Is watching sport on television a right of cultural citizenship in Australia? Sport, we are regularly told, is integral to Australian culture. If you are interested in becoming a citizen, the current advisory…
Does Julia Gillard really love cricket? The law of sport and politics says she must.
AAP/Andrew Taylor
It was the last sitting day of the federal parliament for the year. Opposition leader Tony Abbott was suggesting that prime minister Julia Gillard was a criminal, who in turn was rehearsing her lines that…
The finger has been pointed at Collingwood player Dane Swan in the latest drugs in sports ‘scandal’.
AAP
Here we go again. Another high profile sportsperson has been implicated in the latest drugs in sport “scandal”. This time the finger is being pointed at Collingwood Brownlow medallist Dane Swan. The same…
Australian cyclist Matthew White admitted to taking drugs during his time riding for Lance Armstrong’s US Postal Service cycling team.
AAP/Tracey Nearmy
Federal Sports Minister Kate Lundy’s recent announcement of an independent review of Cycling Australia appears sensible given the local fall-out from the Armstrong case. The minister sees this review “as…
“It’s time to remodel our drugs in sport controls in order to get a proper balance …”
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Lance Armstrong is the flavour of the month when it comes to doping and anti-doping discussions at the moment, but closer to home there are some real and pertinent issues to debate. Australian government…
Melbourne ruckman Mark Jamar pounces on a loose ball. The Demons stand accused of deliberately losing games to gain high draft picks.
AAP/Julian Smith
The Melbourne Demons AFL team stand accused of deliberately ensuring their team lost matches in order to secure talented players in the draft in a process known as “tanking”. With the club facing a hearing…
Did Armstrong’s decision to dope come down to a simple cost-benefit analysis?
STR/EPA
Had Lance Armstrong nudged one of his Tour de France rivals over the edge of the Alpe d'Huez he would have likely received a less hostile response than he has in recent weeks for breaking a simple sports…
President Obama’s sporting prowess has helped his popularity among the wider American electorate.
EPA/Kevin Dietsch
For many Americans, it seems, politics is the ultimate sport, the true national pastime. Like athletes, political candidates are written about and widely seen as heated rivals – for popularity, power…
Doping allegations were made against Matt White before he started working for Cycling Australia.
AAP
It has become clear over the past two weeks that Lance Armstrong ran the most well-managed and professional doping system ever seen in professional sport. So how did he get away with it for so long? Questions…
Tommie Smith and John Carlos carry the coffin of Peter Norman, who died in 2006.
Sporting celebrities and stars have always featured centrally in the psyche of the Australian nation. Our athletes are portrayed as positive role models and many of their indiscretions and behaviours are…
Emotional intelligence is the order of the day, it seems, for trainee referees.
Colin Whelan/AAP Image
It was encouraging to read recently that promising young rugby league referees are being offered the opportunity and time to invest in the development of their mental skills prior to taking on the pressure…
In the past five or six years there has been a marked increase in the overt use of disability sport in the rehabilitation of soldiers injured in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan – which, in a sense, is…
British Prime Minister David Cameron with a Paralympic athlete in London this year.
EPA/Andy Rain
People pretending to be disabled in order to compete in the Paralympics or Special Olympics is the fodder of many a bad-taste joke. There have even been movies such as The Ringer and an episode of South…
Mariia Pomazan was stripped of her gold medal following an Australian protest.
EPA/Gerry Penny
The final of the women’s discus (F35-36) at the London Paralympic Games on Sunday (AEST) raised a question that doesn’t normally comes up once a sporting contest is over: “So, who won?” Ukrainian F35 thrower…
Australian Paralympian Kurt Fearnley has unparalleled exposure as a Paralympic athlete.
AAP
When triple Paralympic gold mediallist Evan O'Hanlon steps up to the track for the 100m this week, you might notice something odd about his racing apparel. The 24-year-old, who is Australia’s fastest disabled…
Interim Australian Rugby League Commission Chief Executive Shane Mattiske (left) shakes the hand of Nine CEO David Gyngell after a five-year broadcasting deal was struck between the NRL, Fox Sports and Nine.
AAP
The new broadcasting deal struck this week by the Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC) represents an outstanding result as well as a lost opportunity. The $1.025 billion that the Nine Network and…
Australia’s kayakers paddled their way to gold but don’t expect a huge increase in kayak sales in the next few months.
EPA/Robert Ghement
Did watching the Olympics inspire you to get out and play sport? Perhaps the gold-medal-winning effort of our men’s K4 kayaking team inspired you to take to the water. Or maybe Anna Meares’ gold in the…
Australia’s Olympic Chief John Coates has started a debate about the role of sport in the school curriculum.
School sport image from www.shutterstock.com
Australia’s recent medal performance at the Olympic Games has caused Australia’s Olympic Chief John Coates some concern. Last week, he blamed at least part of the result on a lack of sport in the school…
Australian sport policy is based on the assumption that success at the Olympics will translate into greater participation rates among children.
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Given the size of our population, Australia’s success at the past three Summer Olympic Games has been quite remarkable. Across the Sydney, Athens and Beijing Olympic Games, the nation’s athletes have won…