Search

The intersection of gender identity, sports participation, and health care is increasingly under scrutiny within legal and policy spheres. Specifically, the practice of tracking U.S. high school athletes' menstrual cycles sustains concerning implications for gender-based discrimination, particularly affecting transgender and nonbinary athletes. This paper examines the legal and policy implications of menstrual tracking in high school athletics, highlighting the potential violations of privacy rights and discrimination against athletes of diverse gender identities. By analyzing existing laws, regulations, and case law, the paper explores the complexities surrounding the practice of menstrual tracking and calls for more inclusive and equitable sports policies. Additionally, it addresses gaps in privacy protections under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, emphasizing the need for updated regulations to safeguard students' health-related data in digital environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sport management programs are essential pathways by which aspiring professionals in the sport industry achieve their university education. Although a substantial segment of sport management scholarship has focused on driving for higher rates of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the sport industry, less attention has been paid to the sport management academy. In this study, we examine the gender representation of full-time faculty positions, publications, and research methodologies in sport management. Our results show that men are employed in higher numbers overall. In the 329 sport management programs studied, the percentages of women employed at each level are assistant professor 46.8%, associate professor 39.5%, and full professor 37%, suggesting a drop-off aligned with the concept of career derailment or a time lag in reaching equity in the discipline. Women are also less published in top sport management journals ("Journal of Sport Management," "European Sport Management Quarterly," and "Sport Management Review"). Implications of these findings are discussed, as well as future research directions

Intercollegiate athletics offer amateur athletes an approximately four-year window to pursue their athletic careers (Hodges & Darvin, 2022). While many athletes complete their full eligibility, some choose to retire early (Zvosec & Bass, 2022). At the NCAA Division III level, motivations for early retirement remain unclear, and the experiences of former student-athletes often are overlooked (Hodges & Darvin, 2022; Zvosec & Bass, 2022). Despite Division III's large athlete population, research seldom delves into their experiences. This study aims to explore why former Division III athletes voluntarily leave their sport. Transitioning out of collegiate sports poses significant challenges, affecting athletes' identities, career goals, and well-being. The Theory of Work Adjustment (TWA) offers a framework for understanding this transition (Hesketh & Griffin, 2005). TWA emphasizes aligning individual skills, values, and environmental requirements, providing insights into how athletes experience this phenomenon (Camire et al., 2012). Semistructured interviews with 15 early retirees revealed factors influencing their decision, including controlling coaching behavior, a win-at-all-costs culture, lack of support, and burnout. This study sheds light on the Division III student-athlete experience, informing coaches, administrators, and institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gendered processes in the sport industry often perpetuate male dominance and female inferiority. While these gendered occurrences have been well documented, the outcomes of such processes are underexplored. Under the guidance of objectification theory and the production-reception relationship, the authors investigated the influence of objectification in sports-media outlets' coverage of a female sporting event for a national sample of U.S. consumers (N = 225). In addition, given the lack of coverage directed toward female sporting events, the current study investigated the influence of previous viewership on consumer behaviors for a future women's sporting event. Findings suggest that processes of objectification influence both men's and women's consumer behaviors and that previous viewership influences future consumer-behavior motives. Furthermore, objectified images and language did not adversely affect future consumer behaviors for those who had previously viewed a similar women's sporting event. Sport-media and communications professionals alike can leverage these relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The esports industry has seen rapid growth over the previous decade with additional opportunities for participants to compete in competitive and casual environments. As such, the sport industry has taken notice of this increase in popularity and exposure for esports. A recent call to arms by sport management scholars suggests that the field of sport management needs to broaden research endeavors to include analyses of esports and esports spaces. To that end, this investigation serves as one of the first that investigates the playing experiences of esports participants, with a particular focus on the presence of discrimination and hostility in playing environments for men and women competitors. Previous events within the esports industry, such as the now infamous harassment of female gamers known as "Gamergate," suggest that female esports players may experience discrimination and hostility at higher rates than their male counterparts. Guided by the frameworks of hegemonic masculinity and treatment discrimination, this investigation gauged the experiences of men and women esports participants with discrimination and hostility in esports playing environments. Results indicated that female esports participants reported experiencing instances of treatment discrimination more frequently than their male counterparts, while male participants reported experiencing hostility more frequently. Results aim to assist the esports industry as well as sport management scholars in guiding new policy to create inclusive spaces for esports enthusiasts and career hopefuls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on women coaches within the field of intercollegiate athletics suggests numerous barriers to entry with additional obstacles that may influence prolonged involvement. Although research has explored these challenges, as well as intentions to leave the field prematurely, there is very little work on those individuals who voluntarily leave the profession. The purpose of the current project was to explore the initial career aspirations of women assistant coaches who voluntarily left the profession. Utilizing career construction theory as a guiding framework for the analysis and interpretation procedures three themes emerged: (a) educational advancement (b) limited coaching aspirations, and (c) sponsorship to enter the coaching profession. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed in relation to the career construction process for women assistant coaches and their eventual departure from the profession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine fan opinion toward the active recruitment of prospective student-athletes with deviant pasts. College football fans were surveyed to determine to what extent the deviant behavior of a prospective student-athlete impacted how much they would support their favorite team recruiting that athlete. There were three primary findings: (a) deviant behavior negatively impacts a prospective student-athlete’s fan support score, (b) assault of a female student is the most severe deviant behavior in which an athlete could engage, and (c) White recruits were judged more harshly for using illegal drugs when compared to Black recruits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]