What’s My Responsibility? Undergraduate Heterosexual White Men in Sport Management Discuss Increasing Diversity in Sport

Abstract

Sport is a white, male-dominated, multibillion-dollar industry characterized by a lack of racial and gender diversity among its leaders. To advance the field of sport management, it is crucial to study what members of privileged social groups think about diversity and how they articulate their own responsibility in increasing diversity in sport. This article reports the findings of a focus group study with 22 heterosexual white male undergraduate sport management majors at a southern midsized public master’s institution. Participants shared perceptions regarding diversity in sport management and the sport industry, women in the field, meritocratic hiring policies, and about their own responsibility to affect change. Sport management faculty and administrators should challenge white men in their programs to interrogate and understand their privileges and to commit to realizing their responsibility in making sport more diverse and more socially just.