Jason Kido Lopez

My research examines sports media from a critical/cultural perspective. With my background in philosophy and experience teaching ethics courses, I am drawn to the many normative questions that arise in the contemporary sports media landscape. I’m particularly interested in how the genre expectations surrounding sports media allow for unique potentialities in the way that athletes, media industries, and games interact. This includes investigations into branding and athlete political expression like Colin Kaepernick’s. I am also currently working on a book manuscript that explores “games around games,” including fantasy sports, sports betting, and sports video games. From the golden age of horse racing and betting, to the fantasy boom of the nineties and aughts, to the contemporary legalization of sports wagering, the sports media industry has regularly used sports gaming to create interest and shape fan tastes. This project will look at how sports media companies currently and historically use the uncertainty of competitive outcomes to construct and profit from sports games, exploring the deep connections between sports, games around sports, and media.