This book takes a close look at social media in sport and considers its significance for sport business and for the wider relationship between sport and society. Presenting new research, case studies and data, it examines the way people use social media, the changing art of managing social media platforms, and the theory and concepts that inform research on this important topic. Featuring the work of leading sport researchers from around the world, the book presents evidence-based analysis of contemporary topics including fan engagement, athlete activism, branding and sponsorship strategies, sportswashing, public relations and crisis communication. It presents case studies from sports and events such as the Olympic Games, the WNBA, professional football leagues, and Peloton, and across social media platforms including TikTok, Twitter and Instagram. This is essential reading for anybody with an interest in sport media, sport business, the sociology of sport, digital business, or new media studies.

Social media and digital technologies have become significant forces in the sport industry. From athletes and fans interacting via social media and video games, sport organizations integrating these technologies into marketing and public relations functions, to coaches and athletic trainers using digital technology to monitor athletes' biometric information, these technologies are pervasive in sport. However, the literature at the intersection of sport and social and digital media lies almost exclusively in the domain of marketing and management. While these technologies are often championed for the benefits they offer in these functional areas, the effects and outcomes of these technologies have impacts on athletes, fans, and other society that warrant further attention. This volume brings together a collection of essays from leading global scholars working in diverse areas as sport sociology, sport management, sport media, and sport communication to illustrate how sociological approaches are imperative to enhancing our understanding of sport and social media and digital technology. Within this volume, scholars address topics such as gender, sexuality, racism, identity, politics, mental health, and surveillance and outline how sociological approaches to these topics offer important analyses that further our understanding of the comprehensive effects of social media and digital technology on sport stakeholders.

Scandals about cheating and corruption have dogged amateur and professional sports in the United States since the nation's earliest days. This work examines the most infamous and consequential of these controversies and scandals both on and off the field. Authoritative Individual essays tackle notorious events in popular American sports ranging from the 1919 Black Sox scandal to revelations of sign stealing by the Houston Astros throughout their 2020 championship season, with stops in between to survey horrific sex abuse scandals at Penn State, Baylor, and Michigan State; steroid and drug scandals that brought down once-admired athletes like Mark McGwire and Lance Armstrong; and cheating/betting controversies that tainted individual players (Pete Rose), teams (Boston College, New England Patriots), and entire leagues (including the Little League World Series in 2001). But this work does more than just recount these events; it will also examine the cultural and economic pressures and forces that contributed to these events, as well as the lessons learned and steps taken (if any) to enact reform and help the sport recover.

This book enables students to grasp the holistic enterprise of social media as it pertains to social, legal, marketing, and management issues. The book also helps students better understand the research process in social media scholarship and make connections with academic research and applied practice in sport studies.

This edited collection examines how fantasy sports play has established a prominent and promising foothold in the larger sports ecology. Often considered an isolated activity for the hardcore sports fan, fantasy sports play have since been incorporated into sports broadcasting and editorial coverage, sports marketing and promotions, and even into the very sports themselves with athletes and teams using the activities to draw fans further into the sports experience. This edited collection invites leading scholars and sports professionals from several different fields to share historical and emerging perspectives on the importance of fantasy sports as an artifact of theoretical and empirical importance to larger issues of sport and society. \

Health Communication and Sport: Connections, Applications, and Opportunities aggregates sport and health communication into a collective resource that advances scholarly inquiry at the intersection of these two fields. Through bringing together a collaborative of scholars and practitioners who are doing work in areas ranging from mental health, to media, to youth sports, and social media, this volume evaluates health communication issues in sport contexts and inspires work that will answer contemporary questions and problems.