Globalization of sport an inconvenient truth

Sociology Of Sport

I know this assignment may seem a bit overwhelming. The interview topics are

broad. I think the spirit of the assignment was written to showcase how a wide

variety of factors (different spheres of social life) impact decision making in sports

(whether we are conscious of them or not). Societal norms, social issues, and

culture impact community, college, and professional level sports.

*I don’t want you to spend an hour trying to guess what the assignment means –

I want you to get a meaningful experience from interviewing someone in the field.

Just do your best to create a question or two that relates to the different

categories listed in the assignment. *If you end up forgetting a category during

the interview - just discuss what you think might be some issues in that category

based on your experience.

You want to not only gain their perspective on each of the topics but also how each topic affects/impacts his or her decision- making in his or her role and within the sports industry. Create at least 12 questions to ask this individual (at least one question per topic) from the following sport-related topics:

• Sport Management Theories

• Responsibilities and Duties

• Best Practices in Sports

• Ethical Issues in Sport

• Globalization of Sport

• Media in Sport

• Sports and the Economy (money and power)

• Religion in Sports

• Politics in Sports

• Gender Equality in Sports

• Race and Ethnicity in Sports

• Children in Sports *You can ask these questions in a very general manner: Can you name some sports management theories or leadership theories impact your decision making? What ethical issues impact your job? How does media impact your decisions at work? How does religious differences impact your decision making? *How you ask questions will depend on the person you are interviewing and how you are conducting the interview.

Sport Management Theories – Some possible questions: Do you utilize any sport management theories in your decision making? Do you use any particular leadership theories to aid in interactions or decision making? How can a sports management professional utilize sports management theories to help make decisions? Motivational theory? Goals theory? Another idea: Give an example of a coach/manager and their leadership style and ask if the person you are interviewing aligns with that or identifies with another coach/manager that follows a different leadership/management style/theory to guide their decisions. Responsibilities and Duties – Some possible questions: What are your responsibilities and duties? What are your most important duties? What are your most challenging responsibilities? Why? How do you approach decision making for challenging duties? Best Practices in Sport - Some possible questions: How did you learn about the best practices in sport as it applies to your job? What are the best ways to learn about best practices? What are a few important “best practices” in sport that you apply? How do the best practice(s) impact your decision making? Ethical Issues in Sport -- Some standard ethical issues might surround cheating (parent/child/coach), drug use, bullying, role of parent, fairness, fans, financial, treatment in terms of race/gender/ability etc. You can ask a question based on their immediate local experience or even their thoughts on the ethical issue from a larger perspective. It can be focused on one sport or more general. Some possible questions: What do you think are the biggest ethical issues in sports (local, national, etc.)? What is the biggest ethical issue you find in your field? What are the biggest ethical problems with parents/players in your organization/conference/sport? Can you share a story where you struggled with decision making surrounding an ethical dilemma at work?

Here is an additional resource discussing Ethical Concepts in Sports – Chapter 1 http://samples.jbpub.com/9780763743840/43844_CH01_Thornton.pdf Globalization of Sport – If you look up globalization of sport in the glossary of the textbook it will give you an idea of the different ways that globalization can apply. It is a broad topic. Example topics: migration coaches/players from country to country, cheap production of sports equipment and clothing, impact of commercialized sports on global level or as global trend, international organizations that oversee sports, relationship building/competition across the globe (Olympics/World Cup), COVID-19 impact, global resources/connections in field of sports, competition culture. Some possible questions: How has globalization impacted your job? How has globalization impacted your sport? Do you think globalization has negatively or positively impacted your sport/job/etc.? How? Note: For this question you want to try and make the question specific because “globalization as a term” is broad and the interviewee may not know what you are asking.

Here is another resource: Globalization of Sport: An Inconvenient Truth by Lucie Thibault Brock University https://www.sportknowhowxl.nl/files/artikelLucieThibault.pdf Media in Sports This is a very large topic that can be interpreted many ways. You can ask general or more specific questions. If you look up ‘media” in the textbook glossary – you will see several different topics like: fairness or quality of media coverage of sports, how media coverage of sports impacts youth, parents, or society, and how media can shape sports. Some possible questions: How does media in sports negatively impact your athletes? How accurate is media when it comes to covering the sport? Does media about sports impact your decision making? Sports and the Economy (money and power) This again is very large topic that can be interpreted many ways. It can have to do with local funding of the sport. It can have to do with federal funding (parks, community programs, etc.). It can do with how affordable the sport is for families. It can deal with inequality of access to sports due to economic factors. A quick search of the textbook glossary will give you further ideas if needed.

http://samples.jbpub.com/9780763743840/43844_CH01_Thornton.pdf
https://www.sportknowhowxl.nl/files/artikelLucieThibault.pdf
Religion in Sports A person’s beliefs will have an impact on their view and participation in sports. Some faith values may dictate prayer, time-off, acceptable clothing, acceptable interaction, etc. The glossary in the course textbook has several categories on how religion and sport are linked. Some possible questions: How does your own religious views impact sports? Do you see certain sports values linked to different faith values? How do you accommodate different religious beliefs in your organization/sport/etc.? Politics in Sports Politics in sports can either be about how “local” politics impacts things or how national politics impact the sport. Black Lives Matter, boycott, call to action, team names/symbols (Washington

Redskins). Politics infiltrates everything. Chapter 13 covers politics and sports if you need some extra ideas. Some possible questions: Do you think politics and sports should be kept separate? Is it possible? What positive role can sports play in politics? What role should the government play in sports? Gender Equality in Sports You can ask things about how gender equality impacts that particular sport or how it impacts sport as a bigger more general issue. You can ask how gender equality issues impacts their job. Some possible questions: Is gender equality in sports an issue in your organization/sport? How could this be addressed? Note: Chapter 7 covers gender and sports. If you are having trouble thinking of questions you can look over the chapter. Race and Ethnicity in Sports – This can also connect to politics if talking about the links to boycotts, athletes speaking out against racial inequality, kneeling during the anthem. This subject covers a lot of topics. It can talk about things like racial inequality when it comes to management/ownership. It can be about race relations in the team. It can be how race and ethnicity on a larger scale impacts things or it can be on a more personal/local level. Some possible questions: How do you promote race/ethnicity equality? What are challenges with race/ethnicity in your sport? Chapter 8 in textbook covers this topic if you need more ideas. Children in Sport—This can be about how sport impacts children (benefits and/or negative impact). It can

be about the relationship between parents/children and sport. It can be about the relationships between

children or between coaches and children. It can be about protecting children, encouraging children, role

models, programs, etc. If the person you are interviewing works with children – this question should be

pretty easy. If the person does not work with children – you can ask their experience as a parent or a

general view of how sport impacts children in society?

Tips on Conducting an Interview

1. Explain to the person you are interviewing a little bit about the assignment. Most people are happy to help a student and to share about their life! Please put them at ease. Let them know it is up to them what they share and that anything they discuss about their history and life is valuable. Let them know you appreciate them talking with you. Ask permission to take notes or record the interview.

2. Pick a quiet comfortable setting to conduct the interview or make sure the phone/skype interview is done in an appropriate setting free of distraction.

3. It is important to focus on your interviewee. You want to make eye contact, show interest, and be a good listener. *Please keep in mind sometimes when you are asking questions about culture and a person’s background it can sometimes get very emotional for that person. Sometimes your interviewee will get choked up or cry. It is important to show empathy.

4. If they seem uncomfortable about a topic or question, please just move on. If they don’t want to talk about certain things that is OK. There are plenty of things they can talk about to still make for a great interview. This is not about getting answers to every question; it is an experience of getting to know this person’s life story better and making a connection at a deeper level.

5. Ask open ended questions. In other words, you are asking how, why, for examples, etc. Don’t be afraid to ask for clarification if you don’t understand. Also a good technique is to say things like “can you tell me a little bit more about that?” Don’t be afraid to add follow up questions that fit and seem to flow. Like I said it is not about hitting every question. It is about getting to know the person’s history (story) better. Encourage! Think of this more as a guided conversation.

6. Prepare interview questions ahead of time. You can choose from the questions below, and you can also add your own questions.

7. It is always good to end your series of interview questions by asking, “Is there anything we haven’t discussed that you want to share about yourself?”

8. Finally, please make sure at the end of the interview to thank the person for taking the time to do the interview with you.

Remember: It is important to have a plan for the interview before it begins. Create a list of questions you want to cover in the interview. You do not need to cover all the questions on your list. You don’t have to ask them in a specific order. It is natural for one question to lead to another or back to another topic. Below is a list of questions you can choose from. You can also make up your own questions.