Sport: Race, Ethnicity and Identity

Sport has long been a paradoxical environment with respect to issues of 'race', ethnicity, and identity. For much of the twentieth century, sports around the world were enclaves of difference. Whites and non-whites, for example, were separated on the sports field as they were in many ways off the field. Today sport is much more inclusive, with athletic ability of greater importance than skin colour or ancestry. Yet enmity and antagonism still appear in sport via instances of racial vilification or hostility between some groups. Other problems include the relative absence of minorities from positions of power and influence in sport, as well as folkloric assumptions about athletic ability based upon stereotypes about 'race' or ethnic background. This book discusses issues of diversity, capacity and equity in the colourful world of global sport. A panoramic approach, covering 'race', ethnicity and identity is consistent with the contemporary global migration of professional athletes, as well as the multicultural contexts of sport in various regions. This collection of essays therefore addresses international dimensions of sport, commonality and difference, as well as the special circumstances of sport and social relations in particular places. This book was previously published as a special issue of Sport in Society.