Sport Media Literacy

The rise of user-generated media has led to a plethora of sports media platforms from podcasts to YouTube to social media streams. The result has been an escalation of “hot take” sports journalism; anyone can now be a sports media producer, but few do it responsibly. Facilitating sports media literacy will involve a triangulation of sports law, ethics, and communication to ensure that topics such as Title IX, concussions, name, image, and likeness (NIL), and athlete activism are advanced from informed, contemporary understandings. Future sport practitioners must be able to gather insights to form and express educated opinions about issues that affect the sports world.

Sport and Technology

The sport industry has already witnessed a long-standing, significant impact from the rise of social media and streaming services that has created a fragmented, yet often personalized fan experience. The use of virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and Big Data-driven insights will further enhance the fan experience, and the leagues and teams that capitalize on those technological advances will be the leaders in the industry. Future sport practitioners should understand the strengths, opportunities, and challenges that the sport industry faces with this evolution in technology to compete for fan interest in a hypermediated society.

Esports and Video Gaming

The Esports industry has grown substantially over the last few years, with reports stating that the global Esports audience grew to more than 500 million in 2022, generating $1.38 billion in revenue. The growth of Esports has added to its legitimacy as a sport among casual and avid fans, and several colleges, universities, and professional sports team (particularly in the NBA and MLB) are forming competitive Esports teams. Future sport practitioners must be able to discuss the “business” of Esports and video
gaming while educating their employers about the benefits of collaborating with the growing industry.

Fantasy Sports and Sports Betting

It’s no secret that sports gambling is growing since the Professional and Amateur Sports Betting Act (PASBA) was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2019. With a record $54.9 billion in revenue generated in the United States in 2022, gambling is currently legal and widely available in 36 states and the District of Columbia. Meanwhile, fantasy sport (a $20 billion industry itself) has fused with gambling interests, driven by accelerated adoption among younger (ages 18-25) participants. With the steady increase in fantasy sports and gambling, there has also been a concerning increase in the legal, financial, and mental health consequences resulting from gambling addiction. Future sport practitioners should understand the financial benefits and regulatory limits, and addiction risks associated with the mainstreaming of fantasy sport and gambling.

A White Paper Produced by the Beyond Sports Institute (coming Summer 2024)
Foreword by Dr. Mary Meares, Associate Professor, Communication Studies, The University of Alabama

Project Leadership

Principal Investigators
Scott Parrott, Ph.D. (USA), Associate Professor, Journalism and Creative Media, The University of Alabama

Co-Principal Investigators
Andrew C. Billings, Ph.D. (USA), Co-director, Beyond Sports Initiative, The University of Alabama
Kenon A. Brown, Ph.D. (USA), Director, Institute for Communication and Information Research, The University of Alabama
Thomas Horky, Ph.D. (GER), Professor, Macromedia University
Jiyoung Lee, Ph.D. (KOR), Assistant Professor, Media and Communication, Sungkyunkwan University
Ana Carolina Vimieiro, Ph.D. (BRA), Associate Professor, Federal University of Minas Gerais

Athletes face unique stressors on mental health, including internal and external pressure to succeed, overbearing time commitments, unexpected injury, and other challenges. Nonetheless, mental illness is stigmatized in sport. Depression, anxiety, and other issues are described as mental weakness, and athletes worry about sacrificing playing time, starting positions, and team respect should they seek treatment. Communication can help alleviate the stigma attached to mental illness in sport, improving attitudes toward help-seeking, challenging stereotypes, and illustrating the commonality of mental health issues. 

More recently, athletes have begun sharing their stories about battles with mental health. These disclosures are to share their struggles with both their fellow athletes and their fans with the hope that more people will seek mental health education, resources and treatment. Spearheaded by the Beyond Sports Institute at The University of Alabama, a multinational survey will be conducted to examine fans’ attitudes toward athlete disclosures of mental health in four countries: Brazil, Germany, South Korea and the United States. The study will shed light on the international and intercultural differences related to the effects of athlete disclosures of mental health on attitudes towards mental health and willingness to discuss personal struggles and seek resources.