tag:theconversation.com,2011:/fr/topics/sports-4768/articlesSports – The Conversation2024-03-27T17:52:11Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2257572024-03-27T17:52:11Z2024-03-27T17:52:11ZMarch Madness: The stars of women’s NCAA basketball face high expectations as the sport grows<p>Women’s basketball superstars are standing at a crossroads for collegiate basketball, professional women’s sport, and the relationship between race and gender more broadly. </p>
<p>Last year’s NCAA women’s basketball championship between Louisiana State University and the University of Iowa saw <a href="https://theconversation.com/ncaa-basketball-championship-criticism-of-angel-reese-reveals-the-unfair-standards-imposed-on-black-women-in-sport-203238">controversy arise when LSU’s Angel Reese</a> made a hand gesture that many perceived as rude toward Iowa player Caitlin Clark. </p>
<p>Reese, a Black woman, received immediate <a href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/article/criticism-of-lsus-angel-reese-after-ncaa-womens-title-game-dripping-in-racism-sexism/">misogynoiristic</a> backlash online for the gesture, despite Clark having made a similar gesture earlier in the game.</p>
<p>The situation placed undue, uninvited stress and attention on both Reese and Clark and evoked the long history of racially-coded conflicts across sport. It prompted fans and critics to consider the social roles traditionally given to white and Black athletes and how these persisting expectations continue to inform broader perceptions of individual athletes. </p>
<p>As this year’s NCAA tournament unfolds, it might yet again represent a new high water-mark for women’s sport as new standards are set for ratings and even more pressure falls on the game’s superstars. </p>
<h2>The rise of women’s NCAA basketball</h2>
<p>The increasing interest in collegiate women’s basketball has become impossible to ignore, buoyed in large part by the emergence of stars like Clark, Reese, <a href="https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/player/_/id/5175946/juju-watkins">University of Southern California freshman guard JuJu Watkins</a> and <a href="https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/player/_/id/5105752/alissa-pili">University of Utah senior forward Alissa Pili</a>. </p>
<p>The 2023 NCAA women’s basketball tournament <a href="https://sportsnaut.com/college-basketball-tv-ratings-women-vs-men/">averaged 6.5 million viewers for the two final four games and 9.9 million for the championship game</a>. By comparison, <a href="https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2023/06/stanley-cup-ratings-least-watched-game-five-29-years-golden-knights-panthers/">the 2023 NHL Stanley Cup averaged 2.6 million viewers in the United States</a>, 4.6 million in 2022 and 2.5 million in 2021.</p>
<p>NCAA men’s basketball, in comparison, <a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/11/what-happened-to-college-basketball.html">has experienced a decline over the years</a> because of its relationship to the NBA draft. Beginning in 2006, the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/28/sports/basketball/nba-draft-will-close-book-on-high-school-stars.html">NBA mandated players must be at least one-year removed from high school graduation</a> and 19 years old to be eligible for the draft. Prior to 2006, players were eligible to enter the draft directly out of high school. </p>
<p>The ability to enter the NBA at 18 was <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/43610016">a privilege only granted after a 1967 Supreme Court decision</a> allowed University of Detroit forward Spencer Haywood to sign an NBA contract despite the league’s requirement that players not be drafted until four years after high school graduation.</p>
<p>As author Chuck Klosterman mentioned in an interview, players used to stay in school for three or four years, <a href="https://emergingsportstudies.ca/klosterman-ncaa-sport">allowing audiences to become fans by watching players evolve</a>. Now, the NBA sees players drafted after spending only months on college campuses, which has led to an erosion of interest in men’s collegiate basketball. </p>
<p>It is possible this sense of disconnection has drawn larger audiences to the women’s collegiate game, where fans are able to develop more long-lasting relationships with players and witness intense rivalries between teams due to a greater continuity of talent.</p>
<h2>The changing faces of women’s basketball</h2>
<p>Described as a “transformational talent,” “the supernova driving women’s basketball to new heights” and <a href="https://www.ncaa.org/news/2024/2/15/media-center-the-caitlin-clark-effect.aspx">inspiring what is known as the “Caitlin Clark Effect,”</a> Clark is now a household name across North America. </p>
<p>Her influence is a strong, positive experience that disrupts traditional gender marginalization and stereotypes within collegiate sports. Clark’s accomplishments directly challenge the stereotype that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2013.09.001">female athletes are less athletic than male athletes</a>. </p>
<p>This is a harmful and historical trope for a host of reasons, one of which is that it subjugates women as inferior athletes and undermines efforts to break down the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0193723519898705">patriarchal barriers</a>
that have traditionally disenfranchised female athletics as a whole. </p>
<p>Within her role as a student athlete ambassador, Clark is also able to disrupt traditional views around femininity in sports. Her identity as a white woman and her wealth also matter tremendously. </p>
<p>Because <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2018/10/college-sports-benefits-white-students/573688/">whiteness is still privileged and treated as the normative identity in collegiate athletics</a> across America, Clark is well-positioned to disrupt traditional ideas around femininity in a way that a non-white athlete cannot. </p>
<h2>Wealth in women’s sports</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.sportico.com/leagues/college-sports/2023/angel-reese-caitlin-clark-wnba-college-nil-return-1234744080/">lucrative landscape surrounding NIL (name, image, likeness) regulations</a> means the stars of NCAA women’s basketball stand to earn far more than previous generations of women’s players. NIL rules allow players to monetize their name, image and likeness through sponsorships and other activities.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.newsweek.com/caitlin-clark-new-sponsor-might-foreshadow-wnba-future-1876240">There is speculation Clark will declare for the WNBA’s 2024 season</a>, where she is highly touted to be the number one overall draft pick. It is reported that Clark’s 11 NIL contracts are worth a combined US$3 million — a number that stands in stark contrast to <a href="https://therookiewire.usatoday.com/2023/04/11/2023-wnba-season-rookie-salary-scale/">the usual $100,000 rookie salary of top WNBA first round picks</a>.</p>
<p>But this opportunity has the potential to create a great deal more pressure for those carrying the banner for women’s basketball. It’s new and uncharted territory for female collegiate athletes and foreshadows possible tensions for athletes who eventually transition to professional basketball. </p>
<p>The younger generation of stars may well enter into the WNBA with more wealth amassed over their collegiate careers than some long-standing WNBA players have ever made. </p>
<p>Clark, Reese and a new generation of collegiate superstars are now not only tasked with navigating their place in an inequitable sporting marketplace, but are also pioneers of a new age of wealth in women’s sport. </p>
<p>Heavy is the head that wears the crown, so the saying goes, and Clark appears to bear that weight deftly. However, as a new generation of players transitions into the professional game from a collegiate game they’ve helped supercharge, it’s important to consider how much weight is reasonable for any athlete to bear, no matter how battle-tested and celebrated the player.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225757/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Taylor McKee receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nwakerendu Waboso 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>This year’s NCAA tournament might represent another high-water mark for women’s sport as new standards are set for ratings and even more pressure falls on the game’s superstars.Nwakerendu Waboso, PhD Candidate, Child and Youth Studies, Brock UniversityTaylor McKee, Assistant Professor, Sport Management, Brock UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2263762024-03-27T12:37:18Z2024-03-27T12:37:18Z‘The Amazon of Sports’ has already cornered baseball’s apparel market – and is now on the verge of subsuming baseball cards, too<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584187/original/file-20240325-24-8sv22l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=30%2C7%2C5073%2C3638&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The U.S. sports card industry is an estimated $12 billion market.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/group-of-young-fans-hold-up-their-topps-baseball-cards-news-photo/830913124?adppopup=true">Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>During spring training, Major League Baseball’s official uniform supplier, Fanatics, became a focal point for all the wrong reasons. </p>
<p>After arriving in Florida and Arizona, players began to complain about the quality of their new, Fanatics-manufactured uniforms. </p>
<p>One player for the Baltimore Orioles <a href="https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/sports/orioles-mlb/orioles-players-slam-new-mlb-jerseys-like-a-knockoff-jersey-from-tj-maxx-DEXUP34CLNFNNEW3AMES56G6U4/">groused that the new uniforms looked</a> “like a knockoff jersey from T.J. Maxx.” Others were dismayed to learn that the white pants were transparent, with seams from tucked-in jerseys – <a href="https://twitter.com/JRoc23/status/1760930264828563621">and sometimes more than just seams</a> – visible to all.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1760194062131281992"}"></div></p>
<p>The spring training uniform fiasco has led to more scrutiny for Fanatics, a company that had, until recently, been widely considered an American success story. CEO Michael Rubin, a college dropout, grew Fanatics from a ski and snowboard business into what some now call “<a href="https://theathletic.com/3998333/2022/12/14/michael-rubin-business-sportsperson/">the Amazon of Sports</a>.” </p>
<p>Thanks to its connections with the leading U.S. sports leagues, Fanatics has quickly become the dominant player in nearly every aspect of the sports licensing industry. It manufactures and sells everything from team hats and T-shirts to logo-adorned <a href="https://www.fanatics.com/nhl/new-york-rangers/auto-accessories/new-york-rangers-wincraft-chrome-colored-license-plate-frame/o-4628+t-47598504+d-64881168+f-9585632+z-9-3053713359?">license plate frames</a> and <a href="https://www.fanatics.com/mlb/boston-red-sox/lawn-and-garden/boston-red-sox-bird-house/o-3432+t-92334186+d-75002380+f-539183674+z-9-1600955566?">birdhouses</a>.</p>
<p>But uniforms are not the only aspect of Fanatics’ licensing strategy that has elicited controversy. Over the past few years, <a href="https://sportscollectorsdigest.com/news/fanatics-sports-card-rights-reaction-mlb-nba-nfl-hobby">Fanatics has undertaken an aggressive campaign</a> to acquire the exclusive rights to produce the officially licensed sports trading cards for not only MLB but also the NFL and NBA. In some cases, these deals are set to run for as long as 20 years.</p>
<p>As we explain <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4739580">in a forthcoming article</a> in the University of Illinois Law Review, Fanatics’ consolidation of the sports card industry threatens to reduce the company’s incentive to innovate or invest in trading cards, risking a stagnant future for the hobby.</p>
<h2>Pro sports get exclusive</h2>
<p>In order to produce apparel or memorabilia featuring official team logos, manufacturers must secure the legal right to use the teams’ trademarks, the intellectual property that legally protects teams’ names and emblems. </p>
<p>The companies will typically acquire these legal rights by entering into contracts, called <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/licensing-agreement.asp">licensing agreements</a>, with a particular sports league, giving the manufacturer the right to use all league and team logos on its products.</p>
<p>Historically, U.S. sports leagues have granted multiple companies these rights.</p>
<p>In recent years, however, leagues and manufacturers have tended to favor <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/exclusive_license">exclusive licenses</a> – agreements that ensure that only a single company will have the right to use the league’s trademarks on a particular type of product. EA Sports, for instance, has held the exclusive rights to produce NFL video games – via its Madden franchise – <a href="https://kotaku.com/remember-its-not-just-the-nfls-exclusive-license-with-5988357">for nearly 20 years</a>, giving it an effective monopoly over this product line.</p>
<p>After deciding to move into the sports trading card market, Fanatics used exclusive trademark licenses <a href="https://sportscollectorsdigest.com/news/fanatics-sports-card-rights-reaction-mlb-nba-nfl-hobby">to secure the sole rights to produce MLB, NFL and NBA cards</a> in 2021.</p>
<p>While some people may see baseball cards as mere child’s play, the U.S. sports card industry <a href="https://www.verifiedmarketresearch.com/product/sports-trading-card-market/">is estimated to be a US$12 billion market</a>. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, <a href="https://theathletic.com/3447519/2022/07/26/sports-card-baseball-market/">there’s been a surge in interest</a>. </p>
<p>Moving forward, Fanatics will have near monopoly control over a large chunk of that market.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A young woman wearing sunglasses, an older man wearing sunglasses, and a middle-aged man." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584197/original/file-20240325-28-qao0hy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584197/original/file-20240325-28-qao0hy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584197/original/file-20240325-28-qao0hy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584197/original/file-20240325-28-qao0hy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584197/original/file-20240325-28-qao0hy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584197/original/file-20240325-28-qao0hy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584197/original/file-20240325-28-qao0hy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin, right, embraces New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft at the 2019 Fanatics Super Bowl party.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/2019FanaticsSuperBowlParty-Arrivals/5f67df95733e4014af8a9b8d5d97a2ce/photo?Query=michael%20rubin&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=62&currentItemNo=34">Paul R. Giunta/Invision/AP</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Trading card competition spurs innovation</h2>
<p>This won’t be the first time that the U.S. sports card hobby has fallen under the control of a single manufacturer. </p>
<p>Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, one of the companies recently displaced by Fanatics – the Topps Chewing Gum company – possessed largely unchallenged power over the industry.</p>
<p>Topps had acquired its monopoly in the mid-1950s after <a href="https://fanarch.com/blogs/sports-cards/is-bowman-owned-by-topps">buying out its former competitor</a>, Bowman, following a protracted legal battle. It then maintained the monopoly for decades by signing exclusive contracts with nearly every MLB player. These contracts gave Topps the sole rights to use images of the players on trading cards.</p>
<p>This lack of competition resulted in an era that featured little innovation – and, in the eyes of many collectors, uninspired offerings. Indeed, during this period, Topps would not only often rely on relatively unattractive card designs, but the company would also occasionally <a href="https://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/woulda-coulda-shoulda-vintage-baseball-team-photos-topps-left-out/">reuse the same player photos multiple years in a row</a>.</p>
<p>The Topps monopoly was ultimately broken up by a federal court <a href="https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2019/01/baseball-card-litigation-fleer-v-topps/">in a suit filed by would-be competitor Fleer</a> under the Sherman Antitrust Act, and this decision led to a variety of new brands entering the market. </p>
<p>In addition to Fleer, the 1980s would witness the launch of a flood of new card companies, including <a href="https://www.cardboardconnection.com/donruss-baseball-card-designs-years">Donruss</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-almanac.com/baseball_cards/baseball_card_sets.php?m=Score">Score</a> and Upper Deck. The resulting competition pushed these companies, <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Card_Sharks.html?id=J-_vAQAACAAJ">with Upper Deck leading the way</a>, to dramatically improve their product offerings, not only upgrading their card designs and photos, but also their printing technology and card stock.</p>
<p>Eventually, however, many card collectors became overwhelmed by the vast number of product offerings in the 1990s and early 2000s. Realizing that overproduction was dampening consumer interest, sports leagues began to grant exclusive licenses to individual card manufacturers to restrict the number of cards on the market. Topps, for instance, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/06/sports/baseball/06cards.html">regained its status</a> as the exclusive card manufacturer for MLB in 2009.</p>
<p>Until recently, however, different companies had held the exclusive rights to produce trading cards for the leading U.S. sports leagues, providing some degree of continued competition in the industry.</p>
<h2>Is Fanatics running afoul of antitrust law?</h2>
<p>Fanatics’ consolidation of the industry raises the specter that the hobby could once again witness the ills of monopolization in the coming years.</p>
<p>Perhaps unsurprisingly, Fanatics’ takeover of the sports card hobby <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/07/fanatics-panini-launch-legal-battle-with-a-pair-of-lawsuits.html">is currently being challenged in court by Panini</a>, another of the companies that Fanatics supplanted.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Yellow and sign reading 'PANINI' in front of manufacturing facilities." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584186/original/file-20240325-18-1cecuh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584186/original/file-20240325-18-1cecuh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584186/original/file-20240325-18-1cecuh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584186/original/file-20240325-18-1cecuh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584186/original/file-20240325-18-1cecuh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584186/original/file-20240325-18-1cecuh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584186/original/file-20240325-18-1cecuh.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">The Italian collectibles company Panini filed an antitrust lawsuit against Fanatics in 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/this-photo-taken-on-april-20-2018-shows-the-panini-group-news-photo/950673158?adppopup=true">Marco Bertorello/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The lawsuit alleges that Fanatics has violated the Sherman Antitrust Act by engaging in anti-competitive practices that have ousted Panini and other competitors from the industry. </p>
<p>In this sense, Fanatics’ re-monopolization of the U.S. sports trading card business exhibits additional parallels to the earlier Topps monopoly of the 1960s and 1970s.</p>
<p>Ultimately, Panini’s case merely underlies what may actually be bigger questions about Fanatics’ business practices in general. </p>
<p>Fanatics has used exclusive license agreements – similar to those that it has executed for sports cards – to help build its dominant position in the broader sports licensing marketplace. </p>
<p>Whether these exclusive licensing agreements are legal or not remains unresolved; the permissibility of similar exclusive trademark licenses under federal antitrust law was last raised in a 2010 case before the Supreme Court in <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/2009/08-661">American Needle, Inc. v. National Football League</a>. </p>
<p>In that case, a former manufacturer of NFL hats sued the NFL after the league decided to grant Reebok the exclusive rights to make its team-logoed hats beginning in 2002. American Needle alleged that the decision by 32 individually owned and operated NFL franchises to collectively license their trademarks to a single manufacturer ran afoul of <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/sherman_antitrust_act">the Sherman Antitrust Act</a>.</p>
<p>While the Supreme Court held that the NFL-Reebok deal was subject to scrutiny under antitrust law, the parties ultimately settled the case before the courts issued a final resolution regarding the legality of the NFL’s exclusive license.</p>
<p>While sports trading cards comprise a multibillion-dollar industry, they represent just a share of the larger, <a href="https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/licensed-sports-merchandise-market-report">$33 billion U.S. sports licensing market</a>. </p>
<p>See-through, cheap-looking baseball pants may or may not be a consequence of a lack of competition in this market.</p>
<p>But we think it’s only a matter of time before the depletion of competition for licensed sports apparel results in higher prices and less choice for fans. The same holds true for trading cards.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/226376/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 organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Fanatics’ consolidation of the sports card industry risks a stagnant future for the hobby.Nathaniel Grow, Associate Professor of Business Law and Ethics, Indiana UniversityJohn Holden, Associate Professor of Management, Oklahoma State UniversityMarc Edelman, Professor of Law, Baruch College, CUNYLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2263152024-03-25T01:28:21Z2024-03-25T01:28:21ZCelebrities, influencers, loopholes: online gambling advertising faces an uncertain future in Australia<p>Sports betting is most popular among <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/research/research-reports/gambling-activity-australia">Australian young people</a> than any other age group, and this trend has only increased over the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-024-10282-x">past 15 years</a>.</p>
<p>Young males, in particular, are the group most likely to participate in sports betting and face a higher risk of developing gambling issues. </p>
<p>Environmental factors, such as advertising, can make young people more likely to bet on sports. So regulation is essential if we want to prevent young people from gambling-related harm.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/premier-leagues-front-of-shirt-gambling-ad-ban-is-a-flawed-approach-australia-should-learn-from-it-204105">Premier League’s front-of-shirt gambling ad ban is a flawed approach. Australia should learn from it</a>
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<h2>Advertising, promotions and marketing techniques</h2>
<p>Advertising serves <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/002224377601300110">two different purposes</a>. There is the advertising that companies use to set their products apart from their competitors (known as competitive advertising). There is also the advertising companies use to make people more interested in a product (known as primary demand advertising).</p>
<p>Sports betting companies use competitive advertising by promoting their products’ unique features, such as chat features and live match updates, or by offering promotions, such as bonus bets and deposit matches. This type of advertising is most likely to appeal to people who are already involved in sports betting. They are looking for more affordable ways to bet, ways to maximise their winnings, and better features. </p>
<p>Promotions are an effective way to make people <a href="https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.7.2018.99">bet more</a>. They may be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-023-01173-0">more likely</a> to influence people who gamble to risky levels. Because of this, Australia has taken steps to <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/communities-and-vulnerable-people-programs-services-gambling/gambling-reforms">ban some of these promotions</a>, including sign-up and refer-a-friend offers.</p>
<p>Sports betting companies use a variety of marketing strategies to generate interest in sports betting. For example, they often advertise during live sports broadcasts to generate interest in sports gambling. </p>
<p>This serves two purposes: it presents sports betting as a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/16066359.2017.1353082">normal part</a> of being a sports fan and aligns sports betting with the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14459795.2021.1937274">positive values</a> people associate with sports, such as fairness, success and competence.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/K4fa_ZT8m8g?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Young males, in particular, are the group most likely to participate in sports betting.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The impact of celebrities and influencers</h2>
<p>Sports betting companies often feature <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daae012">celebrities and athletes</a> in their advertising. This can enhance the appeal of betting, as people transfer their favourable opinions of celebrities and athletes to sports betting. </p>
<p>However, companies can use social media influencers to do this much more effectively. This is because influencers <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/jrim-08-2021-0200">engage more</a> with their followers and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2019.1634898">appear more relatable</a> than more well-known celebrities.</p>
<p>Companies can use influencers in various ways to promote sports betting. One approach is to pay influencers to appear in advertising campaigns, known as <a href="https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/endorsement-in-advertising">influencer endorsements</a>. </p>
<p>Another approach is <a href="https://www.goodbadmarketing.com/aiza/sponsored-content-disclosure-australia/">sponsored content</a>, where a company pays an influencer to promote its brand or product in its own content. For example, an influencer might create a video about sports betting and mention they bet with a specific betting company.</p>
<p><a href="https://mailchimp.com/marketing-glossary/content-marketing/">Content advertising</a> has become increasingly popular in the digital age as people consume more content on a daily basis. </p>
<p>Companies use this strategy by creating content that appeals to their target audience without directly advertising their products. A sports betting company might create a website that shares sports-related news, which would appeal to their target audience of sports fans. This advertising strategy cultivates brand awareness and fosters customer loyalty.</p>
<p>In essence, sports betting advertising goes beyond what people see during commercial breaks. Like all advertising, it appears wherever content is generated and wherever a brand’s target audience is expected to engage with it.</p>
<h2>The complexities of a potential ban</h2>
<p>Last year’s <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House/Social_Policy_and_Legal_Affairs/Onlinegamblingimpacts/Report/Chapter_5_-_Gambling_advertising">parliamentary inquiry</a> into online gambling outlines recommendations for a gradual ban of online gambling advertising by 2026. Whether these recommendations are implemented remains to be seen, but it is important to recognise that advertising is now more complex and global than ever before. </p>
<p>How will this recommended ban account for influencer advertising, content advertising, or subtle references to odds on websites that provide scores and live updates of sports events?</p>
<p>How gambling advertising is defined will likely become a crucial issue. In 2018, Italy <a href="https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=c8f3839f-5841-4c90-b768-35147f686ca0">banned</a> all direct advertising for gambling. To <a href="https://pagellapolitica.it/articoli/divieto-pubblicita-scommesse">circumvent this ban</a>, betting companies established websites solely focused on sharing sports-related news content using the same name as their betting brand. This allowed them to openly advertise their betting brand during live sporting events.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-has-a-strong-hand-to-tackle-gambling-harm-will-it-go-all-in-or-fold-208749">Australia has a strong hand to tackle gambling harm. Will it go all in or fold?</a>
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<h2>A holistic approach</h2>
<p>A complete ban on gambling advertising may soon be implemented in Australia, but it is crucial to consider what exactly defines gambling advertising.</p>
<p>It’s important to involve marketers in the process of implementing an advertising ban because they have the most up-to-date knowledge of current advertising trends; policymakers and researchers might not know about them until years later. </p>
<p>This is a critical step towards preventing sports betting companies from potentially exploiting regulatory loopholes. </p>
<p>A future advertising ban must consider advances in social media marketing strategies, all of which are especially significant for young people.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/226315/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gianluca Di Censo receives funding from the Office of Responsible Gambling. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Delfabbro receives funding from state and federal government agencies for research.</span></em></p>A 2023 federal government inquiry recommended a ban on gambling advertising. What needs to happen should a ban be implemented?Gianluca Di Censo, PhD Candidate, University of AdelaidePaul Delfabbro, Professor, School of Psychology, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2260922024-03-22T12:31:14Z2024-03-22T12:31:14ZWhy March Madness is a special time of year for state budgets<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582647/original/file-20240318-24-4tudw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=6%2C6%2C4390%2C3045&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Feeling lucky?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/SportsBetting-ThingstoKnow/d07b68af393548588b8a646d5cdd79e9/photo?Query=sports%20betting&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=1985&currentItemNo=2">Wayne Parry/AP Photo</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>March Madness – the time when the <a href="https://www.ncaa.com/march-madness-live/watch?cid=ncaa_mml_nav_men">best men’s</a> and <a href="https://www.ncaa.com/womens-di-championship?mml=1&cid=ncaa_mml_nav_women">women’s college</a> basketball teams challenge each other – is a made-for-television spectacle <a href="https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2023/04/ncaa-national-championship-ratings-record-low-uconn-sdsu-cbs-mens/">watched by millions</a>. While <a href="https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2023-03-08/march-madness-history-comprehensive-guide-mens-tournament">March Madness has been around for decades</a>, one of the tournament’s biggest changes happened in 2018, when the <a href="https://www.archerlaw.com/en/news-resources/client-advisories/landmark-u-s-supreme-court-decision-paves-the-way-for-legalized-sports-betting">Supreme Court struck down the ban on sports betting</a>. </p>
<p>Since then, legal sports betting has skyrocketed. Americans <a href="https://www.americangaming.org/resources/aga-commercial-gaming-revenue-tracker/">made US$120 billion of legal sports bets</a> in 2023, according to the American Gaming Association, which promotes gambling. In 2024, <a href="https://www.espn.com/espn/betting/story/_/id/39730969/estimate-projects-272b-wagers-ncaa-basketball-tournaments">the group predicts</a> Americans will place <a href="https://www.vox.com/2024/3/18/24102300/march-madness-sports-betting">$2.7 billion of legal bets</a> on March Madness alone.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.bu.edu/questrom/profile/jay-zagorsky/">I am</a> a <a href="https://www.bu.edu/questrom/">business school</a> professor fascinated by <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-march-madness-and-the-nonprofit-that-manages-the-mayhem-93202">March Madness</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/market-for-illegal-sports-betting-in-us-is-not-really-a-150-billion-business-96618">sports betting</a>. Studying sports betting has shown me <a href="https://theconversation.com/could-gambling-be-the-secret-to-saving-when-rates-are-so-low-57961">how valuable it is</a> for states short on cash. Unfortunately, it also has significant drawbacks, especially for <a href="https://www.ncpgambling.org/help-treatment/help-by-state/">gambling addicts</a> and their families. </p>
<h2>Why lawmakers love sports betting</h2>
<p>As of March 2024, <a href="https://www.americangaming.org/research/state-gaming-map/">38 states allow</a> some form of sports gambling, and six more are debating the issue. State lawmakers are interested in sports gambling because they have a fiscal problem. State spending over time has <a href="https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/statistics/state-and-local-direct-general-expenditures">increased in both absolute</a> and <a href="https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/statistics/state-and-local-direct-general-expenditures-capita">per-person terms</a> after <a href="http://businessmacroeconomics.com">adjusting for inflation</a>.</p>
<p>While state spending is increasing, state revenue from so-called “sin taxes” has flatlined after adjusting for inflation. <a href="https://www.lung.org/research/trends-in-lung-disease/tobacco-trends-brief/overall-tobacco-trends">People are smoking</a> and <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/353858/alcohol-consumption-low-end-recent-readings.aspx">drinking less</a>, reducing <a href="https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/statistics/state-and-local-tobacco-tax-revenue">revenue from cigarette</a> and <a href="https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/statistics/state-and-local-alcohol-tax-revenue">alcohol taxes</a>. Even <a href="https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/statistics/lottery-revenue">lottery revenue has flattened out</a> after growing strongly for decades.</p>
<p>Increased spending combined with a reluctance to raise taxes has led to a push to find new sources of revenue. That <a href="https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/publications/are-states-betting-sin-murky-future-state-taxation">makes sports betting an appealing</a> option to politicians.</p>
<h2>The statehouse always wins</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/sports/march-madness-basketball-sports-betting-rcna143773">Billions of dollars are wagered</a> on sports each year. More than 90% of the money bet goes to paying out winning gamblers. Gambling operators keep the rest, which they share with the states. The percentage kept, called the hold rate, has been <a href="https://www.legalsportsreport.com/111012/analysis-2023-us-sports-betting-hold-trend/">steadily climbing over time</a>, with 2023’s <a href="https://www.americangaming.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/CY-2024_CGRT_v2.pdf">national average at 9.1%</a> of the money bet.</p>
<p>State governments now collect <a href="https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2024/02/legal-sports-betting.html">about half a billion dollars each quarter</a>, or about $2 billion a year, from sports gambling. That’s roughly one-fifth of that 9.1%.</p>
<p>If gamblers bet around $3 billion on March Madness, then states will pocket over $50 million dollars in extra revenue just from a three-week basketball tournament.</p>
<h2>The ugly side of sports betting</h2>
<p>Gambling is wonderful for state revenues and <a href="https://www.espn.com/espn/betting/story/_/id/39563784/sports-betting-industry-posts-record-11b-2023-revenue">gaming-company profits</a>. However, it has <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/gambling-addiction-million-white-paper-b2322452.html">a dark side</a>: While many people enjoy gambling, <a href="https://theconversation.com/millions-of-americans-are-problem-gamblers-so-why-do-so-few-people-ever-seek-treatment-197861">millions of Americans have a gambling problem</a>. </p>
<p>Studies suggest <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10899-014-9471-4">between 1% and 2%</a> of adults fall into this category. In Massachusetts, where I teach, a 2018 survey found that about 2% of adults were already problem gamblers, and <a href="https://www.umass.edu/seigma/sites/default/files/Seigma-GamblingHarm-Fact-Sheet-F2-2018%20copy.pdf">a further 8% were at risk</a>.</p>
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<p>Meanwhile, the number of calls to the <a href="https://www.ncpgambling.org/help-treatment/about-the-national-problem-gambling-helpline/">National Problem Gambling Helpline</a> lasting more than a minute <a href="https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/national.council.on.problem.gambling.ncpg/viz/NationalProblemGamblingHelplineDashboard-IncomingTraffic/IncomingTraffic">has increased sharply in recent years</a>. While this doesn’t mean that problem gambling has become more common – among other issues, correlation isn’t causation – the increase very closely matches the <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/general/news/u-s-sports-betting-here-is-where-all-50-states-currently-stand-on-legalizing-online-sports-betting-sites/">steady rollout of online sports betting</a> across the U.S.</p>
<h2>Two possible policy solutions</h2>
<p>Betting on sports was illegal before 2018. <a href="https://www.americangaming.org/illegal-sports-betting/">This forced gamblers</a> to either bet with a bookie or an offshore site. Betting with a bookie before 2018 was a relatively slow process. Gamblers typically needed to pay for their bets upfront with cash and ran the risk their bookie would be arrested or shut down.</p>
<p>Today, <a href="https://theconversation.com/sports-betting-how-in-play-betting-features-could-be-leading-to-harmful-gambling-new-research-177872">in-play or live betting</a> is legal and almost instantaneous. Bettors sitting on their couches at home can make multiple types of bets, such as which <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/mavericks/news/bad-beat-kristap-porzingis-missed-layup-cost-a-man-76000-dallas-mavericks">player will make the first shot</a> in a basketball game. In business terms, sports gambling went from extreme friction to a completely <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/shephyken/2019/06/09/are-you-providing-a-frictionless-customer-experience">frictionless experience</a>.</p>
<p>To reduce the harms of sports betting, I propose two ways to reinject friction into the system. The first is to prevent <a href="https://www.forbes.com/advisor/credit-cards/sports-betting/">credit cards from being used for online gambling</a>. While not every state and bank allows credit cards to fund a sports betting account, many do. Those credit cards that allow it often treat gambling payments as a <a href="https://www.citizensbank.com/learning/what-is-a-cash-advance.aspx">cash advance, which is very costly</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/news/article/gambling-on-credit-cards-to-be-banned-from-april-2020">U.K. banned credit cards for remote gambling</a> in 2020, noting that people who used credit cards to gamble were <a href="https://consult.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/author/consultation-on-gambling-with-credit-cards/supporting_documents/Print%25252520the%25252520whole%25252520consultation%25252520%25252520gambling%25252520with%25252520credit%25252520cards.pdf">disproportionately likely to be problem gamblers</a>. <a href="https://ministers.dss.gov.au/media-releases/13411">Australia has also banned</a> online bets made with credit cards. A few U.S. states, <a href="https://www.wfmj.com/story/50551277/pa-lawmakers-introduce-bill-limiting-payment-options-for-online-gambling">such as Massachusetts and Tennessee</a>, have also instituted these sorts of bans, but most have not.</p>
<p>The second idea, which I prefer, is to <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-case-for-cash-a-counterpoint-to-cashless/id1464022779?i=1000634760222">revert to common practice before 2018</a> of using cash to bet. The idea is simple. Anyone with an online gambling account would need to prefund their account with cash. Winners would never have to stop gambling.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582643/original/file-20240318-16-qsxrnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Bags of cash and printout of a March Madness schedule are seen on a police evidence table." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582643/original/file-20240318-16-qsxrnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582643/original/file-20240318-16-qsxrnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582643/original/file-20240318-16-qsxrnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582643/original/file-20240318-16-qsxrnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582643/original/file-20240318-16-qsxrnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582643/original/file-20240318-16-qsxrnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582643/original/file-20240318-16-qsxrnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=491&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">In this 2006 file photo, the Brooklyn district attorney’s office presents evidence used to arrest 10 men in a sports betting ring. New Yorkers can now legally bet on March Madness.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/the-brooklyn-district-attorneys-office-presents-evidence-news-photo/526086920">Ramin Talaie/Corbis via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>Losers, however, would be forced to temporarily stop betting when their account runs out of money. Needing to take a break to go to a bank or simply pull money out of your wallet and hand it to someone would give people a chance to think about what they’re doing instead of being stuck in the <a href="https://dolby.io/blog/revolutionizing-microbetting-in-sports-with-real-time-streaming/">moment of a bet-bet-bet mindset</a>.</p>
<p>In theory, people could deposit cash into their accounts at any of the <a href="https://www.naspl.org/faq">roughly 223,000 locations across the country that sell lottery tickets</a>. To implement this idea, however, the federal government would need to change a law. <a href="https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-26/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-44">Since 1955</a>, it has imposed a <a href="https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-26/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-44/subpart-C/section-44.4411-1">special yearly tax of $50 on each person</a> who accepts bets for profit. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-26/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-44/subpart-B/section-44.4402-1">The law</a> <a href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/eotopice99.pdf">exempts charities and state lotteries</a>. This tax doesn’t raise much revenue already, <a href="https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes393019.htm">since so few people are subject</a> to it. It also reduces employment, as well as gambling companies’ interest in allowing in-person prefunding of accounts.</p>
<p>If you’re watching March Madness and betting on the tournament, I hope you win. But even if you don’t, at least your state government will.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/226092/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jay L. Zagorsky 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>When the US Supreme Court legalized sports betting, states were quick to get in on the action. But as lawmakers grow reliant on taxes from betting, what do they owe problem gamblers?Jay L. Zagorsky, Associate Professor of Markets, Public Policy and Law, Boston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2263312024-03-22T10:21:16Z2024-03-22T10:21:16ZWhat happens to F1 drivers’ bodies, and what sort of training do they do?<p>Various forms of motorsport are passionately followed around the world, and the pinnacle of the sport is Formula 1 – a fast-paced battle between drivers and teams with some of the most finely engineered vehicles in the world. </p>
<p>Despite the impressive speeds and engineering of their machines, race car drivers have sometimes <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-013-0040-2">battled the stereotype</a> that they are not truly elite athletes. However, the recent advent of television series such as Drive to Survive has given the public an insight into the demands of driving in Formula 1. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-a-netflix-show-has-become-a-key-driver-behind-f1s-rising-popularity-221924">How a Netflix show has become a key driver behind F1's rising popularity</a>
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<h2>Formula 1 drivers: elite athletes?</h2>
<p>Drivers use split-second judgements to perform precision steering while travelling at speeds of up to 300 kilometres per hour. All the while, drivers need to concentrate on the track, their opponents, and feedback provided through their radio or steering wheel.</p>
<p>As the vehicles have developed over time, so too have the drivers. Nowadays, drivers are considered athletes who must undergo immense preparation and training to ensure their physical and mental abilities can manage the <a href="https://journals.lww.com/nsca-scj/abstract/9900/a_scoping_review_of_the_physiological_profiles_of.97.aspx">ever-increasing limits</a> of their machines and environmental demands. </p>
<h2>What forces are Formula 1 drivers exposed to?</h2>
<p>During a typical race, Formula 1 drivers are subjected to a <a href="https://europepmc.org/article/med/12471320">barrage of physical and psychological demands</a> that test their strength, endurance and mental fortitude at high speeds. </p>
<p>Not only is a driver required to have sufficient strength to perform, they must also stabilise themselves to withstand gravitational forces (G-force) in multiple different directions.</p>
<p>During cornering and braking, drivers experience forces upwards of 5Gs. In addition, each application of a brake pedal requires between 600–700 newtons of force which, during a 90-minute race, would equate to a total load of 57,940kg (based on the 14 turns and 58 laps of Melbourne’s Albert Park track).</p>
<p>However, when things go wrong, the forces experienced by drivers are even more extreme. In a crash, drivers can experience deceleration forces of <a href="https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/fulltext/2006/02000/an_analysis_of_maximum_vehicle_g_forces_and_brain.8.aspx">up to 100G</a>]</p>
<p>As you can imagine, such forces place incredible strain on <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31246718/">a driver’s head and neck</a>.</p>
<p>The forces experienced by Formula 1 drivers are like those of military pilots. Unsurprisingly, this can result in neck and back pain or a loss of peripheral vision (often called grey-out) when forces are endured for <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/20/13413">an extended period</a>. </p>
<p>Fortunately, F1 drivers aren’t typically subject to extended G-force loading. Rather, they are challenged repeatedly through acceleration, deceleration and cornering. </p>
<p>To combat the effects of these forces, drivers train their trunk and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpFbv0KUK40">neck strength</a> against high loads to be able to counteract the forces pulling their head and neck around their cockpit. Drivers also train their <a href="https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/fulltext/2019/12000/v_o2peak,_body_composition,_and_neck_strength_of.18.aspx">aerobic capacity</a> to assist with handling these demands, resulting in high heart rates and physiological stress. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Formula 1 drivers push themselves to the limit during races, and training.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Trying to beat the heat</h2>
<p>Beyond the incredible forces experienced by driver-athletes, cabin temperatures can <a href="https://europepmc.org/article/med/33416270">exceed 50°C</a>, and extensive heat generated from the vehicle (through the close proximity of the transmission and engine to the driver) via convective heat transfer can result in more than 3% <a href="https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/fulltext/2018/07000/hydration_status_and_thermoregulatory_responses_in.34.aspx?casa_token=Upgf3HdNoGgAAAAA:Kfn2LsHVPDeHOvqwkFDTg5Xjr8OEM7UglO6twga--0yaeakNpm4-PU6K4NQ9gxveKJnYvlJjKcn3O7YdFbEKVYJzgw">bodyweight loss</a> during a race. </p>
<p>Drivers therefore need to stay hydrated to maintain their health, safety and performance. This process is made harder by the mandated safety equipment – under the <a href="https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/regulation/file/Driver-Guide-2011.pdf">Federation Internationale de l’Automobile guidelines</a>, drivers must wear fire-retardant boots, under- and over-garments, balaclavas, gloves and helmets that <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/ijspp/2/2/article-p182.xml">limit their capacity to cool down</a> via evaporation and convection.</p>
<h2>Every kilogram counts</h2>
<p>In preparation for these ever-increasing demands, F1 drivers maintain very low body-fat percentages (around 8%) compared with IndyCar drivers (around 17%) and maintain greater levels of fitness than their counterparts from IndyCar and NASCAR, allowing them to meet the design demands of the vehicle. </p>
<p>Similarly, F1 drivers are <a href="https://journals.lww.com/nsca-scj/abstract/9900/a_scoping_review_of_the_physiological_profiles_of.97.aspx">typically stronger and more powerful</a> than their counterparts from other racing series. </p>
<p>Because of the demands of the F1 racing calendar, drivers need to get the most bang for their buck through efficient training methods that improve strength, power and fitness. </p>
<p>Nutritionally, they should consume a balanced diet that maintains weight and optimal body composition so they don’t become too heavy or large for their limited cockpit space. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/women-in-formula-one-how-the-sport-is-trying-to-redress-its-longstanding-lack-of-support-for-female-drivers-and-staff-225230">Women in Formula One: how the sport is trying to redress its longstanding lack of support for female drivers and staff</a>
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<h2>What else do drivers do to prepare?</h2>
<p>Of course, racing at speeds of more than 300km per hour with millimetres between rivals requires more than strength, fitness and fearlessness. There is substantial skill required to control a machine that is being pushed to its limits.</p>
<p>Beyond their athleticism, F1 drivers develop skills from a very young age and typically progress from go-karting through to the elite level.</p>
<p>So, it’s not just about a fast car and being fit and strong enough to control it – if you want to make it as an elite driver in the top tier, years of practice and devotion to the art of driving are required too.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/226331/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Haines has previously worked for Toro Rosso F1 Team, and am now currently consulting with various V8 Supercars Teams & Drivers.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dan van den Hoek and Justin Holland 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>Formula 1 drivers endure a barrage of physical and psychological demands - but what exactly do their bodies go through during a race?Dan van den Hoek, Senior Lecturer, Clinical Exercise Physiology, University of the Sunshine CoastJustin Holland, Senior Lecturer in Clinical Exercise Physiology, Queensland University of TechnologyPaul Haines, Manager, Sport Engagement (Performance), Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2261212024-03-21T02:25:09Z2024-03-21T02:25:09ZRecovering after a false start? What’s the state of play for Brisbane’s 2032 Olympic and Paralympic planning?<p>When Queensland premier Steven Miles announced Brisbane’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/mar/18/queensland-premier-steven-miles-rejects-plan-for-multi-billion-dollar-olympic-stadium-in-brisbane">Lang Park</a> (sponsored name Suncorp Stadium) as the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, he hoped, no doubt, it might finally lay to rest speculation about all the proposed Olympic venues and especially the Brisbane Cricket Ground (Gabba) rebuild. </p>
<p>But what does this mean more generally for the Games’ budget and for the legacy it will leave for Brisbane and south-east Queensland?</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-can-you-tell-if-hosting-the-olympics-or-commonwealth-games-offers-value-for-money-here-are-our-expert-tips-210161">How can you tell if hosting the Olympics or Commonwealth games offers value for money? Here are our expert tips</a>
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<h2>The Olympics’ ‘new norm’</h2>
<p>The Olympic Games are famous for <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344409066_Regression_to_the_Tail_Why_the_Olympics_Blow_Up">cost blowouts</a> – every Olympics host since 1960 has spent significantly more than initial estimates, with an average spend of about 2.5 times the original budget. </p>
<p>These budget blowouts, and the cost of bidding simply to host the Games, have led to widespread criticism of the mega event. </p>
<p>In response to pressure to become more sustainable, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) introduced a series of reforms called the “new norm”. The IOC’s <a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/new-norm">new norm</a> was designed to reduce the costs of staging the Games by reducing the amount of new infrastructure required and encouraging the use of temporary and reusable venues. </p>
<p>These “new norm” principles are what made the Brisbane bid a more affordable and realistic proposal. </p>
<p>Since securing the Games in July 2021, there has been increasing public debate about whether the state government is keeping to these principles and can deliver a sustainable, legacy-driven event on budget.</p>
<h2>Queensland’s stadium sagas</h2>
<p>Brisbane’s <a href="https://stillmed.olympics.com/media/Documents/International-Olympic-Committee/Commissions/Future-host-commission/The-Games-of-The-Olympiad/Brisbane-2032-FHC-Questionnaire-Response.pdf">IOC Future Host Commission Questionnaire Response</a>, in effect the bid document, projected costs of A$4-5 billion, plus an additional $7.1 billion spend on infrastructure. This included using a refurbished Gabba as the main Olympic venue. </p>
<p>However, the former Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk very quickly introduced a controversial plan to knock down and rebuild the Gabba from scratch. </p>
<p>Following strong criticism, Miles in December 2023 moved to commission an independent <a href="https://www.statedevelopment.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0029/87581/sport-venue-review-23.pdf">Sport Venue Review</a> led by former Brisbane lord mayor Graham Quirk. </p>
<p>The report was released on March 18, and although the Queensland government accepted 27 of the 30 recommendations, one of its most significant was rejected. Controversially and seemingly in contradiction to the “new norm” principles, the review recommended building an entirely new stadium on a greenfield site at Victoria Park. </p>
<p>It also recommended the demolition of the Gabba once the new stadium was complete.</p>
<p>Miles was quick to rule out that recommendation, revealing he had been working for some weeks on an alternative proposal, instead announcing Suncorp Stadium would be the main stadium hosting the Games’ opening and closing ceremonies. </p>
<p>In another snub for the Quirk Review, it was also announced the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre (QSAC) would be upgraded and serve as the venue for the athletics despite the review finding such as upgrade would not offer legacy benefits.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">There’s no shortage of opinions on the plans for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games.</span></figcaption>
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<p>The choice of Suncorp Stadium appears to be a win for the “new norm”, as it saves around $3.4 billion that was earmarked for the Gabba rebuild, while using an existing venue that will remain as a legacy asset. </p>
<p>Revamping QSAC is also broadly in keeping with new norm principles if it provides a substantially upgraded asset for the community post-Games. </p>
<p>However, using Suncorp is not cost-neutral, with Miles suggesting that if upgrades cost <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-19/2032-brisbane-olympics-stadiums-lang-park-paralympic-games/103601744">upwards of $1 billion</a>, this would be shared “roughly half-half” between Suncorp and the Gabba.</p>
<p>QSAC will also require a significant makeover to bring it up to standard and the venue is currently poorly served by public transport, and likely requiring further investment to enhance noted accessibility issues. </p>
<p>Additionally, costs will remain associated with the upkeep of the Gabba, described by the Quirk review as an “end-of-life” venue. </p>
<p>The Gabba is currently in desperate need of a refurbishment as it is not compliant with modern building codes, particularly in terms of accessibility for people with disabilities. The Queensland government has promised a “modest” refurbishment in consultation with stakeholders (AFL and Cricket Australia) in the range of $500 million. </p>
<p>The longer-term question still to be addressed is whether the redevelopment of these venues will provide Queensland with world class facilities that provide optimal long-term benefits for the community?</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/in-a-year-of-sporting-mega-events-the-brisbane-olympics-can-learn-a-lot-from-the-ones-that-fail-their-host-cities-187838">In a year of sporting mega-events, the Brisbane Olympics can learn a lot from the ones that fail their host cities</a>
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<h2>Lessons and next steps</h2>
<p>What lessons can we draw from this recent experience? </p>
<p>Planning and development of major sporting events is always intensely political. </p>
<p>While it is crucial to avoid majorly expensive venues that will be rarely used after the Games, the IOC’s new norm should not necessarily mean entirely new venues are out of scope for host cities. </p>
<p>New venues may well align with new norm principles if they strongly support the long-term development plans of the host city and provide lasting community use after the Games have come and gone. </p>
<p>In the case of Brisbane 2032, getting the independent coordination authority set up is an urgent priority to provide a solid governance model for planning, design and construction of the proposed venues. </p>
<p>After something of a false start, we can ill afford further delays.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/226121/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Leonie Lockstone-Binney receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the International Olympic Committee.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Judith Mair receives funding from the International Olympic Committee</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kirsten Holmes receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the International Olympic Committee. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Burton is a member of the Planning Institute of Australia and the Urban Development Institute of Australia. He receives funding from the City of Gold Coast and participated in the closing ceremony of the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.</span></em></p>Queensland premier Steven Miles is walking a tightrope in trying to deliver a spectacular yet sustainable, legacy-driven 2032 Brisbane Olympics.Leonie Lockstone-Binney, Professor, Griffith UniversityJudith Mair, Associate Professor, The University of QueenslandKirsten Holmes, Professor, School of Management and Marketing, Curtin UniversityPaul Burton, Professor of Urban Management & Planning, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2226722024-03-20T12:22:19Z2024-03-20T12:22:19Z40 years ago, the Supreme Court broke the NCAA’s lock on TV revenue, reshaping college sports to this day<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582552/original/file-20240318-18-t8ggbg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C0%2C2986%2C1980&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A cameraman films the Ohio State Buckeyes before a 2018 game.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/cameraman-for-the-big-ten-network-television-show-the-news-photo/915548694">Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Pac-12 is likely to be competing in its last March Madness, as realignment has <a href="https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2023-09-01/pac-12-obituary">pushed 10 of its schools to other conferences</a>. What led the most decorated conference in the NCAA to dissolve so quickly? </p>
<p>This surprising development arguably dates back to a decades-old court decision. As the NCAA prepared for its tournament regional basketball semifinals in March 1984, the Supreme Court heard opening arguments in a case, <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/463/1311">NCAA v. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma</a>, that would change how Americans watch college sports.</p>
<p>After the court’s ruling, there were no limits on how much college football could be broadcast on TV, which previously was restricted to a <a href="https://www.oklahoman.com/story/sports/college/cowboys/2013/08/25/exploring-the-history-of-college-football-media-rights/60887384007/">maximum of six nationally broadcast games every two years</a>. The regionally focused conferences of the NCAA would become a national business, driven by television money from football. As a <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/ethnicstudies/people/core-faculty/jared-bahir-browsh">professor of critical sports studies</a>, I see the court ruling’s influence today with the downfall of the Pac-12.</p>
<h2>A history of televised college sports</h2>
<p>Even during TV’s experimental era of the 1930s, college sports were an attraction. The first televised college football game was <a href="https://www.ncaa.com/news/ncaa/article/2023-08-04/college-football-history-notable-firsts-and-milestones#:%7E:text=The%20first%20college%20football%20game%20on%20TV%20was%20between%20Fordham,NBC%20and%20aired%20on%20W2XBS.">broadcast in 1939</a>. By 1950, a few schools, including <a href="https://www.thedp.com/article/2021/01/penn-football-ncaa-television-controversy-1951">the University of Pennsylvania and Notre Dame</a>, had signed deals to air their football games regionally.</p>
<p>But that changed in 1951, when the NCAA took control of football television rights – and, in an effort to protect attendance at games, <a href="https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1951/01/13/84672687.html?login=smartlock&auth=login-smartlock&pageNumber=19">attempted to eliminate live TV broadcasts</a>. Some universities, unsurprisingly, weren’t thrilled with the news. Penn told the association it would continue airing games, but gave up when it was <a href="https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1951/11/20/87281672.html?pageNumber=27">threatened with sanctions</a>. </p>
<p>The NCAA eventually relented later that year, <a href="https://www.footballarchaeology.com/p/1951-and-college-footballs-first">allowing sold-out games to be shown on TV</a>. That led to the first coast-to-coast broadcast of a live sporting event, when Duke visited the University of Pittsburgh for a football game in September 1951.</p>
<p><a href="https://125.nd.edu/moments/small-screen-debut-1952-vs-oklahoma/">By 1952</a>, the NCAA allowed one national game to be broadcast each week, and in 1953, it allowed NBC to provide <a href="https://floridagators.com/news/2023/10/26/football-carters-corner-florida-georgia-game-a-TV-staple-70-years-after-small-screen-debut.aspx">“panorama” coverage of regional games</a>. In 1955, the NCAA acquiesced to pressure from conferences, including the Big Ten, and increased the availability of regional games, offering one national game for eight weeks and <a href="https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1955/03/15/83353580.html?pageNumber=35">regional games the other five weeks of the season</a>.</p>
<p>Throughout this time, the <a href="https://en.as.com/ncaa/the-reason-why-college-football-bowl-games-are-called-bowl-games-n/">bowl games</a> – such as the Rose Bowl, which started in 1902 as part of a holiday festival – remained independent of the NCAA’s policy. The exposure from these games proved to university administrators that televised college sports could be lucrative and boost applications.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582550/original/file-20240318-16-mvepy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="In a black-and-white image, an NBC cameraman is seen filming a Rose Bowl game in Pasadena, California, in 1970." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582550/original/file-20240318-16-mvepy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582550/original/file-20240318-16-mvepy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582550/original/file-20240318-16-mvepy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582550/original/file-20240318-16-mvepy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582550/original/file-20240318-16-mvepy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=552&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582550/original/file-20240318-16-mvepy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=552&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582550/original/file-20240318-16-mvepy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=552&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">The Rose Bowl was broadcast on TV in the early 1970s, when the NCAA severely restricted regular season broadcasts.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/camera-during-a-circa-1970s-rose-bowl-game-in-pasadena-news-photo/98749899">Robert Riger/Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>Tired of the restrictions on media exposure and revenue during the regular season, several universities got together in 1977 to form the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1981/08/23/sports/tv-issue-dividing-football-colleges.html">College Football Association</a> and challenge the NCAA’s control of television rights. Two years later, the CFA began negotiating a television contract with NBC – while the NCAA was <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VYmEb44o0U">in the midst of negotiations with CBS and ABC</a>. </p>
<p>The organizations were on a collision course. By 1981, the CFA <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1981/08/22/sports/rival-football-unit-approves-tv-pact.html">agreed to a contract with NBC</a>, and the NCAA declared that any CFA members who participated in the contract would be <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1981/08/22/sports/rival-football-unit-approves-tv-pact.html">sanctioned in all sponsored sports</a>. Two CFA member schools, the University of Oklahoma and the University of Georgia, immediately <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/1983/83-271">filed suit to gain control of their television rights</a>.</p>
<h2>From the gridiron to the Supreme Court</h2>
<p>After both district and circuit courts ruled that the broadcast restrictions qualified as unfair restraint on the free market, the NCAA appealed to the Supreme Court. Oral arguments took place on March 20, 1984. By June, the court had ruled against the NCAA, allowing the CFA to oversee media contracts for its members. </p>
<p>By 1996, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1996/06/01/sports/college-football-its-power-eroding-cfa-will-disband.html">the major conferences broke from the CFA</a>, which ceased operations in 1997, and began negotiating on their own in an environment that now included a number of national and regional networks <a href="https://www.oklahoman.com/story/sports/college/cowboys/2013/08/25/exploring-the-history-of-college-football-media-rights/60887384007/">interested in broadcasting college football</a>. </p>
<p>In 1987, NCAA member schools also voted to allow conferences with two divisions of at least six teams to hold a conference championship that wouldn’t count against their game limit. This motivated conferences to gain control of their television rights and <a href="https://www.si.com/college/2014/05/16/conference-championship-games-rule-origin">leverage a championship game for more money</a>.</p>
<h2>A flood of money</h2>
<p>As conferences took control of their media rights, TV networks continued to pour money into college football and were soon joined by streaming services. The Big Ten alone commands over <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/19/sports/ncaafootball/big-ten-tv-deal-student-athletes.html">US$1 billion</a> in media rights, up from $10 million in 1996. </p>
<p>In addition to the conference media rights, the bowl games and College Football Playoff negotiated separate contracts – the latter of which was signed with ESPN in February 2024 for <a href="https://apnews.com/article/cfp-espn-34efc26e96a0596547b8b0dbcfb3287a">$1.3 billion a year</a> over six years. </p>
<p>This flood of money comes at a time when <a href="https://www.sportico.com/leagues/college-sports/2023/americans-favor-college-athletes-pay-harris-poll-1234734402/">67% of Americans</a> question the relationship between the NCAA, conferences, colleges and student-athletes. The NCAA has allowed athletes to profit from their <a href="https://www.ncaa.org/news/2021/6/30/ncaa-adopts-interim-name-image-and-likeness-policy.aspx">name, imagine and likeness since 2021</a>, after several states legalized the practice. The same year, NCAA initiated new rules <a href="https://www.si.com/college/2021/04/14/ncaa-transfers-rule-change-football-basketball">giving athletes more freedom to transfer</a>.</p>
<p>In spite of these changes, the NCAA faces several lawsuits that challenge the <a href="https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/39485414/nlrb-lawsuits-mounting-legal-challenges">nonemployee status of student-athletes</a>. Formerly regional conferences have become national businesses, and it’s becoming harder to argue that college athletes are amateurs as their talent brings in more and more revenue for schools. </p>
<h2>The Conference of Champions connection</h2>
<p>So, what does this have to do with the Pac-12 as it faces extinction? Everything. In 2022, the Big Ten negotiated a historic deal that would pay schools, including Pac-12 defectors University of Southern California and University of California Los Angeles, <a href="https://www.uscannenbergmedia.com/2022/09/13/the-big-ten-breakdown-how-uscs-move-to-the-big-ten-will-affect-the-school-the-fans-and-players-alike/#:%7E:text=In%202021%2C%20the%20average%20Pac,dollars%20annually%20from%20that%20deal.">between $80 million and $100 million a year from media rights</a>. </p>
<p>Even without the Los Angeles market, Pac-12 administrators tried to cash in, countering ESPN’s $30 million-a-school offer with <a href="https://arizonasports.com/story/3531384/big-12-yormark-brought-urgency-tv-deal-pac-12-didnt">one valued at $50 million a year</a>.</p>
<p>But ESPN quickly walked, and when the only deal on the table was a short-term one with Apple TV for just $25 million per school, eight more universities <a href="https://www.si.com/college/2023/08/11/pac-12-espn-media-rights-negotiations-50-million-ask-per-report">left for other conferences</a> offering more lucrative deals. This is why the conference with the most NCAA championships may not have another opportunity to add to its trophy case in 2025.</p>
<p>Although many people saw changes on the horizon, few could have imagined this much “madness” when the court ruled in favor of the University of Oklahoma back in 1984 The nearly 75-year television tug of war isn’t over, and the money it generates will continue to transform college sports. Money has seemingly toppled tradition, <a href="https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2023-09-01/pac-12-obituary">as the Pac-12 schools walk away from 108 years of history</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222672/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jared Bahir Browsh 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>March Madness might look very different if not for the Supreme Court.Jared Bahir Browsh, Assistant Teaching Professor of Critical Sports Studies, University of Colorado BoulderLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2250902024-03-06T01:05:55Z2024-03-06T01:05:55ZSam Kerr’s racially aggravated harassment charge puts Football Australia in a tricky place<p>Football Australia has been engulfed in a crisis it never saw coming.</p>
<p>Global football superstar Sam Kerr – captain of the hugely popular Matildas national women’s team – has been charged in England with the racially aggravated harassment of a police officer. She stands <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/mar/05/sam-kerr-charged-with-alleged-racially-aggravated-harassment-of-london-police-officer-after-taxi-dispute">accused</a> of using insulting, threatening or abusive words that caused alarm or distress to the officer, who was responding to a taxi dispute in London in January 2023.</p>
<p>Kerr has pleaded not guilty, with Judge Judith Elaine Coello <a href="https://www.aap.com.au/news/kerr-to-face-trial-in-england-accused-of-harassing-cop/">quoted</a> as saying to the player’s barrister:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I understand that the defence is that she didn’t intend to cause alarm, harassment or distress to the officer, [her behaviour] did not amount to it and it was not racially aggravated.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>If found guilty, the public order act she has been charged under carries a prison sentence of up two years and/or a substantial fine, given the racially aggravated nature of the allegations.</p>
<p>Short of waiting for next February’s criminal hearing to be determined, what can – or will – Football Australia do now as the sport’s governing body?</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/from-handing-out-their-own-flyers-to-sell-out-games-how-the-matildas-won-over-a-nation-211338">From handing out their own flyers, to sell-out games: how the Matildas won over a nation</a>
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<h2>Immediate challenges for Football Australia</h2>
<p>Kerr’s decision <a href="https://au.sports.yahoo.com/football-new-revelation-sam-kerr-kept-harassment-charge-secret-football-australia-034023173.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAElwgfrWdBk_7wNIOzY5CIbLHOq340csuXHjx-9bZESPkXLxGJRbmsvFqD4ag7h0dbcCXMOGMlMQMlvlgM6pdct2foabFqHGA4LR6UIo0dLf19QAq7GVJZHVSaqqbqnHvnTthyJkVdPIdHSqwhaI_kygUpkYMcX7VfxOfgihbgxY">not to inform</a> her employers of the criminal charge against her is questionable. While individuals are entitled to privacy, the celebrity status of athletes blurs that line, particularly when behaviour outside of the sport itself impacts on it.</p>
<p>The Matildas team has built its reputation on inclusion – and Kerr. They are proud, vocal advocates for football’s zero tolerance to racism or discrimination of any kind. Against such a backdrop the shock news of Kerr’s criminal charge was even more pronounced.</p>
<p>Football Australia CEO James Johnson and Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson have both admitted to <a href="https://www.news.com.au/sport/football/matildas-coach-tony-gustavsson-shocked-by-sam-kerr-police-charges/news-story/a6047330b0bc498c9d46863921fdc2bc">not knowing</a> anything about the charge until media reporting of it. It soon became evident they had as many questions as the journalists who were peppering them for answers.</p>
<p>Until the criminal trial reaches its conclusion, with a four-day hearing set down for February 2025, the case will hang over Kerr who is currently out of action for club and country as she recovers from ACL reconstruction.</p>
<p>While Kerr is entitled to the presumption of innocence as she prepares for her trial almost a year away, Football Australia’s challenges are more immediate, as it decides how to navigate a serious event involving the captain of its most adored team.</p>
<p>No one other than the involved parties know the full extent of what happened that night in January 2023, when police were called to a dispute over a taxi fare in Twickenham and the alleged racial harassment occurred. What is known, however, is that the employer of Sam Kerr – one of the world’s most recognised athletes – appears not to have been made aware of the incident.</p>
<p>Professional athletes are aware of the heightened responsibility they shoulder given their public profile and their role model status. Kerr is revered by the Australian public. Her name is a key driver that has seen Matildas merchandise currently outselling that of the Socceroos two to one.</p>
<h2>Difficult questions</h2>
<p>For many of Kerr’s fans, it is the presumption of innocence that trumps all other considerations.</p>
<p>But for a sports governing body, there is not just the accused’s personal reputation at stake. There’s also a sport’s image and integrity carefully crafted over many years, seemingly so easily pierced.</p>
<p>The National Rugby League (NRL) has a controversial “no-fault standdown” policy, allowing the rugby league to suspend a player facing serious criminal charges until the legal case is finalised.</p>
<p>Take the case of NRL player <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/sport/de-belin-charges-dropped-but-there-s-no-fault-in-stand-down-rule-20210528-p57w6m.html">Jack de Belin</a>, who was stood down while he fought charges (he was not convicted). This case shows why the policy has been questioned, given an athlete cannot get back the time lost during a period of suspension, nor, it can be argued, their reputation when charges are dropped or they are found to be not guilty.</p>
<p>Football Australia’s <a href="https://www.footballaustralia.com.au/sites/ffa/files/2021-04/FA%20Code%20of%20Conduct%20and%20Ethics%20%282021%29.pdf">national code of conduct and ethics</a> says the organisation can issue a “no-fault interim suspension” in any circumstance where, </p>
<blockquote>
<p>in the reasonable opinion of Football Australia, the reputation of Football Australia or football generally would be damaged if the Constituent was not suspended on an interim basis.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But will they?</p>
<p>Football Australia must consider difficult questions like:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>how do they balance supporting their player’s welfare and respecting the victim of the alleged racially aggravated harassment?</p></li>
<li><p>is it suitable for a team built around a zero-tolerance policy on racism to have as its captain a player charged with racial abuse?</p></li>
<li><p>although Kerr is injured and unlikely to play at the Olympics in Paris this year, should she still be welcomed to play a role motivating the team?</p></li>
<li><p>when Kerr has recovered from her injury, should she automatically resume her captaincy – or be considered for selection – if the trial has not yet reached its verdict?</p></li>
<li><p>what will be the impact on sponsorship and support of the Matildas brand if Kerr remains as captain prior to the trial?</p></li>
<li><p>what ramifications will there be if Kerr is stood down, as the policy allows, and she is later found not guilty of the charges?</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>A matter of trust</h2>
<p>At a pre-scheduled press conference to announce details of a two-match pre-Olympics series against China (which was ambushed by the Kerr news), Johnson said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We’ve got our own questions that we’d like to know, we’ve got to find out what actually happened.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>That he doesn’t know means Johnson has two problems when it comes to Kerr: one a matter of law, and the other a matter of trust.</p>
<p>The court will decide one. Football Australia must decide the other. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/wouldnt-want-to-be-on-any-other-team-the-queer-joy-of-watching-the-matildas-at-the-outest-world-cup-ever-211681">‘Wouldn't want to be on any other team’: the queer joy of watching the Matildas at the 'outest' World Cup ever</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225090/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tracey Holmes 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>While Sam Kerr is entitled to the presumption of innocence as she prepares for her trial almost a year away, Football Australia’s challenges are more immediate.Tracey Holmes, Professorial Fellow in Sport, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2243292024-02-29T13:41:06Z2024-02-29T13:41:06ZCaitlin Clark’s historic scoring record shines a spotlight on the history of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578745/original/file-20240228-20-s0zoch.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C126%2C3091%2C1622&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">University of Iowa guard Caitlin Clark celebrates after making the game-winning shot against Michigan State on Jan. 2, 2024.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/iowaguard-caitlin-clark-of-the-iowa-hawkeyes-celebrates-news-photo/1895743985?adppopup=true">Matthew Holst/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When University of Iowa women’s basketball star Caitlin Clark <a href="https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/recap/_/gameId/401601593">drained a 3-pointer</a> against the University of Michigan on Feb. 15, 2024, she secured the NCAA women’s scoring record.</p>
<p>Announcers noted that Clark had surpassed <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/uw-husky-basketball/remembering-kelsey-plums-historic-husky-career-as-caitlin-clark-closes-in-on-her-scoring-record/">Kelsey Plum’s 3,527 points</a>. But few added that there was still one more Division I women’s scoring title remaining.</p>
<p>That one belonged to guard <a href="https://www.lynettewoodard.com/">Lynette Woodard</a>, who scored 3,649 points while playing for the University of Kansas from 1978 to 1981. Her record was set before the NCAA offered women’s championships, when the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women, or AIAW, was in charge.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/recap/_/gameId/401601613">When Clark surpassed Woodard’s AIAW milestone</a> on Feb. 28, 2024, in the fourth quarter of a game against the University of Minnesota, it opened up another chance to revisit this buried piece of sport history.</p>
<p><a href="https://researchworks.oclc.org/archivegrid/collection/data/36723004">The AIAW</a> launched in 1972. Within a decade it was bigger than the NCAA, with nearly 1,000 member colleges and universities. It sponsored 19 sports in three divisions, was the sole organization for women’s intercollegiate athletics and the only one led by women. And the NCAA destroyed it through what SUNY Cortland sports management professor Lindsey Darvin described as a “<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/women-college-sports-ncaa-aiaw-11617422325">hostile takeover</a>.”</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://iro.uiowa.edu/esploro/outputs/doctoral/Inside-the-AIAW-the-philosophy-people/9983949592502771">scholar of sport, gender and American culture</a>, I study the AIAW as a key moment in sports history that has been buried, and I’m currently writing a book exploring its philosophy, impact and legacy.</p>
<p>In any history of women’s sports in the U.S., you’ll hear a lot about <a href="https://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/advocacy/what-is-title-ix/">Title IX</a>, the federal law dictating that female college athletes must receive equal opportunities in sports.</p>
<p>But you’ll rarely hear about the AIAW, a sporting body led by women that fundamentally changed intercollegiate sports. Its student-centered governance model continues to resonate as college athletes chip away at the power of the NCAA, whether it’s through the <a href="https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/2023/12/04/what-is-ncaa-transfer-portal-what-to-know/71799335007/">transfer portal</a> or <a href="https://www.on3.com/nil/deals/">name, image and likeness deals</a>.</p>
<h2>Designed for women, by women</h2>
<p>Throughout the early part of the 20th century, female college students participated in physical education classes <a href="https://www.academia.edu/36681888/_Gendering_the_Gym_A_History_of_Women_in_Physical_Education">focused on health and wellness</a>. There were few opportunities for organized team sports.</p>
<p>By the 1960s, however, women students demanded school-sponsored intercollegiate teams and championships like the men had. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/women-college-sports-ncaa-aiaw-11617422325">Women professors of physical education agreed.</a>. But they had watched the NCAA commercial model of sport descend into exploitation and scandal under what historians have called the “<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/20/20-512/171481/20210310124813181_20-512%20tsac%20Historian%20Amicus%20Br-final2-PDFA.pdf">cynical fiction</a>” of amateurism. As the NCAA remained exclusively male, there was an opportunity to create something different for women’s athletics. </p>
<p>The AIAW emerged from that momentum – an intercollegiate athletic governance organization designed for and by women, dedicated to creating high-level competition while maintaining focus on the well-being and education of student-athletes.</p>
<p>Under the AIAW, all teams and athletes were supported equally, not singled out for their ability to generate revenue. They had a right to due process, an appeals system and student representatives on local and national committees. The organization ran on dues from member schools and eventually some advertising and media contracts.</p>
<p>Women’s athletic programs were led by physical educators turned coaches and administrators. Some of the most famous coaches in women’s basketball got their start under the AIAW, including <a href="https://scarletknights.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/coaches/c-vivian-stringer/2805">C. Vivian Stringer</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/29/sports/ncaabasketball/pat-summitt-obituary.html">Pat Summit</a> and <a href="https://gostanford.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/coaches/tara-vanderveer/4516">Tara VanDerveer</a>, who recently broke <a href="https://www.si.com/college/2024/01/22/tara-vanderveer-stanford-all-time-winningest-coach-idaho-career">the all-time record for college basketball wins</a>. </p>
<p>In addition to Woodard, other notable AIAW players include <a href="https://wbhof.com/famers/ann-meyers-drysdale/">Ann Meyers-Drysdale</a>, <a href="https://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/nancy-lieberman/">Nancy Lieberman</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/20/sports/basketball/lusia-harris-dead.html">Lusia Harris</a>, who was recently the subject of an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPFkcoTfr7g">Oscar-winning documentary</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Young woman with short hair poses while dribbling a basketball and wearing a red, white and blue Team USA jersey." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578090/original/file-20240226-24-tb725t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578090/original/file-20240226-24-tb725t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578090/original/file-20240226-24-tb725t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578090/original/file-20240226-24-tb725t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578090/original/file-20240226-24-tb725t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578090/original/file-20240226-24-tb725t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578090/original/file-20240226-24-tb725t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">After starring at the University of Kansas, Lynette Woodard went on to play for the Harlem Globetrotters, Team USA and the WNBA.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/lynette-woodard-point-guard-for-the-united-states-womens-news-photo/1224415230?adppopup=true">Tony Duffy/Allsport/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Title IX backlash</h2>
<p>There is no doubt that Title IX, which was <a href="https://www.justice.gov/crt/title-ix">signed into law in 1972</a>, had a big influence on the growth of women’s college sports, mandating that educational activities, including athletics, should be the same for men and women.</p>
<p>Congress passed Title IX just before the AIAW’s first championship season, and the law spurred calls for more equitable resources for women’s sports. </p>
<p>There was immediate backlash from male-dominated sporting organizations, including the NCAA, which saw the addition of women’s sports as a loss for men’s sports. Walter Byers, then the NCAA’s executive director, said, “<a href="https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2019-10-02/college-athletics-reform-ncaa-doomsday-title-ix">The possible doom of college sports is near</a>.” One college football official <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/06/22/title-ix-anniversary-legacy/">told reporter Sally Jenkins</a> that women’s sports advocates were trying “to tear the shirts off our backs.” </p>
<p>Despite the fearmongering, college sports continued to thrive. Nonetheless, over the past 50 years, even though nearly all schools have been <a href="https://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/advocacy/what-is-title-ix/">out of athletic compliance with Title IX</a>, none has lost federal funding for violations. As Title IX scholar Sarah Fields <a href="https://scholarship.law.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1851&context=sportslaw">has written</a>, “Without punitive damages, the law is limited: it is toothless.”</p>
<p>All along, change has come not from the law’s mere existence but from students filing complaints and lawsuits, and the determination of administrators to use the law to carve out and protect athletic opportunities for women. During the 1970s, those administrators were almost all in the AIAW.</p>
<h2>The NCAA elbows its way in</h2>
<p>By the late 1970s, the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare had laid out clearer standards for athletic compliance with Title IX.</p>
<p>While the NCAA and AIAW were not subject to the law, their member institutions were, and the two organizations’ efforts to collaborate failed. Instead, the NCAA, which had long fought Title IX’s application in athletics, changed course and set its sights on taking control of women’s sports. </p>
<p>The NCAA offered women’s championships in all three divisions for the first time during the 1981-82 school year. Leveraging all of its presumed legitimacy and financial resources, the 75-year-old men’s athletic organization <a href="https://www.si.com/college/2022/06/14/aiaw-ncaa-womens-college-basketball-league-title-ix-daily-cover">offered all-expenses-paid women’s championships on the same weekends as the unpaid AIAW championships</a>.</p>
<p>The strategy worked. The AIAW lost significant members and ceased operations in mid-1982, despite the fact that women athletes, coaches and administrators <a href="https://andscape.com/features/forty-years-later-the-ncaas-takeover-from-the-aiaw-still-isnt-perfect/">preferred its educational model and leadership structure</a>. </p>
<p>The NCAA made vague promises to support women’s athletics but refused to give women more than token representation on its governance boards. Women student-athletes were, for the first time, led by a male-dominated governance organization.</p>
<p>To this day, <a href="https://ncaagenderequityreview.com/">institutional sexism remains entrenched in the NCAA</a>.</p>
<p>Women hold only <a href="https://www.ncaa.org/news/2022/6/23/media-center-title-ix-report-shows-gains-in-female-participation-though-rates-lag-increases-by-men.aspx">41.3% of head coaching positions for women’s teams and 23.9% of athletic director positions</a> – roles that were largely held by women under the AIAW. A recent gender equity review found that the organization <a href="https://kaplanhecker.app.box.com/s/y17pvxpap8lotzqajjan9vyye6zx8tmz">under-resourced nearly all of its women’s championships</a>, a result of <a href="https://kaplanhecker.app.box.com/s/xc1v5gjnmk4ndku1s2n2n1net4fwczeh">gender bias and its focus on making money</a>.</p>
<p>The NCAA and its corporate partners would like you to believe that their organization is the be-all and end-all of college sports. </p>
<p>But the story of the AIAW – created by and for women, rejecting the crass commercialism of the NCAA and empowering student-athletes to speak up – offers ideas for a more equitable future for college sports.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224329/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Diane Williams 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>Before being pushed aside by the NCAA, the AIAW, which was designed for and by women, governed women’s college athletics.Diane Williams, Assistant Professor of Kinesiology, McDaniel CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2220852024-02-21T21:23:29Z2024-02-21T21:23:29ZSporting change: How an elite swim club in Western Canada is addressing bullying<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576048/original/file-20240215-28-469ztc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=23%2C17%2C3970%2C2640&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Since sport participation has been linked to numerous benefits, it’s essential to foster an environment that allows individuals to engage in it free from bullying.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>While most of the news coverage about <a href="https://athletescan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/prevalence_of_maltreatment_reporteng.pdf">maltreatment in sport</a> is focused on sexual abuse, a lesser-discussed, but <a href="https://sirc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Safe-Sport-Lit-Review.pdf">still prevalent and damaging aspect, is bullying</a>.</p>
<p>Bullying is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2022.102205">one of the leading causes of sport dropout</a>. Bullying can have <a href="https://www.stopbullying.gov">profound and long-term effects on individuals</a>, resulting in depression, health issues, behaviour challenges, low self-esteem and burnout, among others.</p>
<p>Since sport participation has been <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00913847.2020.1850152">linked to numerous benefits</a>, including lower levels of drug use, depression and anxiety, it’s essential to foster an environment that allows individuals to engage in it free from bullying.</p>
<p>The prevalence of bullying in sports poses a threat to sport participation, demanding a proactive approach to the issue. But <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/jan/27/abuse-canada-sport-inquiry-hockey-gymnastics-soccer">what should sport communities be doing to address bullying?</a></p>
<h2>Dare to Care in Sport</h2>
<p>In an effort to create a team culture that combats bullying, <a href="https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/anti-bullying-program-sparks-positive-change-within-university-of-calgary-swim-club">the University of Calgary Swim Club implemented a pilot program in September 2017</a> that adapted the <a href="https://www.daretocare.ca/sports">Dare to Care program</a> to focus on sport.</p>
<p>The program required all members of the club — administration, athletes, parents, guardians and coaches — to participate in a bullying prevention workshop.</p>
<p>Over seven months, more than 1,000 club members took part in 1.5 to two-hour workshops designed and delivered by a national expert in bullying prevention and a former Team Canada swimmer. The workshops were offered at numerous times and locations for convenience. </p>
<p>The goals for implementing the Dare to Care workshops included educating and training team members on how to address and prevent bullying, reducing bullying behaviour, equipping the organization with skills to handle any bullying-related issues, and ensuring 90 per cent of members completed the training. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A person in a t-shirt that says 'Coach' across the back faces toward a swimming pool and away from the camera" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576032/original/file-20240215-22-eefdfg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576032/original/file-20240215-22-eefdfg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576032/original/file-20240215-22-eefdfg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576032/original/file-20240215-22-eefdfg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576032/original/file-20240215-22-eefdfg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576032/original/file-20240215-22-eefdfg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576032/original/file-20240215-22-eefdfg.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">It’s important that all members of sport organizations are equipped with the proper definition of bullying and have tools to deal with it.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The content for each workshop was interactive, age-appropriate and designed to equip participants with the tools and confidence to address bullying behaviour. </p>
<p>At the end of the seven months, members were invited to participate in my ongoing study investigating the impact of the Dare to Care program. I presented this research at the <a href="https://worldantibullyingforum.com/uploads/sites/2/2021/02/WABF-2019-Abstract_Book.pdf">World Anti-Bullying Forum in Ireland 2019</a>.</p>
<p>Since conducting this research, I have begun training and working for Dare to Care to deliver their anti-bullying workshops to sport organizations and clubs.</p>
<p>Participants were asked to complete a survey about bullying in the club and their opinions of the Dare to Care in Sport program. Some were also invited to participate in an interview for more in-depth information on bullying and the impact of the Dare to Care program.</p>
<h2>Program feedback</h2>
<p>In the surveys and interviews, club members said they believed bullying was present in sport, even if they personally had not seen it. </p>
<p>Participants believed there were a few reasons for the presence of bullying in sport. The first reason given was jealousy. One parent interviewee said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Someone is good and someone wants to be better, and rather than do the work to be better, the bullying could be a shortcut; it is just sheer jealousy. Even if it doesn’t get you there by taking the other person down, it might make you feel better because you are making them feel worse, right?” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The second reason identified was competition. Another parent interviewee said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Part of it has to do with the winning at all costs or a ‘whatever it takes’ mentality. The pressure can be immense and some use whatever advantage is available, including bullying and harassment.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The third and final reason suggested was parental involvement. One parent interviewee said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“I can see the pressure from a parent affect the athlete, and how they treat people impacts their success in their sport.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Club members also felt that educational programs to address bullying were very beneficial. The Dare to Care in Sport program was praised for being mandatory and inclusive of all members. One interviewee said: “It was just super clear to know that the swimmers were on the same page, the coaches were on the same page.” </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A young woman and a young man in swimsuits high five while standing in an indoor pool" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576045/original/file-20240215-16-h8oh65.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576045/original/file-20240215-16-h8oh65.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576045/original/file-20240215-16-h8oh65.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576045/original/file-20240215-16-h8oh65.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576045/original/file-20240215-16-h8oh65.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576045/original/file-20240215-16-h8oh65.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576045/original/file-20240215-16-h8oh65.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">Encouraging participation in sport should go hand-in-hand with a commitment to fostering a culture of respect, inclusivity and fairness.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Key takeaways from the program included a common definition of bullying and identification of acceptable behaviours, consequences for bullying, tools and strategies for addressing bullying as it occurs and appropriate and safe reporting mechanisms for bullying incidents and behaviours. </p>
<h2>Making sport safer</h2>
<p>The benefits of sport participation at any level are tremendous. It’s important that all members of sport organizations are equipped with the proper definition of bullying and have tools to deal with it. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190236557.013.169">Many harmful behaviours in sport have been normalized over the years</a> as “just part of the game” or “building character.” Programs such as Dare to Care in Sport are taking a stand against these behaviours and making sport a more safe, inclusive and respectful environment for <em>all</em> participants. </p>
<p>Encouraging participation in sport should go hand-in-hand with a commitment to fostering a culture of respect, inclusivity and fairness. An additional resource leaders can use to accomplish this is the <a href="https://anchor.fm/sporting-change"><em>Sporting Change</em> podcast</a>, which focuses on many of these aspects.</p>
<p>It is critical to <a href="https://sirc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Safe-Sport-Lit-Review.pdf">continue to educate and ensure a safe sport experience</a> is created for all. Providing a comprehensive bully prevention education is one step forward to improving the culture of sport.</p>
<p><em>The author would like to acknowledge the contributions from the Dare to Care Team (Lisa Dixon-Wells, Mathieu Constantin and Raine Paul) to this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222085/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julie Booke works for Dare to Care. After completing the research explained in this article, she began training as a facilitator to deliver the Dare to Care in Sport workshops. </span></em></p>The prevalence of bullying in sports poses a threat to sport participation, demanding a proactive approach to address the issue.Julie Booke, Associate Professor in Health and Physical Education/Sport and Recreation Management, Mount Royal UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2223712024-02-13T22:40:18Z2024-02-13T22:40:18ZViolence prevention can transform Canadian hockey culture — but only if implemented properly<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574543/original/file-20240208-20-atky56.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=40%2C60%2C6669%2C4365&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Investing in violence prevention that is evidence-based and sustainable is the key to ensuring violence stops.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/sources-confirm-nhl-players-facing-charges-in-sexual-assault-investigation-1.2069570">recent charges against five members of Canada’s gold medal-winning 2018 world junior hockey team</a> in connection with an alleged sexual assault has thrust <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/10273307/hockey-canada-world-juniors-sex-assault-case-timeline/">Hockey Canada and its issues back into the public eye</a>.</p>
<p>A woman <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/world-juniors-assault-explainer-1.7100420">sued Hockey Canada in 2022</a>, alleging she had been sexually assaulted in a hotel room by <a href="https://www.tsn.ca/hockey-canada-chl-settle-lawsuit-over-alleged-sexual-assault-involving-world-junior-players-1.1804861">eight Canadian Hockey League players</a>, some of whom were members of the 2018 world junior team. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/nike-permanently-ends-hockey-canada-support-1.6909029">In her statement of claim filed in April 2022</a>, the woman accused Hockey Canada of failing to address systemic abuse in its organization and of fostering a “culture and environment that glorified the degradation and sexual exploitation of young women.”</p>
<p>Police dropped the investigation in 2019, but reopened it in 2022, leading to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/hockey-canada-cale-makar-f75afaa9aea186b1f90d9439312882f3">the suspension of the 2018 world junior team from international tournaments</a> and the recent charges. </p>
<p>Hockey Canada also faced criticism in May 2022 when news broke that it had paid out <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/hockey-canada-house-of-commons-committee-1.6533439">$8.9 million in sexual abuse settlements since 1989</a> (excluding an undisclosed settlement in a $3.5 million lawsuit for the alleged 2018 assault). </p>
<p>While coverage of this case continues to <a href="https://theconversation.com/hockey-canada-scandal-highlights-toxic-masculinity-in-sports-192712">raise important questions about the systemic failures within Hockey Canada</a>, many have been left wondering what can be done to prevent gender-based and sexual violence in the future. </p>
<p>As a public educator and researcher who has worked with men and boys in violence prevention for eight years, I urge us to invest in programs with proven effectiveness to reduce rates of abuse and harassment in sport.</p>
<h2>Hockey Canada lacks accountability</h2>
<p>Hockey Canada’s response to the scandal has been largely reactive, which is typical of institutions when they are faced with mounting public pressure. </p>
<p>But, as <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/hockey-canada-lawsuit-more-oversight-accountability-1.6640941">some critics have already articulated</a>, their plans lack transparency, accountability and foresight in preventing violence. In November 2023, Hockey Canada said <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/10091307/hockey-canada-sex-assault-report-appeal">they would not release their third-party report on the alleged 2018 sexual assault</a> to the public. </p>
<p>They did, however, say they have taken <a href="https://leaderpost.com/news/local-news/hockey-canada-reacts-we-have-been-too-slow-to-act-in-the-past/wcm/8b19e772-59d6-434c-9392-afb7731ffa6c">measures to address the issue</a>, including implementing a mandatory screening process, adopting a code of conduct, a third-party complaint process and <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9304932/sexual-harassment-prevention-2023-world-junior-hockey">anti-violence training during key tournaments</a>. Whether these measures will be effective still remains uncertain.</p>
<h2>The spectrum of violence</h2>
<p>This Hockey Canada issue is not isolated; there have been many <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/jan/27/abuse-canada-sport-inquiry-hockey-gymnastics-soccer">high-profile domestic and sexual violence cases</a> in professional and competitive sports, including claims of hazing, harassment and sexual violence all the way down to the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/shattered-trust-nso-jurisdiction-money-safe-sport-1.6727216">amateur level</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://women-gender-equality.canada.ca/en/gender-based-violence/about-gender-based-violence.html">Gender-based violence</a> doesn’t occur in a vacuum; it thrives in environments that facilitate it — particularly the <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/26873070">normalization of hazing</a> that is predicated on sexism, racism and homophobia. </p>
<p>Research indicates that <a href="https://safesport101.coachesontario.ca">one in three coaches in Ontario</a> are aware of hazing rituals within their teams. One in five have heard sexist, racist or homophobic language within their organizations or at competitions. </p>
<p>These practices often go unchallenged because coaches either feel ill-equipped to address them or they share the belief that hazing is merely a <a href="https://sirc.ca/blog/changing-the-culture-of-hazing-in-canada/">part of sport culture</a> or team building.</p>
<p>However, we know that hazing can have <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/hazing-physical-mental-health-consequences-1.4936003">dire consequences</a> on health, well-being and overall participation in sport. </p>
<p>Hazing rituals can sometimes <a href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/daniel-carcillo-says-hockey-canada-testimony-didnt-acknowledge-hazing-abuse-in-chl/">escalate to sexual assault within hockey teams</a>. Practices like hazing also <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2000/03/05/nyregion/violent-cast-of-school-hazing-mirrors-society-experts-say.html">create an environment</a> where misogyny, homophobia and racism can <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/7612597/st-mikes-football-coach-did-not-see-accused-in-video-sex-assault-court-hears/">escalate into tangible forms of violence</a> outside the locker room.</p>
<p>Efforts to address these issues commonly rely on framing it as a problem caused by a few “<a href="https://theconversation.com/hockey-canadas-issues-go-beyond-a-few-bad-apples-the-entire-system-needs-to-be-re-engineered-221957">bad apples</a>.” However, this approach overlooks the normalization of these practices and the bystander behaviours that allow it to continue unabated. </p>
<h2>Violence prevention programs</h2>
<p>In my experience running gender-based violence prevention programs with young male athletes, many initially balk at violence prevention programs as they are seen as vilifying boys and men. </p>
<p>However, research indicates that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838018801330">gender-specific programs</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801218815778">delivered during youth</a> have some of the most positive impacts in <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(14)61683-4/fulltext">changing misogynistic attitudes</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260515584346">reducing abuse perpetration</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2014.05.004">improving bystander intervention behaviours</a>.</p>
<p>These programs are particularly effective when they are <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429280054-11/engaging-men-boys-violence-prevention-michael-flood">sustained over longer periods of time</a>, focus on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1097184X14558240">gender messaging</a> and take place in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1097184X12458590">key sites like schools or sports environments</a>.</p>
<p>These findings contradict current models of violence prevention in professional or competitive sport, such as the <a href="https://cdn.ontariohockeyleague.com/archive/ohl.uploads/app/uploads/ohl/2016/11/22155545/OHLONSIDE_MediaInfo.pdf">OHL’s mandatory <em>Onside</em> training</a>, which is a two-hour workshop for new players on sexual violence. </p>
<h2>Addressing violence in sport</h2>
<p>To meaningfully address violence in sport, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/hockey-sexual-violence-training-ohl-funding-1.6623213">gender-based violence programs must be ongoing and dynamic</a> instead of being treated like a mere checkbox.</p>
<p>An example of such a program is <a href="https://coachescorner.org">Coaching Boys Into Men</a>, a program created by <a href="https://www.futureswithoutviolence.org">the Futures Without Violence non-profit</a> that has been <a href="https://intervalhousehamilton.org/new-program-announcement-coaching-boys-into-men/">piloted in Hamilton, Ont</a>.</p>
<p>Coaching Boys Into Men equips coaches to have fifteen-minute weekly conversations for three months with their adolescent boys’ teams about consent, healthy relationships and challenging harmful behaviour. </p>
<p>Those who complete the program are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2012.01.018">less likely to perpetrate abuse</a> and are <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/article-abstract/2758662">significantly more likely to intervene</a> if they see harm happening. </p>
<p>Rather than viewing violence prevention as a blame game, we should see it as an inherently hopeful endeavour that focuses on the humanity and wellness of our athletes and communities. Investing in violence prevention that is evidence-based and sustainable is the key to ensuring that this violence stops.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222371/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Maddie Brockbank works at Interval House of Hamilton in the MentorAction program. Maddie is a Vanier Scholar and received doctoral funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).</span></em></p>While many initially balk at violence prevention programs aimed at boys and men, these programs reduce the likelihood of abuse and improve the chances of bystanders intervening on behalf of victims.Maddie Brockbank, PhD Candidate & Vanier Scholar, Social Work, McMaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2208252024-02-09T03:53:35Z2024-02-09T03:53:35ZLamar Jackson is the NFL’s MVP. He’s also the NFL’s most valuable negotiator.<p><a href="https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-honors-2024-lamar-jackson-wins-league-mvp-ravens-star-youngest-qb-to-capture-the-award-twice/">Lamar Jackson has been named the National Football League’s Most Valuable Player</a> for the <a href="https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/28614953/ravens-qb-lamar-jackson-unanimous-pick-nfl-mvp-historic-season">second time in his career</a>. Evidenced by his <a href="https://www.nfl.com/players/lamar-jackson/stats/career">3,678 passing yards, 821 rushing yards and 29 total touchdowns</a>, and in leading the Baltimore Ravens to the AFC championship game, Jackson has more than earned the MVP designation. </p>
<p>However, just as impressive, but perhaps less well known, was Jackson’s <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lamar-jackson-baltimore-ravens-260-million-dollar-extension-nfl-highest-paid-player/">remarkable off-the-field performance at the negotiating table in 2023</a>. </p>
<p>Leading into the NFL’s 2023 season, Jackson was without a long-term contract extension and without representation. <a href="https://www.foxsports.com/nfl/lamar-jackson-player-injuries">Season-ending ankle and knee injuries in each of the previous two seasons</a> could have impacted teams’ willingness to meet Jackson’s demands for a long-term contract with significant guaranteed compensation. </p>
<p>Yet despite those challenges and concerns, Jackson was able to advocate and negotiate — for himself — <a href="https://www.nfl.com/news/lamar-jackson-ravens-agree-to-terms-on-new-contract">the most lucrative contract in the history of the NFL</a>: a five-year, US$260 million contract.</p>
<h2>Objective criteria</h2>
<p>There are several negotiation principles that impacted the Jackson negotiation. The first negotiation principle that helps explain how Jackson was able to achieve US$52 million per season, despite the issues and concerns discussed, is objective criteria. </p>
<p>In their book <a href="https://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/negotiation-skills-daily/six-guidelines-for-getting-to-yes/"><em>Getting to Yes</em></a>, Roger Fisher, William Ury and Bruce Patton argue that using objective criteria, such as fair market value and professional and moral standards, helps focus negotiating parties on shared principles like fairness while de-emphasizing winning at the expense of the other party.</p>
<p>In Jackson’s case, the clearest example of objective criteria is the <a href="https://overthecap.com/position/quarterback">comparable NFL quarterbacks’ contracts at the time of the negotiation</a>, like those of Patrick Mahomes, Deshaun Watson and Aaron Rodgers. </p>
<p>Since Jackson’s contemporaries were earning US$45 to $50 million per season (see above: fair market value), it suggests his eventual negotiated agreement with the Ravens would fall within the same ballpark — that is, if the Ravens agreed with Jackson’s assessment that his unique skills and on-field performance/potential were at, or near the top of, the NFL.</p>
<p>The lesson for those of us not in the NFL is the importance of discovering and articulating reasonable objective criteria in negotiations. For example, in a salary negotiation, we might point to colleagues who make more than we do for similar work and/or performance. While <a href="https://www.hrreporter.com/focus-areas/employment-law/ontario-introduces-pay-transparency-law/381144">publicly available figures can be hard to come by</a>, using external examples can also be effective. </p>
<p>However, it’s crucial to keep in mind that determining what qualifies as reasonable objective criteria is only half the battle. To effectively use objective criteria in negotiations, both sides must agree on it.</p>
<h2>Building a golden bridge</h2>
<p>A second negotiation principle illuminated by the Jackson negotiation is the importance of managing the relationship by “<a href="https://www.beyondintractability.org/bksum/ury-gettingpast">building a golden bridge</a>.” </p>
<p>Particularly useful in heated negotiations, the golden bridge principle invites parties to set aside their often self-defeating ambition to win at all costs, and instead, imagine how they can make it as easy as possible for their negotiation counterpart to say yes.</p>
<p>In Jackson’s case, the relationship between him and the Ravens organization appeared compromised throughout the negotiation, in part because <a href="https://theathletic.com/4427133/2023/04/19/lamar-jackson-ravens-contract-negotiation/#">the Ravens’ side held certain asymmetric powers over Jackson</a>, including the ability to trade the quarterback and/or unilaterally sign him to a one-year extension at US$32.4 million. </p>
<p>As a result, the relationship deteriorated to the point where Jackson announced on social media that he had <a href="https://www.nfl.com/news/ravens-qb-lamar-jackson-says-he-requested-trade-on-march-2">requested a trade</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1640365154880704514"}"></div></p>
<p>Remarkably, at the very same time, <a href="https://x.com/Ravens/status/1640365741277937664?s=20">Ravens head coach John Harbaugh was speaking to media at the NFL owners’ meeting</a>, and, calm and composed, reiterated his endorsement of Jackson as the team’s quarterback for the future. </p>
<p>Later, in substantive negotiations, both sides embraced the golden bridge principles by incorporating both sides’ ideas and helping one another save face. This approach played a crucial role in repairing the strained relationship between Jackson and the Ravens organization.</p>
<h2>Lessons for all of us</h2>
<p>There are valuable lessons to be learned from Jackson’s negotiation. First, it’s crucial to recognize and appreciate tensions and frustrations that put our relationships at risk can and do occur in high-stakes negotiations. </p>
<p>Second, these tensions and frustrations can be overcome through careful and composed attention to the relationship between parties — using reasonable objective criteria and building the golden bridge.</p>
<p>In the case of Jackson and the Ravens, their use of objective criteria and the golden bridge principles ultimately resulted in a win-win — a five-year, US$260 million contract extension, of which US$185 million was guaranteed. </p>
<p>This extension allowed the Ravens to secure their franchise quarterback for the future and overcome the pressure to abandon their long-term financial interests and guarantee US$185 million instead of US$260 million.</p>
<p>Jackson’s US$52 million annual salary meant he had reasons to celebrate as well. Not only did he become the NFL’s highest paid player, but he also negotiated the highest per-year contract in the league’s history. Credit is due to Jackson and the Ravens for achieving this remarkable win-win.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220825/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>Despite being without a long-term contract extension and representation, Lamar Jackson was able to advocate and negotiate the most lucrative contract in the history of the NFL. Here’s how.Ryan Clutterbuck, Assistant Professor in Sport Management, Brock UniversityMichael Van Bussel, Assistant Professor in Sport Management, Brock UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2228532024-02-09T00:36:19Z2024-02-09T00:36:19ZHigher, faster: what influences the aerodynamics of a football?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573580/original/file-20240203-27-i63qjv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5472%2C3579&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In addition to a player's ability to throw it, a number of factors will influence a ball's flight, including its size, inflation pressure and texture.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>With <a href="https://www.nfl.com/news/super-bowl-lvii-averages-audience-of-113-million-viewers-fox-sports">113 million viewers in the United States</a> and 40 million more around the world, the Super Bowl is the most popular sports event in North America. This year’s event on Sunday – with the added attraction of a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/sports/2024/02/06/super-bowl-players-vegas-taylor-swift-wire-nc-vpx.cnn">romance in the spotlight</a> – promises to attract as many fans.</p>
<p>In Canada, the most recent Grey Cup final, last November, reached a <a href="https://twitter.com/RDS_RP/status/1726722586816430330">record audience</a> of 3.7 million viewers who tuned in to watch the Montréal Alouettes’ victory.</p>
<p>The two leagues definitely don’t enjoy the same popularity – far from it. Nor do they have the same rules. But there is another difference: although similar in appearance, the famous oval balls used in football have specific characteristics on both sides of the border that can affect their aerodynamics, i.e. the forces exerted by the air on the ball during its flight. The design and characteristics of the ball have an impact on the magnitude of these forces.</p>
<p>It might be news to football players, but their talent for throwing balls long distances is not the only thing that matters. A number of factors affect the ball’s aerodynamics, including the way it is made and its inflation pressure.</p>
<p>As a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Québec’s École de technologie supérieure, I am interested in experimental fluid dynamics. I study the physics of fluid flows and certain applications (e.g. propulsion of aquatic vehicles, aerodynamic applications). Fluid dynamics is a vast field and affects many aspects of our lives, such as the flow of blood in the heart, the flight of aircraft, the beautiful swirling patterns in Jupiter’s atmosphere or the perfect football pass for a touchdown.</p>
<h2>Ball size affects flight stability</h2>
<p>The NFL and CFL have the same <a href="https://cfldb.ca/faq/equipment/#:%7E:text=The%20CFL%20football%20dimensions%20are,to%2028%201%2F2%20inches">rules</a> regarding the dimensions of their balls. They must be between 11" and 11.25" long. They must also be inflated to between 12.5 psi and 13.5 psi, giving them a maximum circumference of between 28" and 28.5" around the length and between 21" and 21.25" around the width.</p>
<p>These dimensions are important. The football acts like a gyroscope. The higher the speed of rotation, the more stable the ball will be during its flight. Different dimensions can therefore have specific effects on the stability of the ball’s flight.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An American football player catches a ball in mid-flight on a field" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573219/original/file-20240203-25-y5at9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573219/original/file-20240203-25-y5at9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573219/original/file-20240203-25-y5at9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573219/original/file-20240203-25-y5at9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573219/original/file-20240203-25-y5at9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573219/original/file-20240203-25-y5at9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573219/original/file-20240203-25-y5at9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The size of the football matters. The ball acts like a gyroscope. The higher the speed of rotation, the more stable the ball will be during its flight.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A larger circumference suggests that more of the ball’s mass is located away from its centre line. This means that it will have a higher moment of inertia (resistance to rotation) and, therefore, that the same force applied to make it rotate will result in a lower speed of rotation.</p>
<h2>Two stripes and laces make a difference</h2>
<p>While there are two white stripes on the Canadian ball, as well as laces, American rules don’t mention these.</p>
<p>The differences between the Canadian and American balls can have an effect on their drag. A drag force is the resistance to a moving object in a fluid. In this case, it is mainly the resistance caused by the air (a fluid), which is called form or pressure drag.</p>
<p>Let’s take the example of a golf ball. Its dimples encourage turbulence, which allows the airflow to stick to the ball and reduce its total drag. Less drag means the ball can fly further with the same force applied.</p>
<p>The laces on a football and any other significant modification to its surface (a logo, a valve), in combination with the rotation of the ball, will to some extent have the same effect. It would be interesting to study how <a href="https://www.engineering.com/story/the-aerodynamics-of-a-football">these differences</a> between NFL and CFL footballs affect their respective drag.</p>
<h2>NFL or CFL, which ball is better?</h2>
<p>To do this, we could use a wind tunnel (an experimental installation in the form of a tunnel with a controlled airflow) to simulate the movement of air (fluid flow) around the two balls that will be fixed in space, put into rotation and subject to an airflow speed that would imitate the balls’ speed of flight.</p>
<p>An aerodynamic force balance could be used to measure the differences in drag between the two balls subjected to the same conditions. Ideally, to eliminate other factors of variability, the two balls would have the same dimensions.</p>
<p>The passage of air around the ball could be visualized using smoke or particle image/tracking velocimetry. The latter is a method in which the air is seeded with particles (helium-filled soap bubbles or oil droplets). The movement of these particles could then be captured using a camera to quantify the airspeed at all points around the ball. This would allow regions of flow separation and recirculation to be seen, and provide an idea of the distribution of aerodynamic forces around the ball.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A gloved hand holds a football on a grassy surface" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573221/original/file-20240203-21-3s2qf1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573221/original/file-20240203-21-3s2qf1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573221/original/file-20240203-21-3s2qf1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573221/original/file-20240203-21-3s2qf1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573221/original/file-20240203-21-3s2qf1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573221/original/file-20240203-21-3s2qf1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573221/original/file-20240203-21-3s2qf1.jpg?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">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A ball about to be kicked. A number of factors will influence the aerodynamics of the ball.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Different rotation speeds and flight speeds could be examined, as there is always the possibility of developing flow instabilities, which would lead to a change in its behaviour around the ball. </p>
<p>This would help determine whether the NFL or CFL ball is better.</p>
<h2>Ball texture influences drag</h2>
<p>There is another type of drag, this one attributable to the friction between the air and the surface of the ball. This is called friction drag.</p>
<p>It depends mainly on the texture of the ball and its speed. The rougher the texture of the ball, the greater the friction drag for the same speed. Similarly, a faster ball speed will have a higher friction drag.</p>
<p>By reducing the form drag, we further reduce the total drag of the ball, which can therefore go further and faster on the football field.</p>
<h2>And then there’s the weather!</h2>
<p>The weather also plays a role in the aerodynamics of the football.</p>
<p>Cold or hot temperatures can affect the size of the ball by reducing or increasing the air pressure inside it.</p>
<p>Similarly, temperature can have some effect on the material properties of the ball, with colder temperatures making it stiffer and warmer temperatures making it softer.</p>
<p>Temperature and humidity also play a role in the physical properties of air, altering its density and viscosity.</p>
<p>Rain will also directly affect drag as, in a sense, it affects the texture of the ball’s surface as felt by the air.</p>
<p>But that won’t be an issue in Las Vegas on Feb. 11 for the Super Bowl game, since Allegiant Stadium is covered.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222853/count.gif" alt="La Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Giuseppe Di Labbio ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>A football’s dimensions, pressure and texture affect its aerodynamics, i.e. the forces exerted by the air on the ball as it flies.Giuseppe Di Labbio, Professeur adjoint, École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2223492024-02-07T13:13:04Z2024-02-07T13:13:04ZCould flag football one day leapfrog tackle football in popularity?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573480/original/file-20240205-21-8bd16d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=12%2C6%2C2032%2C1355&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Youth flag football players run drills with their coach before a game in Dayton, Ohio, on Oct. 8, 2023.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/flag-football-team-beavercreek-raiders-run-drills-with-news-photo/1850858257?adppopup=true">Megan Jelinger/The Washington Post via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>One hundred years into the future, what if millions of people gathered every February, not to watch the Super Bowl, but to instead watch the annual world flag football championship?</p>
<p>Once a casual activity played at family reunions, the competitive sport of flag football is “<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2023/10/22/flag-football-why-sport-is-becoming-so-popular-with-girls-kids/71270522007/">soaring</a>,” “<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/17/sport/flag-football-nfl-olympics-cec/index.html">exploding</a>” and “<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/flag-football-popularity-girls-women/">skyrocketing in popularity nationwide</a>,” according to mainstream news outlets.</p>
<p>There’s some data behind the breathless headlines: According to the <a href="https://nflflag.com/about">NFL’s official flag football program</a>, since 2015 the number of kids ages 6 to 12 who play flag football has risen by 38%, to more than 1.5 million.</p>
<p>In my recent book, “<a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-76457-9">Emerging Sports as Social Movements</a>,” I explore nontraditional sports like flag football and disc golf. One of my key findings is that splashy headlines about trendy sports rarely capture a sport’s true reach and staying power. </p>
<p>For every sport like pickleball that gains widespread, sustained popularity, there are several – <a href="https://www.usara.com/new-to-adventure-racing/whatisadventureracing">adventure racing</a>, paintball and wakeboarding – that remain firmly ensconced in their niche.</p>
<p>In the case of flag football, there are a handful of recent trends that truly do point to a promising future. But there are also some red flags that could end up hampering its growth.</p>
<h2>A fun, fast, safer alternative</h2>
<p>Though its rules are similar to tackle football, flag football is currently gaining attention for what makes it different. </p>
<p>It’s considered a no-contact sport. A “tackle” involves snatching one of two flags that hang from the hips of the ball carrier. While players face injury risks, they sustain <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/traumaticbraininjury/pubs/youth_football_head_impacts.html">far fewer head impacts</a> than athletes who play tackle football.</p>
<p>With the public’s concerns about brain injuries <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2023-01-24/youth-football-participation-declining-amid-safety-concerns">on the rise</a>, many parents are opting for flag football instead of tackle for their kids.</p>
<p>Obscurity is a powerful barrier to emerging sports. But getting noticed may not be a problem for flag football.</p>
<p>The International Olympic Committee <a href="https://www.nfl.com/partners/flag-football/">announced in October 2023</a> that flag football would be headed to the Summer Games in Los Angeles in 2028. It’s not clear yet if active NFL players can compete, but if they are eligible – and if the U.S. assembles a “<a href="https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nba/news/dream-team-roster-history-usa-1992-olympics/4o78v2slilky1inrskk8h6wkb">Dream Team</a>” like the Olympic men’s basketball team of 1992 that included superstars Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson – flag football could get on the radar of millions of casual sports fans in 2028.</p>
<p>The Olympic version of flag football is fast-paced.</p>
<p>Games are shorter than a typical game of tackle football. Five players compete on 50-yard fields with 10-yard end zones for two 20-minute halves. This format made its first big appearance in the <a href="https://olympics.com/en/news/flag-football-rules-players-origins-things-to-know">2022 World Games</a> in Birmingham, Alabama, where the U.S. men won gold and the women took home silver.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6SwoD74l-wQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A short overview of how to play flag football.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The NFL cultivates the grassroots</h2>
<p>Although it may come as a surprise, the NFL is embracing flag football and taking its growth seriously.</p>
<p>In 2021, the NFL and Nike committed <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/nfl-and-nike-court-a-new-football-market-girls-11612854854">US$5 million in equipment</a> to support high school flag football teams across the nation. The NFL’s <a href="https://playfootball.nfl.com/about-youth-football/find-a-league/">official flag football program</a> operates more than 1,600 local leagues and receives sponsorships from top brands like Visa, Gatorade and Subway.</p>
<p>Most NFL teams are currently supporting the grassroots of flag football with summer camps, clinics and regional tournaments.</p>
<p>During last year’s Super Bowl, an estimated 115 million viewers watched <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/videos/sports/Ad-Meter/2023/02/13/ad-meter-2023-nfl-run/11245547002/">a flag football TV commercial</a> featuring Mexican quarterback Diana Flores bobbing and spinning to evade NFL players and celebrities as they attempted to take her flag. </p>
<p>On Feb. 4, 2024, the Pro Bowl – the NFL’s annual all-star game – sidelined tackle football for the second year in a row. In its place was a 7-on-7 flag football game that aired on ESPN and ABC and streamed on ESPN+.</p>
<p>Prior to that game, on Feb. 2-3, the league also hosted the <a href="https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-hosts-12-international-youth-flag-football-teams-at-2024-pro-bowl-games">International NFL Flag Championships</a> as part of the Pro Bowl Games, featuring young athletes from 12 countries.</p>
<h2>By the numbers</h2>
<p>Flag football may be having a moment, but the question remains: Is the sport actually experiencing a meaningful surge in participation that could extend into the future?</p>
<p>According to figures collected annually by the <a href="https://www.nfhs.org/">National Federation of High Schools</a>, 21,980 students played high school flag football in 2023. To put this number in context, however, tackle football attracted 47 times more students – roughly 1 million players – the same year. Track and field, basketball and soccer have roughly 1 million participants apiece.</p>
<p>Interest in flag football seems to be concentrated in a few regions, with roughly <a href="https://www.nfhs.org/">80% of high school players</a> living in just three states: Florida, Georgia and New York.</p>
<p>Though high school participation in flag football has <a href="https://www.nfhs.org/">increased steadily</a> since 2007, almost all the growth comes from the girls’ side.</p>
<p><iframe id="D5FkA" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/D5FkA/3/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>A nationwide <a href="https://sportsmarketanalytics.com/home.aspx">sports participation survey</a> finds that the number of casual players of flag football is up, but core participation is down. The study defines “casual players” as those who play fewer than 50 times per year, whereas “core players” participate 50 or more times each year.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://sportsmarketanalytics.com/home.aspx">share of Americans</a> who play casually increased by 41% between 2016 and 2022. But core participation declined by 13% during this period.</p>
<p><iframe id="0oquc" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/0oquc/3/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>For sustainable growth, nontraditional sports need to generate excitement among both core and casual players. Top-down investments and marketing strategies may attract new players, but grassroots organizing keeps them coming back.</p>
<p>Take pickleball. In recent years, the sport has generated plenty of cultural clout, with high-profile athletes like LeBron James investing in the professional circuit, and <a href="https://www.paddletek.com/blogs/news/celebrities-in-pickleball">celebrity pickleball players</a> making headlines. There has also been <a href="https://theconversation.com/pickleballs-uphill-climb-to-mainstream-success-193052">tremendous growth</a> in pickleball’s social and physical infrastructure. For these reasons, both casual and core participation in pickleball <a href="https://sportsmarketanalytics.com/home.aspx">more than doubled</a> between 2016 and 2022.</p>
<h2>Red sport, blue sport</h2>
<p>In the end, the future of flag football may hinge on the public debate over tackle football’s safety. Over the past decade, <a href="https://theconversation.com/childrens-high-impact-sports-can-be-abuse-experts-explain-why-222651">several studies</a> have found a link between repeated head impacts and the risk for serious brain injuries, <a href="https://www.bu.edu/cte/our-research/significant-research-findings/">including chronic traumatic encephalopathy</a>, or CTE.</p>
<p>Yet <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/california-youth-tackle-football-ban-clears-first-legislative-hurdle-assembly-committee-ab734/">recent efforts</a> to make tackle football safer for young athletes have been met with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1353/jsm.2019.0002">fierce resistance</a> from families, fans and organizers. In many regions of the U.S., tackle football is deeply ingrained in the culture, leading to strong opposition to any changes.</p>
<p>New rules to protect NFL players have seeped into mainstream politics. For instance, in 2019, former <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/bobcook/2019/02/03/donald-trump-who-wants-more-violence-in-the-nfl-doesnt-want-his-son-playing-football/?sh=5ffeb68a342a">President Donald Trump</a> dubbed the NFL’s concussion protocol “soft” and said that safety measures were “ruining the game.”</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Democratic state lawmakers in New York, Illinois and California have <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/governor-newsom-says-he-wont-sign-bill-banning-tackle-football-for-young-kids/">introduced bills to ban tackle football for kids under 12</a>, often citing flag football as a suitable alternative. None of these bills, however, have passed.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two teenaged girls fight for a ball." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573483/original/file-20240205-27-v9xcvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573483/original/file-20240205-27-v9xcvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573483/original/file-20240205-27-v9xcvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573483/original/file-20240205-27-v9xcvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573483/original/file-20240205-27-v9xcvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573483/original/file-20240205-27-v9xcvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573483/original/file-20240205-27-v9xcvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Flag football has become more popular among girls and women.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/long-beach-ca-lilianna-sarmiento-of-jordan-reaches-for-a-news-photo/1743556245?adppopup=true">Keith Birmingham/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Some research shows that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/19406940.2018.1524784">Democrats are more likely to trust concussion science than Republicans</a>. Democrats also <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2021.655890">pay more attention to news about concussions</a> than Republicans. </p>
<p>As beliefs about the dangers of tackle football become polarized, the perceived benefits of flag football will likely follow suit. As I showed in a recent study of sport popularity in 207 areas of the U.S., <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/19406940.2022.2074516">flag football is more popular in regions that tend to vote Democratic</a>, with tackle football more popular in Republican areas.</p>
<p>So in addition to going after the resources needed for sustainable growth – investment, organization, visibility, legitimacy – flag football’s advocates will also need to navigate a nation divided by politics.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222349/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Josh Woods 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>The NFL’s embrace of the sport points to a promising future. But gender and political divides could stand in the way.Josh Woods, Professor of Sociology, West Virginia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2226512024-02-05T16:57:29Z2024-02-05T16:57:29ZChildren’s high-impact sports can be abuse – experts explain why<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573083/original/file-20240202-23-vzvavg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=6%2C13%2C4486%2C2977&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/young-players-in-action-during-a-training-session-of-the-news-photo/1585783804?adppopup=true">ANDRE DIAS NOBRE/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a brain disorder likely caused by repeated head injuries. It was first described as dementia pugilistica and punch drunk syndrome <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/dementia-pugilistica#:%7E:text=CTE%2C%20previously%20termed%20dementia%20pugilistica,et%20al.%2C%202011">almost 100 years ago</a>. CTE continues to be a serious risk associated with high impact sports, such as boxing, American football and rugby. </p>
<p>Although the risks of traumatic brain injuries, <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/381/bmj.p1375">such as concussion</a>, and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2995699/#:%7E:text=CTE%20has%20recently%20been%20found,also%20lead%20to%20neurodegenerative%20changes.">longer-term brain degeneration</a> from repetitive hits in impact sports have been known for decades, some sport governing bodies continue to try and cast doubt onto the relationship between impact sports and CTE. However, media attention has begun <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36376056/">to change people’s minds</a>. </p>
<p>This growing awareness is accelerated by the many lawsuits against organising bodies in relation to brain trauma. Former professional and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/jan/19/amateur-players-launch-lawsuit-against-rugby-authorities-over-brain-injuries">amateur players</a> in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/mar/14/landmark-class-action-chases-compensation-for-alleged-long-term-concussion-damage-to-afl-players">sports such as</a> American football, Australian rules football and rugby say their governing bodies failed to prevent harm during their playing careers. </p>
<p>The NFL has paid out <a href="https://www.nflconcussionsettlement.com">almost a million pounds</a> to former players suffering the effects of sport-induced brain trauma. High-profile rugby players are now also taking <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/gavin-henson-and-phil-vickery-among-over-200-ex-rugby-stars-taking-legal-action-over-brain-injuries-13020450">legal action over brain injuries</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AZBrLi608Z8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>These are not only issues for elite players. Studies into the brains of former players have found CTE in those <a href="https://www.gla.ac.uk/news/headline_1012463_en.html#:%7E:text=Importantly%2C%20risk%20of%20CTE%20pathology,to%20influence%20risk%20of%20CTE.">who only played as amateurs</a>. CTE has also been found in the brains of players under the age of 30 and even <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/08/28/health/cte-younger-athletes/index.html#:%7E:text=The%20youngest%20person%20diagnosed%20with,football%20player%2C%20McKee%20told%20CNN.">those as young as 17</a>. </p>
<p>Each additional year of playing impact sports <a href="https://www.bumc.bu.edu/camed/2019/10/07/cte-risk-more-than-doubles-after-just-three-years-of-playing-football/">raises the risk of CTE</a>, by as much as 30% in American football. </p>
<p>The dangers of high-impact sport aren’t contentious. <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2022.938163/full">Academic evidence</a> and <a href="https://concussionfoundation.org/news/press-release/NIH-CTE-repetitive-traumatic-brain-injuries#:%7E:text=United%20States%20National%20Institutes%20of,brain%20injuries%20%7C%20Concussion%20Legacy%20Foundation">medical professionals</a> now agree that sport-induced brain trauma leads to degenerative brain disease.</p>
<h2>Not suitable for under-18s</h2>
<p>Given this context, our <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17511321.2023.2284923">recent paper</a> written with Jack Hardwicke, a senior lecturer in the sociology of sport at Nottingham Trent University, has questioned whether it is right for children to participate in sports that intentionally feature impact, particularly involving the head. We argue that allowing under-18s to take part in high impact sports should be viewed as a form of child abuse – we use the term “child brain abuse” – and that these impact sports should be legally prohibited. </p>
<p>We are not calling for adult versions of impact sports to be banned and our argument does not apply to sports or activities where brain trauma might occur by accident. But in sports where impact is a structured part of the game, like boxing – or sports that create rapid brain movements, as in rugby tackling – collisions are not accidents, they are an inherent part of the sport. </p>
<p>Despite <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2987636/">claims that sport is safer</a>, there has been rightful concern over childhood <a href="https://theconversation.com/rugby-concussions-and-duty-of-care-why-the-game-is-facing-scrutiny-161773">concussions</a> in these impact sports – and brain injury can occur at very low levels of impact. For example, heading a football can result in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S235239641630490X?via%3Dihub">immediate and measurable alterations</a> to brain functioning and <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/focus-pfa-university-of-nottingham-studies-fifa-b2354775.html">longer-term brain diseases</a>, such as CTE.</p>
<p>The risk of CTE is <a href="https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2017/09/25/allyson-pollock-and-graham-kirkwood-tackle-and-scrum-should-be-banned-in-school-rugby/">far higher in sports</a> such as American football and rugby. The odds of developing degenerative brain diseases are <a href="https://www.thepfa.com/players/brain-health/field">increased in former players</a> of impact sports than are found in sports without deliberate impacts or the general population. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">What is CTE?</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Staying healthy</h2>
<p>Some sports bodies <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/news/health/rugby-played-schools-form-child-abuse-study-b1136563.html#:%7E:text=Rugby%20being%20played%20in%20schools%20is%20a%20form%20of%20child,injuries%20associated%20with%20playing%20rugby.">defend high-impact sports</a> by arguing that sport and physical activity are important for overall health. Teams sports <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9874288/">can reduce isolation</a> and help players to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9180162/">develop a range of social skills</a>. </p>
<p>But these benefits can still be gained from non-impact versions of sports, <a href="https://www.englandrugby.com/participation/playing/ways-to-play/the-touch-union/what-is-touch">such as touch rugby</a>, which can help teach discipline and teamwork without the <a href="https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/55/6/319.abstract">harm from brain trauma</a>. </p>
<p>There are no health benefits of tackling – and there are no health benefits of being struck in the head. The health benefits of impact rugby or boxing are instead gained from the body’s overall movement. </p>
<p>Tag rugby tends to be faster moving than the sport’s full contact version so is better for <a href="https://www.centurion-rugby.com/blogs/rugby/81203265-9-benefits-to-tag-rugby">improving cardiovascular health</a>. Research has shown that incidents of contact during children’s rugby are the cause of cause of <a href="https://bmjopensem.bmj.com/content/bmjosem/10/1/e001740.full.pdf">87% of known injuries</a>. Tackling, in particular, is responsible for 52% of all injuries - with concussion being the most common injury type. Tagging, rather than tackling, saves children’s brains from harm.</p>
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<h2>Inability to consent</h2>
<p>Our research shows that impact sports should be treated equally with other prohibited activities for children, such as smoking. Children are unable to make informed decisions about the long-term risks of these activities. Parental provision for these activities is also <a href="https://cloud-platform-e218f50a4812967ba1215eaecede923f.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/sites/30/2016/08/No.139-Criminal-Law-Consent-in-the-Criminal-Law-A-Consultation-Paper.pdf">socially stigmatised or criminalised</a>. </p>
<p>Our research draws on a number of legal positions that support our argument that neither children nor parents on their behalf can consent to sports that require brain trauma as a necessary component of the sport. </p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://www.unicef.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/UNCRC_summary-1_1.pdf">Article 19</a> of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), to which 195 countries are signatories, covers protection from violence, abuse and neglect. <a href="https://www.unicef.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Our-rights_UNCRC.pdf">It states that</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Governments must do all they can to ensure that children are protected from all forms of violence, abuse, neglect and bad treatment by their parents or anyone else who looks after them. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Some commentators <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/rugby-isnt-child-abuse-but-it-is-ghastly/">have agreed</a> that while high-impact sports are dangerous, using the term child abuse is a step too far. </p>
<p>However, the NSPCC, the UK’s leading children’s charity, <a href="https://www.nspcc.org.uk/what-is-child-abuse/types-of-abuse/neglect/">say that physical neglect</a> is a form of abuse that occurs if a child is not kept safe. Allowing children to participate in impact sports while being aware of the harm they can cause is, our research shows, a failure keep children safe.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/school-rugby-should-not-be-compulsory-and-tackling-needs-to-be-outlawed-heres-the-evidence-196993">School rugby should not be compulsory and tackling needs to be outlawed – here's the evidence</a>
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</p>
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<p>Opponents of prohibiting children from playing high-impact sports argue that <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-13038525/BORIS-JOHNSON-Rugby-doesnt-risk-young-peoples-lives.html">boys are naturally aggressive</a> and <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2329496520959300">heavy contact sport</a> helps them to learn how to <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110706195908.htm">control their feelings</a>. </p>
<p>Boys, some argue, need physical activities – they <a href="https://www.proquest.com/openview/56c8138843034f93feb463bf9e69f96f/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=33810">need space and learn through activity</a>. But there is no research showing that boys need to endure brain trauma in order to <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2010-16028-002">grow up to be responsible men</a>.</p>
<p>There is no justifiable health reason for a child to play impact sport over non-impact versions. We are asking that ministers privilege children’s brains over corporate sporting bodies. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<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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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222651/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Keith Parry is affiliated with the Concussion Legacy Foundation (UK). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eric Anderson and Gary Turner 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>The dangers of high-impact sport aren’t contentious. Medical professionals agree that sport-induced brain trauma leads to degenerative brain disease – so why are we still allowing children to play?Eric Anderson, Professor of Masculinities, Sexualities and Sport, University of WinchesterGary Turner, Doctoral researcher in Policy Analysis of Traumatic Brain Injury in UK Combat Sports, University of WinchesterKeith Parry, Head Of Department in Department of Sport & Event Management, Bournemouth UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2197972024-02-02T13:16:45Z2024-02-02T13:16:45ZStudents with disabilities often left on the sidelines when it comes to school sports<p>“Teen with special needs makes <a href="https://www.today.com/video/watch-teen-with-special-needs-makes-thrilling-buzzer-beater-shot-197284933762">thrilling buzzer beater shot</a>.”</p>
<p>“Special needs student <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrhuNjegi1A">offered shot</a> of a lifetime.”</p>
<p>“High school basketball manager gets his <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/high-school-basketball-manager-time-court-82967098">time on the court</a>.”</p>
<p>These inspirational headlines may sound familiar. They highlight brief but exhilarating moments of disabled students in sports.</p>
<p>They represent what’s commonly referred to in the disability community as “<a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/stella_young_i_m_not_your_inspiration_thank_you_very_much?language=en">inspiration porn</a>,” but they often miss an injustice that deserves far more attention. Student athletes with disabilities are sidelined or, even worse, never granted the opportunity to try out, even though they gained equal rights to extracurricular activities such as school sports more than 50 years ago. </p>
<p><a href="https://rsa.ed.gov/sites/default/files/downloads/rehabilitation-act-of-1973-amended-by-wioa.pdf">The Rehabilitation Act of 1973</a> prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability. As a professor who studies <a href="https://health.oregonstate.edu/directory/megan-macdonald">sport and physical activity participation</a> of children with disabilities, it’s clear to me that this public law has been misinterpreted for more than 50 years, in ways that deny students equal opportunities.</p>
<h2>Clarifying the issue</h2>
<p>Just over 10 years ago, the U.S. Department of Education had to broadly issue a “<a href="https://www.ncpeid.org/assets/docs/Dear%20colleague-201301-504.pdf">Dear Colleague” letter</a> to schools across the country to communicate and clarify their responsibilities under the act. In other words, school districts had to be reminded not to generalize information about students with disabilities based on stereotypes.</p>
<p>Section 504 of the act says students with disabilities must receive the same equal rights and opportunities afforded to their peers without disabilities in extracurricular activities such as school sports. It further states that school districts should work directly with athletic associations to ensure that students with disabilities are granted an equal opportunity to participate.</p>
<p>The precedent for this broad-stroke communication came from a U.S. Government Accountability Office report, which found that disabled students were <a href="https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-10-519.pdf">not afforded equal opportunities to participate in school sports</a>, including club, intramural or interscholastic. The content in the letter wasn’t new information – it clearly reiterated key components of Section 504, reminding school districts not to act on generalizations or stereotypes of disability. It also provided examples about how to ensure equal opportunities for disabled students.</p>
<p>So where do things stand now?</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">“Special Needs Student Offered Shot Of A Lifetime”</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Participation rates unclear</h2>
<p>Students with disabilities make up <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/07/24/what-federal-education-data-shows-about-students-with-disabilities-in-the-us/">15% of U.S. public school students</a>, which is about 7.3 million K-12th graders. It’s impossible to know if the “Dear Colleague” letter made a difference, because there still isn’t much data on this issue.</p>
<p>Data on the general makeup of school sports teams or intramural activities is lacking, despite the fact that research shows participating has physical, social, academic and <a href="https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/fact-sheet-us-department-educations-proposed-change-its-title-ix-regulations-students-eligibility-athletic-teams#:%7E:text=Participating%20in%20school%20athletics%20is,%2C%20leadership%2C%20and%20physical%20fitness">mental health benefits</a>.</p>
<p>As someone who sees students with disabilities and their families on a regular basis, the stories I hear haven’t changed. Students with disabilities are still put in so-called manager roles or aren’t taken seriously when they express an interest in interscholastic sports.</p>
<p>A recent conversation with a parent echoed the stagnant nature of this subject: “It was just never presented as an option. If we knew more, we may have been able to help facilitate (participation in sports), but it just didn’t come up …”</p>
<p>The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights is responsible for enforcing Section 504. Since 2013, civil rights <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-co/pr/colorado-high-school-activities-association-agrees-improve-access-student-athletes">lawsuits still arise</a>. While these lawsuits often are resolved in favor of the student, they can be finalized or settled long after the egregious act. In other words, the legal action doesn’t always have immediate effects on the student athlete.</p>
<h2>What can be done</h2>
<p>While schools and their administrators have a responsibility to implement the 1973 Rehabilitation Act, there’s a collective public responsibility to ensure equal access and to uphold civil rights laws. There are tangible ways to start making changes now.</p>
<p>For starters, coaches should practice inclusive recruiting efforts for all school sporting activities, including direct outreach to disabled students. School districts can ensure training opportunities for all coaches and athletics directors focused on the best inclusive coaching practices.</p>
<p>I envision a future where headlines will reflect diverse teams, strengths of the student athletes and equal opportunity. Ignoring the civil rights of students with disabilities devalues their athletic skills. It’s also a violation of children’s <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/504faq.html">civil rights</a>. It shouldn’t take another 50 years for students with disabilities to get into the game.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219797/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Megan MacDonald 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>Although disabled students are supposed to have equal access to school sports, questions remain about whether they participate at the same rate as their nondisabled peers.Megan MacDonald, Professor of Kinesiology and School Head, School of Exercise, Sport, and Health Sciences, Oregon State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2220992024-02-01T13:30:27Z2024-02-01T13:30:27ZNorman Jewison’s ‘Rollerball’ depicted a world in which corporations controlled all information – is this dystopian vision becoming reality?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572218/original/file-20240130-21-2dwwbz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=87%2C1%2C1007%2C670&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Jonathan E., played by James Caan, competes as the owners watch from the stands.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://silverscreenings.files.wordpress.com/2023/04/rollerball-1975.jpg">MGM</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>If the films of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/22/movies/norman-jewison-dead.html">Norman Jewison</a>, who died on Jan. 22, 2024, had a unifying theme, it was how his characters searched for meaning and questioned the rules of their worlds.</p>
<p>No matter the genre of <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0422484/">the scores of films he directed</a> – from “In the Heat of the Night” to “Fiddler on the Roof” – his characters grew by confronting their own biases and preconceptions, even if it meant sacrificing things they once held dear. <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ZiqctEkAAAAJ&hl=en">And as a media scholar</a>, I see the Canadian director’s 1975 film “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073631/?ref_=tt_ch">Rollerball</a>” as one of his most underrated works. In it, the film’s hero, Jonathan E., is a star athlete who’s willing to risk his own life to avoid being a pawn for his corporate overlords. </p>
<p>Set in a dystopian 2018, the film helps make sense of today’s political and cultural struggles, which are taking places as corporations and the wealthy consolidate their control over the information systems, newspapers and media outlets that once served democracy. </p>
<h2>Comfort in exchange for subservience</h2>
<p>In “Rollerball,” Jewison depicts a future in which corporate feudalism has replaced democratic nations, with entire sectors of the economy consolidated under single corporations. Instead of citizens governing themselves, subjects live in cities ruled by corporations that demand unwavering fealty.</p>
<p>The corporations provide for their vassals, giving them material comforts and entertainment, which work to assuage resentments fueled by rigid social inequality. Jewison’s glassy-eyed characters pop pleasure pills like Tic Tacs to zone out and dream of being executives making decisions, even as they can’t even approach that sort of agency, power and control. </p>
<p>The oligopoly asks only that no one interfere with corporate imperatives. </p>
<p>Unable to find meaning as individuals, people instead seek it out in media spectacles like Rollerball, a kind of motorcycle roller derby meets football meets basketball. </p>
<p>Each major city has a Rollerball team that helps residents channel their aggression and cultivate a sense of belonging. Jonathan E., played by <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001001/">James Caan</a>, competes for Houston, a city owned by the Energy Corporation. </p>
<p>Rollerball serves an enormous social purpose, because it acts as a form of entertainment while also reinforcing the idea that corporate society, as one executive says, “is an inevitability.” </p>
<p>Though it allows for rare individuals to rise out of poverty to fame when chosen by the corporation, all of them are eventually sacrificed to the brutality of the game or to shifting corporate priorities. The audience learns that corporations make all decisions and that strength is power. </p>
<p>According to Bartholomew, the head of the Energy Corporation, “the game is designed to break men,” revealing people to be as disposable and fungible as pistons or rods in a machine. </p>
<p>Jonathan E. is the one player who can’t be broken; he starts to resent the executives telling him what to do, and he wants to know how corporate decisions are made. Who decided to take his wife from him one day and reassign her to serve as the wife of an executive in Rome? Why can’t he choose the path his life will take?</p>
<p>The owners eventually decide that Jonathan E. is getting bigger than the game, and that his popularity as a player is a threat to their control. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oe1NTpPIyEs">They want him gone and order him to retire</a>. When Jonathan refuses, the executives change the rules of the game so he’ll be killed. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The corporation asks Jonathan E. to retire.</span></figcaption>
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<p>He survives and keeps investigating. But he can’t find any information.</p>
<p>There are no newspapers serving the public – no libraries or books to consult. The only people allowed to answer questions are “corporate teachers,” who impart information based upon instruction from executives.</p>
<p>Jonathan E. eventually travels to the oligopoly’s database, an artificial intelligence named Zero, or the “world’s brain,” as its chief computer scientist calls it. All human knowledge is stored on it. But because Zero’s <a href="https://youtu.be/QjYvdURv3Zw?si=gIUHI_DHXpxl9yZB">interpretations, analyses and outputs</a> must constantly realign with the whims of the executives, there is no shared sense of truth or reality.</p>
<h2>Journalistic phlebotomy</h2>
<p>I can’t help but think of “Rollerball” as the journalism industry continues to crater. Like most sectors of the economy, the news sector is controlled by a handful of owners, and most of them have prioritized profits over serving the public interest. </p>
<p>If the media layoffs, <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-death-of-pitchfork-is-worrying-news-for-music-journalism-and-the-women-who-read-it-221702">mergers and acquisitions</a> of January 2024 are any indication, <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/01/27/is-the-journalism-death-spasm-finally-here-00138187">it’s shaping up to be another brutal year for the industry</a>. </p>
<p>Researchers at the Medill School’s Local News Initiative predict that one-third of community newspapers that operated in 2005 <a href="https://www.axios.com/2023/11/16/newspapers-decline-hedge-funds-research">will be gone by the end of 2024</a>. In January 2024, the owners of two venerable legacy news reorganizations, The Los Angeles Times and The Baltimore Sun, decided the bottom line was more important than their ability to gather news.</p>
<p>The Baltimore Sun has suffered through the sort of ownership malpractice affecting local papers everywhere – a kind of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phlebotomy">phlebotomy where corporate owners buy newspapers</a> and, in the name of “saving” them, bleed them dry. </p>
<p>In 2021, <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/11/alden-global-capital-killing-americas-newspapers/620171/">the private equity fund Alden Global Capital</a> acquired the Sun and <a href="https://newrepublic.com/post/178181/baltimore-sun-new-owner-smith-sinclair-insult-everyone-staff">200 other newspapers across the country from Tribune Publishing</a>. Then, they drained newsrooms of resources, leaving them as shells of their former selves – places that cheaply churned out syndicated content, rather than focus on the issues important to the communities where they were located. </p>
<p>The Sun’s new owner, Sinclair Broadcast Group’s David Smith, made his fortune plundering local broadcast news, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvtNyOzGogc">draining their local community value and turning them into</a> outlets centered on national politics, rather than local issues, with a right-wing slant that mirrored his own. Smith is <a href="https://newrepublic.com/post/178181/baltimore-sun-new-owner-smith-sinclair-insult-everyone-staff">signaling he’ll do the same thing with The Baltimore Sun</a>. I won’t be surprised if he ends up morphing what’s left of the paper into another mouthpiece for his pet issues, rather than one that serves Baltimore’s public interest. </p>
<p>The Los Angeles Times has suffered a slow bleed by a succession of owners. It, too, was owned briefly by Tribune Publishing <a href="https://www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-patrick-soon-shiong-latimes-sold-20180616-story.html">before being acquired</a> by billionaire doctor and pharmaceutical executive Patrick Soon-Shiong in 2018. </p>
<p>On Jan. 23, 2024, Soon-Shiong decided that <a href="https://www.niemanlab.org/2024/01/the-la-times-lays-off-115-people-with-the-de-los-and-washington-d-c-teams-especially-hard-hit/">the LA Times should fire 23% of its reporters</a> and close parts of its multimedia portfolio <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/journalists-color-hit-hard-l-layoffs-rcna135351">that served the city’s marginalized residents</a>.</p>
<h2>Owners versus the public good</h2>
<p>The oligopoly of owners who are consolidating and liquidating media outlets are asking citizens to be satisfied with the information they provide – much like the corporate overlords of “Rollerball.” </p>
<p>People can spend hours entertained by thrilling bowl games, experience outrage and schadenfreude on social media, and get sucked into AI-boosted infotainment at their pleasure. All they have to do is acquiesce to the sovereignty of private corporations and give up their freedom to govern themselves. </p>
<p>A half-century ago, Jewison warned that a corporate-owned world would threaten the democratic world. In “Rollerball,” Jonathan E. remains unsatisfied that all knowledge communicated through the media is determined by hidden executives. With black box algorithms choosing what content appears on news feeds and social media feeds, it’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/social-media-algorithms-warp-how-people-learn-from-each-other-research-shows-211172">eerily similar to the predicament society faces today</a>. </p>
<p>“Why argue about decisions you are not powerful enough to make yourself,” the executives point out to Jonathan E. “Just enjoy your ‘privilege card.’” </p>
<p>And yet when asked to choose between “comfort and freedom,” Jonathan chooses freedom. </p>
<p>Resisting corporate domination of media won’t be easy, either. But it’s necessary in order to prevent U.S. democracy from slipping into plutocracy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222099/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Jordan 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>As the journalism industry continues to crater, wealthy plutocrats are consolidating their control over information systems.Matthew Jordan, Associate Professor of Media Studies, Penn StateLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2219692024-01-31T17:25:34Z2024-01-31T17:25:34ZSuffering in silence: Men’s and boys’ mental health are still overlooked in sport<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572001/original/file-20240129-29-fhg8bb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C26%2C5973%2C3961&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There are severe problems with the culture of masculinity in men’s sport — one that means men and boys must adapt rather than seek help.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/suffering-in-silence-mens-and-boys-mental-health-are-still-overlooked-in-sport" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>For men and boys, caring about sport typically conjures images of passionate competition and fighting for the win. This understanding of care leaves little room for self-care, health and safety, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2020.1716956">emotional vulnerability</a> — topics that are fraught with risks for boys and men in a sport culture of hypermasculinity. </p>
<p>The National Hockey League Players’ Association recently released its <a href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/nhlpa-unveils-first-line-program-designed-to-support-mental-health-of-nhl-players">First Line Program</a> to support player mental health. It signals that men’s hockey is finally acknowledging the long-known fact that “a hockey player struggling with mental health would have done so in silence.” </p>
<p>Flames Head Coach Ryan Huska recently told the <em>Calgary Herald</em> that talking openly about mental health is “<a href="https://calgaryherald.com/sports/hockey/nhl/calgary-flames/flames-hockey-mental-health">kind of becoming the norm now, that people aren’t afraid to voice it</a>.” Corey Hirsch, a retired goaltender recently told CBC News, “the game itself wasn’t the issue, the issue is <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2298635843758">the stigma of having to be a tough man</a>.”</p>
<p>Similarly, in a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aivpDPCP7Q8">recent interview on the <em>Diary of a CEO</em> podcast</a> France and Arsenal soccer legend, Thierry Henry, spoke of the depression he suffered throughout his career:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“I’m a human being. I have feelings. Throughout my career and since I was born, I must have been in depression. Did I know it? No. did I do something about it? Obviously not, but I adapted.” </p>
</blockquote>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Thierry Henry talks about his experience with mental health as an elite athlete on the ‘Diary of a CEO podcast.’</span></figcaption>
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<p>What we are seeing, then, is an overdue shift towards normalizing men and male athletes seeking help and gradually speaking more openly and vulnerably about mental health. </p>
<h2>A culture of silence</h2>
<p>There are severe problems with the culture of masculinity in men’s sport — one that means men and boys must adapt rather than seek help and tough it out rather than take a step back. This <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/18902138.2023.2277087">culture of silence and bullying</a> means men and boys have been reluctant to speak up and speak out about safety and sexual assaults. It has created an environment where men and boys feel pressured to be silent about their own mental health.</p>
<p>On the same podcast, Henry said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“You’ve been told since you were young, whether at home or in your job, ‘Don’t be that guy, don’t show that you’re vulnerable.’ If they cry, what are they going to think.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is a culture that sporting organizations are up against in their implementation of initiatives like the First Line Program.</p>
<p>We need to redefine what it means to care in men’s sport. And progress has been made. In addition to the NHLPA’s First Line Program, in September 2023 Hockey Canada hosted the <a href="https://www.hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/news/summit-agenda-unveiled-2023-news">Beyond the Boards Summit</a>. This was an attempt to address “toxic masculinity” while simultaneously struggling to understand it.</p>
<p>Then, in October 2023, Hockey Canada issued a <a href="https://cdn.hockeycanada.ca/hockey-canada/Hockey-Programs/Safety/Downloads/dressing-room-policy-faq-e.pdf">Dressing Room Policy</a> to “enhance inclusion and safety” and “minimize occurrences of maltreatment, bullying, and harassment.” </p>
<p>While this is a sign of progress, there remains some reluctance to name issues such as sexual assault and homophobia when they occur.</p>
<p>On World Mental Health Day 2023, Norwich City Football Club launched a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tX8TgVR33KM">campaign, #youarenotalone</a> prompting us all to check in on those around us. </p>
<p>Initiatives such as these speak to a form of caring masculinity that is vital if men’s sport is to be the space of support and mental health that it can be.</p>
<h2>A complex relationship</h2>
<p>At times, novel ideas are borne in times of crisis; only now are we starting to make sense of the socio-cultural impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The complex relationship between sport and boys’ mental health became apparent when sport facilities closed for social distancing measures, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2023.102211">negatively impacting their social, mental and emotional health</a>. </p>
<p>One boy from our study described his struggles during the pandemic: “I just kind of felt sad… not being able to go rock-climbing.” In a similar vein, Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri spoke in October 2023 about how many of his players — including young academy players — were <a href="https://football-italia.net/allegri-juventus-working-on-players-depression-in-post-covid-era/">suffering with depression in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic</a>.</p>
<p>But this disruption has also forced boys to engage with their emotions. One boy told us: “I became way more in touch with myself and my emotions.” The same sentiment is echoed by Henry, who said of the pandemic: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Something like that had to happen for me to understand vulnerability, empathy, and crying. Understand that anger and jealousy are normal… I was crying every day for no reason… it was weird, in a good way.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>What does this tell us about sport and mental health? Primarily that sport in its traditional guise does not provide space for men’s and boys’ vulnerability and mental health. </p>
<h2>Cultivating care in men’s sport</h2>
<p>We can reimagine sport to be inclusive, diverse and safe, in order to tap into the positive potential of sports. But it requires redefining what it means to care. This does not mean discarding the importance of sporting competition, but rather recognizing and developing the potential for self-care and mutual support in men’s sport.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/18902138.2023.2277087">our research with male athletes</a>, we found that creating diverse sporting spaces facilitated open and vulnerable conversations, and promoted a culture of care and support that was important to these athletes. </p>
<p>These attempts at inclusion and diversity were not without their pains. The traditional culture of men’s sports sometimes reared its head making some men — particularly queer men — feel <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/10126902211014037">excluded, marginalized and unsafe</a>. But the creation of spaces of emotional vulnerability and support nevertheless showed what is possible if the power of sport is harnessed and reimagined in novel ways.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221969/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Kehler receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gabriel Knott-Fayle 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>We are witnessing an overdue shift towards normalizing male athletes seeking help and gradually speaking more openly and vulnerably about mental health.Michael Kehler, Werklund Research Professor, Masculinities Studies, University of CalgaryGabriel Knott-Fayle, Postdoctoral Scholar of Masculinities Studies in Education, University of CalgaryLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2214032024-01-31T13:36:42Z2024-01-31T13:36:42ZSleep can give athletes an edge over competitors − but few recognize how fundamental sleep is to performance<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571989/original/file-20240129-15-rvkoy3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C0%2C2663%2C1778&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sleep has been an underappreciated strategy for gaining an edge over an opponent at any level of athletic competition.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/ChiefsRavensFootball/47d36cdc32f2464d8b6aaed9cba32412/photo?Query=football%20playoffs&mediaType=photo,video,graphic,audio&sortBy=&dateRange=now-24h&totalCount=54&currentItemNo=44">AP Photo/Alex Brandon</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the adrenaline-packed world of professional sports, the power of sleep rarely gets adequate attention.</p>
<p>A healthy sleep pattern can be a stealthy game plan for athletes to gain an edge over their opponents. Only a <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/21/lebron-james-reveals-the-nighttime-routine-that-sets-him-up-for-success.html">few top elite athletes</a> know the secret of early bedtimes for optimal performance.</p>
<p>Sleep is vital not only for keeping the mind sharp and body healthy but also for excelling in all fields in life – whether <a href="https://theconversation.com/school-start-times-and-screen-time-late-in-the-evening-exacerbate-sleep-deprivation-in-us-teenagers-179178">in the classroom</a>, on the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5158299/">battlefield</a> or in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsab051">other professional arenas</a>. </p>
<p>As a <a href="https://www.neurology.pitt.edu/people/joanna-fong-isariyawongse-md-faes-faan">neurologist specializing in sleep medicine</a> at the University of Pittsburgh, I have devoted my career to understanding and advocating for the importance of sleep health. </p>
<p>Here are some key facts to understand why sleep matters.</p>
<h2>The critical role of sleep in performance</h2>
<p>Sleep is a complex, <a href="https://www.sleepfoundation.org/stages-of-sleep#">cyclical process</a> that progresses through several stages, each with distinct characteristics and functions. Initially, it begins with light sleep, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK526132/#">encompassing stages 1 and 2</a>, where the body starts to relax and brain wave activity begins to slow down. </p>
<p>These stages are followed by deep sleep, also known as <a href="https://www.sleepfoundation.org/stages-of-sleep/slow-wave-sleep#:">slow-wave sleep</a>, where the body undergoes significant restorative processes. The final stage is <a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/12148-sleep-basics">rapid eye movement</a>, or REM sleep, characterized by vivid dreams and increased brain activity. Typically, a person cycles through these stages four to six times each night, with each cycle lasting approximately 90 minutes. </p>
<p>Sleep is when our bodies heal. Deep sleep helps repair muscles and bones through several key mechanisms, including the release of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2824213/">human growth hormone</a> – a protein produced in the pituitary gland – and various <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/npp.2016.148">anti-inflammatory agents</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/growth-hormone-athletic-performance-and-aging">Human growth hormone is a key player</a> in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2824213/">muscle development, tissue repair</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1210/er.2008-0027">metabolism</a>, and is it vital for maintaining physical health. It significantly enhances the body’s capacity for self-repair, be it following an intense sports event or recovering from a sports-related injury. </p>
<p>In addition, sleep helps your brain to recalibrate through the waste-clearing <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2022.11.012">glymphatic system</a>, which is part of the central nervous system. Think of it as a dishwasher in your brain, flushing out waste products, including neurotoxic proteins such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2015.00221">amyloid-beta</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1755-5949.2010.00177.x">abnormal tangles of a protein called tau</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1101%2Fcshperspect.a009399">alpha-synuclein proteins</a>. </p>
<p>All three of those proteins have direct association with neurodegenerative diseases such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2023.3889">Alzheimer’s dementia</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.08.016">chronic traumatic encephalopathy</a>, a disorder thought to be caused by repeated head injuries. For athletes, maintaining proper brain health and cognitive function is paramount.</p>
<p>In addition, deep sleep <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00424-011-1044-0">strengthens the immune system</a> to help keep us healthy and free of illnesses.</p>
<p>REM sleep is the most active stage of sleep, the one in which we experience dreams. This contrasts with deep sleep, where the brain enters a state of synchronized slow waves, indicative of restorative rest. REM sleep is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11910-013-0430-8">essential for memory</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00459">emotion processing</a>, which help with recall and reducing anxiety. </p>
<p>Athleticism by its purest definition and overall body control can often be linked to the benefits of Stage 2 sleep, which has been shown to play an instrumental role in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1002429">consolidating of motor sequence memories</a> and physical skills learned during practice.</p>
<p>To fully benefit from these sleep cycles, adults need <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352721815000157?via%3Dihub">seven to nine hours</a> of sleep per night. This duration ensures that they complete the necessary four to six sleep cycles, allowing their bodies and minds to fully experience the restorative effects of each sleep stage, which is essential for optimal health and performance.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1uT4ldxU6l8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Sleep is a performance enhancer, if you do it right.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How sleep helps prevent injuries</h2>
<p>In professional sports, more training and higher pressure increase the chances of getting hurt. Research shows that collegiate athletes who sleep less than seven hours per night are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1249/JSR.0000000000000849">nearly twice as likely to get injured</a> when compared with those who sleep more than eight hours. In a game like football, where split-second decisions can lead to a touchdown or interception, a well-rested brain is the best tool for quick thinking and staying free of injury. </p>
<p>Good sleep also cuts down on the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2019.03.008">risk of concussions</a>, which, sadly, are pretty common in sports. Up to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/00001199-200609000-00001">3.8 million cases</a> of concussions occur annually in the U.S. during competitive sports. Studies have shown that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2019.03.008">sleepy athletes</a> are nearly three times more likely to suffer a concussion.</p>
<p>Sleep deficits have been linked to decreased performance in every cognitive measure, including <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsab051">vigilant attention, spatial cognition</a> and tasks involving <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2013.12.034">inhibitory control</a>. On the sports field, this translates to sleepy athletes making more impulsive and risky decisions. </p>
<h2>Enhancing athletic performance through ample sleep</h2>
<p>Athletes of any level, even at the highest levels of competition, could gain a competitive edge by giving more attention to the value of sleep. Studies focusing on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0b013e31820abc5a">sprinters</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2013.07.002">tennis players</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0b013e31820abc5a">endurance athletes</a> have found that sleep can enhance the following four key abilities: </p>
<ul>
<li><p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0b013e31820abc5a">Speed, strength and endurance</a>: More sleep can lead to faster sprint times, greater strength and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-009-1103-9">higher endurance</a>, which are crucial in sports where every second counts. Adequate sleep enhances muscle recovery and energy restoration, which are crucial for the strength and power needed in sprinting. </p></li>
<li><p>Accuracy and reaction time: One study found that tennis players who got more sleep showed better <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2013.07.002">accuracy and faster reaction times</a>. Increased sleep enhances brain function by boosting cognitive processes such as focus, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsab051">decision-making</a> and sensory perception. Well-rested individuals also experience <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1002429">better neuromuscular coordination</a>, essential for precise movements and quick responses. </p></li>
</ul>
<figure>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Sleep can make a critical difference when it comes to split-second decision-making.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<ul>
<li><p>Cognitive skills and inhibitory control: Good sleep helps with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsab051">strategizing and decision-making</a> through improved recall and a clearer mind, thanks to the cleansing action of the glymphatic system. Sleep deprivation, on the other hand, can impair cognitive abilities, as evidenced in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsab051">research involving NASA recruits</a>. </p></li>
<li><p>Pain tolerance: More sleep can lead to <a href="https://doi.org/10.5665/sleep.1830">increased pain tolerance</a>, playing a vital role in the quality of life and recovery process following injuries or intense physical exertion. While the exact mechanisms are complex and involve a two-way relationship between sleep and pain, this benefit is particularly important in physically demanding sports. Improved pain tolerance can aid athletes not only in recovery but also in maintaining mental well-being, allowing them to focus on rehabilitation and training without being overly hindered by discomfort. </p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Essential sleep tips for peak performance</h2>
<p>Here are some practical and effective sleep tips tailored for athletes, designed to help them harness the power of sleep for top-notch performance in their respective sports: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>Consistency and quantity: A regular sleep schedule is crucial for peak performance. Athletes should make sure they’re getting eight to 10 hours of sleep, not just the day before a big game but every day throughout the competitive season. </p></li>
<li><p>Environment: A sleep-conducive environment – dark, quiet and cool – is essential to getting a restful night’s sleep.</p></li>
<li><p>Pre-sleep routines: Relaxing activities such as reading, stretching and meditation before bed can enhance sleep quality.</p></li>
<li><p>Screen limits: <a href="https://theconversation.com/school-start-times-and-screen-time-late-in-the-evening-exacerbate-sleep-deprivation-in-us-teenagers-179178">Reducing screen time</a> before bed helps maintain natural sleep rhythms and the production of melatonin.</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-the-best-diet-for-healthy-sleep-a-nutritional-epidemiologist-explains-what-food-choices-will-help-you-get-more-restful-zs-219955">Dietary considerations</a>: Avoiding caffeine, alcohol and heavy meals before sleep aids in restfulness.</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://theconversation.com/short-naps-can-improve-memory-increase-productivity-reduce-stress-and-promote-a-healthier-heart-210449">Strategic napping</a>: Short, well-timed naps can be a valuable tool for recovery and achieving peak performance. </p></li>
<li><p>Sleep banking: To prepare for travel when you anticipate reduced sleep, consider sleeping longer beforehand. This can be achieved either through extra napping or by extending your regular nightly sleep. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>It’s important for any athlete to remember that sleep isn’t a weakness. Success as an athlete is about more than just physical training and tactical preparedness; it’s also about harnessing the power of sleep for optimal performance.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221403/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joanna Fong-Isariyawongse 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>Studies show college athletes sleeping less than 7 hours per night are almost twice as likely to be injured when compared with athletes sleeping more than 8 hours.Joanna Fong-Isariyawongse, Associate Professor of Neurology, University of PittsburghLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2201212024-01-31T13:35:57Z2024-01-31T13:35:57ZHow Black male college athletes deal with anti-Black stereotypes on campus<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572017/original/file-20240129-23-pzkon0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Professors have lower academic expectations of Black college athletes compared with white college athletes, a study found.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/basketball-makes-me-fulfilled-royalty-free-image/1407119795">supersizer/E+ Collection/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In an effort to avoid stereotypes about Black male athletes, such as being labeled a “<a href="https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/jade/vol3/iss3/1">dumb jock</a>,” Spike, a college football player, says he wore athletic clothes to class as little as possible. </p>
<p>“I mean, granted, I’m a 6-foot-4, 240-pound Black kid on campus, so it’s kind of hard to get away from that,” he said. “But I didn’t want any, you know, significant confirmation that I was an athlete. So, I just wore like a collared shirt, jeans and nice shoes every day.”</p>
<p>Trey, a baseball player, refrained from speaking up or sharing personal information – even with his teammates. </p>
<p>He said he was often “outnumbered in opinion” as he was one of two Black athletes on a team of 40, which led to him “not even wanting to speak up” about issues that may cause conflict with others. “I’m a Black student-athlete and, like, that already makes me have to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.2022-0108">carry myself</a> a different way,” he said.</p>
<p>I’m a professor of sport management who <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/10126902221082042">researches</a> the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/10126902221082042">experiences of Black male college athletes</a>. During the 2020-21 academic year, I <a href="https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.2022-0108">interviewed 16 Black male college athletes</a> at Division I colleges across the U.S. I wanted to know how they changed their behavior to navigate stereotypes about them. </p>
<p>I also asked participants, who competed in numerous sports – including football, baseball, cheer, diving, and track and field – to record audio diaries about the topic as part of the study.</p>
<p>I found that these college athletes, at times, went out of their way to change how they present themselves to others in order to avoid anti-Black racism and “dumb jock” stereotypes on campus. At other times, they pushed back against these stereotypes as a form of resistance.</p>
<h2>‘I don’t bring up that I am a student-athlete’</h2>
<p><a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Presentation_of_Self_in_Everyday_Lif.html?id=Sdt-cDkV8pQC">Self-presentation</a> refers to how someone acts or behaves during social interactions in order to influence how others perceive them. For example, a person may change how they speak, or their word choices, depending on who is around them.</p>
<p>The Black male college athletes in my study altered their presentation in a number of ways, including their dress or clothing and their speech. They also limited how much information they shared, and at times they hid details about their identity.</p>
<p>Marc, another football player, reflected on how being a Black male college athlete affected how he spoke – both the frequency and delivery – during class. “You have to be, like, more engaged,” he said. “You got to assert yourself more and you got to be more analytic about things.”</p>
<p>These adjustments were not restricted to academic environments. Marc was also careful about what information he shared in various athletic settings, too. “You do not really <a href="https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.2022-0108">talk about personal stuff</a> or anything like that,” he said. </p>
<p>Participants did not want their vulnerabilities used against them by their coaches or academic advisers.</p>
<p>Another strategy Black male college athletes used was hiding details about their identity – most often their athletic identity. Tyler, a track athlete, noted, “I try to make sure I don’t bring up that I am a student-athlete. I’m just trying to build my <a href="http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1623682148502463">identity away from the sport</a>.”</p>
<h2>Black students, white campuses</h2>
<p>Black men represent about <a href="https://nscresearchcenter.org/current-term-enrollment-estimates/">6% of total college students</a> in U.S. four-year public institutions. Yet at Division I schools, the highest level of college athletic competition, they represent roughly <a href="https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2018/12/13/ncaa-demographics-database.aspx">45% of football players</a> and <a href="https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2018/12/13/ncaa-demographics-database.aspx">51% of men’s basketball players</a>. </p>
<p>Overall, Black men represent <a href="https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2018/12/13/ncaa-demographics-database.aspx">12% of all Division I college athletes</a>, excluding historically Black colleges and universities.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, at Power Five schools, where college football is a big-time business, as many as <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/article/madness-doesnt-end-march/">1 in 6 Black male students</a> are athletes, compared with 1 in 50 white students. </p>
<p>The vast majority of Division I schools are predominantly white institutions. Their athletic departments, including coaching staffs and administrators, are <a href="https://www.tidesport.org/college">overwhelmingly white</a>. For example, 78% of Division I athletic directors, 81% of head coaches, 68% of assistant coaches and 90% of head athletic trainers <a href="https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2018/12/13/ncaa-demographics-database.aspx">are white</a>. </p>
<p>Similar to their athletic experience, these athletes do not see many other Black people across campus. Faculty on these campuses are <a href="https://www.bestcolleges.com/research/diversity-in-higher-education-facts-statistics/#faculty-diversity">93% non-Black</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572018/original/file-20240129-17-e529bf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="College student wearing ear buds works on laptop on campus" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572018/original/file-20240129-17-e529bf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572018/original/file-20240129-17-e529bf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572018/original/file-20240129-17-e529bf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572018/original/file-20240129-17-e529bf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572018/original/file-20240129-17-e529bf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572018/original/file-20240129-17-e529bf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572018/original/file-20240129-17-e529bf.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"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Black college athletes often go out of their way to avoid ‘dumb jock’ stereotypes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/male-college-student-studying-online-on-laptop-in-royalty-free-image/1304983476">Maskot/Maskot Collection/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Racism and discrimination</h2>
<p>It is well documented that Black male college athletes <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0193723513520013">experience racism and discrimination</a> while attending these predominantly white schools. This includes, for example, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1012690208099874">unequal enforcement of school policies</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10665684.2016.1194097">less access to educational opportunities</a>. </p>
<p>They are discriminated against for being Black, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764207307742">for being Black males</a> and for being athletes. Although touted for their physical prowess, Black male athletes are often <a href="https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/jade/vol3/iss3/1">labeled “dumb jocks”</a> – their intelligence somehow discredited by their <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/10126902221082042">physical stature</a>.</p>
<p>They are sometimes seen by students, faculty, staff and even fans as <a href="https://doi.org/10.17161/jis.v14i2.13606">lacking the intellectual ability</a> and motivation to succeed academically. They are characterized as illegitimate students who undermine the academic mission of the university and <a href="https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA163678994&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=01463934&p=AONE&sw=w&userGroupName=anon%7E5882e246&aty=open-web-entry">receive special treatment</a>. </p>
<p>One study found that professors and academic counselors had <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0193723513520013">lower academic expectations</a> of Black college athletes compared with their white counterparts and that these athletes lacked autonomy in making academic decisions. Academic counselors often selected their courses, as opposed to the athletes registering themselves, which made the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0193723513520013">athletes feel powerless</a>.</p>
<p>Another study found that faculty members were more likely to attribute Black male college athletes’ success to policies, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.27.4.390">such as affirmative action</a>, instead of their merits, as they did for white athletes.</p>
<h2>Resisting societal pressure</h2>
<p>Not all the athletes altered their behavior or appearance to avoid anti-Black stereotypes. Keyvon, a football player, expressed that he presents himself authentically in predominantly white spaces as a way to “<a href="http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1623682148502463">apply pressure</a>” and force people to get comfortable with his Blackness. </p>
<p>Being a big-time college athlete indeed <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/10126902221082042">presents privileges</a>, such as a pseudo-celebrity status, which at times can shield Black male college athletes from the impact of stereotypes and anti-Blackness. However, this is often the case solely when Black males perform well in their sport. </p>
<p>Sport performance should not determine how people treat Black male college athletes. Nor should Black male college athletes be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1123/kr.2016-0039">placed in a box</a> when it comes to how they present themselves, or risk anti-Black discrimination if they express themselves authentically. Ultimately, Black male college athletes will present themselves in a manner they deem appropriate – whether that aligns with what society expects or not.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220121/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan Howe 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>Black male athletes at Division I schools say they alter their speech, dress and other behaviors to gain acceptance in mostly white academic and athletic settings.Jonathan Howe, Assistant Professor of Sport Management, Temple UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2212892024-01-30T20:37:34Z2024-01-30T20:37:34ZFrom ancient Greece to now, the bravado of athletes transcends centuries<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571296/original/file-20240124-17-4eykqg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=189%2C0%2C3327%2C2059&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ancient bas-relief on grave stele in Kerameikos in Athens, Greece depicting two wrestlers in action.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/from-ancient-greece-to-now-the-bravado-of-athletes-transcends-centuries" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>“I am the greatest. I said that even before I knew I was. I figured that if I said it enough, I would convince the world that I was really the greatest.” This <a href="https://www.espn.com/boxing/story/_/id/15930888/muhammad-ali-10-best-quotes">quote from Muhammad Ali</a> summarizes his legendary wit. But it also indicates the self-confidence and attitude that characterizes so many athletes.</p>
<p>Since the beginning of sport media coverage on radio and television, and now with <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CwcjaSGArUq/?img_index=1">social media</a> providing intimate access to athletes, it has been clear that boasts, attitudes and confidence are part of the athlete persona. These attitudes, however, are nothing new. </p>
<p>Sport as it is practised around the globe has its origins in a <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/ca/sport-9781350140202/">partially real and partially imaginary ancient Greece</a>. Similarly, the literary and documentary records from antiquity show that the attitudes of athletes are not a new phenomenon.</p>
<p>Ancient Greek athletes, however, faced a challenge unlike modern athletes. Without the internet, television, radio or any widespread means of communication, athletes had to struggle to make their success known and easily communicated to a broad public. </p>
<h2>Songs of victory</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571330/original/file-20240125-23-jhtqbj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A white sculpture of a naked young man with a strip of cloth held in his left hand. The right arm is broken at the wrist." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571330/original/file-20240125-23-jhtqbj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571330/original/file-20240125-23-jhtqbj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=817&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571330/original/file-20240125-23-jhtqbj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=817&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571330/original/file-20240125-23-jhtqbj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=817&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571330/original/file-20240125-23-jhtqbj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1027&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571330/original/file-20240125-23-jhtqbj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1027&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571330/original/file-20240125-23-jhtqbj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1027&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fragments of a marble statue of the Diadoumenos (a youth tying a fillet around his head after victory in an athletic contest).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(The Metropolitan Museum of Art)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Unlike today’s elite athletes, athletes in antiquity were far less interested in highlighting sporting prowess. Athletic boasts <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-5370.12068">rarely focused on how quickly someone ran</a>, how easily they defeated an opponent in wrestling or how far they threw the discus. </p>
<p>Rather, athletes modified <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/in-praise-of-greek-athletes/605B9251CD2411DF810486AAF10A033F">the proclamation of victory</a> — an announcement made by a herald at athletic games, like the Olympics, that actually made them the victor. This proclamation is akin to the contemporary medal ceremony, but with more ritual and religious authority. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.academia.edu/1874218/_The_Heralds_and_the_Games_in_Archaic_and_Classical_Greece_Nikephoros_15_2002_69_97">The proclamation contained everything necessary to celebrate an athlete</a>: his name, father’s name, city of origin and the event in which he was successful. </p>
<p>The proclamation is referred to time and time again in the epinikian poetry of Pindar, an Ancient Greek poet from Thebes. Epinikian poetry consists of songs composed for a victory, as the word “epinikian,” which translates to “upon a victory,” indicates.</p>
<p>In the <a href="https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0162%3Abook%3DN.%3Apoem%3D5">opening of Pindar’s Nemean 5</a>, composed for an athlete named Pytheas, the herald’s proclamation is nearly repeated. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Sweet song, go on every merchant-ship and rowboat that leaves Aegina, and announce that Lampon’s powerful son Pytheas won the victory garland for the <a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/ancient-olympic-games/pankration">pancratium</a> at the Nemean games, a boy whose cheeks do not yet show the tender season that is mother to the dark blossom.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is a relatively simple representation of the herald. Still, the conceit of the song — that this message will go forth everywhere by means of word-of-mouth on ships — shows the determination of athletes to make their accomplishments known. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0162%3Abook%3DO.%3Apoem%3D8">Olympian 8</a>, Pindar’s song claims the authority that comes from a supposed eye witness. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“He was beautiful to look at, and his deeds did not belie his beauty when by his victory in wrestling he had Aegina with her long oars proclaimed as his fatherland.” </p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Ancient Greek epigrams</h2>
<p>It’s not only in epinikian song that boasts and accomplishments appear. Dozens of epigrams (poems inscribed on stone) remain from ancient Greece. Many of these leverage the proclamation, and many claim special success. </p>
<p>One simple example is that of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110863543">Drymos</a>, who won a running event at the Olympics in the early fourth century BC and erected a statue with an inscribed poem. “Drymos, son of Theodoros, proclaimed here, on that very day, / an Olympic contest, running into the famous grove of the god, / an example of manliness; equine Argos is my homeland.”</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571341/original/file-20240125-23-hm34m3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A weathered piece of stone with ancient Greek inscribed on the surface" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571341/original/file-20240125-23-hm34m3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571341/original/file-20240125-23-hm34m3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571341/original/file-20240125-23-hm34m3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571341/original/file-20240125-23-hm34m3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571341/original/file-20240125-23-hm34m3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571341/original/file-20240125-23-hm34m3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571341/original/file-20240125-23-hm34m3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A statue base from ancient Olympia inscribed with an epigram in honour of the victory of Kyniska of Sparta in the four-horse chariot race of 396 BC.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Peter J. Miller)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Still, these seemingly simple poems often include much more. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110863543">Kyniska of Sparta’s epigram</a>, one of the only epigrams for a victory by a woman in this period, is a good example. “Spartan kings are my fathers and brothers, / but, victorious with a chariot of swift-footed horses, / Kyniska set up this statue. And I declare that I alone / of women from all of Greece seized this crown.”</p>
<p>Kyniska’s epigram focuses on her and her singular achievement. Its boast is unique, but the rhetoric is not. It points to the ways in which ancient athletes established records and competed with their counterparts.</p>
<h2>We’re not so different</h2>
<p>Rather than counting statistical achievements, ancient athletic records tend to be of the type <a href="https://doi.org/10.1515/9781474469920-023">“the first with the most.”</a> Perhaps most telling is the massive inscription and poem celebrating the career of the most successful athlete from antiquity, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110863543">Theogenes of Thasos</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571343/original/file-20240125-15-qpq0ml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An ancient Greek vase depicting five men, drawn in black ink, running against a terracotta background" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571343/original/file-20240125-15-qpq0ml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571343/original/file-20240125-15-qpq0ml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571343/original/file-20240125-15-qpq0ml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571343/original/file-20240125-15-qpq0ml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571343/original/file-20240125-15-qpq0ml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571343/original/file-20240125-15-qpq0ml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571343/original/file-20240125-15-qpq0ml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A terracotta Panathenaic prize amphora from 530 BC.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(The Metropolitan Museum of Art)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This poem builds from the proclamation to claim his incredible supremacy by winning boxing and pancration at Olympia, something “no one” had done before. He also won three victories at the Pythian Games without competition (that is, his prospective opponents chose not to bother), something “no other mortal man” had done. Last, he won two crowns at the Isthmian Games on the same day. </p>
<p>All of these accomplishments were memorialized in poetry and inscribed on stone, along with a massive catalogue of his victories across a 20-year athletic career.</p>
<p>So, as the world prepares for another Olympic year, with television networks focusing on competition between athletes, and as the social media profiles of athletes themselves turn to vaunts, boasts and rivalry, we can reflect on the notion that athletics and athletes seem intrinsically connected to these attitudes. </p>
<p>There are, it seems, <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7312/gutt13340">vanishingly few continuities between the sports cultures of classical antiquity and those of today</a>. Nonetheless, the attitudes of ancient and modern athletes remain, at their core, so very similar, despite massive change over millenia.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221289/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter J. Miller receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.</span></em></p>Without the internet, television, radio or any widespread means of communication, ancient Greek athletes had to struggle to make their success known and easily communicated to a broad public.Peter J. Miller, Associate Professor of Classics, University of WinnipegLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2215912024-01-24T00:16:27Z2024-01-24T00:16:27ZSome Australian Open matches run extremely late. How would that impact player sleep and recovery?<p>For many Australians, January is synonymous with late nights spent watching the Australian Open tennis tournament. These night matches are a great spectacle, and many players consider the prime time slot on centre court as a privilege and reward for their hard work.</p>
<p>An early highlight of this year’s tournament was the men’s third seed Daniil Medvedev playing out <a href="https://www.tennis.com/news/articles/daniil-medvedev-emil-ruusuvuori-australian-open-339-am">a five-set thriller</a> against unseeded Emil Ruusuvuori, with the match finishing at nearly 4am. Less than 48 hours later, Medvedev followed this up <a href="https://ausopen.com/articles/news/medvedev-eases-past-auger-aliassime-sets-borges-clash">by winning his next round match</a>. </p>
<p>In Medvedev’s <a href="https://apnews.com/article/medvedev-late-australian-open-tennis-708e79d5b03b1d8f042e4b23f183cc88">post-match interview</a>, he discussed recovery and preparation strategies after the previous late-night finish. This included ice baths, medical treatment and physio work before finally going to bed at around 7am, managing to get five hours of sleep.</p>
<p>Similarly, the first round match for women’s number two seed, Aryna Sabalenka, didn’t start <a href="https://womensagenda.com.au/life/sport/defending-womens-champion-plays-just-before-midnight-at-australian-open-raising-scheduling-questions/">until almost midnight</a>.</p>
<p>As sleep scientists, we know limited and disrupted sleep opportunities can impact the body. So what do these late nights and lack of sleep mean for players’ recovery and performance?</p>
<h2>Why a lack of sleep is bad for your muscles</h2>
<p>The function of sleep is still not well understood, despite us spending close to a third of our life asleep. While we do know that sleeping less than six hours a night is linked to the increased risk of several <a href="https://doi.org/10.2337/dc09-1124">chronic diseases</a>, there is still much to investigate.</p>
<p>Several recent studies we’ve worked on have demonstrated the importance of sleep for optimal muscle function. For example, one night of <a href="https://doi.org/10.14814/phy2.14660">sleep deprivation</a> (pulling an “all-nighter”) or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1113/JP278828">repeated nights of short sleep</a> actually impair the muscles’ ability to make new proteins, which is essential for repair and recovery.</p>
<p>Furthermore, other recent research suggests that a period of sleep loss (five nights, with four hours of sleep each night) can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molmet.2020.101110">reduce mitochondrial function</a> within your muscles. Mitochondria are known as the “powerhouses of the cell” and are responsible for producing the energy needed to exercise – and win a tennis match.</p>
<p>Therefore, the lack of sleep tennis players experience after such late-night finishes may well impact their recovery and subsequent performance.</p>
<h2>Sleep loss directly affects athletic performance</h2>
<p>It is well accepted that sleep loss negatively impacts cognitive function and decision making. While the data is not definitive, there are also several studies that show sleep loss <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2018.01.012">impacts athletic performance</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1249/mss.0000000000003000">A recent study</a> in healthy young women accustomed to resistance exercise found that when they performed their weights session after several nights of restricted sleep, the quality and volume of their performance was reduced. The effort it took to complete the session increased, too.</p>
<p>Losing sleep is also detrimental to anaerobic power and skill execution – both of which are critical for Australian Open hopefuls. One study <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2013.07.002">found a decline in tennis serving accuracy</a> with only five hours of sleep, while another found a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/07420520802551568">decline in maximal power output</a>. </p>
<h2>Exercise can help you sleep – but it depends</h2>
<p>It is a widely held belief <a href="https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/exercising-for-better-sleep">that exercise improves sleep</a>. However, falling asleep shortly after completing an adrenaline-fuelled, high-intensity tennis match is not always easy.</p>
<p>Indeed, a recent study investigated the impact of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsad099">high-intensity exercise on sleep quality</a>. When the high-intensity exercise was performed in the early afternoon, deep sleep was improved. But when participants exercised shortly before bed, their sleep quality diminished.</p>
<p>However, this effect also depended on whether the person was a morning lark or evening owl (scientists call this a chronotype). The sleep quality of evening types was unaffected by exercise in the evening.</p>
<p>When it comes to tennis stars, a late-night finish can also affect their circadian rhythm. By the time Medvedev or Sabalenka would have got to bed, their natural, tightly regulated internal clock would have been readying them to wake up. Such a misalignment between the body’s circadian rhythm and the body’s drive for sleep tend to result in disrupted, insufficient sleep. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/jetlag-hits-differently-depending-on-your-travel-direction-here-are-6-tips-to-get-over-it-196730">Jetlag hits differently depending on your travel direction. Here are 6 tips to get over it</a>
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</em>
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<hr>
<h2>Can players prepare to handle late-night matches?</h2>
<p>Some players have <a href="https://apnews.com/article/australian-open-late-matches-explainer-509cb3dab84762ae346a1c7fc7b3dfe4">voiced their concerns</a> regarding <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-03/australian-open-extended-late-night-finishes-thing-of-past/102927520">late-night matches</a>. But other players suggest it’s just <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/sport/tennis/it-s-the-nature-of-the-beast-why-the-australian-open-can-t-avoid-late-nights-20240115-p5excn.html">part of the game</a>. So what can a player do to prepare for the sleep disruption?</p>
<p>Professional athletes have a number of strategies available. For example, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17134650">napping has myriad benefits</a> for both cognitive function and physical performance.</p>
<p>A popular supplement, caffeine, has consistently been shown to improve physical performance and alertness. While endurance exercise has shown the largest performance benefits from caffeine, small to moderate improvements have been shown in muscle strength, sprinting, jumping and throwing performance.</p>
<p>However, caffeine can be detrimental to subsequent sleep. While athletes preparing for late matches might have an evening caffeine hit, the average Australian should avoid drinking coffee after 3pm.</p>
<p>Increasing sleep duration in the week leading up to late-night matches can also help. Studies have shown that sleep extension <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2015.08.035">increases tennis serving</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.5665/sleep.1132">basketball free throw</a> accuracy almost 10%. Increasing sleep duration could really be the difference between hitting a winner or an unforced error. </p>
<p>It remains to be seen if athletes like Medvedev and Sabalenka will overcome their disrupted sleep and prevail at this year’s Australian Open. But there’s certainly an advantage to having a good night’s shut eye.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221591/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicholas Saner receives funding from the Victorian Medical Research Acceleration Fund. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Olivia Knowles 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>Night matches at the Australian Open are a great spectacle, but sleep disruption is likely to wreak havoc even on professional athletes.Nicholas Saner, Post-doctoral researcher in sleep science, Victoria UniversityOlivia Knowles, High Performance Manager, Hawthorn FC, and Researcher, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2209822024-01-23T13:29:34Z2024-01-23T13:29:34ZNick Saban’s ‘epic era’ of coaching is over, but the exploitation of players in big-time college football is not<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570442/original/file-20240120-29-zjm5sz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Nick Saban was an outspoken critic of changes to NIL rules and the transfer portal that empowered players.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/alabama-crimson-tide-head-coach-nick-saban-leads-his-team-news-photo/1895738790">John Cordes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When Nick Saban, the legendary University of Alabama football coach, announced his retirement at age 72 in January 2024, various analysts and colleagues depicted his departure as the <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/01/10/sports/nick-sabans-retirement-shock-brings-about-end-of-an-era/">end of an “epic era” of coaching</a>. </p>
<p>“WOW! College football just lost the GOAT to retirement,” the outspoken University of Colorado coach, Deion Sanders, <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10104506-deion-sanders-reacts-to-nick-sabans-alabama-retirement-just-lost-the-goat">stated on X</a>. Sanders went on to lament how college football has changed so much that it “chased the GOAT away.”</p>
<p>Without a doubt, Saban’s college coaching record of <a href="https://rolltide.com/news/2024/1/10/football-nick-saban-announces-retirement-after-17-seasons-at-alabama.aspx">297 wins, 71 losses and 1 tie</a> – not to mention seven national championships – puts him in an elite group of college coaches.</p>
<p>However, as the author of a book on the <a href="https://www.peterlang.com/document/1057480">racially exploitative nature of college sports</a>, I don’t see Saban as having been “chased away.” Rather, I see Saban’s retirement as his stepping away from an evolving college sports system that is increasingly empowering athletes in ways that he vocally condemned.</p>
<p>Saban was no champion for college athletes’ rights. Instead, he sought to maintain a status quo that <a href="https://uscpress.com/The-NCAA-and-the-Exploitation-of-College-Profit-Athletes">exploited players</a> while enriching coaches, schools and corporate sponsors. </p>
<h2>Opposed athlete endorsements and transfer portal</h2>
<p>Saban is outspoken about his <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/nick-saban-keeps-fighting-against-nil">discontent with recent rule changes</a> concerning name, image and likeness, or NIL. The new rules allow college athletes to sign endorsement deals and profit from their reputation.</p>
<p>Saban felt the NIL changes would allow programs to lure players to their teams by offering more money for the players and their families. In other words, any school with wealthy donors could use enticing NIL packages to secure the top talent and outbid other schools with less resources. Ironically, the NIL changes <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/college-football-recruiting-rankings-teams-with-the-best-classes-over-a-five-year-average-entering-2021/">did not widen the existing recruiting gap</a> between the top Power 5 schools – such as Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State and Louisiana State University – and their peers within the same subdivision. </p>
<p>And yet, had he kept coaching, Saban would have earned a staggering <a href="https://collegefootballnetwork.com/nick-saban-salary-contract-net-worth-2024/">US$11.1 million</a> salary in 2024. That included a $1.1 million annual base salary and a $10 million <a href="https://athleticdirectoru.com/articles/making-sense-of-college-coaching-contracts">talent fee</a>, which was to increase $400,000 each year. Talent fees are typically paid by universities using revenue generated from sponsorships and rights deals, and cover being able to use the coach’s NIL. He also was able to benefit from <a href="https://www.caclubindia.com/wealth/nick-saban-net-worth-forbes-cars-salary">multimillion-dollar endorsement deals</a> from Nike, Chevrolet and other brands as a result of his high-profile coaching status. </p>
<p>Saban also <a href="https://www.on3.com/college/alabama-crimson-tide/news/nick-saban-addresses-how-the-transfer-portal-has-impacted-his-approach-to-coaching-players/">criticized changes to the NCAA transfer portal</a>, which, beginning <a href="https://www.si.com/college/2021/04/14/ncaa-transfers-rule-change-football-basketball">in 2021</a>, has enabled players to switch schools without having to sit out a year after the transfer. Saban said the portal makes it harder for coaches to maintain player loyalty. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, for years, coaches could <a href="https://lsusports.net/news/2004/12/24/166309/">leave programs abruptly</a> for better-paying jobs regardless of promises made to their recruits or former players. Saban himself left Louisiana State to coach the NFL’s Miami Dolphins in 2004. </p>
<h2>A system that exploits players</h2>
<p>College football players are the primary labor force for the multibillion-dollar college sports industry. Given how much money they make for their universities, coaches and corporate sponsors – and the fact that a majority of them will not make it to the NFL – this is a period of their lives when they have a lot of earning power.</p>
<p>But unlike their coaches, who are compensated based on their market value, the players’ compensation – <a href="https://www.athleticscholarships.net/cost-of-attendance-spending-money">by way of scholarships</a> – are artificially capped. Their earnings are limited to tuition, room and board, a meal plan, termed medical coverage and small stipends.</p>
<p>This means athletes in Power 5 football and Division I men’s basketball are being <a href="https://uscpress.com/The-NCAA-and-the-Exploitation-of-College-Profit-Athletes">denied full economic rights</a>, or the opportunity to be paid market value for their labor. </p>
<p>Furthermore, scholarships are not guaranteed each year – a coach can deny an athlete’s scholarship from being renewed. The scholarship agreements also require players to attend practices and meetings, maintain academic eligibility, adhere to in-season and out-of-season coaching mandates, and perform in athletic competitions. </p>
<p>One study of Pac-12 athletes found that players spend <a href="https://sports.cbsimg.net/images/Pac-12-Student-Athlete-Time-Demands-Obtained-by-CBS-Sports.pdf">on average 50 hours per week on athletics</a>. In addition to attending practices, film sessions and competitions, they have to spend time on athletic training, travel and physical therapy treatments. Although the NCAA has a 20-hour-per-week maximum when it comes to required athletic activities, there are activities that are described as voluntary, even as <a href="https://m.heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/umem53&div=33&id=&page=">noncompliance involves penalties</a>.</p>
<p>Then there are injuries.</p>
<p>In a study of 300 college football players, Harvard professors found that <a href="https://hcp.hms.harvard.edu/news/college-athletes-underestimate-risk-injury">one-third reported having had at least one concussion</a>. Two-thirds reported having had one or more injuries of another type. This highlights the occupational hazard and long-term health risks associated with the sport.</p>
<h2>A new golden era</h2>
<p>In other words, the presumed epic era of coaching excellence that <a href="https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/39281965/alabama-nick-saban-best-college-coach-ever">ESPN analysts believe Saban represents</a> was also a period of exploitation and disempowerment for college athletes.</p>
<p>This highly exploitative system is contrary to the <a href="https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2021/6/28/mission-and-priorities.aspx">NCAA’s stated mission</a>, which claims to value its athletes more than its staff or corporate partners.</p>
<p>And this exploitation has had glaring <a href="https://csri-jiia.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/RA_2017_11.pdf">racial implications</a>. </p>
<p>The Division I coaches, conferences, NCAA and corporate sponsors secured many millions of dollars for themselves while systematically <a href="https://www.ncpanow.org/news-articles/the-6-billion-heist-robbing-college-athletes-under-the-guise-of-amateurism">depriving a largely Black college football labor force</a> from earning their market value.</p>
<p>A new <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/government/2024/01/19/draft-nil-bill-aims-save-college-sports-we-know-it">bill regarding NIL rights</a> intends to provide federal guidelines for NIL parameters and establish an independent oversight group. Yet the authors of the legislation still seek to prevent college athletes from being classified as employees. Without employee and union status, the benefits that could be achieved through collective bargaining and create a more equitable playing field for college athletes will remain elusive. </p>
<p>Nick Saban will inevitably be inducted into the Hall of Fame. However, his retirement, I believe, does not symbolize the end of a golden era of coaching excellence. Rather, it marks a potential shift toward a true golden era of equitable big-time college sports, one that treats college athletes as deserving of their fair share of the revenues they generate.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220982/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joseph N. Cooper 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>Nick Saban was one of the most successful coaches in college football history. But he was not a champion of players’ rights.Joseph N. Cooper, Endowed Chair of Sport Leadership and Administration, UMass BostonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2170402024-01-17T19:50:11Z2024-01-17T19:50:11ZBig dreams and high demands: The mental health challenges of elite youth athletes<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569667/original/file-20240116-25-tskkz8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=215%2C17%2C5775%2C3889&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A recent study found that 41 per cent of Canadian Olympic and Paralympic athletes met the criteria for one or more mental disorders, such as depression, anxiety or eating disorders.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Elite sport poses several unique pressures that can impact athletes’ mental health. </p>
<p>Demanding travel schedules and intense <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02640410500131480">competition pressures</a> can lead to negative emotional experiences. Athletes can <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2016-096731">become injured</a>, or they may be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2017.04.018">uncertain about their future career</a> in sport. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, some athletes may also face <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605211045096">physical, psychological or sexual abuse</a> in their sport. </p>
<h2>Pressures of elite sport</h2>
<p>Research has shown that elite athletes can experience mental health issues at rates equal to or higher than the general population. A <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2021.102018">recent study</a> found that 41 per cent of Canadian Olympic and Paralympic athletes surveyed met the criteria for one or more mental disorders, such as depression, anxiety or eating disorders. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-020-01266-z">Another study</a> involving Australian elite athletes revealed that they were nearly twice as likely to experience significant psychological distress compared to the broader community.</p>
<p>Even though elite athletes often have many resources to support them, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/spy0000319">they may feel it is hard to reach out and ask for help</a>. When left untreated, mental health challenges and performance pressures can lead to athletes feeling burned out or wanting to drop out of their sport, and they may even experience <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2019-101386">feelings of hopelessness and suicidal thoughts</a>. </p>
<p>Young people engaged in elite sport might be at even greater risk. </p>
<h2>Who are elite youth athletes?</h2>
<p>Reaching the highest levels of performance often requires athletes to <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/16184742.2017.1324503">specialize</a> in their sport during their teenage years, and <a href="https://olympics.com/en/news/age-number-youngest-olympians-2021-tokyo-2020-athletes">several athletes competing at the Olympic Games are adolescents</a>. There are numerous clubs, leagues and <a href="https://sportpourlavie.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Sport-Schools-in-Canada.pdf">schools</a> that focus on elite youth sport specialization, and there will be 1,900 athletes taking part in the <a href="https://olympics.com/en/gangwon-2024/">Youth Olympic Games</a> Jan. 19 to Feb. 1, 2024. </p>
<p>Clearly, youth athletes are already competing at elite levels or hope to reach elite levels in their sport.</p>
<p>While the term “elite youth athlete” can be tricky to define, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/19417381231219230">we use the term</a> to describe youth athletes who are training in sport settings that have a primary focus on achieving superior performance, with the explicit or implicit goal of moving to adult elite, collegiate or professional sports. </p>
<p>Elite youth sport environments may prioritize spending time on sport activities instead of school or relationships with friends outside of sport. These settings can provide the training and specialized skills needed to become an elite performer, but they may also pose risks to the mental health of young athletes.</p>
<h2>Mental health among elite youth athletes</h2>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A swimmer training alone in a pool" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569462/original/file-20240116-19-i1hpc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569462/original/file-20240116-19-i1hpc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569462/original/file-20240116-19-i1hpc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569462/original/file-20240116-19-i1hpc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569462/original/file-20240116-19-i1hpc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569462/original/file-20240116-19-i1hpc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569462/original/file-20240116-19-i1hpc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Perfectionism is common among athletes, and strongly linked with poor mental health outcomes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Unsplash/Jonathan Chng)</span></span>
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<p>Some pressures that are unique to elite youth athletes include early specialization and over-training, having critical or demanding coaches and parents, poor sleep, and trying to balance educational and social needs with increasingly professionalized sporting demands. <a href="https://theconversation.com/5-ways-pressuring-young-athletes-to-perform-well-does-them-harm-186699">These factors can all affect the well-being of youth elite athletes</a>. </p>
<p>Perhaps especially related to elite sport, <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-perfectionism-became-a-hidden-epidemic-among-young-people-89405">young people around the world are reporting unprecedented levels of perfectionism</a>. Perfectionism is common among athletes, and strongly linked with poor mental health outcomes. </p>
<p>Beyond the pressures of elite sport environments, young people experience the heaviest burden of mental ill-health. For young people around the world, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-021-01161-7">the peak age at onset for a mental health disorder is 15, and approximately half of these disorders occur before the age of 18</a>. There are many reasons why young people’s mental health is at such high risk, including increasingly troubling <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-023-02300-x">global conflicts and climate change</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105772">parental unemployment</a>, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/hec.3885">economic prospects</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-is-harming-childrens-mental-health-and-this-is-just-the-start-168070">Climate change is harming children’s mental health – and this is just the start</a>
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<p>Compared to the body of research on mental health among <em>adult</em> athletes, there is limited research exploring this issue among elite <em>youth</em> athletes. Currently, we do not have adequate data to reliably report on the prevalence of mental health disorders among elite youth athletes. </p>
<p>One exception is the topic of eating disorders, with a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsampl.2023.100040">recent review</a> suggesting that elite youth athletes may be at increased risk compared to non-elite youth athletes, and compared to young people more broadly. </p>
<p>Considering the unique challenges faced by adolescents in elite sport, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2022-106352">there is a pressing need to support the mental health of elite youth athletes</a>.</p>
<h2>Closing the gap: Supporting elite youth athletes</h2>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A skiier in mid-air" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569464/original/file-20240116-25-25lkrf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569464/original/file-20240116-25-25lkrf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569464/original/file-20240116-25-25lkrf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569464/original/file-20240116-25-25lkrf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569464/original/file-20240116-25-25lkrf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569464/original/file-20240116-25-25lkrf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569464/original/file-20240116-25-25lkrf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Some pressures that are unique to elite youth athletes include early specialization and over-training, having critical or demanding coaches and parents, poor sleep, and trying to balance educational and social needs with increasingly professionalized sporting demands.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Unsplash/Sebastian Staines)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A key focus for supporting the mental health of elite youth athletes involves creating youth sport contexts that are protective for mental health. Elite youth sports environments need to be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-023-01912-2">psychologically safe</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci9050068">free from abuse and harassment</a>. </p>
<p>A large responsibility sits with parents and coaches, who must avoid overly critical or demanding behaviours and instead engage with young people in supportive ways. Sport organizations should <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.780359">prioritize well-being and healthy development</a> among youth athletes.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-023-02202-z">Early detection</a> is important to help elite youth athletes get the support they need. Warning signs of mental health concerns can include changes in an athlete’s emotions, mood, behaviours, sleep and appetite. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2017.11.008">Coaches and parents</a> play important roles in noticing changes in athletes’ mental health, and they can help by opening up conversations about mental health among youth athletes. </p>
<p>Listening without judgment, asking athletes what they think they might need, and offering to help them find places to seek support <a href="https://cmha.ca/brochure/talking-to-teens-about-mental-health/">are all helpful strategies when talking about mental health concerns</a>.</p>
<p>Elite youth athletes and their parents may benefit by seeking support from a psychologist, psychotherapist or psychiatrist who specializes in working with athletes. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13889">Much more work is needed</a> to understand the nature of mental health concerns among elite youth athletes. Given the unique demands and pressures of competing in elite sport environments and the challenges that youth face, it is imperative that we pay attention to the mental health needs of these young performers.</p>
<h2>Need support?</h2>
<p><a href="https://cmha.ca/find-help/">Canadian Mental Health Association </a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.ccmhs-ccsms.ca/mental-health-services/referrals">Canadian Center for Mental Health in Sport</a> </p>
<p><a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/mental-health-services/mental-health-get-help.html">Canada Mental Health Support and Resources</a></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217040/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katherine Tamminen is an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto and a Registered Psychotherapist. Her research is supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and Sport Canada, the Tanenbaum Institute for Science in Sport, and the Canadian Foundation for Innovation and the Ontario Research Fund.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Courtney Walton receives funding through an MSPS Academic Fellowship at the University of Melbourne. He has advised a number of elite sports codes and organisations nationally.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jordan Sutcliffe is an Assistant Professor at the Royal Military College of Canada. Some of his past research has been supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and he is currently involved on a project funded by the Tannenbuam Institute for Science in Sport.</span></em></p>Given the unique demands and pressures of competing in elite sport environments, it is imperative that we pay attention to elite youth athletes’ mental health needs.Katherine Tamminen, Associate Professor, Sport Psychology, University of TorontoCourtney C Walton, Academic Fellow & Psychologist, Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of MelbourneJordan Sutcliffe, Assistant Professor, Military Psychology and Leadership, Royal Military College of CanadaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2210212024-01-17T15:41:47Z2024-01-17T15:41:47ZGhana won Afcon four times, but the last time was 40 years ago. What went wrong with its football team?<p><em>The Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) is the most important football tournament in Africa. It has been contested by the male national teams of countries on the continent <a href="https://www.britannica.com/sports/Africa-Cup-of-Nations">since 1957</a>. Egypt is the <a href="https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/articles/caf-history-makers-tracing-egypts-seven-africa-cup-of-nations-conquests">most successful</a> country in the tournament’s history, with seven wins, the most recent in 2010. Previously, Ghana was the dominant force with four wins. In spite of producing world class players, the country has not won the tournament in four decades.</em></p>
<p><em>As the 2023 edition plays out in Côte d'Ivoire, The Conversation Africa’s Godfred Akoto Boafo speaks to sports scientist Ernest Yeboah Acheampong on what has gone wrong for Ghana.</em></p>
<h2>Ghana produces players who feature in top leagues. What’s its record at Afcon?</h2>
<p>Ghana has a strong attachment to football. Its first president, <a href="https://theconversation.com/nkrumah-and-football-how-ghanas-top-players-ended-up-in-north-america-179097">Kwame Nkrumah, used</a> the sport as part of his strategy to promote national unity. He pushed the sport as a preferred option for Ghanaian youths and even <a href="https://www.modernghana.com/sports/590298/afcon-trivia-nkrumahs-role-in-ghanas-all-conquering-feat.html">set up a team</a> that competed in the local league. This laid the platform for a country that has consistently produced footballers of continental renown who have contributed to the success of their club teams. They include <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Abedi-Ayew-Pele">Abedi Pele</a> (UEFA Champions League winner with Olympic Marseille), <a href="https://citifmonline.com/2015/10/from-a-shoe-shine-boy-to-kotoko-president-meet-legend-sammy-kuffour/">Samuel Kuffour</a> (Bayern Munich), Sulley Muntari (Inter Milan), <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Michael-Essien">Michael Essien</a> (Chelsea FC) and <a href="https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/articles/asamoah-gyan-ghanas-shining-star-hangs-boots-following-glittering-global-career">Asamoah Gyan</a>. </p>
<p>The conveyor belt of quality players produced by Ghana led to the country dominating the Afcon tournament. It <a href="https://www.ghanafa.org/about-ghana-football-association/what-we-do/history">won titles</a> in 1963, 1965, 1978 and 1982. But despite having several high quality players in its national team, Ghana’s best performance in recent tournaments has been a <a href="https://ghanasoccernet.com/afcon-2015-ghana-lose-final-penalties-ivory-coast">finals appearance in 2015</a>.</p>
<h2>What is the problem?</h2>
<p>The issues include poor preparation, poor commitment levels of players, unhealthy team politics and disputes over remuneration. There has also been a decline in the quality of the local league as Ghanaian clubs have struggled to attract fans to their games and to compete among their continental peers. Then there is interference by the political elite as the government often seeks to use the sport to achieve and enhance its public standing.</p>
<p>Ghana’s youth football system used to prioritise the progress of talent through different age categories. This no longer exists. Competitor countries like Senegal, Morocco and Algeria have <a href="https://www.bbc.com/sport/africa/67864876">built their recent success</a> on sound practice like this. There is also difficulty in getting qualified and experienced coaches or trainers who understand growth and development in talent identification and advancement. The inability of the country’s football federation to maintain an efficient database of talented players means some of the most talented players do not get noticed. </p>
<p>Finally, there is the long held perception that some players are selected based on their ability to remit money or their personal relationships to influential members of the football association and sometimes the technical team.</p>
<h2>What must change?</h2>
<p>Ghana can improve its chances of winning Afcon when key stakeholders are able to remove obstacles, wastefulness and undesirable practices that hamper the progress of the national team. There should be an appropriate grassroots structure for all the national teams which guarantees the smooth progress of talent. This supports the development of football talent through the ranks as recommended by <a href="https://www.fifatrainingcentre.com/en/fwc2022/scaling-the-pyramid/part-1-introduction.php">Fifa’s pyramid </a>(grassroots for the foundation, youth before elite level). </p>
<p>The authorities must not appoint leaders who do not have the requisite knowledge in football and management practices. Investment in football infrastructure and capacity building of coaches is crucial for development and to improve the chances of winning. Senegal, Morocco and Algeria have all used this path. This investment should cut across the domestic leagues and grassroots structure and systems. </p>
<p>The selection of players must follow specific criteria that prioritise talent who feature regularly at their clubs. These approaches, inspired by the practices in countries where sport scientists and managers play pivotal roles, can improve Ghana’s chances of ending its 40 year drought. Also, it is time to give technocrats the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the activities of the football association in various capacities based on their scientific knowledge and experience. </p>
<p>There is a need to develop a robust database of Ghanaian players both abroad and domestically to ensure effective supervision and monitoring of their performance in their leagues. Importantly, coaches and trainers should be more concerned about modern methods of training and management of talents since the sport has become more scientific.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221021/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ernest Yeboah Acheampong 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>Ghana’s recent Afcon record does not reflect its status as an African football powerhouse.Ernest Yeboah Acheampong, Senior Lecturer, Department of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Sports (HPERS), University of Education, WinnebaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.