In Conversation: Reflections on Sport Hazing Cultures and Alternative Initiatives Into the 21st Century

Abstract

With the opportunity to co-author this chapter, we chose to trace the arc of sport hazing by situating ourselves both under and outside its shadow over the last 25+ years. When reading through our individual narratives, you will learn of our personal experiences with hazing in sport in both Canada and the United States of America, narrated from different points in our sport history and from our vantages while embodying different roles. We draw on research, practical experience, history and narrative to unpack and present where we have been and where we believe we are going with regards to this aspect of sport culture. We reflect on the societal changes that form the contextual background of those decades as well as personal changes that impacted our perspective, drawing on cultural touchstones as points of reference. All of this provides the foundation of our stories. Of particular note, there has been a stream of events cascading across the globe that have had an amplifying effect for voices calling for social change, both in and outside the culture of sport. These events included the #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter (BLM) movements and the COVID-19 pandemic. This chapter weaves together our personal, professional and academic journeys that have led us on our joined path to interrogate and eradicate hazing in sport.

Citation

johnson, j., Chin, J.W. and Holman, M. (2024), "In Conversation: Reflections on Sport Hazing Cultures and Alternative Initiatives Into the 21st Century", johnson, j. and Chin, J.W. (Ed.) Cultures of Sport Hazing and Anti-Hazing Initiatives for the 21st Century (Research in the Sociology of Sport, Vol. 23), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 9-25. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1476-285420240000023002