Contemporary Sports Issues – Page 2

Startup Leadership in Sports

Authors: Wanyi Tang and Rodney J. Blackman

Corresponding Author: Rodney Blackman, rblackman@ussa.edu

Wanyi Tang is a doctoral Teaching Assistant at the United States Sports Academy
Rodney J. Blackman, is an Associate Professor and Chair of Recreation Management at the United States Sports Academy

Startup Leadership in Sports

ABSTRACT
A qualitative, phenomenological document analysis approach was taken to ascertain and highlight characteristics found in successful sports startup entrepreneurs. This information was framed in a thorough review of leadership characteristics necessary for general startup company success, as reported by successful startup entrepreneurs in response to interview questions. Other sources of information valuable for interpretation and understanding of this phenomenon came from individuals known for their successes and reporting their expertise, based on experience, in magazine and journal articles, as well as information from focus groups reporting results from their findings in online formats, newsprint articles, and other popular literature. Accordingly, 4 primary dominant leadership characteristics were identified among sports startup leaders. These traits included sound decision making, recruitment and retention of workers that fit the company and become followers, maintenance of clear vision, and prioritization to keep that vision clear and being attentive to strategy – to continually strategize for success. Interestingly, it was also determined that sports startup leadership characteristics do not appear in isolation – but rather, in each case in this study, effectiveness was augmented by leaders who displayed multiple leadership characteristics linked in a variety of different ways.
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U.S. Sports Academy2018-03-30T13:46:27-05:00April 2nd, 2018|Commentary, Contemporary Sports Issues, Sport Education|Comments Off

Contextualization of a Shifting Perspective Regarding the Steroid Era

Authors: Patrick Antinori and Rodney J. Blackman

Corresponding Author:
Dr. Rodney Blackman
United States Sports Academy
One Academy Drive
Daphne, Alabama 36526
Phone: 251-626-3303
Email: rblackman@ussa.edu

Patrick Antinori is Director of Global Sales for Phoenix Bats, a hardwood bat supplier for Major League Baseball. He is also a graduate student at the United States Sports Academy.

Rodney J. Blackman, is an Associate Professor and Chair of Recreation Management at the United States Sports Academy

ABSTRACT
To a young fan whose innocence is preserved, baseball can represent the very best of life. Adult fans support this in a variety of ways. But, the history of the game has a less-than-noble side. The steroid era in baseball has been widely considered as a blemish on the visage of baseball, leaving the people involved and the game itself open to disdain and disparagement. Until recently, the writers who elect people to the Baseball Hall of Fame have echoed these sentiments by holding to a very narrow view of that era, and the effects thereof can be likened to staring at their shoes. But a certain shift is appearing regarding perceptions about the steroid era – a view given to greater forbearance, in the larger context of the history of baseball, and how best to preserve the integrity of the game.

Over time, there has also been a greater societal demand for full disclosure. This has created a wealth of information about the steroid era in relation to the history of the game of baseball, including chronicled accounts of what people did and what they said, and did not say, at the time. However, ascertaining culpability was not the purpose of this study. Rather, the purpose of this qualitative study was to explore and describe historical accounts of pre-steroid and steroid era behaviors and their after-effects, as well as to contextualize these choices and consequences that shaped the steroid era within the historical past and coming future of the game. Moreover, the data effectively also yielded the presence and contextualization of a discernible shift in perspective regarding the steroid era.
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U.S. Sports Academy2017-07-20T16:04:02-05:00July 25th, 2017|Commentary, Contemporary Sports Issues, Sport Education, Sports History|Comments Off

Psychological Violence and Pressure Activities Experienced by Football Referees

Authors:
Ercan Polat
Ugur Sonmezoglu
Hasan Birol Yalcin

Corresponding Author:
Dr. Ercan Polat
Ömer Halisdemir University
School of Physical Education and Sports – Department of Sports Management
Bor Road, 9.km 51700, Niğde – TURKEY
E-mail: ercihanpolat@hotmail.com
Phone: +90 388 313 0012
Fax: +90 388 313 0014

Ercan Polat is an Assistant Professor Department of Sport Management at Omer Halisdemir University, Turkey; Ugur Sonmezoglu is a Research Assistant in the Department of Sport Management at Pamukkale University, Turkey; Hasan Birol Yalcin is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sport Management at Abant Izzet Baysal University.
Psychological Violence and Pressure Activities Experienced by Football Referees

ABSTRACT
The aim of this research was to determine the psychological violence and pressure faced by football referees in Bolu and Düzce and to disclose the reasons of the events. Phenomenology, one of the qualitative research designs, was used in this research. Criterion sampling and easily accessible methods were used for sampling. Literature review was carried out and open-ended and semi-structured interview forms were obtained accordingly. Interviews were made with 4 different groups consisting of 17 participants by focus group discussion method. The content analysis method was used in the analysis of the obtained data.

In the research, it was found out that psychological violence and pressure elements faced by football referees in workplaces arise from the internal and external environment of the workplaces. The internal environment of the workplace of the referees was stated under subtopics such as social exclusion, lack of assignment, excessive number of assignments, and assignments below their capacities, etc. The external environment of the workplace of the referees was stated under the subtopics including physical violence, swearing and insults, pressure on the institution of the referee and threatening and creating pressure on the referee through public opinion.

In addition to the aforementioned results, the factors leading to the psychological violence and pressure faced by the football referees were found as legal gaps, incoherencies and frequent changes in directions and, regarding as a rival, nepotism, regionalism, jealousy, etc.
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U.S. Sports Academy2017-06-22T08:32:59-05:00July 20th, 2017|Contemporary Sports Issues, Research, Sports Management|Comments Off

The National Football League’s Brand and Stadium Opportunities

Authors: Marcos A. Abreu, Brandon D. Spradley

Corresponding Author:
Marcos Abreu
Doctoral Student
United States Sports Academy
One Academy Drive
Daphne, Alabama 36526
mabreu@students.ussa.edu
251-626-3303

Marcos Abreu is a doctoral student at the United States Sports Academy studying sports management.

The NFL Brand & Stadium Opportunities

ABSTRACT
Besides increasing shared revenue, the NFL’s popularity has helped the league establish a singular brand that continues to benefit its 32 teams by increasing brand equity, which derives from consumer perception of the brand name. The strategy has provided the league’s 32 teams bargaining power over host cities when pursuing public funding for newer stadiums that increase retained local revenue streams. Although hosting cities often provide newer stadiums to ensure teams stay and cities without teams often offer new stadiums to entice teams to relocate, in either case, cities generally justify these decisions and convince taxpayers of their importance with NFL and government analyses that numerous economists consider questionable because the studies generally overlook some basic fiscal realisms.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss how the NFL’s brand equity increases shared revenue that creates new stadiums opportunities for the League’s 32 teams and how those stadiums opportunities impact; locally generated retained revenues; local economies; Super Bowl hosting opportunities and team relocation. The information presented in this paper could help individuals who work in the area of sports management better understand how an organization’s brand equity influences brand control and agreement value during the negotiation of new revenue stream opportunities.

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U.S. Sports Academy2016-11-02T15:59:40-05:00December 1st, 2016|Contemporary Sports Issues|Comments Off

“I Think It’s Going To Save Lives” Sport Administrator Perspectives on Youth Development Through Sport

Authors: Deb Agnew & Shane Pill

Corresponding Author:
Deb Agnew, PhD
GPO Box 2100
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia 5001
deb.agnew@flinders.edu.au
+61 8 8201 3456

Deb Agnew is a lecturer in the School of Education at Flinders University in South Australia. Her research interests include Australian football, masculinity, sports retirement and men’s health. She is a member of the Flinders SHAPE (Sport, Health and Physical Education) Research Centre and teaches in the Bachelor of Sport, Health and Physical Activity.

Shane Pill lectures in curriculum studies, physical education and sport studies and he is a member of the Sport, Health and Physical Activity (SHAPE) research centre at Flinders University. His research interests include curriculum design and enactment, pedagogy and instructional strategies for games and sport teaching, sport coaching, leadership and management. Shane is the author of four books on game sense teaching and coaching, and he was a major contributing writer to the Cricket Australia S’Cool Cricket resource, the Tennis Australia Hot Shots Tennis resource and the revised AFL Sport Education program.

“I think it’s going to save lives” Sport administrator perspectives on youth development through sport

ABSTRACT
This was a qualitative evaluation of a youth development program that was piloted in four South Australian Southern Football League clubs. It aimed to understand how the youth development program was conducted; to investigate the effects of the program on the health behaviour choices of junior footballers in South Australia and; to provide recommendations on how to improve the delivery of the program. Interviews were conducted with the club administrators of three of the four clubs involved in the program and were analysed through an inductive thematic approach. This research found that there is value in implementing youth development programs. However, in order for youth development programs to be effective in changing club culture a driver for the program is needed. Given sports clubs are often under-staffed and under-resourced developing partnerships with community organisations who have the skills to deliver the appropriate sessions is also a crucial factor in the program’s success.

Keywords: sport development, young men, Australian football

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U.S. Sports Academy2016-09-20T11:43:02-05:00November 10th, 2016|Contemporary Sports Issues|Comments Off