Research – Page 13 – The Sport Journal

How the NFL Responded to the Colin Kaepernick Protests in 2016-2017 and How the League Responded to Athlete Protests During the Black Lives Matter Movement of 2020: A Sport Study, Social Phenomenological Approach

Authors: Ben Donahue, MS, MEd

Corresponding Author:
Ben Donahue, MS, MEd
3304 Sierra Meadows Dr.
Bakersfield, Ca. 93313
(425) 359-3248
btpdonahue@hotmail.com

Ben Donahue has worked for over 25 years in sports at the k-12, college, and professional levels. His experience includes athletic director, game day operations and guest relations, football operations, coach, and baseball scout. Currently, he is a public-school teacher and contributing writer for brownsnation.com and profootballhistory.com.

How the NFL Responded to the Colin Kaepernick Protests in 2016-2017 and How the League Responded to Athlete Protests During the Black Lives Matter Movement of 2020: A Sport Study, Social Phenomenological Approach

ABSTRACT

This study examined the use of social phenomenological research by examining key figures in the National Football League (NFL) after the Colin Kaepernick and George Floyd, Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests. The author researched several responses from NFL personnel and the NFL commissioner after both events. These responses were divided into statements made in 2016-2017 (Kaepernick protests) and statements made in 2020 (Floyd/BLM protests). Using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), the author coded the statements into specific themes, and then analyzed and interpreted the themes as relating to phenomenological awareness. This approach used phenomenological analysis to better understand the latent or ‘disguised’ reason for an experience to come to light.

The results of the study show that, while the primary impetus of both protests were the same, the responses from NFL personnel were vastly different for each protest. Key to these responses were the influences of external interests that put pressure on the NFL to respond in a specific way. These external interests included government figures, NFL fans, and the public at large. The conclusions of this study suggest that in the future, the NFL should take greater care to look for the underlying causes of their employees’ concerns before assuming that they implicitly understand those concerns. The applications of the study can be used as a teaching tool for other sports organizations, including coaches and sport administrators, as they work to respond to matters of great concern and importance to their employees.

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U.S. Sports Academy2020-11-04T11:08:36-06:00November 24th, 2020|Research, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off

Recreational sport opportunities for youth with disabilities: Perspectives of recreation directors in New England

Authors: James MacGregor¹, Deb Risisky², Kevin McGinniss¹

¹ Department of Recreation, Tourism and Sport Management, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
² Department of Public Health, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.

Corresponding Author:
James MacGregor, EdD
Department of Recreation, Tourism, and Sport Management
Southern Connecticut State University
501 Crescent Street
New Haven, CT 06514
Office: 203.392.6385
macgregorj1@southernct.edu

James MacGregor, EdD, is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Recreation, Tourism, and Sport Management. His research areas include inclusion and recreation, disability studies, and sport leadership development.

Deb Risisky, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Public Health. Her research is in evaluation of adolescent health programs, youth violence, and educational success of youth.

Kevin McGinniss, EdD, is an Assistant Professor and Director of Sport Management in the Department of Recreation, Tourism, and Sport Management. His research is in intercollegiate athletics and disability sports.

Recreational Sport Opportunities for Youth with Disabilities

ABSTRACT

Purpose: Inclusive recreation practices are one of the most recognized means of providing recreational sport opportunities for youth with disabilities. Municipal recreation departments are responsible for ensuring opportunities to partake in youth sport programs. This study evaluates the extent to which recreation departments are providing inclusive recreational sport opportunities to individuals with disabilities.

Methods: This study employed a cross-sectional design mail survey to gather data from recreation directors across New England. The two dependent variables for this study are provision of inclusive services and perceived challenges to providing those services. The independent variables include director recreation/sport education, years as a director, and community size. Analysis included univariate, bivariate, and ANOVA for the quantitative data. Qualitative data were reviewed for commonalities.

Results: There were 136 respondents for a response rate of 34.8%. Most (85%) directors noted their agency provided some inclusive recreation. Areas of success included accessible facilities and accommodations/modifications. Areas of needed improvement included staff training and providing transportation for individuals with disabilities. The only significant factor was years as a Director (F=4.315; p=0.016). The multiple comparison test found statistical significance between those with the fewest years of experience (x̄=22.14) and highest experience (x̄=19.57). The top challenges in providing inclusive recreational sport was additional expense, and the lack of training for the provision of these services.

Conclusions: Without director support, inclusive recreation can be difficult to achieve. Director support, including making inclusion an agency priority, reflecting inclusion in the agency’s mission, and hiring practices was imperative to facilitating an inclusive recreation environment and program. Financial concerns and need for staff training are the biggest obstacles to providing inclusive recreational sport programming.

Applications in Sport: Training of recreation and youth sport staff members, including those that aspire to be directors, can have a great impact on opening opportunities for inclusive recreational sports. University academic recreation and sport management programs need to embed the principles and practices of inclusion into their curriculum. In-service training can be an important tool to increase inclusion offerings to the community, increasing the amount of staff members who can facilitate increased opportunities for inclusive recreational sport.

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U.S. Sports Academy2020-11-04T11:00:04-06:00November 17th, 2020|Research, Sports Coaching|Comments Off

Controlled but Autonomous: An examination of autonomy deficit in the pursuit of practice in sport

Authors: Joar Svensson¹ and Scott Barnicle²

¹Department of Sport Science, Halmstad University, Halmstad, Sweden
²College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV

Corresponding Author:
Scott Barnicle, PhD, CMPC
WVU – College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences
375 Birch Street
Morgantown, WV, 26505
Scott.barnicle@mail.wvu.edu
207-751-7229

Joar Svensson is a graduate student in sport and exercise psychology at Halmstad University in Halmstad, Sweden. His primary research interest is in self-determination theory and is continuing to expand his research interests as part of his graduate work.

Scott Barnicle, PhD, CMPC, is the program coordinator and teaching assistant professor in the Sport and Exercise Psychology program at West Virginia University. His research interests are in the areas of sport enjoyment, applied mental skills training, and teaching methods in the field of sport and exercise psychology.

Controlled but Autonomous: An examination of autonomy deficit in the pursuit of practice in sport

ABSTRACT

Self-determination theory posits three basic psychological needs, competence, relatedness, and autonomy (6). Autonomy is defined as being the perceived origin or source of one’s own behavior (2). The limits of this perception have not yet been tested. The current study set out to investigate whether athletes could be controlled while still feeling autonomous. A questionnaire about level of control and perception of autonomy was created. Participants were recruited (N=39) and answered the questionnaire. Results indicated that level of control over the sport and autonomy was significantly negatively correlated whereas control over practice and autonomy had no significant correlation. Athletes in controlling sports could therefore need extra autonomy support to satisfy their needs. As no significant correlations were found between control over practice and autonomy, practice sessions could possibly be very controlling without any major ramifications. The factors influencing this relationship need further investigation in differing sports and populations.

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U.S. Sports Academy2020-11-20T15:34:34-06:00November 10th, 2020|General, Research|Comments Off

Assessment of readiness of Lebanese Gyms and Sport Facilities according to ISO-97.220 – Sports equipment and facilities

Authors: Siham El Rafei¹, Mohammad Nassereddine², Ali Hammoud^3,Adel Olleik⁴
^1,2,3Faculty of Sciences, Lebanese University, Beirut, LB
⁴GATES Company, Beirut, LB

Corresponding Author:
Siham El Rafei, MS
Lebanon- Tripoli-Tripoli- 1301
0096176881705
rafeisiham@gmail.com

Siham El Rafei, MS, has a MS degree in Healthcare and Quality Management, and a certificate in Pilates. She is the owner of a Pilates studio, Physiopilateslb, in Tripoli, Lebanon.

Mohammad Nasseriddine, PhD, is currently an Assistant Professor at the Lebanese University in Beirut.

Ali Hammoud, PhD, is currently an Assistant Professor at the Lebanese University in the Biomedical and Bioinformatic Department, in Beirut..

Adel Olleik, MPH, DBA, worked as a CEO, consultant, auditor, and trainer in more than 250 healthcare organizations in Lebanon. He is currently running his own consultation firm, GATES, in Beirut, LB.

Assessment of readiness of Lebanese Gyms and Sport Facilities according to ISO-97.220 – Sports equipment and facilities

ABSTRACT

It is very difficult to mitigate all the risks involved in utilizing a fitness center. For this reason, ISO-97.220 – Sports equipment and facilities established the international safety standards that should be included in the sport facilities. The purpose of this survey is to assess the degree of readiness of Lebanese gyms according to these standards.78.67% of the gyms affirmed that they used international safety standards while preparing the sport facility. Correspondingly, only 60% of the gyms have a written emergency response policy and procedure and only 66.67% of the gyms conduct a safety audit inspection. Nevertheless, 84% of them have a preventative maintenance program and 92% of them have a system for removal of damaged or broken equipment.

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U.S. Sports Academy2020-07-16T15:52:16-05:00October 23rd, 2020|Research, Sports Management|Comments Off

Pay to Play in the NCAA: A Data Driven Playbook on How to Compensate Athletes

Author: Cameron Van, J.D.

Contributing Author:
Cameron Van, J.D.
University of California, Davis School of Law, Davis CA

400 Mrak Hall Drive, Davis, CA 95616
Email: Cevan@Ucdavis.edu
Phone Number: (650) 740-2235

Cameron Van is a recent UC Davis School of Law Graduate with a focus on the intersection of business and the law.

ABSTRACT

This article offers the NCAA a reputable, repeatable, and reasonable formula for a student-athlete revenue scheme that will ensure its competitive edge in an ever-encroaching market. The NCAA uses amateurism to restrict artificially the compensation of student athletes’ compensation to “cost of tuition,” at best. It is precisely this reason that more athletes are finding alternative ways to capitalize on their talents. As a result, this amateurism scheme is not Pareto Efficient. Pareto efficiency is reached when a situation cannot be modified in a way that would have one party better off without making another party worse off. Notably, Pareto efficiency does not imply equality, equity, or fairness, rather simply that there could be no economic changes that would better off the overall system. Here, this article explores a rare occurrence where the system can be made both more efficient and equal by increasing the supply of revenue generators – the athletes. This article will build upon Stocz formula for deriving a student-athlete’s salary, as well as give examples of what such a salary would look like for said athletes.

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U.S. Sports Academy2020-07-16T11:29:28-05:00October 16th, 2020|Contemporary Sports Issues, Research|Comments Off