Kevin Hylton

This paper draws on original research from a larger study of racism and Islamophobia online around football, particularly a set of interviews with staff at English football clubs whose responsibility is to manage social media. We use that information alongside our reflections on “platformed racism” to appraise how expressions of racism on social media differ from those in and around the grounds, and how clubs and others in football contest them. This involves a consideration of three themes commonly identified by those speaking on behalf of the clubs: The triggers that ignite racist posts; the partnerships necessary to counter them; and their proposed solutions. Hence this is not just a cue for a collective wringing of hands, but an effort to point the way forward.

This paper examines the involvement of members of South Asian communities in cricket (in Bradford and Leeds, UK). The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) identified that despite the high level of interest in cricket within these communities, relatively few were participating in opportunities provided through ECB structures; instead, they were engaged in various forms of ‘informal’ cricket. Using data from a small-scale survey and group interviews, this paper speaks to issues of diversity and equality utilizing Rowe’s theory of sporting capital framed with insights from Critical Race Theory (CRT). We argue that Rowe’s model should be refined by incorporating the concepts of cultural competence and cultural wealth. Doing this can safeguard against deficit models of capital that stress what people lack rather than what they possess. This provides the sporting establishment with better insight to how their sport is perceived and engaged with by those outside the mainstream.

This chapter contributes to the warnings of Ospina and Foldy, who also emphasise the persistent relevance of 'race' in leadership contexts, describing 'race' as playing a significant part in the way lives are structured and lived. It examines 'race', sport coaching and leadership to focus debates on the general under-representation of Black leaders in sport. The chapter examines issues of diversity by drawing on a multilevel analysis that centres debates on unconscious bias, aversive racism and prototypes of leadership. Western S. uses the term locating ourselves, to recognise the other, and it is the critical perspective on leadership that acknowledges the racial dynamics of sport, coaching and leadership. Kevin Hylton and Dr Stefan Lawrence outline that due to antiracist lobbies in sport many people will censor their racial bias for a more sanitised and socially acceptable version of themselves.

This study examines the use of humour by Black football coaches in England as a rhetorical device against racism. The paper draws on humour studies and critical race theory to illustrate signs of humour as defence. Research on humour has popularly explored the ambiguities and qualities of humour and, in particular, joke telling through its use as a foil to stem racial ills is less well understood. Where previous work has focused on explicit joke telling/banter in sport, this paper examines how techniques of humour are used in everyday racialised experiences. The use of techniques of humour enables feelings of subordination, and humiliation to be transposed into forms of resistance, while its physiological and psychological benefits can lead to inter-racial relief and catharsis. The paper concludes that techniques of humour remain underexplored as important tools of resistance to everyday racism.

The purpose of this paper is to elucidate how racism manifests ‘behind closed doors’ in the backstage private domain. We do this with reference to recent high-profile controversies in the US and UK. In particular, we use the concepts of frontstage (public) and backstage (private) racism to unpack the extraordinary case in point of the ex-National Basketball Association franchise owner Donald Sterling. The paper concludes that though it is important for frontstage racism to be disrupted, activist scholars must be mindful of the lesser-known, and lesser-researched, clandestine backstage racism that, we argue, galvanizes more public manifestations. The Donald Sterling case is an example of how backstage racism functions and, potentially, how it can be resisted.

This section of the journal encourages discussion between several authors on a policy-related topic. The same question may, therefore, be addressed from different theoretical, cultural or spatial perspectives. Dialogues may be applied or highly This Dialogue starts with this contribution and is followed by three comments by Herman Ouseley doi.org/10.1080/19407963.2015.1115951; Daryl Adair doi.org/10.1080/19407963.2015.1115952 and, finally, Jacco van Sterkenburg's reflections prompted by the observations of fellow contributors doi.org/10.1080/19407963.2015.1115953.

Ever since his introduction to the first team at Manchester United FC, Cristiano Ronaldo Dos Santos Aveiro has been recognized as one of the footballing world’s most stand out football players. In turn, Ronaldo has drawn the attention of scholars working across a number of disciplines. While sports economists and sociologists of sport, amongst others, have contributed to a growing literature about Ronaldo and the social implications of his on and off-field behaviour, few critical analyses have considered the racialized aspects of Ronaldo’s representations, or how audiences make sense of his racialized or ethnic identity. Using images of Ronaldo, which we presented to and discussed with self-identified physically active white British men, we explore what it is that representations and audience interpretations of Ronaldo reveal about the complexities of white male identity formation. We do this to understand better how white male identities can be read and interpreted through and in the context of football. Facilitated by our conception of contingent whiteness, we argue that white British men’s interpretations of Ronaldo’s whiteness are inextricably linked to discourses of ‘race’, masculinities and football.

The Department of Defense (DoD) continues to emphasize the need to assess the level and consequences of racial/ethnic harassment and discrimination within the Reserve components. This overview report discusses findings from the 2011 Workplace and Equal Opportunity Survey of Reserve Component Members (2011 WEOR), a source of information for evaluating and assessing the race/ethnicity-relations environment in the Reserves. The 2011 WEOR is the second Reserve component survey on race/ethnicity-relations issues mandated by Title 10 U.S.C. 481(a)(2)(B). This overview report and accompanying briefing provide information on the prevalence rates of racial/ethnic harassment and discrimination; and personnel policies, practices, and training related to racial/ethnic harassment and discrimination. The 2011 WEOR was fielded from December 2011 to April 2012.