Fair and Foul

D. Stanley Eitzen was professor emeritus of sociology at Colorado State University, where he taught for twenty-one years, most recently as John N. Stern Distinguished Professor. He was the author or coauthor of twenty-four books, including three on sport, as well as numerous scholarly articles and chapters in scholarly books. He was a former president of the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport and the recipient of that organization’s Distinguished Service Award. Among his other awards, he was selected to be a Sports Ethics Fellow by the Institute for International Sport.Cheryl Cooky is a professor of American Studies and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Purdue University. Her research focuses in three areas: gendered media representations of sport; gender politics of sport and public policies; and how gender shapes sports experiences, cultural meanings, and organizational structures in sports. She is the co-author of Serving Equality: Feminism, Media and Women’s Sports (2022, Peter Lang Publishers) and No Slam Dunk: Gender, Sport and the Unevenness of Social Change (2018, Rutgers University Press).

A timely update of a longtime leader in the field, Fair and Foul is a model of how to think critically about sport without losing sight of sport’s unique pleasures and social benefits. Fabulous for teaching.

• PrefaceNew to the Seventh EditionAcknowledgmentsForeword by Michael A. MessnerChapter 1: Paradoxes of Sport: An IntroductionTheme I: Sport Is Fair; Sport Is FoulTheme II: Sport as a Microcosm of SocietyCommon Characteristics of Sport and SocietyVariation on the “Sport as a Microcosm of Society” Theme: The Super BowlVariation on the “Sport as a Microcosm of Society” Theme: What Football and Baseball Tell us About our SocietyOverviewParadoxes of SportPart I: Sport is Fair, Sport is FoulChapter 2: Sport Unites, Sport DividesThe Role of Sport in Unity and Division among NationsUnity and Division through Sport in the United StatesCaveatsChapter 3: Sport Includes, Sport ExcludesTitle IX, Participation, and OpportunityBarriers to Girls and Women’s SportsMedia Coverage of Women’s SportsImpact of Sports on Girls and Women, on SocietyConclusionChapter 4: Sport Is Healthy, Sport Is DestructiveSports and Girls and Women’s HealthThe Destructive Aspects of SportConclusionChapter 5: The Organization of Youth Sport: Issues and ConsequencesTwo Fundamentally Different Forms of Play for Young ChildrenThe Dark Side of Adult-Centered PlayConclusionPart II: Sports as a Microcosm of SocietyChapter 6: Are Sports Played on a Level Playing Field? Issues of Race, Class, and GenderRacial InequitiesClass InequitiesGender InequitiesConclusionChapter 7: Media and Sport: Changing Sports, Changing MediaShifts in the Media LandscapeTelevised Sports as a Window on Reality or a Social Construction?Commercial InterestsSport as a Male PreserveTelevision as a Game ChangerConclusionChapter 8: Big-Time College Sport: Commercialized Sport Within AcademiaThe Case that Big-Time Sport Promotes EducationThe Case that Big-Time Sport Compromises Educational GoalsCollege Sport as Big BusinessSummary: The Contradictions of Big-Time Sport in AcademiaChapter 9: Professional Sports Franchises: Public Teams, Private BusinessesProfessional Sport as a MonopolyPublic Subsidies to Professional Team FranchisesThe Rationale for Public Subsidization of Professional Sports TeamsAn Alternative StructureChapter 10: The Challenge: Changing SportIs Change Possible?Should We Change Sport?How Do We Go About Making Changes?IndexAbout the Authors