Abstract

As the world is racing to find a cure to save lives and economies amidst a global pandemic, COVID-19 has inadvertently caused a shift of focus towards the inequities and injustices plaguing society economically, politically, and socially. In response, athletes, coaches, managers, and other change agents with institutional power in sport organisations across the globe have begun to utilise their platforms to champion social justice generally, and racial justice in particular, in solidarity. Historically, in concert with trends in neoliberal and neocolonial hegemonic societies, sport has reproduced various oppressive ideologies, discourses, and systems grounded in racism, sexism, heterosexism, ableism, homophobia, xenophobia and related systemically oppressive forces. Given the visibility of sport in the global marketplace, racialized groups have used sport as a site of resistance and activism for social justice. Since the athlete activist has re-emerged as an important change agent in the public consciousness, an increasing number of supporters holding privileged identities, within and beyond sport, have backed social justice movements through their allyship. However, scholarship has focussed largely on the allyship of athletes. Perhaps more problematically, the ambiguity of allyship has resulted in instances of decentring the core targets or victims of oppressive systems, who are best positioned to lead social movements. In an effort to cultivate a deeper understanding of allyship and how allies can optimise social movements, the purpose of this conceptual paper is to call for more intentional, critically reflexive, and culturally conscious allyship that is reflective of a transformation of allyship from reactive advocacy to proactive activism for long-term substantive gains. The authors posit that transformational allyship is allyship as activism on both individual and institutional levels. Allyship as activism should consist of intentionality to centre the core targets and victims of oppression, critical reflexivity of the relationship between ally and core activist, the presence of a clear opposition, a challenge or disruption to hegemonic systems, and a connection to a broader social movement. Implications for coaches, administrators, sport managers, and athletes are discussed.

摘要

在全球大流行中，全世界都在竞相寻找拯救生命和经济的方法，COVID-19 无意中导致人们将注意力转移到在经济、政治和社会上困扰社会的不平等和不公正现象。作为回应，运动员、教练员、经理和其他在全球体育组织中拥有机构权力的变革推动者已经开始利用他们的平台来共同维护社会正义，特别是种族正义。从历史上看，与新自由主义和新殖民主义霸权社会的趋势相一致，体育再现了以种族主义、性别歧视、异性恋、能力主义、恐同症、仇外心理和相关系统性压迫力量为基础的各种压迫性意识形态、话语和制度。鉴于体育在全球市场的知名度，种族化的团体将体育用作社会正义的抵抗和激进主义的场所。自从这位运动员积极分子重新成为公众意识中的重要变革推动者以来，越来越多的拥有特权身份的支持者在体育内外通过他们的盟友支持社会正义运动。然而，奖学金主要集中在运动员的联盟上。也许更成问题的是，盟友关系的模糊性导致了核心目标或压迫性制度的受害者去中心化的情况，他们最有能力领导社会运动。为了加深对盟友以及盟友如何优化社会运动的理解，这篇概念性论文的目的是呼吁更加有意识地、批判性地反思、和具有文化意识的联盟，这反映了联盟从被动倡导到积极主动的转变，以获得长期的实质性收益。作者认为，变革性联盟是作为个人和机构层面上的激进主义的联盟。作为激进主义的盟友应该包括以核心目标和压迫受害者为中心的意图、盟友和核心活动家之间关系的批判性反思、明确反对的存在、对霸权体系的挑战或破坏，以及与更广泛的社会运动的联系。讨论了对教练、管理人员、体育经理和运动员的影响。