LGBT Inclusive Athletic Departments as Agents of Social Change

Despite advances, prejudice against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals continues to plague many areas of sport, including intercollegiate athletics. There are, however, some athletic departments that are inclusive of LGBT athletes, coaches, and administrators, and that have inclusive organizational cultures and practices. In this paper, the author draws from an institutional theory perspective to suggest these athletic departments act as agents of social change, working to deinstitutionalize norms of exclusivity and heterosexism, articulating a viable alternative, and then working to reinstitutionalize new structures, processes, and norms of LGBT diversity and inclusion

Predictors of Sexual Orientation Diversity in Intercollegiate Athletics Departments

In adopting a multilevel perspective, the purpose of this study was to examine antecedents of sexual orientation diversity among university athletic departments. Data were gathered from top administrators (N = 653) in 199 athletic departments. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated that the size of the university, the racial diversity of department employees, and the gender diversity of department employees were all positively associated with sexual orientation diversity. The entire model explained 24% of the variance. The author discusses ways to increase sexual orientation diversity, study contributions, limitations, and future directions

Diversity Issues in Academic Reform

The purpose of this paper was to provide a response to the Petr and McArdle (2012) and Paskus (2012) papers. The author suggests that academic reform should be couched within broader diversity issues affecting intercollegiate athletics, with a particular emphasis on race, social class, and the ability to implement reforms. Implications and conclusions are discussed

A Collective Case Study of African American Male Athletic Directors’ Leadership Approaches to Diversity in College Sport

The primary purpose of this research was to garner an understanding of how African American male athletic directors manage diversity and inclusion in their college athletic departments. The authors conducted a collective qualitative case study of two major university athletic departments that each had an African American male athletic director. The authors conducted interviews, took field notes, and analyzed relevant documents/artifacts, all of which served as data sources. Results indicate these leaders viewed diversity and inclusion as (a) increasing racial and gender minority representation in leadership positions and (b) utilizing this diversity as a mechanism for role modeling and mentoring. Differences between the leaders also emerged, as one explicitly focused on conducting an organizational analysis and on making diversity training mandatory for all employees, while the other did not engage in these activities. The authors discuss contributions to the literature and future directions for research

Weighing the Options: Discrimination Against Fat Golfers

In drawing from multiple theoretical frameworks, including stigma theory (Goffman, 1963; Paetzold, Dipboye, & Eslbach, 2008) and social dominance theory (Sidanius & Pratto, 1999), the purpose of this study was to examine the possibility of weight discrimination among coaches of NCAA women’s golf teams. Coaches participated in an experimental study, where they reviewed the resumes of high school golfers and indicated the likelihood of offering the golfer an athletic scholarship. The resumes varied by weight of the golfer and skill level, and coaches’ social dominance orientation was also measured. Fat golfers were less likely to be offered a scholarship than were thinner golfers. Player skill level moderated these effects, as did the coaches’ social dominance orientation. Contributions, limitations, and future directions are discussed

Cultural Values and Gender Equity on National Olympic Committee Boards

International Journal of Exercise Science 10(6): 857-874, 2017. Women are under-represented in leadership positions throughout sport, and researchers have largely explored organizational, group, and individual antecedents of this phenomenon. The purpose of the current study was to expand on this understanding by investigating the influence of a country’s cultural values on the representation of women on National Olympic Committees. Drawing from Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory, the authors included five cultural values: power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism-collectivism, masculinity-femininity, and long-term orientation. Results indicate that women constituted only 19.7 percent of the positions on the boards. Regression analysis, controlling for size of the Olympics program in the country, indicate that cultural values accounted for 41.8 percent of the variance in board gender diversity. Countries with lower power distance, lower masculinity, and lower uncertainty avoidance all had a higher proportion of women on the board. The authors discuss practical and theoretical implication