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While the topic of athlete welfare has gained significant attention in academic literature, to date there has been a primacy placed on physical settings and their ability to augment or thwart the welfare of athletes. The discourse has, therefore, neglected the advent of social media spaces and their potential to have a significant impact on athlete welfare. Social media platforms are now a vital component in the lives of athletes who are increasingly reliant on maintaining an online presence and following. In this commentary, we consider the scope of social media and its potential impact on the welfare of athletes, particularly female athletes. In doing so, we identify and discuss some of the positive health and well-being outcomes associated with increased online communication and self-representation in social media spaces. We examine the scholarship concerning the threats posed by social media spaces, consider power in virtual environments and its impact on welfare, and finally suggest some future directions for scholarship in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gender-based violence in virtual environments is commonly experienced by women and girls, and online abuse has become a significant social problem. High profile women in a variety of professions often become victims of online violence. The topic of online gender-based violence has to date received scant academic attention. Little is known about how female academics are represented and treated in online and social media spaces. Academics are increasingly exhorted to disseminate their work and to engage with an audience outside academia but the online violence against female academics compromises their ability to fulfil this agenda. This paper provides insight into the literature surrounding the experiences of women academics negotiating virtual spaces and further presents a research agenda in order to explore the phenomenon more closely. In doing so, we highlight the need for greater protection and regulation of virtual environments in order to support those who use them.

This study examined coaches' and sport psychologists' experiences of managing performance blocks and the mechanisms they adopted in supporting athletes who experience them. This qualitative study adopted a constructivist philosophical paradigm. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with elite coaches (n = 8) and HCPC-registered sport psychologists (n = 7). Following transcription, interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings indicated that managing performance blocks is a complex and dynamic process whereby participants iteratively moved through five stages (i.e., understanding the athlete, intervening in performance blocks, experiencing the emotional rollercoaster, coping with emotions, and learning). From an applied perspective, findings encourage coaches and sport psychologists to create trusting relationships with the athlete and demonstrate an emotional understanding of athletes' needs. Findings indicate that lowering the psychological demand and increasing the athletes' coping resources such as by offering emotional support is an important strategy in the management of performance blocks. Lay summary: This article explores eight coaches' and seven sport psychologists' experiences of managing performance blocks. Coaches and sport psychologists continually shifted between five stages in understanding and supporting athletes' experiences of performance blocks. Findings highlight the importance of trusting and collaborative relationships, emotional intelligence, and coping strategies when managing performance blocks. Coaches and sport psychologists must create and maintain trusting relationships with the athlete and those surrounding the athlete before attempting to intervene in performance blocks to ensure athletes feel safe in discussing performance blocks and receive consistent and supportive messaging. Coaches and sport psychologists are encouraged to develop and utilize effective coping strategies throughout managing performance blocks. Examples including seeking support from colleagues and supervisors, participating in reflective practice, and seeking emotional support from friends and family. Sporting organizations can improve the management of performance blocks by providing coach education sessions to raise awareness of the causes and warning signs, and highlight instances of best and worst practice for management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interpersonal violence (IV) against athletes has gained increased research, policy, and media attention. The purpose of this study is to analyze the scientific sport integrity literature (2010-2020) to better understand (a) to what extent, and (b) how IV has been discussed therein. Implementing Arksay and O'Malley's scoping review framework, 1,342 studies were identified. Most studies focused on doping (n = 930), and to a lesser extent (illegal) gambling (n = 191), and match-fixing (n = 61). Only 36 studies broadly discussed IV as a sport integrity issue. Further thematic analysis showed that IV is sometimes recognized as a personal and organizational sport integrity threat and as an instrumental facilitator for other integrity breaches. Moreover, the normalization of aggression and violence in sport was a recurring theme, hampering safe, fair, and inclusive sport systems and organizations. To effectively address the issue of IV, this review article advocates for a broad, integral, and holistic sport integrity approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At first glance, Jules Massenet's opera Sapho (1897) might appear to water down its source material, substituting the searing social commentary of Alphonse Daudet's novel (1884) with idealised tropes of the Midi. This article, however, seeks to complicate this reading, arguing that Sapho moves beyond the regionalism of its operatic predecessors, while entirely reimagining Daudet's novel for a new medium. It highlights how the themes of nostalgia and belonging are established in Henri Cain and Arthur Bernède's libretto, reiterated by Léon Carvalho's staging, and intensified in Massenet's score, thereby nuancing and enriching our understanding of adaptation for the operatic stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated gender-based violence targeting high-profile women in virtual environments through the case of women's tennis. Using a netnographic approach and the lens of third-wave feminism, 2 popular social media platforms (Facebook and Twitter) were analyzed to examine social commentary and fan interaction surrounding the top-5-seeded female tennis players during the Wimbledon Tennis Championships. Athletes were exposed to violent interactions in a number of ways. Four themes were identified through data analysis: threats of physical violence, sexualization that focused on the female physical appearance, sexualization that expressed desire and/or proposed physical or sexual contact, and sexualization that was vile, explicit, and threateningly violent in a sexual or misogynistic manner. Findings demonstrate how social media provides a space for unregulated gender-based cyberhate targeting high-profile women in their workplace in a way that traditional sport media does not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Black Lives Matter movement and coronavirus pandemic have raised awareness of society's categorisation of non-white people and institutional language used. We add to contemporary debate on the BAME acronym (Black, Asian and minority ethnic) by providing a critical examination of the perceptions and attitudes towards it in the UK. Drawing on in-depth interviews with women from these communities who were working in the hyper-masculinised and white-dominated sporting industry, we privilege the voices of those who traditionally have been omitted. Adopting a Critical Race Theory approach and an intersectional lens three overarching themes were identified: rejection and indifference towards the BAME acronym; filling in the form – inadequacies of the system; and, making up the quota – perpetuating (work-related) insecurity(ies). The findings provide analytical insight into institutional language and highlight the potential for the BAME acronym to cause distress and alienation while preserving the concept of Whiteness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the responses by users of the social media platform, Twitter, to the English Premier League's (EPL) support, via four tweets from their official Twitter account, for the annual Rainbow Laces anti-homophobia in football campaign. Locating our analysis within the corporate social responsibility (CSR) agenda of the EPL, the four tweets received a total of 24,997 'likes', 4,951 retweets, and 1,865 comments. Of those comments directly responding to the campaign and wider CSR agenda of the EPL (n = 407), 236 contained supportive comments and 171 contained negative comments. Despite support for the Rainbow Laces campaign, the comments also reflected some resistance to the overall CSR agenda of the EPL. Here, responses called for a greater focus on issues outside of LGBT+, such as mental health and reducing the financial burden placed on fans to consume football. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]