1. Chapter 13 Sports and Politics: How Do Governments and Global Processes Influence Sports? Sport in Society: Issues and Controversies

2. Photo by Lara Killick When people say that politics has no place in sports, they usually mean that there is no place in sports for politics that differ from their own.

3. Definitions (I)  Politics: Processes of organizing social power and making decisions that affect the lives of people in a social world  Governments: Formal organizations with the power to make and enforce rules in a particular territory or collection of people

4. Definitions (II)  Power: The ability to influence people and achieve goals even in the face of opposition from others  Authority: A form of power that comes with a recognized and legitimate status or office in a government, an organization, or an established set of relationships

5. Reasons for connections between government and sports (I) 1. Safeguard the public order 2. Insure fairness and protect human rights 3. Maintain health and fitness 4. Promote the prestige and power of a group, community, or nation (continued)

6. Reasons for connections between government and sports (II) 5.Promote a sense of identity, belonging, and unity among citizens 6.Reproduce values consistent with dominant ideologies in society 7.Increase support for political leaders and government 8.Promote economic development

7. 1. Safeguard public order Governments make rules about:  What sports are legal or illegal  How sports should be organized to protect rights and well-being  Who has the right to play sports  Where sports may be played  Who can use public facilities and when they can use them

8. To protect public well-being, skateboarding is banned in many public areas, such as Philadelphia’s “Love Park.” Photo by Jay Coakley

9. A place for everything, and everything in its place in this London park Photo by Jay Coakley

10. 2. Insure fairness and protect human rights  Governments may intervene in sports when citizens are systematically excluded or subjected to discrimination in sports. Title IX law in the U.S. made gender discrimination in any activity sponsored by schools receiving financial aid from the federal government. The U.S. Department of Education warned schools that they were not providing equal sport participation opportunities for students with a disability, and provided administrators guidelines for how to do so.

11. 3. Maintain health and fitness  Past government support was based on beliefs that Playing sports improves fitness. Fitness improves health. Good health reduces medical costs.  Recent government support often takes into account research showing that Illness is related to environmental factors more than worker fitness. Competitive sports have few benefits for productivity. Concerns about sport performance may increase athletes’ demands for health care.

12. 4. Promote prestige and power Government support is based on the belief that success in sports provides recognition and status for the sponsoring government unit/agency. National teams bring international recognition to a country. Local teams bring recognition and publicity to communities. National governments often pay athletes a bonus for winning an Olympic medal.

13. China spent well over $40 billion to host the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. One of its motives was to gain international recognition and respect—and to demonstrate its power.

14. Public schools and school districts use sports to promote their prestige.

15. 5. Promote identity, belonging, and unity  Governments often use sports to promote identity and unity when constituents are diverse or when change is rapid and widespread in society.  Sports often are constructed as invented traditions to reaffirm ties to “imagined communities.”  Sport-based unity is temporary and superficial.  Sports do not change the realities of divisive everyday differences and inequalities.

16. Australian “identity and unity” were showcased at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. But ethnic disunity in Australia made headlines in 2005, and some people challenged the national identities of others. ( Source: Royalty-Free/CORBIS)

17. 6. Emphasize values consistent with dominant ideology  Sports may be used to promote the idea that success is based on discipline, loyalty, determination, and fortitude.  Sports in nations with market economies are linked to competition and individualism.  Using sports to promote values does not work when governments lack legitimacy.

18. U.S. sports at all levels are associated with nation and nationalism. Photo by Jay Coakley

19. The histories of sports are linked to struggles over political ideologies. ( Source: USOC Archives)

20. 7. Increase support for political leaders and government  Political leaders use sports to boost their legitimacy in the eyes of citizens. Most citizens “see through” this strategy when leaders lack legitimacy. Leaders like to be photographed with top athletes.  Many governments sponsor and fund sports to gain the support of citizens.

21. The U.S. President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and Vice President Joe Biden host the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic teams at the White House. (Source: © Christy Bowe/Corbis)

22. 8. Promote economic development  Cities may use public resources to bid on and host major sport events. The stated goal is to benefit the entire city by bringing in new revenues and creating jobs.  State or local governments may use a sport venue as the centerpiece for a new housing or business project.  Government officials may use a sport event to host developers or others who may invest in projects that would benefit constituents.

23. City and state governments paid over $700 million to build a new stadium in Indianapolis in the hope of facilitating general economic development. This has become a widespread strategy despite little evidence to support it.

24. Critical issues and questions  Government involvement in sports often fosters the interests of some people more than others.  When government support occurs, priority often goes to elite sports. Those who represent elite sports are organized and possess resources for effective political lobbying. Those who represent recreational sports are less likely to be organized to lobby.

25. Ideals underlying international sports (I) There has been longstanding hope that international sports could 1. Open communication lines between people and leaders from many nations 2. Highlight shared interests among people in different cultures and nations (continued)

26. Ideals underlying international sports (II) 3. Demonstrate that international friendships are possible 4. Foster cultural understanding and eliminate national stereotypes 5. Create a model for international relationships 6. Establish working relationships that would close gaps between wealthy and poor nations

27. Olympic medal count by total medals (left side) and population per medal (right side), 1896–2013 #37 United States Many countries prefer this type of weighted medal count. It would not be popular in the U.S.

28. Realities of international sports (I) 1. Sports have no influence when it comes to serious diplomacy. Sports do not affect matters of vital national interest. Leaders do not use sports in discussions of vital national interest. 2. Sports may be useful at the level of public diplomacy. Sports provide opportunities to meet and talk. (continued)

29. Realities of international sports (II) 3. Nation states often use international sports to foster self-interests over international peace and understanding. 4. Ethnocentrism and nationalism often have been promoted in international sports. 5. Self-interests have influenced bid processes, media coverage, and boycotts.

30. International sports have generally been used to foster nationalistic interests rather than international unity. ( Source: USOC Archives)

31. Politics were clearly evident in the torch run for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Protests worldwide raised concern about China’s treatment of Tibet. Photo by Elizabeth Pike

32. Nation-states, sports, and cultural ideology  Conditions and events in international sports favor the interests of powerful nations. Sports can become tools of cultural imperialism.  The participation of poorer nations in global events usually depends on assistance from wealthy nations. Sports can become vehicles for gaining control over popular culture worldwide.

33. Olympism and the Olympic Games Are they special? To answer this question we must look at the ideals and the realities of the Olympic Games, and determine if they meet or can be changed to meet the ideals.

34. “Olympism is a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will and mind. Blending sport with culture and education, Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy found in effort, the educational value of good example and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles.” —From the Olympic Charter Photo by Lara Killick Olympic Idealism

35. Photo by Bárbara Schausteck de Almeida Olympic reality

36. The Olympic Games: How to control nationalism & commercialism (I) Suggestions include the following: (these are offered for debate) 1. Add to each games “demonstration sports” native to the cultural regions where the games are held. 2. Use multiple sites for each Olympic Games 3. Emphasize global responsibility in media coverage (continued)

37. The Olympic Games: How to control nationalism & commercialism (II) 4. Integrate the Olympic and Paralympics 5. Promote a fair method of calculating medals—taking into account population wealth and size 6. Replace the Olympic motto Citius–Altius– Fortius (Faster–Higher–Stronger) with Health–Unity–Peace OVERALL GOAL: Take Olympism seriously. Make the Olympics more than a global marketing opportunity for corporations and a global stage for wealthy nations to promote their political & economic ideologies

38. There is great potential to work toward global unity during and through the Olympics, if only there was the will to do so.

39. Medal counts distort the purpose of Olympism and advantage large, wealthy nations.

40. Hosting sport mega- events has become a hot issue. Before the 2012 Olympic Games in London, many local people objected to hosting the games— as illustrated in this street art by Pure Evil. Photo by Elizabeth Pike

41. Political realities in an era of transnational corporations (I)  Nation-states and transnational corporations are joined in global power relations.  Nationalism exists in international sports, but consumerism may replace patriotism when it comes to identifying with athletes and teams.  Corporations tend to use sports to “fuse” their interests with national and local symbols with which people identify. (continued)

42. Media coverage of global mega-events is organized around images and messages that link transnational corporations with flags, anthems, and athletes representing nation-states. Patriotic feelings and consumer desires are seamlessly woven together—not like the cartoon above!

43. Political realities in an era of transnational corporations (II)  The Olympics and other international sport events are showcases for transnational corporations, their products, and the ideology of consumerism.  Corporations pay billions to sponsor global sports so they might develop “global outposts” in people’s heads.  Corporate images tied to sports do not determine what people will think, but they influence what people will think about.

44. Efforts by the NFL to export football to other nations have generally failed. The meanings and ideologies associated with football are tied closely to U.S. history and are not easily integrated into other cultures. Photo by Jay Coakley

45. Globalization a process through which financial capital, products, knowledge, worldviews, and cultural practices flow through political borders worldwide and influence people’s lives.

46. Becky Hammon, a WNBA multi-season All-Star was cut by the U.S. team, so she used her dual citizenship to play for the Russian team. This was a difficult choice as seen when she listened to the U.S. national anthem before the Russia vs U.S. game in the 2012 Olympics. Athletes have gone global ( Source: © Elizabeth Dalziel/AP/Corbis)

47. Sports and global political issues  Athletes as global migrant workers Raises issues of personal adjustment, labor rights, national impact of talent migration, and national identity  The production of sport equipment and apparel Raises issues of international labor exploitation and the need for international labor rights organizations and monitors

48. Children in India have produced soccer balls with the label, “Child Free Labour.” OTHER GLOBAL ISSUES

49. As workers in Southeast Asia form unions or use other means to demand better working conditions and salaries, companies move manufacturing operations to Africa where they contract with people who work in their homes or community centers. Photo by Kevin Young

50. These work centers are difficult to monitor, but the people are desperate and will work for less than others worldwide. Photo by Kevin Young

51. Making sense of new political realities  As the meaning, organization, and purpose of sports have changed, there are new questions to be asked about sports as social phenomena.  The most helpful research on the realities of global trends has presented data from both global and local levels. This helps us understand local expressions of and responses to global processes.

52. Politics in sports (I) Political processes in sports revolve around these issues: 1.What qualifies as a sport? 2.What are the rules of sport? 3.Who makes and enforces rules? 4.Who organizes and controls events? (continued)

53. What qualifies as a sport? Sepak Takraw is popular in Southeast Asia, but it’s not played in enough nations to become an Olympic sport. Source: © Chen Yehua/Xinhua Press/Corbis)

54. Politics in sports (II) 5.Where will events take place? 6.Who is eligible to participate 7.How are rewards distributed? Conclusion : Politics and political processes are inherent in organized sports; our goal is to make them fair and just.

55. There is simply no sporting event on earth more entangled in politics than [the Men’s World Cup]. Anytime you have half the earth tuned in—as colonies play their former colonizers and dictatorships challenge democracies—politics follow like rainbows after rain. —Dave Zirin, independent sport journalist (2010)