighter-won-the-fight-of-the-century-race-riots-erupted-across-america-3730b8bf9c98">bloody confrontations and violence</a> between Blacks and whites throughout the country, leaving perhaps two dozen dead, almost all of them Black, and hundreds injured and arrested. </p>
<p>“No event yielded such widespread racial violence until the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., fifty-eight years later,” Geoffrey C. Ward wrote in his biography of Johnson, “<a href="https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2004/11/18/the-man-with-the-golden-smile/">Unforgiveable Blackness</a>.”</p>
<p>Johnson’s victory, in the manliest of sports, contradicted claims of racial supremacy by whites and demonstrated that Blacks were no longer willing to acquiesce to white dominance. Whites were not willing to give up their power. The story has a familiar ring today, as America remains a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/11/05/what-do-do-about-race-big-divider-american-politics/">country deeply divided by race</a>.</p>
<p>I began my book, “<a href="https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/nebraska/9780803276802/">From Jack Johnson to LeBron James: Sports, Media, and the Color Line</a>,” with Johnson because the consequences of the fight’s aftermath would affect race relations in sports, and America, for decades.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408928/original/file-20210629-15-i3ve54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Illustrations showing troops preparing to leave and marching out of a town center" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408928/original/file-20210629-15-i3ve54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408928/original/file-20210629-15-i3ve54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=365&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408928/original/file-20210629-15-i3ve54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=365&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408928/original/file-20210629-15-i3ve54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=365&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408928/original/file-20210629-15-i3ve54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=459&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408928/original/file-20210629-15-i3ve54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=459&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408928/original/file-20210629-15-i3ve54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=459&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Federal troops leave New Orleans in April 1877, as Reconstruction ends.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.loc.gov/item/93505869/">A.J. Bennett in Frank Leslie's illustrated newspaper, via Library of Congress</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A backdrop of racial hostility</h2>
<p>Born in 1878 in Galveston, Texas, Johnson grew up as the Jim Crow era in American history was getting started. The previous year, Rutherford B. Hayes became president <a href="https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/compromise-of-1877">after promising three former Confederate states</a> – South Carolina, Florida and Louisiana – that he would withdraw federal troops, who had protected the measure of racial equality Blacks were beginning to achieve.</p>
<p>As federal forces left, whites disenfranchised Black voters and passed segregation laws, which were enforced by legal and illegal means, including <a href="https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/insurgency-refocuses-need-for-history-of-white-mob-violence-to-be-taught-in-classroom/2021/01">police brutality and lynching</a>. <a href="https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/nebraska/9780803210769/">Journalists</a>, too, sought to maintain social order by preserving myths about white supremacy.</p>
<p>Johnson’s boxing career challenged those myths. He dispatched one white fighter after another and taunted both the fighter and the crowd. He was brash and arrogant and made no attempt to show any deference to whites. He sped through towns in flashy cars, wore expensive clothes, spent his time with gamblers and prostitutes, and dated white women, which Black sociologist and commentator W.E.B. Du Bois considered “<a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/fight-jack-johnson-1878-1946/">unnecessarily alienating acts</a>.”</p>
<h2>Setting up a racial battle</h2>
<p>Johnson won the heavyweight title by easily defeating the defending champion Tommy Burns in 1908. Novelist Jack London, writing in the New York Herald, wrote about Johnson’s “hopeless slaughter” of Burns and, like other journalists, called on former champion James Jeffries to come out of retirement and “<a href="https://timeline.com/when-a-black-fighter-won-the-fight-of-the-century-race-riots-erupted-across-america-3730b8bf9c98">wipe that smile from Johnson’s face</a>.”</p>
<p>Jeffries announced to the world that he would “<a href="https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128245468">reclaim the heavyweight championship for the white race</a>.” He became the “<a href="https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128245468">Great White Hope</a>.”</p>
<p>The Chicago Defender, a Black newspaper, said Jeffries and Johnson would “settle the mooted question of supremacy.” The Daily News in Omaha, Nebraska, reported that a Jeffries victory would restore <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=L07wCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT10&lpg=PT10&dq=Johnson+would+settle+the+mooted+question+of+supremacy&source=bl&ots=Irf6RpfNOu&sig=ACfU3U0YUdyayxVqHeqRW_6mouIHYoLeSg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiFu4ej4LXxAhXPKs0KHeMMAFYQ6AEwA3oECAkQAw#v=onepage&q=Johnson%20would%20settle%20the%20mooted%20question%20of%20supremacy&f=false">superiority to the white race</a>. </p>
<p>Before the fight, there were signs whites feared a Jeffries loss – and that this loss would not be restricted to the boxing ring but would have ramifications for all of society. </p>
<p>The New York Times warned, “<a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=L07wCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT10&lpg=PT10&dq=%22If+the+black+man+wins,+the+New+York+Times+editorialized,+%22thousands+and+thousands%22&source=bl&ots=Irf6RwhTIv&sig=ACfU3U03XhwVDEzCZVB9yIX_6RR0mjJUnw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjk_sfB7rfxAhVBpZ4KHcN7CBEQ6AEwAHoECAQQAw#v=onepage&q=%22If%20the%20black%20man%20wins%2C%20the%20New%20York%20Times%20editorialized%2C%20%22thousands%20and%20thousands%22&f=false">If the black man wins</a>, thousands and thousands of his ignorant brothers will misinterpret his victory.” The message was clear: If Jeffries won, white superiority would be proved – but if he lost, whites would still be superior. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BnMJL36_oCs?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Footage of the Johnson-Jeffries fight.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Seeking to retain power</h2>
<p>After Johnson easily defeated Jeffries, the Los Angeles Times reinforced white supremacy, telling Blacks: “<a href="https://www.usprisonculture.com/blog/2012/10/07/a-word-to-the-black-man-a-reminder/">Do not point your nose too high</a>. Do not swell your chest too much. Do not boast too loudly. Do not get puffed up. … Your place in the world is just what is was. You are on no higher place, deserve no new consideration, and will get none.” Nearly a century later, <a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-jan-14-ed-johnson14-story.html">the newspaper</a> apologized for that 1910 editorial.</p>
<p>In response to the violence, <a href="https://timeline.com/when-a-black-fighter-won-the-fight-of-the-century-race-riots-erupted-across-america-3730b8bf9c98">many cities forbade a film</a> of the fight to be shown in theaters. In 1912, Congress, citing the same motion picture, passed the Sims Act, <a href="https://reason.com/2018/05/25/jack-johnson-fight-films/">banning the transport of fight</a> films over state lines.</p>
<p>In doing so, it kept Blacks and whites from seeing Johnson beat a white man. Historian Jeffrey Sammons says, “in many ways, Johnson represented the ‘bad n—–’ that whites were so willing to parade as an example of why <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/fight-jack-johnson-1878-1946/">blacks must be kept in ‘their place.</a>’”</p>
<h2>An outpouring of violence</h2>
<p>No white boxer could defeat Johnson in the ring, so white America worked to defeat him outside the ring. Johnson was <a href="https://www.history.com/news/white-slave-mann-act-jack-johnson-pardon">arrested in 1912</a> and charged <a href="https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/unforgivable-blackness/mann-act/">with violating the Mann Act</a>, which made it illegal to transport women across state lines “for the purpose of prostitution or debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose.” He served <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/24/sports/jack-johnson-pardon-trump.html">10 months in federal prison</a>. </p>
<p>But he was much more than one man. “No longer the respectful darky asking, hat in hand, for massa’s permission, Johnson was seen as the prototype of the independent black who acted as he pleased and accepted no bar to his conduct,” Randy Roberts wrote in “<a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Papa-Jack/Randy-Roberts/9780029269008">Papa Jack</a>,” his biography of Johnson. “As such, Johnson was transformed into a racial symbol that threatened America’s social order.”</p>
<p>Whites responded to Johnson’s triumph by using violence to keep Blacks in their place by any and all means. When Black construction workers celebrated Johnson’s victory near the town of Uvalda, Georgia, whites began shooting. As the Blacks tried to escape into the woods, the whites hunted them down, killing three and injuring five, <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Papa-Jack/Randy-Roberts/9780029269008">Roberts wrote</a>. </p>
<p>Such scenes were <a href="https://www.upi.com/Archives/1910/07/05/Race-riots-in-dozen-cities-follow-Johnson-fight-victory/8746818371120/">repeated throughout the country</a>, according to local media reports. </p>
<p>When a Black man in Houston expressed his joy over the fight’s outcome, a white man “slashed his throat from ear to ear.” Another Black man in Wheeling, West Virginia, who was driving an expensive car, just like Johnson was known for, was dragged from his car by a mob and lynched. A white mob in New York City set fire to a Black tenement and then blocked the doorway to <a href="https://timeline.com/when-a-black-fighter-won-the-fight-of-the-century-race-riots-erupted-across-america-3730b8bf9c98">keep the occupants from escaping</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408933/original/file-20210629-28-18jepxh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A newspaper front page showing news of the fight result and ensuing violence" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408933/original/file-20210629-28-18jepxh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408933/original/file-20210629-28-18jepxh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408933/original/file-20210629-28-18jepxh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408933/original/file-20210629-28-18jepxh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408933/original/file-20210629-28-18jepxh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408933/original/file-20210629-28-18jepxh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408933/original/file-20210629-28-18jepxh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Leavenworth Times in Kansas on July 5, 1910, published news of Johnson’s win and racial violence across the nation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://hchm.org/floats-of-every-description-the-fight-of-the-century-july-4-1910/">Leavenworth Times via Harvey County Historical Museum</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The sports world responds</h2>
<p>Johnson’s punishment served as a cautionary tale for Blacks during the Jim Crow era. Black athletes, however talented, whether it was sprinter Jesse Owens or boxer <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/fight-black-boxers-and-idea-great-white-hope/">Joe Louis</a>, were warned they had to be the “right type” of Black person, one who knew his place and did not challenge the racial status quo. </p>
<p>In those sports where Blacks were not banned and instead begrudgingly allowed to compete with and against whites, there were violent attacks on Black athletes. <a href="https://theundefeated.com/features/jack-trice-life-and-football-career-were-tragically-cut-short/">Jack Trice</a>, an Iowa State football player, died of injuries from the attack he suffered in a game against the University of Minnesota in 1923. </p>
<p>The end of professional baseball’s color line in 1946 line was possible only because Jackie Robinson promised he would <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2021/02/17/jackie-robinson-spring-training-story-75-years-ago/4488581001/">not respond to racist epithets</a> and physical abuse so that he would be acceptable to white America.</p>
<p>In the 1960s, white America taught Muhammad Ali, whom many considered the “wrong type” of Black athlete, the lesson it had once taught Jack Johnson. Ali, a brash Muslim who refused to defer to the demands of white supremacy, <a href="https://www.si.com/boxing/2020/04/28/this-day-sports-history-muhammad-ali-refuses-induction-army-stripped-title">was convicted of draft evasion</a> for refusing to be inducted into the armed services. He was stripped of his heavyweight title and sentenced to prison. </p>
<p>Other Black athletes, like sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos, baseball player <a href="https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/09/07/curt-flood-fought-for-free-agency-and-against-racism-but-who-remembers/">Curt Flood</a> and football player <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2021/02/09/black-history-tommie-smith-colin-kaepernick-athlete-activism/6484313002/">Colin Kaepernick</a>, all found themselves punished and ostracized for challenging white supremacy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/163413/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Lamb does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Johnson’s victory, in the manliest of sports, contradicted claims of racial supremacy by whites and demonstrated that Blacks were no longer willing to acquiesce to white dominance.Chris Lamb, Professor of Journalism, Indiana UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1518792020-12-11T16:54:41Z2020-12-11T16:54:41ZTackling in children’s rugby must be banned to curb dementia risks<p>Rugby World Cup winners have joined a chorus of voices calling to reduce tackling in the sport in a bid to stop the growing number of brain injuries afflicting many of its former players. </p>
<p>When the likes of 42-year-old Rugby World Cup winner, Steve Thompson, announced that he <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/dec/08/steve-thompson-interview-world-cup-rugby-union-dementia-special-report">could not remember the tournament</a> because his brain was left too damaged from his career, he highlighted that rugby, in its current state, is not fit for contemporary society. </p>
<p>Invented in the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sportacademy/hi/sa/rugby_union/rules/history/newsid_4030000/4030365.stm">1800s</a>, when safety was far less of a concern, rugby has been resistant to change. But this week, Thompson and 80 other high profile <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/55201237">former rugby players</a> announced that they are living with dementia, with many experiencing as early as their 40s. </p>
<p>Another former England player, Michael Lipman, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/dec/09/michael-lipman-if-i-knew-then-what-i-know-now-id-have-been-a-lot-more-careful">said</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>If I knew then what I know now, in terms of how I’m feeling, and what my wife and family go through on a daily basis, I definitely would have been a hell of a lot more careful.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Players are suing several governing bodies, including World Rugby and the Rugby Football Union. <a href="https://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/rugby-union/12155981/solicitor-explains-rugby-concussion-lawsuit">The law suit</a>, which is in its infancy, will no doubt grow in claimants.</p>
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<p>World Rugby responded to the lawsuit with a <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/55201237">statement</a>, saying it “takes takes player safety very seriously and implements injury-prevention strategies based on the latest available knowledge, research and evidence”. </p>
<p>Professional rugby will have its reckoning in the courts. But if the impact of tackling on the brain is strong enough that devoted rugby heroes are suing their former employer, policies need to be drastically revised and soon, particularly for children. The first thing the sport must do is protect young players by banning tackling for under 18s and transitioning to touch rugby. </p>
<h2>In denial</h2>
<p>Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy is not new. It was first described in the 1920s <a href="https://concussionfoundation.org/CTE-resources">in boxers</a> (it was called “punch drunk syndrome” at the time). But now <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ana.25611">research</a> is proving what scientists, players and their families have long claimed – that repeated collisions are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/dec/11/rugby-union-dementia-concussion-cte-science-analysis?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other">causing permanent damage to the brain</a>.</p>
<p>When England’s 1966 World Cup-winning football heroes began to be diagnosed with dementia, <a href="https://theconversation.com/football-and-dementia-heading-must-be-banned-until-the-age-of-18-150575">the football world took notice</a>. Now it is England’s World Cup rugby heroes that are suffering – and suffering younger. The FA banned heading the ball in training for children up to the age of 12, and <a href="https://www.afpe.org.uk/physical-education/fa-publish-new-heading-guidance/">severely restricted it after</a>. It’s time for the rugby unions to react in the same way. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/nfl-concussion-lawsuit-payouts-reveal-how-racial-bias-in-science-continues-145987">NFL concussion lawsuit payouts reveal how racial bias in science continues</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>But whereas football can remove heading from the game, rugby is predicated on collision. As noted by one journalist, the only way to make rugby safe in its current format is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/dec/09/can-rugby-union-continue-as-normal-knowing-it-is-causing-brain-injuries-early-onset-dementia">to stop playing it</a>. And earlier this year, researchers linked with England’s Rugby Football Union found that their sport offers <a href="https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2020/11/23/bjsports-2020-102085">more head trauma than other sports.</a> </p>
<p>The case of rugby is more reminiscent of what happened to the National Football League in the US after the discovery that players were at increased risk of long-term neurological conditions, <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/10.1001/jama.2017.8334">particularly CTE</a>. Scores of players sued the NFL and received a <a href="https://eu.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2018/10/23/nfl-players-family-members-settlement/1736602002/">US$1bn pay out</a>. </p>
<p>The NFL has, for now, survived. World Rugby has insurance, so it might too. Yet surviving this lawsuit is only one threat to the sport. The fear over children playing the game will no doubt be rugby’s biggest threat.</p>
<h2>No more half measures</h2>
<p>Sporting bodies can no longer take half measures and policy must evolve to protect the <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/421079/rugby-sport-involvment-children-england-uk/">huge numbers</a> of children playing rugby. Children receive legal protection from other known harms, the list for which is very long (<a href="https://www.childline.org.uk/info-advice/you-your-body/drugs-alcohol-smoking/">smoking and alcohol use, for example</a>). </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/concussion-can-accelerate-ageing-of-the-brain-research-from-the-rugby-pitch-146495">Concussion can accelerate ageing of the brain – research from the rugby pitch</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Both football and rugby are regularly played by children, and particularly in school PE. But whereas children under 12 are not permitted to head the ball in practice, they can tackle another player in rugby training. And where children over 12 are permitted to only head the <a href="https://www.afpe.org.uk/physical-education/wp-content/uploads/fa_heading_guidance.pdf">ball five times a month</a> in football, they can be tackled by a player twice their size as often as the PE teacher decides. </p>
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<p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/dec/10/rugby-dementia-link-leads-to-calls-for-collision-rugby-to-be-banned-in-schools">Experts are now calling</a> for tackling to be removed from the sport for children – and curtailed in practice for adults. This means that children should play touch rugby until they are 18. They can then make an informed decision to transition to tackle rugby or continue with touch when they are old enough. </p>
<p>Research shows that touch rugby is <a href="https://www.englandrugby.com/news/article/o2-touch-hits-30000-player-milestone">rising in popularity</a> and has better <a href="https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2020/11/23/bjsports-2020-102085">health outcomes</a> for children. But calls for <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/352/bmj.i1289">bans on tackling</a> in compulsory school rugby have gone <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9780429201745/chapters/10.4324/9780429201745-11">unheeded for many years</a>.</p>
<p>History shows that industries respond to health crises when they are <a href="http://revisionisthistory.com/episodes/22-burden-of-proof">forced to do so</a> – either through legal cases or government legislation. A key example is how the tobacco companies were forced to stop denying the harmful effects of smoking <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1117367/">in the 1990s</a>. Rugby is no different. Public pressure and court cases may drive change at some level but legislation is needed to protect players, particularly children. </p>
<p>In the US, the Concussion Legacy Foundation has launched the “<a href="https://www.tacklecanwait.com/">tackling can wait</a>” campaign for American Football. It’s time for the UK to follow and protect its children from brain injury by banning tackling in youth rugby. It will be for the courts and the players’ unions to determine how much tackling adults can do – but if they have any sense, they will heed the warnings of those World Cup heroes.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/151879/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adam John White receives funding from the EU Erasmus+ Programme. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eric Anderson and Keith Parry do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Why tackling in kids rugby must be banned to curb dementia risks.Eric Anderson, Professor of Masculinities, Sexualities and Sport, University of WinchesterAdam John White, Lecturer, Oxford Brookes UniversityKeith Parry, Deputy Head Of Department in Department of Sport & Events Management, Bournemouth UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1356902020-04-06T13:17:24Z2020-04-06T13:17:24ZHow Mandela stayed fit: from his ‘matchbox’ Soweto home to a prison cell<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/325705/original/file-20200406-74261-ru1dh2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Former South African President Nelson Mandela with former American world boxing champion Marvin Hagler. The undated photo was taken after Mandela's release.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Louise Gubb/GettyImages</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The spread of the coronavirus has forced millions all over the world to retreat to base and abandon outdoor exercise and gym sessions. If they own a big house and garden, it’s manageable, but many live in shacks, cramped houses or tiny high-rise flats. How can they avoid going to seed during lockdown? Gavin Evans takes a look at how former boxer and South African liberation struggle icon <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/nelson-rolihlahla-mandela">Nelson Mandela</a> adapted while incarcerated in a tiny cell on Robben Island.</em></p>
<p>February 15, 1990: Nelson Mandela wakes as always at 5am and begins his hour-long exercise routine. The difference this time is that instead of a prison cell, his gym is the front room of his <a href="https://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/2008-07-17-matchbox-house-revolution-is-needed-for-soweto/">“matchbox” house</a> – so-called for its small size – at 8115 Vilakazi Street, Soweto. And soon he’ll be besieged by journalists, well-wishers, diplomats and family members.</p>
<p>I get to interview him a few hours later to ask about his plans. His answers are clear and concise and I’m too nervous to probe deeper. But towards the end I toss in a question about boxing, and his stern demeanour changes. He beams with delight and begins to chat about his favourite fighters and how he followed the sport in prison.</p>
<p>Mandela started boxing as a student at <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/place/university-fort-hare">Fort Hare University</a>, and then trained more seriously when studying, working and struggling in Johannesburg during the 1940s and 50s, although he didn’t fight competitively and was modest about his prowess. “I was never an outstanding boxer,” he said in his autobiography, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/318431.Long_Walk_to_Freedom">Long Walk to Freedom</a>. “I was in the heavyweight division, and I had neither enough power to compensate for my lack of speed nor enough speed to make up for my lack of power.”</p>
<p>What he relished about it was the rigour of training, a routine periodically broken by arrest and the demands of the “struggle”, but not often. He wrote:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I unleashed my anger and frustration on a punchbag rather than taking it out on a comrade or even a policeman.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Refuge in exercise</h2>
<p>Mandela believed this routine was the key to both physical health and peace of mind.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Exercise dissipates tension, and tension is the enemy of serenity. I found that I worked better and thought more clearly when I was in good physical condition, and so training became one of the <a href="http://www.mindfulnext.org/mandela-on-peace-of-mind/">inflexible disciplines of my life</a>.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/325700/original/file-20200406-74206-1oblloc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/325700/original/file-20200406-74206-1oblloc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=893&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325700/original/file-20200406-74206-1oblloc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=893&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325700/original/file-20200406-74206-1oblloc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=893&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325700/original/file-20200406-74206-1oblloc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1123&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325700/original/file-20200406-74206-1oblloc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1123&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325700/original/file-20200406-74206-1oblloc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1123&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Nelson Mandela was a boxing enthusiast. The photo depicts him circa 1950.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">GettyImages</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Four mornings a week he’d set off for a run and three evenings a week he’d work out in a Soweto boxing gym – his way of losing himself “in something that was not the struggle”. He said he’d wake up the next morning feeling refreshed – “mentally and physically lighter” and “ready to take up the fight again”.</p>
<p>From 1960 Mandela led the underground campaign of the African National Congress’s military wing, <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/umkhonto-wesizwe-mk">umKhonto weSizwe</a>, moving around the country disguised as a chauffeur, with trips abroad to rally support, so his boxing training became sporadic. The “Black Pimpernel”, as he was dubbed, was arrested in 1962 – the result of a tip-off to the apartheid police from the CIA, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/15/cia-operative-nelson-mandela-1962-arrest">it has since emerged</a> – and spent the next 27-and-a-half years in jail, 18 of them on Robben Island.</p>
<h2>Life behind bars</h2>
<p>When Mandela arrived, a prison warder sneered: “This is the Island. This is where you will die.” </p>
<p>Part of the challenge was getting used to monotony. As he put it: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Prison life is about routine: each day like the one before; each week like the one before it, so that the months and years blend into each other.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The daily routine of <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-23618727">Prisoner 46664</a> consisted of gruelling manual labour – working in a quarry to dig out limestone and using heavy hammers to smash rocks into gravel. This was draining but he decided not to use it as an excuse to abandon his exercise regime. From then on it started at 5am and was carried out in a damp 2.1m squared cell rather than a sweat-soaked Soweto boxing gym. “I attempted to follow my old boxing routine of doing roadwork and muscle-building,” he said. </p>
<p>He’d begin with running on the spot for 45 minutes, followed by 100 fingertip push-ups, 200 sit-ups, 50 deep knee-bends and calisthenic exercises learnt from his gym training (in those days, and even today, this would include star jumps and ‘burpees’ – where you start upright, move down into a squat position, kick your feet back, return to squat and stand up).</p>
<p>Mandela would do this Mondays to Thursdays, and then rest for three days. This continued even during his several spells in solitary confinement.</p>
<h2>Beating TB</h2>
<p>In 1988, aged 70, he contracted tuberculosis, exacerbated by the damp cell, and was admitted to hospital, coughing blood. He was moved to a prison warder’s house in <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/dated-event/mandela-moved-victor-verster-prison">Victor Verster Prison</a> near Paarl and soon resumed a truncated version of his exercise programme, which now included laps of the prison swimming pool.</p>
<p>He was released from prison, along with other political prisoners, on 11 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1azBzDpmEU">February 1990</a>, nine days after the African National Congress and other liberation movements <a href="https://theconversation.com/fw-de-klerk-made-a-speech-30-years-ago-that-ended-apartheid-why-he-did-it-130803">were unbanned</a> by the apartheid government. He went on to become the first president of a democratic South Africa, <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/nelson-mandela-presidency-1994-1999">from 1994 to 1999</a>. </p>
<p>Inevitably as he reached his 80s, his exercise routine was moderated but never abandoned. He <a href="https://mg.co.za/article/2013-12-05-nelson-mandela-dies/">died on 5 December 2013</a>, aged 95, of a respiratory infection.</p>
<p>Mandela believed a lifetime’s habit of exercise helped him to survive prison, ready for the challenges that lay ahead. “In prison, having an outlet for my frustrations was absolutely essential,” he said – words that might be taken to heart by those facing months of coronavirus-prompted lockdowns in cramped conditions.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/135690/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gavin Evans does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Prison life is about routine: each day like the one before; each week like the one before it, so that the months and years blend into each other.Gavin Evans, Lecturer, Culture and Media department, Birkbeck, University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1325482020-02-27T11:31:22Z2020-02-27T11:31:22ZTyson Fury defeated Deontay Wilder in the social media fight as well as in the ring<p>Tyson Fury dramatically became the World Boxing Council’s heavyweight champion <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/gallery/2020/feb/23/tyson-fury-v-deontay-wilder-ii-the-rematch-in-pictures-boxing">after knocking out Deontay Wilder in the seventh round</a> of their fight on February 22 in Las Vegas. With US$25 million in guaranteed earnings, plus percentages of pay-per-view profits for each fighter, it was an incredibly lucrative match for everyone involved. </p>
<p>Fury was not only victorious in the ring, he also won the support of fans across the globe and clearly came top in the battle of the brands that took place on social media. We looked at the aftermath of the fight on Twitter to compare how each fighter’s personal brand performed around the world.</p>
<p>Fury has twice as many Twitter followers (1.4 million) as Wilder. Instagram is a little closer, with Fury on 3.4 million and Wilder on 2.8 million followers.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/317391/original/file-20200226-24672-5o83js.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/317391/original/file-20200226-24672-5o83js.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=156&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317391/original/file-20200226-24672-5o83js.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=156&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317391/original/file-20200226-24672-5o83js.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=156&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317391/original/file-20200226-24672-5o83js.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=196&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317391/original/file-20200226-24672-5o83js.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=196&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317391/original/file-20200226-24672-5o83js.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=196&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Twitter followings produced using Social Elephants.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ahmed and Fenton</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>People tend to to follow winning athletes because it allows them to bask in their reflected glory. This is a psychological term that refers to our desire to associate ourselves with success or prestige. So when athletes switch teams, you can see their followers switch with them on social media. When footballer Cristiano Ronaldo moved from Real Madrid to Juventus, for example, Juventus gained 6.2 million followers – it’s been <a href="https://en.as.com/en/2018/08/15/football/1534328420_868015.html">dubbed the Ronaldo effect</a>.</p>
<p>We used a social network analysis tool to examine the discussions on Twitter directly after the Fury-Wilder fight took place. Our analysis was based on the hashtag #FuryWilder2 (the match was a long-awaited rematch following a draw between the two fighters in 2018) and can be seen in full <a href="http://www.nodexlgraphgallery.org/Pages/Graph.aspx?graphID=221792">here</a>. </p>
<p>Much of the discussion focused on Tyson’s celebrations in the ring directly after the fight, where he sang a two-minute rendition of the song American Pie. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1231461018477481986"}"></div></p>
<p>As the BBC tweet says: “It wouldn’t be Tyson Fury if there wasn’t a song”. This references how a big part of Fury’s popularity is linked to his ability to entertain crowds – often through singing. Thousands of Twitter users went on to engage with this tweet.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/317397/original/file-20200226-24690-1wcr7d5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/317397/original/file-20200226-24690-1wcr7d5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/317397/original/file-20200226-24690-1wcr7d5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317397/original/file-20200226-24690-1wcr7d5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317397/original/file-20200226-24690-1wcr7d5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317397/original/file-20200226-24690-1wcr7d5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317397/original/file-20200226-24690-1wcr7d5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317397/original/file-20200226-24690-1wcr7d5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mapping Twitter: regular users and influencers flock around Tyson Fury.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ahmed and Fenton</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The cluster of Twitter users above shows how brand Fury won over the masses online, as well as getting the Las Vegas crowd to sing along with him in real life. Wilder’s account, meanwhile, received fewer mentions and overall was less influential in the network. Many celebrities and influencers, including boxing legends, took to Twitter to congratulate Fury after the fight, further strengthening brand Fury.</p>
<h2>Brand building</h2>
<p>A look at the hashtags around Fury also highlights the number of communities that flocked to his brand. We analysed the hashtags that were connected to the fight’s #FuryWilder2 hashtag. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/317402/original/file-20200226-24685-1uacc2h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/317402/original/file-20200226-24685-1uacc2h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/317402/original/file-20200226-24685-1uacc2h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317402/original/file-20200226-24685-1uacc2h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317402/original/file-20200226-24685-1uacc2h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317402/original/file-20200226-24685-1uacc2h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=611&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317402/original/file-20200226-24685-1uacc2h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=611&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317402/original/file-20200226-24685-1uacc2h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=611&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">#FuryWilder2 hashtag network created using Socioviz.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ahmed and Fenton</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The most used hashtags were all linked to Fury’s self-styled “Gypsy King” moniker. The #TeamFury hashtag was also very popular. We can also see links to different sports (#football and #basketball), locations (#Preston), causes (#homelessness) and even religion (#jesusgeng) – all of which jumped on the brand Fury bandwagon in the aftermath of the fight to gain exposure.</p>
<p>Athletes in all sports increasingly need to be visible across social media in order <a href="https://theconversation.com/hyperdigitalised-sports-fans-are-connecting-with-their-heroes-like-never-before-102080">to build their brands</a>. Gaining followers helps to secure big sponsorship contracts and leads to a more dedicated fanbase who will travel to attend fights and buy merchandise. This is because social media allows spectators to feel closer to the action, talk to other fans and feel closer to their heroes. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/hyperdigitalised-sports-fans-are-connecting-with-their-heroes-like-never-before-102080">'Hyperdigitalised' sports fans are connecting with their heroes like never before</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>But for every Tyson Fury social media success story there are stars who have fallen foul of engaging with fans on social media <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/athlete-twitter-fails/jordan-love">and posted without thinking</a>. The nature of these platforms is that information travels at lightning speed and stars can go viral without being able to control the narrative. As new platforms emerge, such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/tiktok-the-worlds-most-valuable-startup-that-youve-never-heard-of-109302">TikTok</a>, and new features are added to existing ones, we can expect even greater engagement from fans – and many more controversies, too.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/132548/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr. Wasim Ahmed is a member of the, not for profit, Social Media Research Foundation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alex Fenton does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Twitter analysis shows how fans around the world flocked to the Tyson Fury brand.Wasim Ahmed, Lecturer in Digital Business, Newcastle UniversityAlex Fenton, Lecturer in Digital Business, University of SalfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1238202019-10-04T13:28:39Z2019-10-04T13:28:39ZHow routine sparring can cause short-term impairment to boxers’ brains<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295591/original/file-20191004-118209-1g0l0ef.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/two-boxers-fighting-ring-34651705">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Thrilling the masses for millennia, boxing has evolved down the centuries – rules have changed, equipment improved, training enhanced. However, one key aspect has essentially stayed the same: incapacitating the opponent before they incapacitate you. </p>
<p>Boxers are mostly exposed to <a href="https://concussionfoundation.org/CTE-resources/subconcussive-impacts">subconcussive head impacts</a>, that is, impacts that do not result in visible symptoms of concussion, much like heading the ball in football. But for many years, debate has raged around the safety of boxing, often focusing on the heavy blows inflicted during competitive fights. But we decided to look at these subconcussive impacts inflicted during training – or <a href="https://www.expertboxing.com/boxing-sparring-for-beginners">sparring</a> – sessions.</p>
<p>Boxing, football and rugby are of particular interest to our work because athletes are routinely exposed to repetitive subconcussive head impacts, both in training and competition. We have <a href="https://www.ebiomedicine.com/article/S2352-3964(16)30490-X/fulltext">previously shown</a> that a single soccer heading drill affects how the brain “talks” to the muscles. </p>
<p>Sparring sessions – where boxers trade light blows in protective headgear – are well suited for research because they often form part of an athlete’s training regime, and are fairly easy to replicate in a controlled laboratory environment, which is really important if you want to understand cause and effect.</p>
<p>Our latest <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2019.00294/full">research</a> is one of the first studies to show that routine impact in sport – often thought to be fairly harmless – results in measurable changes in the brain.</p>
<h2>Boxing and brain function</h2>
<p>By the late 1920s scientists suspected that repetitive head impacts were associated with damage to the brain. Research from 1928 describes “punch drunk” syndrome, where boxers appeared to stagger around as if under the influence of alcohol. Scientists noted that the first symptoms of this “dementia pugilistica” – or what we now refer to as <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/chronic-traumatic-encephalopathy/">Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy</a> (CTE), was an impairment in brain-to-muscle communication.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xvjK-4NXRsM?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>CTE is a neurodegenerative disease with <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/alzheimers-disease/">Alzheimer’s</a>-like symptoms, characterised by structural, behavioural and cognitive changes in the brain. Since the 1920s, knowledge of this disease has expanded, but this does not necessarily mean it is fully understood. </p>
<p>For example, it is now believed that CTE can be caused by a combination of <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/minor-head-injury/">concussive</a> and subconcussive injuries (rather than only concussive ones). Yet, not all athletes exposed to concussion/subconcussion develop CTE, meaning that other factors – such as genetics or the environment – have to play a role.</p>
<h2>Short term changes in the brain</h2>
<p>We recruited 20 boxers and <a href="https://punchermedia.com/what-is-muay-thai/">Muay Thai</a> athletes, plus 20 healthy individuals who would not receive any blows to the head. All participants completed tests before and after a 3x3 minute sparring session for boxers and Muay Thai athletes, or a 3x3 minute mock-sparring session where participants only hit pads with boxing gloves.</p>
<p>The tests completed ranged from measures of how well the brain communicates commands to the muscles (done by zapping the brain with a magnetic stimulator and seeing what happens in the muscle), to tasks designed to test participants’ memory. </p>
<p>We found that, much like heading a ball in football, the results of those engaged in the sparring session demonstrated increased inhibitory mechanisms within the central nervous system. The human body needs a balance of excitatory and inhibitory mechanisms to function properly. If we pretend the brain is a busy junction with a traffic light, green (excitation) allows information to flow from one part of the body to the other; red (inhibition) ensures that this information moves in a safe and controlled manner. </p>
<p>One hour after sparring, participants showed impaired brain-to-muscle communications and decreased memory performance. Because normal brain chemistry was (temporarily) disrupted by these subconcussive impacts during the session, the information going from the brain to the muscles slowed down, affecting how they worked, and it was more difficult for participants to remember things. After 24 hours, these effects returned to normal.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295595/original/file-20191004-118234-14f3lha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295595/original/file-20191004-118234-14f3lha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295595/original/file-20191004-118234-14f3lha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295595/original/file-20191004-118234-14f3lha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295595/original/file-20191004-118234-14f3lha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295595/original/file-20191004-118234-14f3lha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295595/original/file-20191004-118234-14f3lha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">There has always been debate surrounding the safety of boxing, often focusing on the heavy blows inflicted during big competitive fights with the likes of famous boxers like Muhammad Ali.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/manila-philippines-september-1975-muhammad-ali-724182109">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What do these results mean?</h2>
<p>Increased inhibition in the brain is also seen following a concussion and in this case is thought to be a protective mechanism, slowing down the brain’s processes to prevent further injury and help recovery. Problems may arise if this safeguarding response is activated without any actual injury (such as following subconcussive head impacts), as it could create a toxic environment and ultimately damage brain cells.</p>
<p>Also, if communication between brain and muscles is not occurring as it should, individuals may be at greater risk of muscular injury because muscles are not being properly controlled by the brain. We already know that athletes returning to play after a concussion are <a href="https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/50/15/926">more likely</a> to sustain an injury. </p>
<p>Ultimately, our studies are the first steps in lifting the veil on what goes on the brain after routine impact in sport. We show that sparring (as we did with heading a ball) results in acute and temporary changes to brain performance. This may be an indication of circuit dysfunction, an important mechanism in understanding the link between brain impact, brain health and disease. We need to better understand how circuit dysfunction affects the brain when there is repeated exposure to subconcussive impacts over the course of a sporting career.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/123820/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Angus Hunter received funding from the National Institute for Health Research. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Magdalena Ietswaart received funding from the National Institute for Health Research and the Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government Health Directorates. Magdalena is a member of the SINAPSE collaboration (<a href="http://www.sinapse.ac.uk">www.sinapse.ac.uk</a>), a pooling initiative funded by the Scottish Funding Council and the Chief Scientific Office of the Scottish Executive.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thomas Di Virgilio does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New research reveals that routine sparring can have immediate effects on the brain, putting athletes at greater risk of injury when brain-muscle communication is impaired.Thomas Di Virgilio, Lecturer, University of StirlingAngus Hunter, Reader in Exercise Physiology, University of StirlingMagdalena Ietswaart, Cognitive Neuroscientist and Associate Professor, University of StirlingLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1148812019-04-05T13:10:21Z2019-04-05T13:10:21ZBoxing: can the sport really help turn young men away from violent crime?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267790/original/file-20190405-180052-1bt7hkl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=75%2C66%2C6215%2C4130&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sport-people-two-men-exercising-fighting-108324914?src=lIYR0rDaCLIcZX-TExP-Pg-1-42">Shutterstock.</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Boxing is often praised as a way of teaching discipline, anger management and teamwork. Now, with violent crime <a href="https://theconversation.com/homicide-rates-are-up-in-young-men-austerity-and-inequality-may-be-to-blame-112980">on the rise</a> in English cities – especially among young men and boys – the sport is being used to support those at risk of being drawn into knife crime and gang activity. For instance, Channel 4 News recently featured <a href="https://www.channel4.com/news/how-can-the-lives-of-children-excluded-from-school-be-turned-around">a boxing academy in London</a>, which provides alternative education for young people excluded from school, led by mentors who have experienced similar challenges. </p>
<p>The government’s response to England’s knife crime surge has so far been to <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/greater-powers-for-police-to-use-stop-and-search-to-tackle-violent-crime">increase the use</a> of stop-and-search without reasonable suspicion, introduce <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/home-secretary-announces-new-police-powers-to-deal-with-knife-crime">knife crime prevention orders</a> and most recently to <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/serious-youth-violence-summit-to-launch-public-health-duty-to-tackle-serious-violence">announce legislation</a> requiring schools, hospitals and youth groups to report those young people at risk of being drawn into knife crime. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/violent-crime-decades-of-research-shows-punishing-risky-young-people-does-not-work-heres-what-does-111143">Academic research</a> shows that punitive approaches such as these can actually alienate young people and make the problem worse. Yet there is a lack of clear evidence regarding sport’s capacity to <a href="http://www.police-foundation.org.uk/youthcrimecommission/">prevent crime</a> and <a href="https://www.routledge.com/A-Wider-Social-Role-for-Sport-Whos-Keeping-the-Score/Coalter/p/book/9780415363501">promote community cohesion</a>. Boxing, in particular, divides opinion: for some, it provides an opportunity for young men in particular to escape a life of crime. Others maintain that the sport breeds violence. </p>
<p>To make the most of the positive opportunities that boxing can provide to young people, it’s crucial to understand the context of the sport – and best to proceed with caution when promoting it as a solution to serious youth violence. </p>
<h2>Escape to the gym</h2>
<p>The famous sociologist and ethnographer Loic Wacquant <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2011/jan/10/improbable-research-boxing-sociologist">believes that</a> the boxing gym can be a shield against the temptations and dangers of the street. He discusses how the gym can represent “an island of stability and order”, which promises to assist with the complicated and sometimes chaotic lives of those who attend. </p>
<p>Boxing is a complex sport, he says, and boxing gyms define themselves as places that can drive positive change, while simultaneously reflecting the “neighbourhood and grim realities of the ghetto”. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267792/original/file-20190405-180047-dp6a3s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267792/original/file-20190405-180047-dp6a3s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267792/original/file-20190405-180047-dp6a3s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267792/original/file-20190405-180047-dp6a3s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267792/original/file-20190405-180047-dp6a3s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267792/original/file-20190405-180047-dp6a3s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267792/original/file-20190405-180047-dp6a3s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fighting for respect.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ennuiislife/3450743002/in/photolist-6fVXF1-9CmqMn-9CmCHi-9CpPME-dHE2tS-9CpEVy-98AUEu-9CpVFU-dJmbBm-Hax1kL-fD4gMU-awbRnX-awbQWR-9CmMiD-dJfLDt-awbQrV-dHjSXd-9Cmpo4-awbQkV-9CmSLg-9Cpro1-9CpWE5-awbQCp-6fRLK4-9Cn4cM-awbRbc-Z68X62-awbRA8-9CpcgQ-9CmsNi-aweytU-9CpDd3-9CmtRe-6gcywa-aweyes-9Cn6Rn-6gxsai-dJfL7F-YkNMy4-9Cpvvm-6g78zX-9CmyUx-6fZuFS-6gckzt-6fRHSt-HLWeYC-dHPhMU-6fRQjt-6gbBUz-9CpJ2C">Kate Gardiner/Flickr.</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One only has to look at the range of films – Rocky, Creed and Southpaw to name but a few – to see how the gym is venerated as a place for men to build friendships, find meaning and direction and escape the realities of poverty and street violence. But can it really stop them being the victims or perpetrators of violent crime? </p>
<p>While the local boxing gym is often viewed as an ideal place to combat social problems such as gangs, it’s important to think about what boxing actually teaches people. Researchers at the <a href="https://www2.mmu.ac.uk/mcys/">Manchester Centre for Youth Studies</a> have been involved in a number of projects researching <a href="https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/SC-10-2015-0034">youth gangs</a> and the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13676261.2015.1098770">impact of boxing</a> on young men. </p>
<h2>Respect or retribution?</h2>
<p>The young men in our projects spoke of the value they place on the ideas of respect and masculinity, which for them were strongly associated with boxing. When exploring what support they may need to desist from offending behaviours, they spoke of “being part of something”, “having a routine”, combined with “respect and confidence” and “discipline”. </p>
<p>It’s fair to say that boxing teaches young men discipline, dedication and respect; nevertheless, it also teaches them how to fight. Not every boxer uses their skills to fight outside of the gym – but more attention needs to be paid to those who do. And it’s crucial that government-funded gang interventions are only put in place when leaders have well-developed knowledge and understanding of the local context. </p>
<p>Our research highlighted that, while boxing is great at diverting young people during periods when they might otherwise get involved in criminal activity, the messages passed down in the gym can sometimes reinforce the view that violence is a practical solution to a problem. </p>
<p>Our data highlighted that hyper-masculine talk – which advocates pride and total respect – arguably contributes towards to this. Some of the messages being transmitted in boxing gyms exclude women, promote homophobia and bear similarities to attitudes that can also be heard on the street – attitudes that promote violent retaliation, as a way to gain “respect”. For example, using words such as “gay” or “girl” to emphasise cowardly behaviour, as opposed to “warrior” and “gladiator” to emphasise bravery. </p>
<p>Boxing can indeed be a great <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/343191">hook for change</a>: it gives young people a place to hang out and develop themselves, while also diverting those who might otherwise get involved in crime. But to harness its full potential we need a better of understanding of whether and how it is effective as a sport that can reduce violent crime. Funding should be made available to evaluate local boxing programmes and identify good and bad practice, to avoid a “one-glove-fits-all” policy that promote boxing as a means of addressing knife crime.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/114881/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Deborah Jump receives funding from Comic Relief and Sport Relief. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hannah Smithson receives funding from the AHRC and ESRC as part of a Knowledge Transfer Project</span></em></p>The boxing gym can be a place for young people to escape street life – but it’s also the home of a violent sport.Deborah Jump, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Manchester Metropolitan UniversityHannah Smithson, Professor of Criminology and Youth Justice and Director of the Manchester Centre for Youth Studies, Manchester Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1105412019-01-25T16:22:32Z2019-01-25T16:22:32ZHugh McIlvanney: sportswriter who went beyond the game to seek a higher truth of the human condition<p>Among all the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/jan/25/hugh-mcilvanney-veteran-sports-reporter-dies-aged-84?CMP=share_btn_tw">tributes</a> to the <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/hugh-mcilvanney-2wlkc9h6t">celebrated</a> sports journalist <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/scotland/47002301">Hugh McIlvanney</a>, who has died aged 84, you will find one recurring theme: that in his work, the Scots-born reporter, writer and broadcaster transcended his genre. Greater by far than his renowned and extensive contact book, his insights based on a decades-long love of sport or his ability to get close to the sporting greats, was his ability – when writing about one sport or another – to impart some greater truth about the human condition.</p>
<p>In 1991, McIlvanney attempted to reflect on the role of the sports journalist in the documentary Sportswriter as part of the BBC’s Arena series. His opening narrative revealed some inner conflicts he himself felt on the role of the “fan with a typewriter”, a moniker often thrown at a very insular job. He said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>After more than 30 years of writing on sport it is still possible to be assailed by doubts about whether it really is a proper job for a grown person. But I console myself with the thought that it is easier to find a kind of truth in sport than it is, for example, in the activities covered by political or economic journalists. Sports truth may be simplistic but it’s not negligible.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In spite of the self-mocking concern about his chosen profession, McIlvanney’s point about “sports truth” is suggestive of the value of investigating sport. Not least to find some deeper meanings about people and society. Whether or not we believe there is a “truth” to be found, there is at the very least a sense that meaning and value can be found in sport which are unique to the human experience.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1088700027562790912"}"></div></p>
<p>In all his writings on sport McIlvanney kept this sense of deeper “sports truth” at the heart of his reporting and commentary pieces. This was none more the case than in his writing on boxing, for which he carried a particular fascination throughout his career which included the rise of its most preeminent pugilist Muhammad Ali. “It gave me the time and freedom to seek him out in private settings and eavesdrop on his life”, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2016/dec/04/hugh-mcilvanney-my-observer-sports-reporter">he once wrote</a>, “rather than having to settle for the public turn – that performance was wonderfully entertaining, but there was richer ore to be mined.”</p>
<p>That deeper knowledge and understanding and having the time to explore the richness of sporting personalities and their human foibles is the luxury contemporary sport journalists do not have. Access to sport stars is now heavily guarded, and unlike Ali, their suspicion of the media and the closeted world they live in often makes for sterile and replicated copy from journalists feeding off titbits.</p>
<h2>Literary style</h2>
<p>McIlvanney’s writing also stood out among his contemporaries because of his prose: inflected with literary references, rich in metaphor and simile, often self-reflective of the meaning that sport gave to him and the wider world. Take for example <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/mar/05/hugh-mcilvanney-muhammad-ali-rumble-in-the-jungle">this excerpt</a> from The Observer in 1974 following the famous “Rumble in the Jungle” where McIlvanney evokes Ali’s satisfaction of a job well done:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Lying back on the thick cushions of an armchair in his villa, with the windows curtained against an angry sun that was threatening to evaporate the Zaire River as it slid like a grassy ocean past his front door, he talked with the quiet contentment of a man whose thoughts were acting on him as comfortingly as the hands of a good masseur.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is no ordinary sports writing. McIlvanney was no ordinary sports writer. His work was more akin to a mid-20th century tradition of literary commentators and critics than jobbing sports reporters. His contemporaries in sports writing were American – <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/26/obituaries/george-plimpton-urbane-and-witty-writer-dies-at-76.html">George Plimpton</a>, <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/12/norman-mailer-sportswriter/282115/">Norman Mailer</a>, <a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2009/03/05/a-j-liebling-a-master-at-long-form-journalism/">AJ Leibling</a> – with only a few in British sports journalism that came close, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/mar/05/pressandpublishing3">Ian Wooldridge</a> perhaps. Sure, he had to travel and drink like the rest of the press pack that followed the teams and major events across the country and the globe. But he fashioned a position for himself in sport journalism, first at The Observer and then at the Sunday Times, that transcended mere reportage to more deep thinking on sport and sporting heroes.</p>
<p>He socialised with writers and critics beyond sport (his younger <a href="https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/why-william-mcilvanney-should-be-world-famous-pete-martin-1-4839247">brother William</a> was one of Scotland’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/goodbye-william-mcilvanney-socialist-and-literary-genius-52325">most celebrated novelists</a>) which brought him in to wider literary circles and friendships. This arguably inspired his approach and thought processes in writing about sport. Perhaps because of it, he is the only sport journalist to be voted <a href="https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/hugh-mcilvenney-retires-call-him-great-writer-describing-muhammad-ali-useful-heavyweight/">British Journalist of the Year</a>.</p>
<p>There is much more that could be said about his writing, but for me some of his best work came in the medium of television, delivering his erudite words in a deep yet becalming Ayrshire voice.</p>
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<p><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/scotland/33205762">His treatise</a> on the influence of the west of Scotland coal-mining area on three legendary Scottish football managers Matt Busby, Jock Stein and Bill Shankly remains one of the greatest sport documentary series ever produced in the UK.</p>
<p>In his passing, one can only hope the BBC revive his documentaries from their vaults and allow us all to get lost in McIlvanney’s thoughts and interpretations which told us so much about the meaning of sport.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/110541/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard Haynes received funding from the AHRC, British Academy, the Scottish Government, and the Carnegie Trust. </span></em></p>No ordinary sports writer: Hugh McIlvanney was one of the greats of 20th century journalism.Richard Haynes, Professor of Media Sport, University of StirlingLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1020612018-08-24T11:01:29Z2018-08-24T11:01:29ZKSI vs Logan Paul YouTube boxing match: stars sparring with traditional broadcasters to make millions<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233451/original/file-20180824-149496-1oa0ypr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Believe the hype. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">YouTube. </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The amateur boxing match between YouTube stars <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVtFOytbRpEvzLjvqGG5gxQ">KSI</a> (UK) and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG8rbF3g2AMX70yOd8vqIZg">Logan Paul</a> (USA) on August 25 could amass more than 20m views, if <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/ksi-vs-joe-weller-fight-youtube-who-won-boxing-match-saturday-diss-track-logan-paul-a8196851.html">previous events</a> are anything to go by. That’s <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/rival-gamers-have-a-real-ding-dong-lsw2kk5zs">more than watched the finals</a> of the FA Cup, or Wimbledon.</p>
<p>This is big news and big business. With <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXzQl-Mv6-Q">pay-per-view on YouTube</a> priced at £7.50 a pop and tickets at the Manchester Arena going for anywhere between <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/youtubers-logan-paul-and-ksi-boxing-match-a3917441.html">£34 and £516</a> – not to mention the profits from merchandise and sponsorship deals – this event will make millions for both competitors, regardless of who wins and loses.</p>
<p>Events such as this position YouTube as a major provider of high production-value content that speaks directly to its audience. For example, YouTube reaches <a href="https://digiday.com/media/demographics-youtube-5-charts/">98.3% of Internet users</a> in the age bracket 18 to 24 – a feat which today’s TV networks are <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/05/consumers-will-spend-more-time-using-online-media-than-watching-tv-in-2018/">still working hard</a> to replicate. </p>
<p>But with power comes great responsibility, and while YouTube has <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-its-harder-than-ever-to-make-money-on-youtube-90715">tightened its rules</a> about which YouTube videos can be monetised, the platform is still <a href="https://theconversation.com/logan-pauls-dead-body-video-reinforces-call-for-better-child-protection-online-89617">under pressure</a> to take greater responsibility for the content posted on its site. </p>
<h2>Meet the contestants</h2>
<p>Both KSI and Logan Paul boast more than 18m subscribers each, having spent years uploading videos and building their following on YouTube. KSI’s real name is Olajide William Olatunji. He is a 25-year-old British YouTuber, who <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/youtubers-logan-paul-and-ksi-boxing-match-a3917441.html">started out</a> making videos of himself playing FIFA when he was just 15. Now, he earns an estimated £2.3m a year. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233439/original/file-20180824-149493-1o6ltod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233439/original/file-20180824-149493-1o6ltod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=282&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233439/original/file-20180824-149493-1o6ltod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=282&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233439/original/file-20180824-149493-1o6ltod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=282&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233439/original/file-20180824-149493-1o6ltod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=354&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233439/original/file-20180824-149493-1o6ltod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=354&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233439/original/file-20180824-149493-1o6ltod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=354&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Logan Paul (left) and KSI (right).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">YouTube.</span></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>US YouTube star Logan Paul, age 22, first found fame on the super short form video sharing app Vine, before switching to YouTube where he now has two channels earning him around £11m a year.</p>
<p>KSI pioneered this new genre of crossover – the YouTube boxing match – with his first “grudge match” against YouTuber <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLk9wddjT0F-HILLRFXodtg">Joe Weller</a>, who has 4m subscribers. Buoyed from <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/ksi-vs-joe-weller-fight-youtube-who-won-boxing-match-saturday-diss-track-logan-paul-a8196851.html">his win against Weller</a> in February this year, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4bDWUD-EkQ">KSI said</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>If any YouTuber wants it, you can come get it. Jake Paul, Logan Paul, any of the Pauls, I don’t care.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>And what a smart move that was, gaining KSI an extra 2m subscribers, as well as fame among US YouTube users, when Logan Paul came on board.</p>
<h2>TV executives, take note</h2>
<p>Although most of their videos are free to view, YouTube stars can make massive earnings. According to <a href="https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/719388/KSI-vs-Logan-Paul-staggering-amount-YouTube-fight-revealed-video">numbers published by YouTube</a>, KSI racks up more than 5m views each day, which converts to roughly £7,600 in revenue. After tax, he will make around £4,600 a day from YouTube alone. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/products/youtube-trueview/">Advertisers pay YouTube</a> according to the number of views lasting more than 30 seconds or clicks to their ads. In turn, YouTube <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/42395224/evan-edinger-the-five-ways-youtubers-make-money">pays a proportion</a> to the content creators. </p>
<p>How much a YouTuber earns from the advertisements on their videos depends on who watches them, and how much attention they pay to the ads. The loyal subscribers of YouTube stars such as KSI and Logan Paul make up a very specific younger demographic, which can otherwise be <a href="https://digiday.com/media/demographics-youtube-5-charts/">difficult for brands to reach</a> on TV. </p>
<p>TV networks have also recognised the value of YouTube stars, and are already trying to get them involved in the more traditional format. For example, the BBC has recruited Thatcher Joe – aka Joe Sugg, brother of YouTube darling <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWRV5AVOlKJR1Flvgt310Cw">Zoella</a> – to appear as a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing as a contestant, no doubt hoping his 10m YouTube followers will come along for the ride.</p>
<p>For the most part, YouTube is a solitary viewing experience. But this live boxing match is YouTube’s version of event TV – everyone will be watching at same time. The fact that YouTube can achieve viewers in the millions here makes it a real alternative traditional TV. </p>
<h2>Money, money, money</h2>
<p>YouTube <a href="https://youtube-creators.googleblog.com/2018/02/my-five-priorities-for-creators-in-2018_1.html">has already announced</a> its intentions to help its creators find other ways to make money, apart from advertising. And events such as boxing matches are <a href="https://www.polygon.com/2018/2/26/17053896/logan-paul-jake-ksi-neji-youtube-boxing">one means to this end</a>. </p>
<p>KSI and Logan Paul have both spent the past six months ramping up the hype for their fight, publishing “diss” tracks and updates on their training for their fans to follow. This is their main means of selling merchandise and tickets and building subscribers. Their loyal followers can’t get enough of their antics and will pay for the opportunity to see them in action. </p>
<p>It will also open the door to sponsorships: someone like KSI can point to the number of people watching his videos, to argue that big brands should get involved, as they are hitting the equivalent of viewing numbers for traditional TV and beyond, with longevity on their YouTube channels to exploit further.</p>
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<p>Yet YouTube stars have been known to take drama to the extreme. Earlier this year, <a href="https://theconversation.com/logan-pauls-dead-body-video-reinforces-call-for-better-child-protection-online-89617">Logan Paul posted a vlog</a> showing the lifeless body of a suicide victim, which was met with massive backlash from the wider public. In response, YouTube <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/9/16986014/logan-paul-youtube">temporarily suspended ads</a> on his channel. </p>
<p>It can feel like nothing is off limits if it will pull in subscribers. And this creates a difficult problem for YouTube, since it raises questions over online censorship and who is policing online content. </p>
<p>Logan Paul is so confident that he will beat KSI that he has bet $1m on himself to win. But this is pocket money, compared with the millions that he and KSI are on track to earn in merchandise and ticket sales. And whatever happens, a rematch has already been scheduled in the US in February 2019. Kerching!</p>
<p><em>The author would like to thank her son, Zach Duthie, for his help with the research for this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/102061/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lyndsay Duthie does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>YouTube steps up to host its own live TV event, but where are the limits on its big stars’ behaviour?Lyndsay Duthie, Head of Film and Television Programme, University of HertfordshireLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/898632018-01-11T11:42:38Z2018-01-11T11:42:38ZFor black celebrities like Oprah, it’s impossible to be apolitical<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/201512/original/file-20180110-46697-1d0ovb7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Barack Obama and Oprah Winfrey appear during a rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Dec. 8, 2007.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Oprah-Obama-2008/0fb729cd64b5483bbc2d5de08b753c6f/62/0">AP Photo/Paul Sancya</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Oprah Winfrey’s <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2018/01/full-transcript-oprah-winfreys-speech-at-the-golden-globes/549905/">rousing Golden Globe speech</a> has many speculating whether the media mogul will become a presidential candidate in 2020, with some pundits <a href="http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-2020-oprah-president-20180108-story.html">questioning the merits</a> of another “celebrity” president.</p>
<p>But to equate Oprah with other “celebrity” politicians like Donald Trump and Arnold Schwarzenegger skirts the history of how black celebrities have long assumed political roles – often unintentionally – within the black community.</p>
<p>When it’s viewed through this lens, the transition into politics for someone like Winfrey is more natural. Oprah, for her part, seems to understand the tremendous importance of high-profile blacks in American society. During her monologue, she became emotional when she described how, as a young girl, she watched Sidney Poitier receive the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 1964 Golden Globes – “I’d never seen a black man being celebrated like that.”</p>
<p>But the ability of black celebrities to symbolize hope and racial progress precedes Poitier. The black singers, actors and athletes of the 1930s and 1940s weren’t simply entertainers; they were living proof that African-Americans didn’t need to succumb to racist stereotypes, and could be treated with dignity, even deference. With structural racism embedded in the nation’s social and economic fabric, this, in and of itself, was a political act. </p>
<p>As I point out in my book “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Black-Culture-New-Deal-Roosevelt/dp/1469619067/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1515513766&sr=8-1&keywords=black+culture+and+the+new+deal">Black Culture and the New Deal</a>,” during the Great Depression and World War II, the U.S. government recognized the political potency of the black celebrity, and would tap into this power to project a democratic ethos at home and abroad.</p>
<h2>Elevating the black cultural hero</h2>
<p>By the time Franklin D. Roosevelt decided to seek a second presidential term in 1936, African-American voters had become an important demographic for the Democratic Party. But with white Southerners comprising a significant part of Roosevelt’s base, segregation and discrimination were more difficult for the government to directly confront. </p>
<p>Roosevelt still needed to figure out a way to reach out to the black community. So instead of passing legislation to correct racial inequality, his administration developed cultural programs that would employ large numbers of black men and women, and promote the skills and abilities of African-Americans. </p>
<p>For example, New Deal Arts programs included individuals such as Carlton Moss, Sterling Brown and Zora Neale Hurston to create books and plays that would depict African-Americans in sympathetic, humane ways. The Federal Writers’ Project’s American Guide Series, which Brown edited, <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=image+federal+theatre+project+negro+unit&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjx4Jr7oMvYAhWBl-AKHa5WCisQ7AkIPg&biw=1363&bih=732#imgrc=sn5lTFp_aC7kYM">highlighted</a> the diversity of African-American communities and customs. The Federal Theater Project <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=image+federal+theatre+project+negro+unit&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjx4Jr7oMvYAhWBl-AKHa5WCisQ7AkIPg&biw=1363&bih=732#imgrc=pM9_GgtVndVMVM">featured plays</a> written and directed by black men and women that grappled with pressing racial issues.</p>
<p>This was a potent political tool; federal officials understood that African-Americans would be deeply affected – as Winfrey later was when watching Poitier receive the DeMille Award – by seeing African-Americans portrayed in more realistic and respectful ways.</p>
<h2>A message of unity and freedom</h2>
<p>The stakes became even greater as America entered World War II. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_racial_violence_in_the_United_States#Twentieth-century_events">Simmering racial tensions</a> needed to be reconciled with America’s democratic, anti-fascist ideals. </p>
<p>Cultural programs promoting racial cooperation abounded within war agencies. Office of War Information <a href="https://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2015/onewayticket/site/assets/Howard-Liberman.-Poster-for-the-Office-of-War-Information-1943.jpg">posters</a> and Hollywood films such as “<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035664/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt">Bataan</a>” featured white and black men working and fighting together. </p>
<p>But no one was more central to this brand of propaganda than boxer Joe Louis. </p>
<p>In 1938, <a href="http://www.espn.com/boxing/story/_/id/9404398/more-just-fight">Louis had stunned the world</a> by defeating German Max Schmeling. Geopolitically, it was a display of American superiority. But for African-Americans it was a triumph over whites. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/201525/original/file-20180110-46709-1rqzdff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/201525/original/file-20180110-46709-1rqzdff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/201525/original/file-20180110-46709-1rqzdff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201525/original/file-20180110-46709-1rqzdff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201525/original/file-20180110-46709-1rqzdff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201525/original/file-20180110-46709-1rqzdff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201525/original/file-20180110-46709-1rqzdff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201525/original/file-20180110-46709-1rqzdff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Heavyweight champion Joe Louis dances as German challenger Max Schmeling falls to the canvas in the first and final round of their rematch in New York City in June 1938.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Associated-Press-Sports-New-York-United-States-/6b1caf479be5da11af9f0014c2589dfb/59/0">AP Photo</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Unassuming and apolitical, Louis didn’t ever talk about racial issues. Nonetheless, he became a hugely important political figure. </p>
<p>Poet Maya Angelou <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=Z2q_1A0nlvIC&lpg=PP1&dq=caged%20bird%20sings&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=%22strongest%20people%20in%20the%20world%22&f=false">wrote of</a> Louis’ victories as evidence that African-Americans were the “strongest people in the world”; novelist Richard Wright <a href="http://www.unz.org/Pub/NewMasses-1935oct08-00018">described</a> Louis’ victories as “a fleeting glimpse … of the heart that beats and suffers and hopes for freedom.” </p>
<p>Recognizing Louis’ profound appeal, the government quickly swooped in, employing him in the Army’s Morale Division to boost patriotism among African-Americans during World War II. </p>
<p>As one government official <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=VLGYcemVOAYC&lpg=PP1&dq=black%20culture%20new%20deal&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=%22the%20answer%20is%20obvious%22&f=false">noted in 1942</a>, “It might be well to ask the questions as to who would draw the biggest audiences, Joe Louis or [NAACP Executive Secretary] Walter White. The answer is obvious.” </p>
<p>During his 46 months in the Army, Louis partook in 96 exhibition fights in the U.S. and abroad as part of a troupe that included black boxers George C. Nicholson, Sugar Ray Robinson and George J. Wilson. He also appeared on posters and in films that promoted racial inclusion, such as “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6YvZy_IsZY">The Negro Soldier</a>.” </p>
<p>Louis wasn’t the only black cultural hero to play a political role during the war. The Armed Forces Radio Service created a program featuring black musicians called “<a href="https://www.colorado.edu/amrc/glenn-miller-archive/gma-catalogs/jubilee">Jubilee</a>.” Lena Horne, Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington and others appeared in this weekly program that was broadcast domestically and to servicemen abroad. It reassured black troops on the front lines, while many white soldiers were able to listen to musicians they had never heard before. </p>
<h2>The power of the stage</h2>
<p>These federal efforts during the Great Depression and World War II are complicated. One the one hand, it could be argued that they represented a tokenistic appeal to African-Americans in lieu of real social and economic change. On the other, there’s no doubt that African-Americans were given the opportunity to be themselves, be celebrated, and move beyond the demeaning stereotypes that had existed for decades. </p>
<p>In the postwar period, civil rights leaders challenged African-American celebrities to use their platform to promote racial equality. Some, like Muhammad Ali, famously called for change, while others were more reticent. But the political stance of these individuals may not have mattered as much as their visibility and success. As filmmaker Ezra Edelman <a href="http://www.espn.com/30for30/ojsimpsonmadeinamerica/">argues</a> in his 2016 documentary “O.J.: Made in America,” even as Simpson insisted that we was “not black, just O.J.,” he was still embraced by the black community, and lauded as an African-American hero. </p>
<p>After centuries of degradation and discrimination, the accomplishments of African-Americans like Simpson or Oscar winner Hattie McDaniel possessed a political resonance. Though they were reluctant to promote racial change, by succeeding in traditionally exclusionary industries, they nonetheless became political figures. They signaled to other African-Americans that barriers could be broken down. Even if they weren’t activists themselves, they inspired others to fight inequality.</p>
<p>As a black woman, Oprah Winfrey occupies a unique space in this legacy of cultural heroes. Though it remains to be seen whether her candidacy will become a reality, she knows the significance of her actions for people of color in the U.S. and around the world. At a time when black women <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=axy_Am9HEPcC&pg=PA87&dq=black+women+marginalized&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjYrfKL8M3YAhWixYMKHXEDCKMQ6AEIRDAF#v=onepage&q=black%20women%20marginalized&f=false">remain marginalized</a>, Oprah – media mogul, actress, philanthropist, tastemaker – embodies the American Dream. People still look to cultural figures as much as they look to politicians for inspiration. </p>
<p>As Oprah stated in her speech, her life and career demonstrate how “we can overcome.”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/89863/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lauren Rebecca Sklaroff has received funding from National Endowment of the Humanities. She is an Associate Professor of History at the University of South Carolina. </span></em></p>Throughout American history, being a black celebrity has been a political act in and of itself. When viewed through this lens, the transition into politics for someone like Winfrey is more natural.Lauren Rebecca Sklaroff, Associate Professor of History, University of South CarolinaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/835452017-09-13T09:26:37Z2017-09-13T09:26:37ZSport eligibility rules need a rethink to allow migrants to play<p>After footballer Ben Woodburn <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41058486">scored the winner</a> in his debut for Wales, radio station <a href="https://talksport.com/">TalkSPORT</a> ran a poll asking people what nationality the 17-year-old really was. </p>
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<p>The poll and its result are a reflection of how it is often assumed that people do not have the right to choose their nationality, and that it can be defined by certain requirements. </p>
<p>Controversies over national eligibility are not uncommon in sport. Football allows national qualification through the birthplace of any parent or grandparent. But there are no universal rules across all sports, and most do not even force athletes to commit until they have competed at senior international level. This has enabled a <a href="http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/double-caps.html">series of athletes and players</a> to represent one nation at junior level and then another at senior level. </p>
<p>To tighten eligibility rules, and mute the effect of the economic pull of England on the UK population, the British football associations have agreed to not use <a href="http://resources.fifa.com/mm/document/affederation/generic/02/78/29/07/fifastatutsweben_neutral.pdf">FIFA rules</a> that allow national qualification through two years of residency. This prevents the many overseas players in the Premier League qualifying for England but it also means that the British national teams do not reflect the cosmpolitan nature of a UK with <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/internationalmigration/bulletins/ukpopulationbycountryofbirthandnationality/august2016">8.6m residents</a> born elsewhere.</p>
<h2>The Tebbit test</h2>
<p>The general flexibility of eligibility rules has led to accusations that athletes are choosing to represent a nation that they have no real affiliation with, simply because it offers an opportunity for career advancement. </p>
<p>After Wilfried Zaha, who moved to England as a child, chose to represent the Ivory Coast, despite having already won two English caps in friendly matches, <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/3192729/gareth-southgate-wilfried-zaha-england/">England manager Gareth Southgate said</a> it was not his job to sell the “passion of playing for England” to players. He added, “I’m English and proud to be English – part of your identity as a national team has to be pride in the shirt.”</p>
<p>Such words play into the hands of those who doubt the national commitment of ethnic minorities and people from overseas backgrounds. They are an echo of former Conservative MP Norman Tebbit’s <a href="http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/doc/281032256.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Apr+19%2C+1990&author=Fisher%2C+Dan&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+%28pre-1997+Fulltext%29&edition=&startpage=10&desc=Split+Between+Britain%2C+U.S.+Seen+as+%60Inevitable%27+Foreign+policy%3A+The+Conservative+Party+chairman+fears+that+a+%60less+European%27+America+will+provide+the+wedge.">1990 claim</a> that cricket was a test of loyalty that many British Asians failed by supporting India or Pakistan rather than England.</p>
<p>Surely reactions like this are products of how fragile some people’s sense of nationhood is. They see it as something to be protected from outsiders. Yet nationality by its very nature is something more complex than loyalty, the ownership of a passport or a place of birth. It is an unstable emotion, an idea and not a question of “either/or”. It can change with circumstance and time. It can mean very different things to different people. </p>
<p>Most importantly, those who seek to define nationhood without regard to its fluidity and complexity will undermine the very national cohesion they seek to protect. But nothing is more likely to alienate people from a community than questioning their loyalty to it. </p>
<h2>Symbolic inclusion and exclusion</h2>
<p>Until 1947, boxing operated a colour bar that required British champions to be British subjects, born of white parents and resident in Britain for at least two years. This created significant anger among British-born boxers from ethnic minorities. It was a clear statement that they were not regarded as British.</p>
<p>Following government and media pressure, the rule was replaced by eligibility through birth. This caused new tensions in the 1960s since it prevented men who had migrated as children from becoming champions of the nation they had grown up in. As a result, in 1968, a ten-year residency rule was introduced. And so, in 1970, Bunny Sterling became the first black immigrant to hold a British boxing title.</p>
<p>Such symbolism matters. It is far easier for anyone to feel allegiance to a nation that recognises them as part of it. But this also means recognising the complex nature of nationhood and the continuing pull of old ties. Given how many individuals move in search of work or safety, the flexibility of sporting eligibility is an important reflection of the realities of a transnational world. </p>
<p>This is particularly true of the UK where the four nations have had centuries of demographic intermingling. At the <a href="http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20160108131743/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_290982.pdf">2011 census</a>, a fifth of the Welsh population were born in England and 390,000 of them recorded their national identity as English. So, however Ben Woodburn regards himself outside football, he is still representative of a significant proportion of the Welsh population. </p>
<p>Other groups are not so lucky. Under British football rules, immigrants to the UK without a parent or grandparent born there, can only play for a British national team if they have five years of education in the country. Yet if they support any other nation they open themselves up to accusations of failing the “Tebbit test”.</p>
<p>The post-Brexit climate has already made many UK residents from other parts of the EU feel <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/aug/17/dual-nationality-passports-eu-migrants-fear-brexit-european-union-referendum">unwanted</a>. Overcoming that means accepting their complex national identities. Recognising their right to support or represent the team of their family roots would be a sign of respect. But picking a migrant for a British national team would also be a symbol of acceptance and a recognition of the realities of modern British society. It might even help on the pitch, too.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/83545/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Martin Johnes does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>National team rules still aren’t doing diverse societies justice.Martin Johnes, Reader in History and Classics, Swansea UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/823662017-08-24T00:34:30Z2017-08-24T00:34:30ZDissecting Conor McGregor’s steep odds in boxing showdown<p>It seems to happen every few years: a boxing superfight briefly jolts the fringe sport back into the public consciousness.</p>
<p>But the latest mega match-up – between an undefeated boxer coming out of retirement and a celebrated mixed martial arts fighter who has never entered a professional boxing ring – is without precedent. </p>
<p>It’s projected that the August 26 bout between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/mayweather-mcgregor-economics-fight-170450736.html">will earn</a> more than US$500 million through pay-per-view buys and just a little under $90 million through ticket sales.</p>
<p>Yet there seems to be a consensus that this superfight will be far from super. <a href="https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2017/6/15/15814760/ufc-teddy-atlas-conor-mcgregor-floyd-mayweather-boxing-mma-news">It’s been derided</a> as a clash pitting “a caveman” against a “defensive genius,” <a href="http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=19643279">a contest in which</a> McGregor “will not land a single punch.”</p>
<p>The 29-year-old McGregor is one of the most magnetic figures in the history of mixed martial arts, the only Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter to simultaneous hold titles in two weight classes. On his way to the biggest payday of his career – <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/mayweather-mcgregor-economics-fight-170450736.html">potentially more than $100 million</a> – he’s <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2715763-mayweather-vs-mcgregor-head-to-toe-breakdown-of-both-fighters">younger, taller and boasts a longer reach</a> than his opponent.</p>
<p>But McGregor is also a 0-0 boxer going toe to toe with a legend who is 49-0, has won championships in five weight classes and is one of the most elusive boxers to ever slip a punch. </p>
<p>Here’s a look at the various factors that weaken McGregor’s chances. </p>
<h2>An interdisciplinary bout</h2>
<p>Interdisciplinary match-ups are <a href="http://www.bbc.com/sport/boxing/40301206">not new in the history of combat sports</a>, and several mixed martial arts fighters <a href="http://mmajunkie.com/2017/07/how-can-conor-mcgregor-beat-floyd-mayweather-mma-fighters-boxing-experience-ideas-doubts">have stepped into the boxing ring</a>, albeit not against opponents of Mayweather’s caliber. </p>
<p>Champion boxer Holly Holm <a href="http://www.espn.com/mma/story/_/id/14422248/holly-holm-finishes-ronda-rousey">delivered Ronda Rousey’s first MMA defeat</a>, but James Toney, who won boxing titles in multiple divisions, didn’t land a punch in his only UFC fight, <a href="http://www.espn.com/extra/mma/news/story?id=5507475">a quick loss to Randy Couture</a>. </p>
<p>As reigning heavyweight boxing champion, <a href="http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-japanese-muhammad-ali-20160606-snap-htmlstory.html">Muhammad Ali traveled to Japan to fight a professional wrestler</a> under a modified set of rules that would be a precursor to future mixed martial arts contests. The bout ended in a draw, leaving Ali with blood clots in his legs after enduring a barrage of kicks over 15 rounds. </p>
<p>As a 12-year-old, McGregor <a href="http://www.bbc.com/sport/boxing/40361031">got his start a local boxing club</a> and has proven himself to be a skilled puncher in MMA, <a href="http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Conor-McGregor-29688">winning 18 of his 24 fights by knockout</a>. </p>
<p>But Mayweather, 40, was born into boxing. The son and nephew of professional fighters, he won a bronze medal at the 1996 Olympics and his <a href="http://boxrec.com/en/boxer/352">first major professional title in 1998</a>. He fought his last fight in 2015 before coming out of retirement in June for the McGregor showdown.</p>
<h2>Defense first</h2>
<p>Mayweather’s defensive-minded approach has contributed to his longevity, drastically cutting back the amount of punishment he’s endured in the ring. </p>
<p>But it’s <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/boxing-mma-wrestling/is-floyd-mayweather-boring-only-when-hes-inside-the-boxing-ring/2015/04/30/f2e729aa-ef76-11e4-8050-839e9234b303_story.html?utm_term=.78b4a1520a64">rarely made for exciting bouts</a>. Many <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more-sports/fight-century-court-battle-fans-sue-manny-pacquiao-article-1.2227973">boxing fans felt burned</a> by Mayweather’s cautious victory in 2015 over Manny Pacquiao that delivered little action despite the $100 pay-per-view price tag. </p>
<p>McGregor will be attempting to hit a target that has confounded even champion boxers. Over his career, Mayweather <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkay/2017/08/15/floyd-mayweather-vs-conor-mcgregor-latest-news-odds-and-expert-picks-as-fight-date-approaches/#d83cfb94417b">has landed more than 43 percent</a> of his punches; his opponents, meanwhile, have managed to connect a little less than 19 percent of the time. </p>
<p>Nonetheless, the Mayweather camp is now talking knockout.</p>
<p>“August 26, after the fight is over, everyone’s going to be happy,” Mayweather <a href="http://www.latimes.com/sports/boxing/la-sp-mayweather-mcgregor-20170810-story.html">told the Los Angeles Times</a>.</p>
<p>If that happens, it’d be the boxer’s first since 2011. </p>
<h2>A test of endurance</h2>
<p>For his part, <a href="http://www.foxsports.com/boxing/story/mcgregor-holds-strong-on-prediction-of-a-knockout-081217">McGregor predicts that he’ll defeat Mayweather inside of four rounds</a>. It’s a sound goal for a competitor about to enter what could be the longest fight of his career.</p>
<p>Whereas the UFC uses five five-minute rounds in championship fights, this bout will be 12 three-minute rounds. Mayweather has <a href="http://boxrec.com/en/boxer/352">won by judges’ decisions after 12 rounds in his last seven fights</a>. McGregor has gone more than three rounds <a href="http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Conor-McGregor-29688">just once</a>.</p>
<p>McGregor’s attack will be limited by a set of boxing rules vastly different from those of mixed martial arts, and he’s even <a href="https://www.reviewjournal.com/sports/boxing/mcgregor-recruits-ex-referee-joe-cortez-to-teach-him-boxing-rules/">added a veteran boxing referee to his camp</a> to assist with the transition. </p>
<p>He’ll be wearing <a href="http://www.espn.com/boxing/story/_/id/20360455/floyd-mayweather-conor-mcgregor-allowed-wear-lighter-gloves-aug-26-fight">8-ounce gloves</a> instead of the 4-ounce fingerless variety found in UFC. In boxing, a mixed martial artist’s elbows, chokes and submission holds are all barred. Taking the fight to the ground is not an option. </p>
<p>McGregor’s long odds haven’t dampened enthusiasm for the 154-pound fighter, which has been buoyed by <a href="https://www.si.com/boxing/2017/07/20/floyd-mayweather-conor-mcgregor-pierce-preview">four raucous press conferences,</a> <a href="http://www.sho.com/all-access">a Showtime series</a> and countless updates, think pieces and predictions in the media. </p>
<p>Will it be a disgraceful mismatch? An improbable underdog story? A dull impasse? </p>
<p>We’ll finally get an answer once the bell rings Saturday.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/82366/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bill Zimmerman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>McGregor and Floyd Mayweather Jr. will both cash in, but does a boxing novice stand a chance against a legend?Bill Zimmerman, Lecturer, Department of Advertising and Public Relations, Penn StateLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/827902017-08-23T10:37:41Z2017-08-23T10:37:41ZMayweather will beat McGregor, neuroscience predicts<p>In Las Vegas, on August 26, the unbeaten American boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr and the immensely popular Irishman Conor McGregor will <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/boxing/mayweather-mcgregor/mayweather-mcgregor-time-date-august-26-how-watch-channel-venue-odds-predictions-tickets-a7903996.html">face off in a boxing ring</a>, where only striking with hands while standing is allowed. It would be just another boxing match, albeit a huge one, except that McGregor is not even a boxer. Instead, he holds the lightweight and welterweight titles in mixed martial arts (<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/mma/0/ufc-mma-fighting-rules/">MMA</a>), an emerging combat sport where striking and grappling with both hands and legs is allowed, both while standing and on the ground.</p>
<p>It is an unprecedented match-up and <a href="http://www.oddsshark.com/boxing/floyd-mayweather-vs-conor-mcgregor-boxing-betting-odds-tracker">some people believe</a> that McGregor, with his speed, athleticism and youth (he is 11 years younger than Mayweather) has a shot at doing something that 49 professional boxers before him <a href="http://boxrec.com/en/boxer/352">have not been able to accomplish</a>. But scientific evidence from the <a href="http://www.cambridge.org/de/academic/subjects/psychology/cognition/neuroscience-expertise?format=PB#A2my8fQdwowxm21E.97">neuroscience of expertise</a>, an emerging field investigating the brain functioning of experts, warns against betting on an MMA fighter – even one as skilled as McGregor – upsetting a boxer in a boxing match.</p>
<h2>The neuroscience of expertise</h2>
<p>The performances of experts often leave us speechless, wondering how it is humanly possible to pull off such feats. This is particularly the case in sports. Consider the serve in tennis. Once the ball is in the air, the brain needs time to process the ball’s trajectory and prepare an appropriate course of action, but by the time the body actually executes the required movements in response to these mental processes, the racket will do no more than slice the air, as the ball will have already passed by.</p>
<p>This is the paradox of fast reaction sports such as tennis or boxing: it is only when the ball or the punch is in the air that we can tell with certainty what is going to happen, but by then it is far too late to react in time, even for the quickest humans. The expert brain adapts to this problem by “reading” the intention of the opponent. The positioning and movements of feet, knees, shoulders and the serving hand in tennis give away clues about the direction and power of a tennis serve. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183120/original/file-20170823-13293-170s7sf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183120/original/file-20170823-13293-170s7sf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183120/original/file-20170823-13293-170s7sf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183120/original/file-20170823-13293-170s7sf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183120/original/file-20170823-13293-170s7sf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183120/original/file-20170823-13293-170s7sf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183120/original/file-20170823-13293-170s7sf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Can you read this serve?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Visivastudio / Shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Similarly, the positioning of feet, hips and shoulders provide enough information for the boxing brain to anticipate a punch well in advance. This anticipation power of experts is the reason why the very best practitioners can look like characters from The Matrix, giving the impression of having all the time in the world in an environment where split-second responses decide who wins and who loses.</p>
<p>Being fast and having good reflexes in general is certainly helpful in rapidly changing environments like sports. But no speed in this world will be enough if the brain hasn’t experienced and stored tens of thousands of movement patterns, which can then be reactivated and used for reading the situation at hand. </p>
<h2>Muhammad Ali vs Jim Brown</h2>
<p>This is illustrated by another unofficial cross-discipline event that occurred 50 years ago between the legendary Muhammad Ali and Jim Brown, National Football League (NFL) legend. Jim Brown was a force of nature. He was incredibly quick, immensely powerful, and his extraordinary coordination and reflexes made him one of the greatest NFL players. In the mid 1960s, aged 30, Jim Brown was bored with the NFL and was pondering other ways of making a living. One of them was boxing, a sport where his immense quickness and sheer power would seem to be especially useful. </p>
<p>He persuaded his manager to organise a meeting with Muhammad Ali, at that time at the peak of his powers, who happened to be in London, where Jim Brown was shooting a film at that time. They met in Hyde Park, where Ali used to work out while preparing for the next bout. Ali tried to persuade Brown to give up on his dream of being a boxer. Brown maintained that he was as quick and as powerful as Ali, if not more so, and if boxing suited Ali, it should suit him too. </p>
<p>A “sparring session” ensued, where Ali asked Brown to hit him as hard as possible. The problem was that Ali was never to be found at the spot where he had been standing a moment earlier. <a href="https://www.si.com/more-sports/2012/12/05/bob-arum-bonus">According to the legendary promoter Bob Arum</a>, after about 30 seconds of swinging and missing by Brown, Ali pulled off one of his lightning quick one-two combinations and stopped Brown momentarily in his tracks. At that moment, Brown, visibly winded, clocked the situation and simply said: “OK, I get the point.”</p>
<p>Don’t expect McGregor to be so totally embarrassed, as Brown was. After all, MMA includes aspects of boxing and McGregor has had experience with the sport, unlike Brown. Still, that experience is limited because boxing is just a part of the MMA skill set (not to mention embedded in a context where one needs to employ leg strikes and takedowns). One can be certain that McGregor’s brain has stored vastly fewer kinematic boxing patterns than the brain of a person who has boxed all their life, such as Mayweather Jr. </p>
<p>Mayweather Jr may be 40, he may have ring rust after being absent from the ring for almost two years, and McGregor is not only 11 years his junior but also possibly faster and stronger; but everything we know about the way experts’ brains work tells us that the smart money is on Mayweather Jr recording a convincing win.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/82790/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Merim Bilalic receives funding from Clarendon Fund, ORS, ESRC, DFG, OeNB, and Fortüne. </span></em></p>Everything we know about the way experts’ brains work tells us that Mayweather is likely to win the fight.Merim Bilalic, Professor of Cognitive Psychology, Northumbria University, NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/827912017-08-22T12:44:27Z2017-08-22T12:44:27ZMayweather-McGregor fight pits boxing against UFC in a battle of the brands<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182835/original/file-20170821-4981-15qwa77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Who will win?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Las Vegas is soon to host one of the most lucrative boxing matches of all time. Dubbed “The Money Fight” it features UFC (which stands for the Ultimate Fighting Championship) star Connor Mcgregor making his boxing debut against undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather. What is not in doubt is that both men will leave the bout much wealthier than they go into it – both expected to earn <a href="http://www.latimes.com/sports/boxing/la-sp-mcgregor-rise-20170820-story.html">in excess of US$100m for their participation</a>. With US$90m worth of tickets for sale and US$500m of pay-per-view revenue expected to be made, it’s set to be boxing’s most lucrative match ever.</p>
<p>But, despite these figures, it is worth wondering which of the two combat sports represented in this event will come out in better shape. Or whether the much promoted encounter represents a zero sum game for the two sports, in which the gain of one will be at the cost of the other.</p>
<p>UFC has presented mixed martial arts (MMA) to the world for around three decades. In that time it has gone from being accused of being mere <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertszczerba/2014/04/03/mixed-martial-arts-and-the-evolution-of-john-mccain/#497ee0a02d59">“human cock fighting”</a> to becoming a <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-rise-and-rise-of-ultimate-fighting-and-why-boxing-is-now-so-passe-55910">popular, if still controversial, sport</a>. It fills arenas around the world and was valued at <a href="http://fortune.com/2016/07/11/ufc-sold-ultimate-fighting-championship/">close to US$4 billion in 2016</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182838/original/file-20170821-4981-3ukbsq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182838/original/file-20170821-4981-3ukbsq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=353&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182838/original/file-20170821-4981-3ukbsq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=353&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182838/original/file-20170821-4981-3ukbsq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=353&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182838/original/file-20170821-4981-3ukbsq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182838/original/file-20170821-4981-3ukbsq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182838/original/file-20170821-4981-3ukbsq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">UFC draws increasingly big crowds.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/adrianpua/4782929636">adrianpua/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
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<p>The sport’s popularity is largely predicated on the star appeal of a small number of charismatic competitors, including <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/06/the-penultimate-fighter/480732/">Conor “The Notorious” McGregor</a>. Claims that its fighters are tougher than other athletes is also a big part of UFC’s brand. A heavy defeat for McGregor in Las Vegas might therefore do significant damage to the UFC brand, especially if a humbled McGregor is then able to make a successful return to his former hunting ground.</p>
<p>The decision to allow the UFC’s top star to compete in a high profile bout with the world’s best boxer is potentially damaging to both Mcgregor’s reputation and the branding of the overall sport that he is associated with. But at least McGregor will be rewarded handsomely whether he wins or loses the fight.</p>
<h2>Worse for boxing</h2>
<p>While MMA has been on an upward trajectory, boxing’s financial future has become less clear. Some recent matches, such as Anthony Joshua’s victory over Wladimir Klitschko in April 2017 and Mayweather’s victory over Manny Pacquiao in May 2015 have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/may/12/mayweather-pacquiao-shatters-ppv-marks-with-44m-buys-400m-revenue">raked in the cash</a>, and attracted large crowds. But there is a more deep-rooted feeling that the boxing <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/may/12/mayweather-pacquiao-is-over-and-boxing-is-dead-again">business is in decline</a>.</p>
<p>It is telling that a new eight-man tournament dubbed the World Boxing Super Series <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/world-boxing-super-series-like-a-gladiatorial-dating-game-kalle-sauerland-next-manny-pacquiao-2017-8">has been launched</a>, created by one of combat sports’ most powerful promoters and will offer combatants a share of US$50m. It’s clearly the hope that it will bring in some big names, as well as big money through ticket sales and sponsorship.</p>
<p>In some part, the decline in popularity of boxing may be due to the increased popularity of UFC, and associated MMA events. They are fighting for the same market share. The McGregor-Mayweather match therefore has the potential to reinvigorate boxing, especially if a boxer like Mayweather, who is at the end of his career, is able to publicly humble a current UFC star in front of such a big audience.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182958/original/file-20170822-30552-sfv7eo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182958/original/file-20170822-30552-sfv7eo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182958/original/file-20170822-30552-sfv7eo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182958/original/file-20170822-30552-sfv7eo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182958/original/file-20170822-30552-sfv7eo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182958/original/file-20170822-30552-sfv7eo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182958/original/file-20170822-30552-sfv7eo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Conor McGregor is a poster boy for UFC.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:UFC_189_World_Tour_Aldo_vs._McGregor_London_2015_(18776759002).jpg">Andrius Petrucenia / Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Ultimately, though, the odds are against boxing. McGregor might not need to even win the superfight in order to do further damage to the sport’s lustre. McGregor is fighting on Mayweather’s turf. If he puts in a creditable performance (for example by lasting the full 12 rounds of the fight or by offering some credible offence before succumbing), then even this could constitute a small victory for McGregor and UFC. </p>
<p>Mayweather has often been portrayed as the best pound for pound boxer <a href="http://www.espn.co.uk/boxing/story/_/id/14970037/ranking-top-25-pound-pound-boxers-25-years">of all time</a>, and if he is unable to deal with a rowdy upstart from a rival sport in a quick and conclusive manner it may add further credibility to the rise of UFC as a rival to boxing. It is therefore likely that representatives from both corners, invested in the bout emotionally and financially, will attempt to claim a moral victory after the fact.</p>
<h2>Could it be a win-win?</h2>
<p>An alternative way of thinking about the match-up between the two men is that it is an opportunity to attract new fans to both of the two sports. There’s a chance for cross-promotion. If this is the case then the pre-fight publicity may have turned off as many new fans as it has attracted, with accusations of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/jul/15/mayweather-accuses-mcgregor-of-racism-and-uses-homophobic-slur">racism and homophobia</a> so far dominating the fight’s press. While it may be possible that some new fans will be attracted to the spectacle of the two men squaring off, it is unclear whether such fans are likely to become die hard followers of either sport, meaning the most significant impact will be on how perceptions of the two sports are affected.</p>
<p>Some things are certain about the upcoming bout: further insults will be thrown and further exaggerations of earnings will be proposed. But it remains difficult to see who will be the true winner from the collision, and it may take several years before the full impact of the result is truly felt in the two competing businesses. Nonetheless, the encounter will surely be felt beyond the bank accounts of the two fighters, and will affect the future health of the their respective sports.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/82791/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robert O'Neill does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Millions of dollars will be made by both sides from the fight but does boxing have more to lose than UFC in this big money head-to-head?Robert O'Neill, Senior Lecturer in Economics, Strategy, Marketing and Economics, University of HuddersfieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/767482017-07-28T14:05:55Z2017-07-28T14:05:55ZSportswomen still face sexism, but feminism can help achieve a level playing field<p>Female athletes and leaders are undeniably more visible and increasingly successful in sport – putting in <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-31627312">incredible performances</a> both <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2658615-team-gbs-hockey-success-at-rio-2016-has-helped-redefine-british-sport%5D">on and off the field</a>. But these achievements still occur in a male defined sport sector – where female stars have to tackle marginalisation and sexualisation of their sporting performance and leadership skills. </p>
<p>Recent research also suggests that coverage of women’s sports has actually <a href="http://www.excellesports.com/news/womens-sports-coverage-sexist/">become more sexist</a> over the past four years – making it clear that in the current age, <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/everyday-sexism/laura-bates/9781471149207">everyday sexism</a> characterises the culture of sport. </p>
<p>Elite sportswomen who gain public visibility and acceptance <a href="https://www.infona.pl/resource/bwmeta1.element.springer-doi-10_1007-S11199-015-0497-6">tend to embody a femininity</a> that appeals to white, male heterosexual audiences (and TV producers). This means that women and girls can be subjects of unparalleled achievements in sport, but at the same time, they will be looked at as sex objects – and often applauded for their commitment to heterosexual domestic mothering roles. </p>
<p>Take Jessica Ennis-Hill, undoubtedly one of the world-leading heptathletes of all time, yet reports and pictures claiming her “golden girl” status are based more on her looks, model poses and domestic relationships than her <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-3559174/Jessica-Ennis-Hill-mother-Alison-support-other.html">athletic achievements</a>. </p>
<p>In surfing, women have increased recognition by the <a href="http://www.worldsurfleague.com/">World Surf League</a> via media coverage of women’s events and <a href="http://www.surfline.com/surf-news/the-english-surfing-federation-recently-joined-the-wsl-in-the-effort-to-offer-equal-pay-for-male-and-female-co_135052">increased prize money</a>. Yet imagery of the female surfer is still highly <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1329878X1515500112">sexualised and objectified</a>. Professional female surfers highlight that the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-15/female-surfers-call-for-end-to-sexist-culture-in-sport/7329932">industry is sexist and sponsors ignore surf talent</a> in favour of model looks. Many struggle to find sponsorship and report <a href="http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9780230523173_15">feeling pressured</a> to “show their arse” rather than “kick arse”. </p>
<p>Alana Blanchard, for example, remains the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-15/female-surfers-call-for-end-to-sexist-culture-in-sport/7329932">highest-paid female surfer</a> via sponsorship and endorsements. She is a darling of social media and <a href="http://stabmag.com/style/surfings-social-media-leaders-in-september/">tops polls</a> for being the “most popular athlete”, or “best photo” among male and female surfers. But she did not make it into the world top 30 in 2016.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/BM9xgeZDsL_/?taken-by=alanarblanchard\u0026hl=en","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>Female athletes, including the boxer Nicola Adams, have <a href="http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/boxing-champion-nicola-adams-on-the-fight-for-equality-in-sport-1-8310911">highlighted the fight</a> for sporting equality. Adams has called for boxing to have more female ambassadors – like herself. Casey Stoney, a footballer who plays for Liverpool in the English FA Super League has also spoken about the difficulty of being female and being a sports star. She has openly identified the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/28316160">struggle in coming out</a> and being a mother in sport. Meanwhile Heather Rabbatts – the FA’s first female non-executive director and board member – has been <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/heather-rabbatts-many-women-would-love-a-role-in-sport-but-our-culture-stops-them-8646205.html">vocal about the restricted professional roles</a> for women in the male culture of sport.</p>
<h2>A man’s world</h2>
<p>So it’s good news then that some governments and international organisations are beginning to address the inequalities that female coaches and administrators face in sport. The recent <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/final-report-of-the-governments-women-and-sport-advisory-board">UK Government’s Women and Sport Report</a> also recognises the scale of the problem. </p>
<p>The International Olympic Committee has additionally claimed that the “real” problem for gender equality in sport is not simply fewer numbers of female athletes and events, but the <a href="https://www.olympic.org/news/ioc-steps-it-up-for-gender-equality-on-international-women-s-day">lack of women in leadership and decision-making</a> roles more generally. </p>
<p>In our forthcoming book, we highlight how <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/project/The-Handbook-of-Feminisms-in-Sport-Leisure-and-Physical-Education">every sporting era is characterised by gender regulation</a>, discrimination, sexism and misogyny. Yet throughout history, feminist work has helped to challenge the sexualisation of female athletes – helping to open up the sporting world for females, while at the same time <a href="https://www.womenssportsfoundation.org">transforming gender-related rights</a> and athlete welfare. </p>
<p>It is in this way that men and women across the sporting sector can continue to help to challenge and change the everyday sexism in the culture of elite sport. This is something that is vitally important – because, for women, pathways to power are invariably littered with reminders that sport is still very much a man’s world.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/76748/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Louise Mansfield works for Brunel University London and receives funding from UK research councils,
government organisations and charities. She is affiliated with the Leisure Studies Association, the International Sociology of Sport Association and the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Belinda Wheaton works for The University of Waikato, NZ. She receives funding from UK and NZ research councils, and charities. She is affiliated with the Leisure Studies Association, the International Sociology of Sport Association and the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jayne Caudwell works for Bournemouth University. She receives, occasionally, external funding including government-funded, foundation or research council grants. She is affiliated with Leisure Studies Association, Amnesty International, the Labour Party and the University and College Union, </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca Watson works for Leeds Beckett University. She receives, occasionally, external funding including government-funded, foundation or research council grants. She is affiliated with Leisure Studies Association and the University and College Union. </span></em></p>The reality of life as a female sports star.Louise Mansfield, Senior Lecturer in Sport, Health and Social Sciences, Brunel University LondonBelinda Wheaton, Associate Professor in Sport and Leisure Studies, University of WaikatoJayne Caudwell, Associate Professor Leisure Cultures, Bournemouth UniversityRebecca Watson, Reader in Sport and Leisure and Studies, Leeds Beckett UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/795362017-06-21T12:19:17Z2017-06-21T12:19:17ZRemembering heavyweight champion Joe Louis, and how society treats its sports heroes<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174561/original/file-20170619-22079-1btro9y.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A statue of world heavyweight champion Joe Louis which stands in his hometown of LaFayette, Alabama.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Joe_Louis_Statue_LaFayette_Alabama.JPG">SaveRivers</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Joe Louis became the <a href="http://www.historytoday.com/richard-cavendish/joe-louis-crowned-heavyweight-champion">second black boxer to win the world heavyweight title</a> when he defeated James Braddock in eight rounds in Chicago on June 22, 1937. That was 80 years ago. Louis held the title for 11 years – the longest of any heavyweight – through an era of crisis and war, and in the face of ingrained racial prejudice.</p>
<p>Like many sporting heroes, Louis not only displayed extraordinary physical prowess, but came to embody the behaviour and ethical characteristics seen as desirable by mainstream society. He was also a powerful figure for African-Americans to identify with. Studying sports heroes in their context can offer insights into a nation, culture or society at the time – but the comparison with today’s sports stars also reveals surprising continuities between the past and present.</p>
<p>In the 1920s and 1930s, sport became a significant part of popular culture in America and Europe. While in the US, sports such as baseball and basketball were segregated by a “colour line”, boxing was sometimes championed as modern, fair and even democratic. But although mixed-race bouts were common, it was difficult for a black boxer to achieve his true potential – particularly in the heavyweight division.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174467/original/file-20170619-28851-1vdrswn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174467/original/file-20170619-28851-1vdrswn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174467/original/file-20170619-28851-1vdrswn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=776&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174467/original/file-20170619-28851-1vdrswn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=776&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174467/original/file-20170619-28851-1vdrswn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=776&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174467/original/file-20170619-28851-1vdrswn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=975&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174467/original/file-20170619-28851-1vdrswn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=975&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174467/original/file-20170619-28851-1vdrswn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=975&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Joe Louis, heavyweight champion.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Joe_Louis_by_van_Vechten.jpg">Carl Van Vechten/Library of Congress</a></span>
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<p>The world heavyweight title had for decades been viewed as an “ultimate” test of human achievement, which meant that the racial identity of the holder came to matter. Jack Johnson, the first black boxer to hold the title (1908-15), became notorious for his <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/02/05/jack-johnson-worlds-first-black-boxing-champion-was-jailed-under-jim-crow-will-he-get-a-posthumous-pardon/?utm_term=.0eb15430b5c6">refusal to conform to the sport’s prescribed behavioural norms</a>. For example, he mocked defeated opponents, who were mostly white, and was open about his relationships with white women. Famously, Johnson had triggered a public search for a “<a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128245468">Great White Hope</a>” to defeat him. His “scandalous” behaviour ensured that for the next two decades no black fighter was given the chance to challenge for the coveted title.</p>
<p>When Joe Louis emerged in Detroit as a hugely promising young boxer, his management team ensured that his public image contrasted clearly with Johnson’s. The press was even issued with written guarantees of his sobriety, decency and humility. Although the media still resorted to crude stereotypes in their reporting of Joe “Brown Bomber” Louis, the strategy worked. In 1936, Louis suffered a shock defeat to the German Max Schmeling in a title eliminator bout. Despite this, it was Louis rather than the German who got the chance to challenge Braddock for the title.</p>
<p>After defeating Braddock, African-American newspaper The California Eagle was in no doubt about the significance of the moment. Reporting that “35,000 colored citizens […] let out a mighty roar”, the paper remarked:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>[I]n the twinkling of an eye they realized that the victory, as accomplished by an intelligent, clean living, home loving, young Afro-American … would increase a hundred fold the respect for the race in general.</p>
</blockquote>
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<h2>A powerful figure for the powerless</h2>
<p>This was not just a moment of sporting triumph but one with racial and social significance. Later, during the civil rights campaigns of the 1960s, Louis, like his friend Jesse Owens, was sometimes criticised as an “Uncle Tom” who had bowed to the prejudices of white America by adopting an emasculated, docile image. Yet such criticism ignores the empowering effect of Louis’ status as a black champion who was recognised and adored by millions – and not only by African-Americans.</p>
<p>In June 1938, Louis had the chance of a rematch against Schmeling, and his knock-out victory in the first round was often remembered as the “<a href="http://www.npr.org/2006/11/25/6515548/the-fight-of-the-century-louis-vs-schmeling">fight of the century</a>”. Schmeling was widely viewed as a representative of Nazi Germany, and their fight <a href="http://www.espn.co.uk/boxing/story/_/id/9404398/more-just-fight">a duel between Nazi and American ideals</a>, so Louis’ victory was greeted with jubilation and relief across America. Legendary boxing commentator Jimmy Cannon wrote that Louis was “<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1973/12/06/archives/jimmy-cannon-columnist-dies-sportswriter-ranged-far-afield-protege.html">a credit to his race … the human race</a>”.</p>
<p>In fact, his great rival Schmeling was no Nazi – he did what he could to assist victims of persecution, even, according to one account, <a href="http://www.raoulwallenberg.net/es/prensa/2005-prensa/max-schmeling-joe-louis-s/">hiding two Jewish brothers from the violence of Kristallnacht</a>, and was widely respected for his discipline and sporting attitude.</p>
<p>After the war, Schmeling and Louis were regularly reunited in public displays of reconciliation that seemed to reflect post-war international relations in the Cold War era. Schmeling, like Louis, had proven himself willing to conform to expectations, clinging to an unrealistic belief that sport could be separated from politics – something as unlikely then as it is now, as can be seen from the scandals surrounding the politics and finance of organisations like <a href="https://theconversation.com/blatter-resigns-but-his-toxic-legacy-will-live-on-at-fifa-42728?sr=2">FIFA</a> and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/to-clean-up-the-olympic-brand-the-ioc-must-restore-trust-63305?sr=4">IOC</a>.</p>
<h2>Where lies the power today?</h2>
<p>The world today seems very different to that of Joe Louis’ heyday. Yet the appeal of boxing as a spectator sport remains strong and there are some noticeable parallels in the way in which we think about and portray our sports heroes. </p>
<p>In April 2017, a huge global television audience watched British heavyweight <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/39748791">Anthony Joshua defeat Wladimir Klitschko</a> at a sold-out Wembley Stadium to unify three world titles, prompting <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/apr/30/anthony-joshua-wladimir-klitschko-heavyweight-title-fight-wembley">comparisons between Joshua and previous champions</a>, notably Muhammad Ali. The shots of Joshua towering over Klitschko <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/boxing/2017/05/01/joshua-klitschko-snapshot-bears-uncanny-resemblance-iconic-muhammad/">recalled the iconic image of Ali standing victorious over Sonny Liston</a> in 1965.</p>
<p>Yet rather than Ali the showman, <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/boxing/secrets-of-anthony-joshua-lifestyle-10299035">praise</a> for the “gentlemanly”, focused and modest Joshua, who overcame adversity to rise to celebrity and success and who is presented as morally exemplary, is far more reminiscent of Joe Louis and indeed Max Schmeling.</p>
<p>Such praise reinforces a form of unthreatening racial and gender identity to counterbalance the inherent violence of boxing as a sport. Joshua, a gold medallist for Great Britain at the London 2012 Olympics, has become closely associated with modern, multicultural Britishness – in stark contrast to his predecessor, Tyson Fury, a British boxer from a family of Irish Travellers. Fury has seemed determined – just as Jack Johnson had been – to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/dec/07/tyson-fury-outrage-homosexuality-women-religion-divisive-sporting-star">reject any attempt to present him as a role model</a>. </p>
<p>Joshua has thus far embraced this image, and it is proving hugely lucrative for him. Yet such idealisation can also prove impossible to live up to. Such a sports hero, embodying physical prowess and moral qualities, is in many ways as artificial a construct as the mythological heroes with whom they are often compared. As has happened to many of today’s sporting heroes, the victims of tabloid “stings”, Joe Louis came to suffer from the gulf between the realities of his private life and the public perception of him.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/79536/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jon Hughes does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Times change, but the pillar upon which society places its sporting heroes remains the same.Jon Hughes, Senior Lecturer in German and Cultural Studies, Royal Holloway University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/783862017-05-26T02:41:26Z2017-05-26T02:41:26ZCodswallop: how to stop boxing deaths and brain injury with a simple rule<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171071/original/file-20170525-23232-fywpqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">If hitting below the belt, not the head, was the aim, then brain damage from boxing would disappear overnight.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/544977346?src=rFryrWFdcHig3OGjqdz6Wg-2-20&size=medium_jpg">from www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-19/david-browne-inquest-boxing-inspector-speaks-at-coronial-inquest/8542760">coronial inquest</a> in Sydney into the death by subdural haematoma (brain bleed) of 28-year-old boxer Davey Browne has yet again seen the same <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/sport/boxing/boxing-referee-not-trained-to-identify-serious-head-injury-davey-browne-inquest-20170524-gwbwdy.html">predictable response</a> about how we might prevent such outcomes in the future.</p>
<p>Solutions proposed by boxing officials, administrators and pundits are framed about when exactly a fight should be stopped, more even matching of boxers, greater latitude for trainers to throw in the towel and limiting pre-bout weight loss.</p>
<p>These solutions are as meaningful as if the Titanic’s owners had removed splinters from the liner’s handrails to reduce death and injury.</p>
<p>By 2015 there have been reportedly <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/news/sporting-scene/an-obsessive-chronicle-of-deaths-in-the-ring">2036 known boxing matches</a> where a competitor had died.</p>
<h2>What’s the point of boxing?</h2>
<p>In boxing, the main objective is to hit your opponent as directly and as hard as you can in the head, rendering them unconscious. The punch that knocks a boxer down so fast they can’t stand up within 10 seconds is what the crowds are baying for. It’s what pulls the crowds in and sees massive ticket prices for ringside seats in the hope of the glorious climax of a man being knocked out.</p>
<p>According to an <a href="http://www.medicaldaily.com/out-cold-what-happens-brain-when-we-get-knocked-out-331470">article</a> on what happens when boxers are knocked unconscious, a professional boxer’s punch can generate speeds of about 40-50 kilometres per hour.</p>
<p>The article continues, quoting research published in the journal <a href="http://www.neurology.org/content/70/10/771">Neurology</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A neurochemical reaction begins in the brain cells that cause cell death. The more cells that die, the fewer brain tissue you have … It may explain why people who suffer from head injuries are never quite the same afterward. </p>
</blockquote>
<h2>How common is this?</h2>
<p>We don’t have much <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2034695/">good quality data</a> about how commonly boxers suffer brain injury and later impairment. The few studies available don’t separate amateur and professional boxing. Professional boxing matches can last 12 rounds, while amateur matches last three. Amateurs also wear headgear, while professionals don’t.</p>
<p><a href="http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/417443">This study</a> of 30 professional boxers found the following range of impairment (from none to severe): 11 boxers were had normal brain function, with no signs of impairment, 12 had mild deficits, four were moderately impaired and three had signs of severe impairment. Boxers who had 12 or more professional bouts had significantly higher levels of brain injury.</p>
<h2>An obvious solution</h2>
<p>Fouls in boxing consist of hitting below the belt, holding, tripping, kicking, head butting, wrestling, biting, spitting on, or pushing your opponent.</p>
<p>If we reversed the rules on fouls to make a punch to the head a foul and a punch below the belt (aimed at the <a href="http://lingomash.com/slang-meanings/15660/slang-meaning-of-cods">cods</a> or testicles), a scoring shot, the brain injury problem would be resolved. Boxing might consider a change of name to “codswalloping”.</p>
<p>Every boy and man who has playing a body-contact sport has experienced the instantly sickening feeling being hit, kneed or bumped in their “<a href="http://www.cockneyrhymingslang.co.uk/slang/alternatives/210">orchestra stalls</a>”.</p>
<p>For those who have never had the experience, <a href="http://www.womenshealthmag.com/sex-and-love/getting-hit-in-the-balls">here</a> are five men’s eloquent accounts of the unforgettable, deeply imprinted sensation.</p>
<p>A blow to the head can cause concussion, brain injury and occasionally death. But a blow to the groin, while instantly and nauseatingly painful, may occasionally cause minor trauma that needs surgical correction, and infertility. Yet, it is extremely unlikely to cause major trauma or death.</p>
<p><a href="http://laws.worldrugby.org/?law=10&language=EN">Rugby union</a> and <a href="https://playnrl.com/referee/laws-of-the-game/">league</a> have long banned tackling around the head and head locking, and in <a href="http://www.afl.com.au/afl-hq/laws-of-the-game">AFL</a>, any contact with opponents’ heads is instantly penalised. Crowds get this. Yet in boxing, the crowd bays for the maximum risk of damage.</p>
<p>The spectacle of grown men trying to thump each other in the crotch would also have boundless comedic appeal. Evasive stepping and hip swivelling would emerge in those most adept at defensive codswalloping. Codswalloping with the Stars would be an instant TV viewing magnet.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-04/ama-calls-for-ban-on-boxing-at-olympics-commonwealth-games/6751424">Australian</a>, <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/87267.stm">British</a> and <a href="https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-statement-on-boxing/">World</a> medical associations have often called for boxing to be banned. Let’s get serious with boxing reform.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This is Simon Chapman’s 100th article for The Conversation. His articles have been read more than 2.6 million times.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/78386/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<h4 class="border">Disclosure</h4><p class="fine-print"><em><span>When he was about 12, Simon Chapman earned a few pounds in coins thrown into the ring as spectators watched him fight a friend at Jimmy Sharman's boxing tent at the Bathurst show in a preliminary, warm-up bout.</span></em></p>Forget tinkering with the rules of boxing. It’s time for a wholesale change. Let’s make hits to the groin the aim of the game and ban hits to the head.Simon Chapman, Emeritus Professor in Public Health, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/724942017-02-08T03:23:38Z2017-02-08T03:23:38ZFight over live-streamed sport to go on after final bell sounds<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155825/original/image-20170207-4240-5qs3ul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Nearly 300,000 people tuned into two live streams on Facebook of the Anthony Mundine-Danny Green fight.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/David Mariuz</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When a Brisbane boxing fan who paid $59.95 for “live and exclusive” viewing of last Friday’s Danny Green v Anthony Mundine boxing match <a href="http://www.news.com.au/sport/sports-life/boxing-fan-live-streams-mundine-v-green-fight-over-facebook-live-wins-internet/news-story/72694120291078080d9b209fac9e67c4">streamed it off his TV</a> through a smartphone and Facebook Live, he landed quite a blow beneath Foxtel’s belt. An estimated 300,000 <a href="http://www.bandt.com.au/media/foxtel-take-legal-action-streamers-green-v-mundine-fight">tuned in</a> via this and another unauthorised stream.</p>
<p>This is the latest skirmish over premium live sport in Australia. Foxtel’s high-priced oligopolistic control over Australian pay TV has again clashed with the demands of sport fans and the increasingly sophisticated capture and relay technologies available to them.</p>
<p>In a constantly changing TV sport environment, pay-TV providers have many more bruising bouts ahead of them – unless they let go of their conventional model of TV-based subscription and move to multiple platforms.</p>
<h2>Foxtel scores an own goal</h2>
<p>The curious feature of <a href="https://mumbrella.com.au/foxtel-threatens-to-sue-as-facebook-pirates-plunder-mundine-vs-green-fight-424052">Foxtel’s response</a> to this purported act of mass piracy is the surprise at its occurrence, and its ham-fistedness. The <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-04/green-v-mundine-live-streamers-warned-to-brace-for-legal-action/8241276">national coverage</a> accorded to Foxtel’s open threat to sue the <a href="http://www.bandt.com.au/media/foxtel-take-legal-action-streamers-green-v-mundine-fight">“two ordinary blokes”</a> who streamed the Mundine-Green fight achieved twin outcomes.</p>
<p>First, it elevated the profile of the two men, Brett Hevers and Darren Sharpe, who have become unlikely symbols of online resistance against perceived corporate greed. </p>
<p>As half-owner of Foxtel, News Corp Australia’s flagrant <a href="http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/two-face-5-years-jail-streaming-green-mundine-figh/3140108/">use of its news media syndication</a> to canvass five-year jail terms and $60,000 fines for the live-streamers was a self-administered punch by Goliath in his contest with David.</p>
<p>Foxtel’s decision to charge so much for access to the fight contrasts with <a href="https://mumbrella.com.au/foxtel-threatens-to-sue-as-facebook-pirates-plunder-mundine-vs-green-fight-424052">Hevers’ claim</a> that $10 would have been a fairer amount to pay. This is especially the case as pay-per-view subscribers would already have incurred the cost of ongoing subscriptions to be in a position to watch it. </p>
<p>Second, that Facebook Live and similar services can be used to bypass restrictions on subscription-based television content has now been advertised in headlines across Australia. A previously low-profile part of the <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=WQacCAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=the+informal+media+economy&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjptYHn1_zRAhWMNpQKHSRnA1IQ6AEIGTAA#v=onepage&q&f=false">informal media economy</a> is now common knowledge.</p>
<p>Almost the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/may/04/twitter-periscope-winner-mayweather-pacquiao">exact same scenario</a> unfolded in the US just two years earlier during HBO and Showtime’s live pay-per-view coverage of the blockbuster fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. The only difference was the brand of the smartphone app used to circumvent the control of broadcast rights holders over access to the fight. The Twitter-owned Periscope service was the live-streaming app of choice among users on that occasion.</p>
<p>At least HBO and Showtime had the good sense to <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-32584454">limit their public statements</a> on the use of Periscope during the fight. </p>
<p>Foxtel’s errors are compounded by Facebook’s efforts to build a clear association between sport consumption and its Live service in the minds of millions of users. A reported US$4.4 million <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-enlists-soccer-elite-to-help-live-video-1469727818">has been paid</a> to popular athletes, teams and sports media companies around the world to create video content for Facebook Live.</p>
<p>The combination of Foxtel, Hevers, Sharpe and <a href="http://www.bandt.com.au/media/foxtel-take-legal-action-streamers-green-v-mundine-fight">300,000 viewers on Facebook</a> during the Green-Mundine fight has added to this push. The stage could be set for a knock ’em down, drag ’em out corporate tussle between Facebook and Foxtel.</p>
<h2>Can Foxtel keep up?</h2>
<p>Despite these missteps, it would be a mistake to assume that Foxtel is powerless against so-called digital disruptors. </p>
<p>Increased marketing of the Foxtel Play streaming service, particularly following the recent closure of Presto, and the offer of a bundled broadband service to new subscribers are indicative of an evolving business model designed to deliver content across multiple screens. </p>
<p>Actions are also being taken to counter rising competition from operators in the telecommunications sector. </p>
<p>When Optus <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com.au/how-optus-stole-the-english-premier-league-from-foxtel-2016-5">seized the rights</a> to the English Premier League from Foxtel for its mobile and broadband platforms, Foxtel contracted with beIN Sports to carry some premium European football and games on delay, and other material from the channels of six leading English Premier League clubs – at <a href="http://www.foxsports.com.au/football/epl-on-fox-sports-foxtel-ceos-open-letter-to-fans-about-optusfox-deals/news-story/9a26b28b92aad4bc596104dadb3efae1">no extra cost</a> to its subscribers.</p>
<p>So, Foxtel isn’t averse to giving away sport content when it suits its commercial interests. In this case, it did it to prevent the churning of paying customers to other services.</p>
<p>Rumbles like the one over the Mundine-Green live stream will no doubt proliferate. This technical knockout comes as Foxtel and other sport content owners transition from a service originally based on a big TV in the living room or the pub to a multiplicity of anytime, anywhere viewing platforms.</p>
<p>These owners won’t just have to deal with the spread of the NBN. They also must appreciate that the use of digital media technology is at least as much about capturing and uploading mobile content – say from the stands of a football stadium or the seats surrounding a boxing ring – as it is about receiving an expensive one-way communication provided by someone else.</p>
<p>Finally, there were other, non-pugilistic sport viewing opportunities on Australian TV last Friday night. People might have watched the A-League football match between Brisbane Roar and Sydney FC on free-to-air SBS.</p>
<p>Or, of greater historical significance, they could have resisted the dubious pleasure of paying $59.95 to watch <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/afl/eddie-everywhere-mcguire-missing-from-collingwoods-historic-aflw-debut-20170203-gu5gdi.html">Eddie McGuire</a> host the boxing in favour of witnessing – without charge – the opening match of the AFL women’s league between his Collingwood team and Carlton on Seven. </p>
<p>Women’s sport is on the rise on free-to-air TV. Anti-siphoning laws continue to prevent many of the major sports events in Australia from becoming the <a href="http://www.acma.gov.au/Industry/Broadcast/Television/TV-content-regulation/sport-anti-siphoning-tv-content-regulation-acma">exclusive property of subscription TV</a>. And then there is the constant, rapid development of disruptive technologies and services. </p>
<p>All together, this means the pay-TV sector needs to adapt quickly in appealing to subscribers whose attention now moves freely between different screens.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/72494/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Rowe has received funding from the Australian Research Council to support research relating to this article: Struggling for Possession: The Control and Use of Online Media Sport (with Brett Hutchins, DP0877777); 'A Nation of "Good Sports"? Cultural Citizenship and Sport in Contemporary Australia' (DP130104502), and 'Australian Cultural Fields: National and Transnational Dynamics' (with Tony Bennett et al, DP140101970). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brett Hutchins has received funding from the Australian Research Council to support research relating to this article: The Mobile Media Sport Moment: Investigating the Pivotal Role of Sport in Mobile Media Content, Markets and Technologies (FT130100506; <a href="http://artsonline.monash.edu.au/mobilemediasport/">http://artsonline.monash.edu.au/mobilemediasport/</a>), and Struggling for Possession: The Control and Use of Online Media Sport (with David Rowe, DP0877777).</span></em></p>Foxtel’s high-priced oligopolistic control over Australian pay TV has again clashed with the demands of sport fans and the increasingly sophisticated capture and relay technologies available to them.David Rowe, Emeritus Professor of Cultural Research, Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney UniversityBrett Hutchins, Professor of Media and Communications Studies, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/670852016-10-14T16:26:58Z2016-10-14T16:26:58ZLeaving Tyson Fury to recover from mental health issues will test hungry media<p>Heavyweight boxer Tyson Fury has <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/37634849">voluntarily vacated</a> his WBO, WBA and IBO world titles, citing mental health problems that have left him “medically unfit” to compete. Fury’s mind has been elsewhere of late. </p>
<p>The controversial boxer relinquished the belts he claimed less than a year ago by ending Wladimir Klitchsko’s nine-year reign as champion. Since then Fury has pulled out of two rematches with the Ukrainian. Now the British Boxing Board of Control has <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/37641280">suspended Fury’s licence</a> “pending further investigation into anti-doping and medical issues”. This was partly in response to <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/sports/tyson-fury-boxing-champ-opens-up-about-drug-use-w443250">an interview</a> Fury gave to Rolling Stone magazine in which he admitted taking cocaine and revealed he was a manic depressive with mental health issues.</p>
<p>Throw in a further <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/aug/03/tyson-fury-ban-prohibited-substance-uk-anti-doping">UK Anti-doping investigation</a> into alleged use of a banned substance and life is anything but simple for this most complex of characters. </p>
<h2>Reporting mental illness</h2>
<p>So how should a story like this be reported? On the one hand, much of the negative publicity since Fury became undisputed world heavyweight champion in Dusseldorf last November <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-tyson-furys-sexist-and-homophobic-comments-make-him-unfit-for-bbc-sports-personality-of-the-year-51929">has been of his own making</a>. Boxing promoter Kellie Maloney criticised Fury in recent weeks for his “insults to human life”. But Fury’s mental health issues also mean that, as another promoter Frank Warren put it, he is prone to a “self-destruct button”. Warren <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/boxing/tyson-fury-has-self-destruct-8974224">urged the boxer</a> to stop “putting himself in trouble”, particularly via Twitter where Fury often arguably <a href="https://twitter.com/Tyson_Fury/status/782213535262711808?lang=en-gb">plays out his angst</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"782213535262711808"}"></div></p>
<p>Indeed, Fury’s team claimed a media <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/sep/25/tyson-fury-peter-fury-wladimir-klitschko">“witch hunt” and “lack of respect”</a> was the catalyst for the boxer’s latest episode of a longstanding form of bi-polar disorder. But, as the extent of Fury’s mental health issues became more apparent, many reporters adopted a supportive tone.</p>
<p>For Paul Farmer, chief executive of mental health charity MIND, the groundswell of attention <a href="http://www.mind.org.uk/news-campaigns/news/statement-on-tyson-fury/#.WADUw5MrJTY">has been helpful</a>: “It is always significant when someone in the public eye opens up about their mental health problems,” read a statement responding to a sharp increase in media enquiries to the mental health charity as word of Fury’s plight spread.</p>
<p>It added: “For too long there has been shame and secrecy around mental health so when we see it discussed openly in the media it helps to change the way we all think and act around mental health problems.” </p>
<p>Lessons were learned when in 2003 The Sun responded to public outrage to re-design its ill-judged “Bonkers Bruno Locked Up” splash for a more compassionate late-edition headline “Sad Bruno in Mental Health Home” when former world champion boxer Frank Bruno was admitted to a psychiatric hospital. </p>
<p>It was something of a watershed moment for reporting on mental health, as suggested by consultant psychiatrist Raj Persaud at the time. Writing <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC214144/">in the British Medical Journal</a>, Persaud recognised how mental health group SANE helped change the Sun’s reporting style, even joining forces with the newspaper to campaign to raise funds for mental health. Bruno’s case meant reporting mental health became more sensitive but, for Persaud, it was still far from perfect. </p>
<p>In 2016, it was The Sun that again felt the backlash of public distaste by publishing alarming pictures of a clearly unwell Paul Gascoigne exposing himself as he clambered out of a taxi. Indeed, the sad plight of the former footballer appears to be fair game to a few in the media.</p>
<p>The coverage of Gascoigne clearly raises issues about privacy versus public interest. And it’s clear that pictures as well as words are important in how stories should be approached in a sensitive way. Campaign group Time to Change offer useful advice for those reporting on mental health: “The images that are used in stories can be just as damaging as the words or the headlines.” </p>
<p>We don’t have to look far to see where this can be applied to Fury in recent weeks. However, looking at the Independent Press Standards Organisation’s <a href="https://www.ipso.co.uk/editors-code-of-practice/">code of practice</a> with reference to its first clause – which says the press must avoid prejudicial or prejorative reference to an individual’s mental illness – it appears that due care and attention was largely applied in much of the mainstream media’s most recent Fury coverage. </p>
<h2>Space to recover</h2>
<p>Of course, it is nigh on impossible to legislate for social media where, in particular, Twitter is awash with doubts about the credibility of Fury’s mental illness claims. But as fellow professional heavyweight David Allen <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/oct/05/tyson-fury-boxing-mental-health-david-allen">pointed out</a>: “It’s just not the type of thing a person would make up.” </p>
<p>Allen should know. He also <a href="http://www.sportinglife.com/boxing/news/article/543/10561055/david-allen-puts-boxing-career-on-hold-due-to-battle-with-depression">took an enforced sabbatical</a> from boxing due to his own battle with depression and he has urged Fury to do the same, calling on critics to “leave him alone” while he does. </p>
<p>As you would expect, Fury has <a href="http://hennessysports.com/news/tyson-fury-vacates-world-titles/">the full backing of his promotion stable Hennessy Sports</a> which said that fully focusing on his medical treatment and recovery “will also allow him the time and space to fully recover from his present condition without any undue pressure and with the expert medical attention he requires and his close family support”.</p>
<p>The next test for the news and sports media is whether he is granted that space to recover in peace. For that to happen, Fury must also play his part and avoid courting further controversy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/67085/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Randles does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Fury may help project an image, but out of the ring there are other things in play.David Randles, Senior Lecturer in Sports Journalism, University of ChesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/660732016-09-29T07:27:05Z2016-09-29T07:27:05ZSenegalese wrestle with ethnicity while reaching for dreams of success<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139404/original/image-20160927-14589-1mey3ap.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Bombardier (right), the reigning champion and 'King of the Arenas', prepares to defend his crown against the popular young challenger Modou Lô</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mark Hann/ Global Sport</span></span></figcaption></figure><blockquote>
<p>On my mother’s side I’m Diola. That’s why I’m a good wrestler. Well, actually my family is Socé from Sédhiou, in Casamance. Before my next fight, I want to go to Casamance to solicit prayers from the marabouts there. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>It came as something of a surprise to me when Omar, an aspiring Senegalese wrestler whom I had come to know during my fieldwork, revealed to me his Casamançais ancestry. Of course, there was nothing really surprising about the fact itself.</p>
<p>Dakar’s ever-expanding suburban areas are populated by people who have moved to the capital from all over <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-14093674">Senegal</a> as part of an ongoing rural exodus since the mid-20th century. There are Diola and Mandinka from Casamance, Peulh from the Senegal river valley, Sereer from the Saloum delta, and Wolof from the country’s interior, to name just some of the groups that make up Dakar’s complex ethnic landscape. What was surprising to me was that Omar himself brought up the topic. </p>
<p>Among young Dakarois, ethnicity often appears to be a somewhat vague category that they rarely mention. It is less central to urban identity than, say, religious affiliation or place of residence. In other words, the district in which one lives today is more significant than the village where one’s parents or grandparents were born. </p>
<p>Observers have suggested that urbanisation in this west African country has been accompanied by processes of de-ethnicisation and Wolofisation. Urbanites adopt “Dakar Wolof” – a French influenced Wolof dialect – as their lingua franca and develop urban ways of life that blur boundaries of ethnic differentiation.</p>
<p>For young men like Omar and his friends, these urban ways of life are a source of pride and a key part of their identity. Being from the “ghetto” – as they often refer to their neighbourhood on the fringes of Dakar’s sprawling commuter zone – gives them a sense of toughness, urban knowledge and a style that eludes their rural cousins.</p>
<p>In such representations, the city is portrayed as a site of modernity and progress, a gateway to the world – albeit one where morality is at risk. Conversely, village life is considered backward and underdeveloped, while simultaneously venerated as the site of “pure” language, “pure” culture – and also “pure” wrestling.</p>
<h2>A truly national sport?</h2>
<p>Wrestling is popularly presented as Senegal’s national sport and is considered to be a shared heritage of Senegambian peoples. Yet, today it comes in a variety of forms. These include Olympic wrestling, numerous styles of “traditional” wrestling, and the commercially popular <a href="http://www.sportspromedia.com/magazine_features/a_nation_gripped_inside_the_world_of_traditional_senegalese_wrestling">“lutte avec frappe”</a>, loosely translated as “wrestling with punches”. It is a hybrid sport that combines elements of traditional wrestling with bare knuckle boxing. </p>
<p>It is this discipline that has succeeded in capturing the attention of the Senegalese public. This style provides young men like Omar and his teammates with dreams of lucrative careers. It is this dream of wealth and success that drives the wrestling boom in Dakar.</p>
<p>When the first wrestling associations, known as écuries, were established in Dakar, ethnicity and geographical provenance were the main organisational principle: écurie Sereer, écurie Diola, écurie Halpulaar, écurie Baol and écurie Walo each brought together wrestlers of a specific ethnic group or historical region. Only the écuries of Pikine and Fass defied this logic in grouping together athletes from a specific area of Dakar. </p>
<p>Today, however, this form of organisation dominates and the associations are generally multi-ethnic. At the same time, other ethnically specific elements of wrestling – notably the bakk or self-praise singing – have been gradually erased from the sport. Contemporary wrestling in Senegal is now a professionalised commercial sport dependent on individual stars who are widely seen as aspirational celebrities.</p>
<p>The famous wrestler Mohammed “Tyson” Ndao did much to popularise the image of the wrestler as an entrepreneurial self-made man. Fashioning his image on that of his boxing namesake, he engaged heavily in marketing and commercial activities. He promoted himself as an icon of youthful rebellion.</p>
<h2>Wrestling’s commercial explosion</h2>
<p>Wrestling’s development from a village pastime to an urban and entrepreneurial pursuit has led to a commercial explosion of the sport since the 1990s. Still, ethnicity has not completely disappeared. In fact, it persists in a number of particular ways. It surfaces in discourses of physical qualities associated with wrestlers of specific groups. Political and economic alliances are forged along ethnic lines between wrestlers and their patrons.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
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<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘Faux lions’, traditional figures at major events in Senegal, provide pre-fight entertainment.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mark Hann/Global Sport</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Ethnicity features in narratives of pre-destination, in which wrestlers of specific ethnic backgrounds – especially Diola and Sereer – claim that wrestling is “in their blood”. Ethnically specific clothing, objects or cultural performances are displayed at fights. Magico-religious powers are also associated with wrestlers of certain ethnicities – again, especially Diola and Sereer.</p>
<p>Established star wrestlers regularly evoke their ethnic provenance in the buildup to big fights. As in any other sport, young hopefuls are quick to copy their idols. Omar’s (technically incorrect) insistence on his Diola heritage was just one of several examples I came across during my fieldwork of young wrestlers referring to ethnicity to strengthen their claims of athletic prowess. </p>
<p>Another young wrestler, Modou, would regularly tell me that his Sereer heritage meant wrestling was an ancestral calling. He said he was unable to follow another path in life. Ama, an aspiring wrestler from the city of Pikine, visited his mother’s Sereer village for the first time after starting to train for a career in the arena. He told me that he has sought out the services of Sereer marabouts and diviners ever since, reconnecting with his grandparents’ belief system.</p>
<p>There is a shared motif in these stories. Young men who do not seem to have grown up with a clearly defined ethnic identity return to paradigms of ethnic difference to strengthen their identities as wrestlers. In the context of urbanisation and Wolofisation in Dakar, this seems almost paradoxical. In the context of a professionalising sport and an increasingly globalised society, even more so. </p>
<p>This return to ethnicity disrupts commonly held assumptions about rural and urban relations. It also calls into question the nature of Senegal’s modernities. In addition, it poses a challenge to Senegalese nationalism: Does the presence of an ethnic discourse within the sporting arena threaten the notion of the multi-ethnic nation state?</p>
<p>It is impossible to adequately address these questions without further enquiry into the state of ethnic relations and discourses in society at large. This, particularly in politics where accusations of ethnic favouritism are never far away. </p>
<p>At the very least, one might conclude from these observations that sport can intervene in social dynamics in surprising ways. The re-ethnicisation of wrestling leads us to reconsider what we mean when we speak of a national sport and a traditional sport - and by extension, the very categories of tradition and nationhood.</p>
<p><em>Mark Hann is part of GLOBALSPORT research team. GLOBALSPORT (@GlobalSportUVA) is a multi-sited comparative ethnographic project. GLOBALSPORT is funded by the European Research Council and based at the University of Amsterdam.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/66073/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Hann receives funding from the European Research Council. </span></em></p>Wrestling is Senegal’s national sport. But the presence of an ethnic discourse within the sporting arena may well threaten the notion of the multi-ethnic nation state.Mark Hann, Doctoral student in Anthropology, University of AmsterdamLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.