Epilogue: the struggles must continue

Abstract

In the epilogue to this special issue, the co-author reflects upon recent efforts to bring about social change in and through sport, the contributions of scholarship to those efforts and the current terrain. He argues that while sport has power to effect progressive change, we should not exaggerate the extent of that power. Moreover, sport activists rarely make effective coalitions with progressive groups outside of sport, to the detriment of both. He concludes that the most pressing need today is to shore up public opportunities for sport and physical activity. To that end, he suggests four contributions scholars can make: document and publicize the contradictions between promise and reality, conduct critical research, engage students and support open source publication.

Acknowledgements

I am extremely grateful for the comments of Peter Donnelly and Russell Field on a draft of this paper.

Notes

¹ Farrell, ‘Black Rhythms’.

² Scott, Athletic Revolution; Hoch, Rip Off; and Meggysey, Out of their League.

³ Kidd, Struggle for Canadian Sport.

⁴ Lipsitz, Rainbow at Midnight.

⁵ Marx, The 18th Brumaire, 15.

⁶ Gruneau, Sport, Class, 23–8.

⁷ Lenskyj, Olympic Industry Resistance; Shaw, Five Ring Circus.

⁸ Chicago 2016, ‘Memorandum of Understanding’.

⁹ Ira Dreyfuss, ‘Sedentary Death Syndrome. It's Real Researchers Say’. Associated Press, May 31, 2001. http://www.wordspy.com/words/sedentarydeathsyndrome.asp.

¹⁰ Cf. Kidd, ‘“Making the Pros Pay”’; Jays Care Foundation, http://mlb.mlb.com/tor/community/tor_community_jayscare.jsp; and ‘Toronto Raptors Report to Community 2007-2008’, http://www.nba.com/media/raptors/0708RaptorsReporttoCom.pdf.

¹¹ Taylor and Toohey, ‘Sport and Cultural Diversity’.

¹² E.g. ‘The Racial and Gender Report Card’, http://web.bus.ucf.edu/sportbusiness/?page = 1445.

¹³ People for Education, http://www.peopleforeducation.com/school_survey.

¹⁴ Kidd, ‘A New Social Movement’.

¹⁵ Youth Sport Trust, ‘Know the Score 2008’.

¹⁶ Kidd and Donnelly, Literature Reviews, 4. Italics in original.

¹⁷ Wray, Pedal Power.

¹⁸ Association of American Universities, ‘The University's Role’; Association of Research Libraries, Open Access; Houghton et al. , ‘Economic Implications’; and Lessig, Free Culture.

¹⁹ MacMillan, Uses and Abuses.

²⁰ Merrill, ‘Herbert Gutman’, 203.