Wrestling With the Academy: Future Directions for the Cultural Politics of Sport

Abstract

Synthesizing and responding to the arguments made throughout this special issue, we share our perspectives as early-career researchers on how to revive the study of the cultural politics of sport. First, we argue that the malaise of cultural politics work should be attributed to academic and disciplinary structures that have disincentivized a contextual and political study of sport. Second, we suggest that supporting and highlighting studies about nonelite, noncommercialized sporting practices can assist in unveiling the hidden politics that shape our sporting experiences and everyday routines. Third, we propose that transforming the academic structures that have discouraged a study of cultural politics will require scholars to do the unglamorous political work of organizing in their workplaces, institutions, and local communities.