More than sports? A study of Norwegians’ opinions on sports’ social and political responsibilities

Abstract

Sports are criticised for their lack of social and political responsibility. In this study, I ask people about the extent to which they think it is important that sports should be sociopolitically responsible regarding ten issues: health, social communities, gender, racism, integration of minorities, sexual orientation, social inequality, disabilities, doping, and the environment. Next, I investigate how people’s opinions vary according to their social backgrounds, affiliation with sports, and political party voting. The study is based on a survey of a representative sample of Norwegians (N = 1,131, age 18–79, response rate 26%). I analyse data using simple relative frequencies and logistic regression models. I build a theoretical framework based on various issues’ closeness to sports’ and how politically contested they are. I found that many Norwegians think it is ‘very important’ for sports to be sociopolitically responsible − 80% (most) saying this for doping and 47% (least) doing so for the environment. Women demand more sociopolitical responsibility for sports than men, and those affiliated with sports state that health and social relations should be issues for sports and political orientations influence the view on politically contested issues. The support for sports being sociopolitically responsible could indicate a potential for sports to be involved in social and political issues. How sports organisations meet these challenges will influence sports’ capacity to recruit volunteers, political legitimacy, and ability to attract commercial sponsors.