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Contents/Editorial THE JOURNAL OF SPORT, LEISURE & RISK WITH AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE March 2022

Editorial
CONTENTS Should sport make a

political stand?

Click to go to page: There have been many times in the past many examples where boycotts have been
when sport has been used as a political imposed on athletes because of politics,
Editorial: Should sport make a political stand? 03 football. There have been boycotts of often because of alleged human rights
Olympic Games, world sporting events and abuses, as with the recent diplomatic
Private Equity in Sport benefit or curse? 05 prohibitions on teams taking part in events. boycott of the Beijing Winter Games. In
Some of the causes were justified in many 1980, President Jimmy Carter announced
Private Equity investment in A League football 08 people’s minds – boycotting South African that the US was boycotting the Moscow
participation in sports events
Barcelona: regeneration or contagion? 10 during apartheid is one example.
However, in most cases where
Cricket: Lies and Sexchat 13 boycotts have been used, if not all, So, on this basis should
it has been the politicians rather
than the sports administrators who the sporting world now
Sports Specialisation or Diversification in Young Athletes? 16
have made these decisions.
Pay Equity in Sport – more than just a gender question? 20 ignore President Putin’s
It is generally a truism that sport
and politics don’t mix and that it aggression and bullying
Beijing Olympics – A Games without spectators. 22
is rarely acceptable for sport to be
used for political purposes. Sport against Ukraine?
Olympian fostering future directors 26 should be open to all and above

Transitioning out of sport 28 any political agenda.

However, there are a few occasions when Olympics because of the Soviet Union’s
At Risk 30 sport may be justifiably used as a weapon invasion of Afghanistan. This was initially
against despotic aggression. The Berlin supported by Britain and Australia, but
Sport Shorts 34 Olympics in 1936 was one example where they eventually did send athletes. In 2020,
sport became entangled with politics to Sarah Hirshland, CEO of the Olympic and
Legal Focus 38 its detriment. Judge Jeremiah Mahoney, Paralympic Committee, posted a letter
President of the Amateur Athletics Union on Twitter, stating “It’s abundantly clear
World Sports News Roundup 44 led efforts to boycott the 1936 Olympics in hindsight that the decision to not send
on the basis that Germany had broken a team to Moscow had no impact on the
Olympic rules forbidding discrimination global politics of the era and instead only
based on race and religion. The boycott harmed you – American athletes who had
movement failed and the event became dedicated themselves to excellence and
a propaganda coup for the Nazis where, the chance to represent the US”.
during the opening ceremony the Olympic
torch was carried past rows of Hitler Youth So, on this basis should the sporting world
and Nazi flags were draped all over the now ignore President Putin’s aggression
stadium. Hitler refused to shake hands and bullying against Ukraine?
with four gold medal winner Jesse Owens
because of his colour.
In the intervening years, we have had Several football associations, including

Continued...