Online Abuse in Sport Webinar Series

Presented by Nita Korhonen, Liaison Director, FIM

Ableism and Disablism in the Beautiful Game

Connor Penfold, Lecturer and Sociologist based at the University Campus of Football Business, Wembley Stadium, London, UK.

Despite vast improvements over recent decades, football fandom remains a site for the production of difference, exclusion, and marginalisation. Academic research in this space has primarily focused on broad issues of discrimination including racism, homophobia, sexism, and gender inequality. To date, however, a paucity of academic interest has been given to other social issues, such as ableism and disablism which affect the daily lives of disabled people. In turn, this webinar focuses on the various manifestations of ableism and disablism in English football fandom. Crucially, it does so in two interconnected ways. First, it draws upon rich qualitative data from in-depth interviews with disabled football supporters to expose English football as another area of society that can socially exclude, marginalise and oppress disabled people. Second, and against the backdrop of raising concerns from the leading disabled sport fan advocacy group – Level Playing Field – regarding the prevalence of ableist slurs in the discourse of online abuse, this presentation also considers the place of ableist language in the repertoire of online hate in football.

Presenter Biography

Connor Penfold is a Lecturer and sociologist based at the University Campus of Football Business, Wembley Stadium, London, UK. Connor’s research interests are primarily located within the sociology of sport, and include topics such as spectator cultures, social and political activism, disability, and other social issues including ‘race’ and racisms. Connor has published research on these topics including articles in the International Review for the Sociology of Sport, Journal of Sport and Social Issues, and Managing Sport and Leisure.

Racism in European Football Culture

Palesa Mashigo and Jacco van Sterkenburg, Erasmus University Rotterdam

Everyday and institutionalized forms of racism in the football industry

Issues surrounding racial discrimination and inclusion have been at the forefront of societal debates in the past year, across a variety of social domains. Recent (explicit) forms of racism in football stadiums such as the racism directed at the Real Madrid player Vinicius Jr in the Spanish football league resulted in much attention from media as well as (football) policy makers in 2023. At the same time, we know that racial and other forms of discrimination are complex problems that often go beyond explicit manifestations and also include more implicit forms of racism. In our presentation, we will present some of the main research findings on everyday and institutionalized forms of racism that manifest in the wider football industry, ranging from racial stereotypes in football media and football video gaming to the underrepresentation of minoritizized leaders and coaches in professional football.  To better understand the nature of racial discourse among football leaders and how it potentially facilitates or acts as a barrier to inclusion in football, we will present main results from qualitative interviews that were conducted with leaders from eight European countries. As key decision makers, valuable insights were drawn from the leaders’ multiple perspectives and experiences in national football organizations. As part of a larger project in partnership with FARE Network, FIFPRO and UEFA, this part of the presentation links empirical research to racism and inclusion in the European football industry.

Presenter Biography

Palesa Mashigo is a media producer turned academic. She is currently working as a PhD researcher and lecturer at Erasmus University’s Media and Communication Department. She is a PhD candidate for a research project that explores race, racism and inclusion in professional European football. The project is a collaboration between Erasmus University, FARE Network, FIFPRO and UEFA. Palesa has a Master’s in Media, Culture and Society, from Erasmus University.  Her research interests are focused on critical race studies as it pertains to media representation, media policy and structural inequality.  She received her Bachelor in Journalism (BJourn) from Rhodes University in South Africa where she specialized in television broadcasting.

Jacco van Sterkenburg has established a research group at Erasmus University exploring the privileging or marginalizing of different racial/ethnic groups, with a focus on sports and media. His position as Endowed Professor ‘Race’ Inclusion and Communication bridges the gap between innovative academic research and societal concerns. The role requires coordinating intellectually provocative research and sharing that with societal partners in accessible ways to inform new ways of thinking. He has received several prizes and grants for innovative and impactful research work on race, discrimination and sports media, including the prestigious Dutch Science Council ‘VIDI’ grant (800,000 Euros) by the Dutch Research Council NWO on racism and mediated football (2018-2023). His research focuses on everyday forms of racism and anti-racism interventions across the football industry including football management and leadership, football players, football media and football video gaming.

The Curious Case of Karen Carney: The Argument for Equity Over Equality in Curbing Gendered Online Abuse

Guy Harrison, Assistant Professor of Journalism and Media, and Director of the Alan and Wendy Wilson Communication and Leadership Academy, at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville

In December 2020, Amazon Prime Video men’s football pundit and former English footballer Karen Carney offered a lukewarm assessment of Leeds United, speculating that the club’s promotion to the English Premier League earlier that year was aided by a period of rest resulting from the coronavirus shutdown. Leeds’ official Twitter account responded with what appeared to be a harmless gesture but proved to be a catalyst for a wave of online harassment that ultimately caused Carney to leave Twitter. Many argued that Leeds had encouraged the abuse hurled at Carney. This controversy begged the question: what responsibility do sports clubs have in ensuring women in sports media are not harassed online, even when those women offer sports opinions that may be disagreeable? Given the well-documented persistence of gendered online harassment against women in sports media, Guy Harrison argues prominent social media users would do well to take an approach that seeks gender equity rather than equality. Through a nuanced approach to engaging online those women who cover men’s sports, we may begin to address the structures that contribute to the marginalization of women in those contexts.

Presenter Biography

Guy Harrison is an Assistant Professor of Journalism and Media and Director of the Alan and Wendy Wilson Communication and Leadership Academy at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. His research focuses on issues of gender and race in sports media, especially among those working in the industry. Harrison is the author of 2021’s On the Sidelines: Gendered Neoliberalism and the American Female Sportscaster, which uses a contemporary feminist media lens to explore the issues facing women who cover men’s sports for television, radio, and podcasts. Harrison’s work has been published in Feminist Media Studies, Sociology of Sport Journal, and Critical Studies in Media Communication. He currently serves on the editorial board of Communication & Sport.

Visibility of Women’s Sport and Online Backlash

Dunja Antunovic (PhD, Penn State), Assistant Professor of Sport Sociology at the School of Kinesiology at the University of Minnesota.

Women’s sports are undergoing a professionalization process, accelerated by enhanced media visibility on traditional and digital media platforms (Bowes & Culvin, 2022). However, the visibility of and advocacy for women’s sport is also accompanied by online backlash. Drawing on data from multiple studies on the mediated visibility of women’s sport, this talk provides insight into the complex ways in which various stakeholders that create content – including journalists, women’s sports organizations, athletes, sponsors, and fans – use digital platforms to bring visibility to women’s sport, with a specific focus on these stakeholders’ role in advocacy. Although the dominant industry and media narratives – highlight the incredible “momentum” in women’s sport, persistent structural inequalities exist that also facilitate online backlash, misogyny, and harm. The talk highlights patterns in the relationship between visibility and backlash, calling for caution in interpreting the current moment of women’s sport as a sign of “progress.”

Presenter Biography

Dunja Antunovic (PhD, Penn State) is an Assistant Professor of Sport Sociology at the School of Kinesiology at the University of Minnesota. She is also an affiliate faculty member with the Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication and an affiliate scholar with the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport. Antunovic’s research examines the media visibility of women’s sport, with a focus on media production, representation, and consumption. She is co-author of Serving Equality: Feminism, Media, and Women’s Sport. In addition to her U.S.-based research, she also conducts cross-national comparative research on diversity in sports media in Central and Eastern Europe. She has published on theoretical and methodological approaches in feminist sport media studies and sociological analyses of social media. Antunovic serves on the editorial board for Communication & Sport and the Sociology of Sport Journal.

Footballers, Online Harms, and its Impact

Dr Daniel Kilvington, Leeds Beckett University
Sue Paris, CEO of Simply Human Services

This webinar provides an overview of Tackling Online Hate in Football’s (TOHIF) findings regarding online harms as experienced by current and former professional men and women, and academy level, footballers in England. Drawing on a sample size of over 120 players, we will highlight common types and triggers of online harms, how abuse impacts players’ personal and professional lives, and how the football industry is attempting to manage this crisis. The webinar is in collaboration with Simply Human Services, a leading player care and emotional wellbeing organisation. Sue Parris, CEO of Simply Human Services, will not only discuss the severity of online harms in football, but will put forward a series of mechanisms to better protect and support players against such abuse. Before a Q&A, the webinar will close with a summary of the core research findings, recommendations for future research, and a list of practical measures designed to better protect and support players from online harms.

Presenter Biographies

Dr Daniel Kilvington is a Reader and Course Director in Media and Cultural Studies at Leeds Beckett University. His teaching and research focuses on ‘race’, racism and anti-racism in sport and new media contexts. He is widely published in academic journals, and is author of five books, including Sport, Racism and Social Media (2015), Sport and Discrimination (2017) and Online Research Methods in Sport Studies (2019). He is the co-founder of the annual Sport and Discrimination Conference series, and has presented a number of keynote papers at academic and industry events. He has secured significant external funding for research with the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the British Academy (BA), and has undertaken research collaborations with stakeholders including the English Premier League (EPL), Kick It Out, Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE), The English Cricket Board (ECB), to name but a few.

Susan Parris is an emotional development and welfare professional and the founder of Simply Human and The Changing Room. Sue believes waiting to reach a point of emotional crisis before seeking support and understanding is not only counter intuitive but also profoundly limits our ability to live a happier and more peaceful life.

Having worked with vulnerable young people and adults for more than 25 years, within formal education and professional football as head of education, welfare and player services for a Premier League club, her work aims to be preventative and proactive through nurturing self awareness and emotional intelligence.

In addition to this work, as a qualified teacher, Sue also works with Steven Caulker at Behind The White Lines and delivers the welfare and EDI modules for The Player Care Group’s certificate in player care alongside contributing to other projects on a consultancy basis.

She has co-authored, with Paul Mortimer, research published in 2022, The Boy in the Man’s Mask, the duty of care on football academies, which has further endorsed and validated her current work with individuals, groups and organisations in this space.

​Educated to post degree level, and still engaged in formal education, her passion for reading and people constantly informs her own self development and that of nurturing and supporting others.

Addressing Online Harm in Australian Women’s Sport

Dr Kim Toffoletti

This presentation will discuss the findings of a government funded study into gendered online harms experienced by elite athletes in Australian women’s sport. Distinct from ‘big data’ studies that detect and categorise abusive messages direct toward women athletes, this research asks elite sportswomen about their experiences of online harm. It centers athletes’ voices and perspectives to shed new light on the consequences of negative online encounters and explore their gender-specific effects. Drawing from these insights, we offer a series of recommendations to improve the online safety of women athletes.

Presenter Biography

Dr Kim Toffoletti is Associate Professor of Sociology at Deakin University, Australia. Her research is focused in two key areas: feminist studies of the media, including social media, and women’s sport, physical activity and wellbeing. Her current work investigates the connections between digital media cultures, gendered visibility and building communities of safety and connection online.

History of TIDES reports and their relationship with online abuse

Professor Adrien Bouchet

The DeVos Sport Business Management program at University of Central Florida has been preparing TIDES (The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport) reports since 2001 although the reports date back to 1988. The TIDES reports examine the race and gender makeup of players, coaches and front office staff in America’s professional and amateur sport leagues including the NFL, Major League Baseball, NBA, WNBA, and the NCAA (governing body of college athletics in the U.S.)

Professor Adrien Bouchet will speak about the history of the TIDES reports and its relationship with online abuse and sport including specific points in time over the last thirty years that have been influential in attracting attention to these issues.

The TIDES report also includes detailed information regarding league-wide initiatives to combat online abuse and racism.

Presenter Biography

Adrien Bouchet is the Richard & Helen DeVos Foundation Endowed Chair and Eminent Scholar of the DeVos Sport Business Management Programme and Director of The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES), which releases the widely publicized Racial and Gender Report Cards for professional, collegiate, and amateur sports each year. Bouchet came to UCF from the University of Tulsa where he spent 12 years as the Warren Clinic Endowed Professor, Sport Business. He also served as the Department Chair, Management & Marketing, Associate Dean and Director. Operations & Graduate Programmes; and Senior Associate Dean, Academics. From 2019 – 2022, he served as the Faculty Athletic Representative (FAR) for the university.

He is a Fulbright Fellow (Portugal) and a Research Fellow, North American Society for Sport Management. In 2017, he served as a Visiting Associate Professor at the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. In 2015, he received the MAYO Excellence in Research award from the University of Tulsa. That year, he was awarded the Best Paper Award, Strategy track at the Southern Management Association. He and a co-author were awarded a Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics grant to study the escalation in spending in NCAA athletics. Their conference paper was the basis of an article on ESPN.com

He has published articles in OMEGA: Journal of Management Science, Journal of Sport Management, Sport Management Review, Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, Journal of Service Marketing, Managerial Finance, Corporate Governance, and Journal of Consumer Behaviour.

Prior to entering academia, he served as Manager, Marketing Partnerships for the Miami Dolphins (NFL), Senior Manager, Marketing Partnerships for the Miami Marlins (Major League Baseball); Senior Director, Team, League, & Venue Services for SFX/Clear Channel Entertainment (now LiveNation), and Associate General Manager, ISP/Learfield College Sports.

Biography Information

Online Hate in Sport: The state of play in academic literature

Dr Colm Kearns

In the first webinar Dr Colm Kearns will present findings from work he has published (with a network of sports scholars) in Communication and Sport on the history of academic research on the subject of online hate in sport. The inaugural webinar with Dr Kearns will be followed by monthly webinars from scholars from across the globe.

Presenter Biography

Dr Colm Kearns is a post-doctoral researcher with the Tackling Online Hate in Football (TOHIF) project (funded by the Irish Research Council and the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council). He is the co-author of two reports on the impact of the pandemic on Irish media; ‘RTE and Covid-19: Diversity and Public Needs’ and ‘The Impact of Covid-19 on Ireland’s Independent Radio Sector.’ Colm holds a PhD in Communications from DCU, with a thesis centering on the intersection of sport, media, and national identity. He has published papers on those topics, and also on related ones, in journals such as Television and New Media, The International Review for the Sociology of Sport, and Communication and Sport, in addition to having a chapter featured in the edited collection, Sport, the Media and Ireland: Interdisciplinary Perspectives.