Journal Information

• Title: The clock is ticking: contexts, tensions and opportunities for addressing environmental justice in sport management
• Authors: Chen Chen (University of Connecticut) and Timothy Kellison (Georgia State University)
• Publication: SBJM, Volume 13, Issue 3, 2023, Pages 376-396
• Licensing: Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0)

Abstract

• Purpose: Explore what environmental justice (EJ) contributes to sport management research. Emphasizes the urgency for scholars to engage with EJ as a critical research agenda.
• Methodology: This position and conceptual paper draws from multidisciplinary literature, including critical human geography, environmental sociology, Indigenous studies, and postcolonial studies.
• Findings:
  • EJ allows for deeper analysis of racial, socio-economic, and gender-related inequities in sport.
  • Incorporating EJ can enhance sport ecology research, suggesting stronger analyses regarding existing inequalities in the sport industry.
• Value: Represents a novel and critical intervention in sport management literature, focusing on the confluence of social movements, public policy, and academic scholarship targeted at practitioners and scholars.

Introduction

• EJ movements, particularly from Indigenous activists, challenge claims of positive impacts of large events like the Olympics on local communities.
• Sport is paradoxically viewed as both a promoter of health/environment and an industry causing significant environmental damage.
• The significant environmental impacts of sports encompass:
  • Resource depletion in production (e.g., golf courses).
  • Habitat destruction for venues.
• Environmental Justice (EJ) concerns arise from uneven distributions of environmental costs and benefits, particularly affecting marginalized communities.

Understanding Environmental Justice (EJ)

• Definitions: EJ is characterized by the fight for equitable access to a clean and safe environment, often highlighting the social inequities in environmental decision-making and policies.
• Historical Context:
  • Emerged in the U.S. in the 1980s amid protests against environmental racism.
  • Crosses sectors like land use, transportation, and housing.
• Modern Challenges: Its scope has expanded to include multi-dimensional issues such as race, gender, and colonial legacies which solidify patterns of environmental injustice.

Paradigms of EJ

• Three elementary paradigms illustrate the conceptualizations of EJ:
  • Distributive Paradigm: Focuses on equitable distribution of environmental burdens and benefits; highlights intra- and inter-generational justice.
  • Procedural Paradigm: Advocates for equitable participation in decision-making related to environmental management.
  • Recognition Paradigm: Centers on acknowledging and respecting the diversity of human experiences and relationships to the environment, especially regarding Indigenous rights and knowledge.

Application of EJ in Sport Management

• Proposed incorporation of EJ into sport management research seeks to address:
  • The impact of sport on marginalized communities.
  • Conflicts arising from inequitable benefit distribution from sport-related developments.
• Contextual Analysis: Understanding the historical and geographical context is crucial to address EJ in sport effectively.
• Stakeholder Mapping: A nuanced analysis of stakeholders (corporate, governmental, local communities) involved in EJ implications within sport is vital.

Tensions and Opportunities for Engagement with EJ

• Power Dynamics: EJ highlights the need to address historical and current power imbalances within decision-making processes in sport.
• Challenges: Navigating complexities of engaging in EJ amidst competing institutional interests.
• Strategic Alliances: Encourage coalitions among marginalized groups and the momentum to reshape narratives in sport management through EJ frameworks.

Methodological Considerations for Sports Research on EJ

• Questions posed to explore intersections of EJ with various sub-disciplines in sport management include:
  • How can stakeholders effectively collaborate for EJ initiatives?
  • What role do sport organizations have in mitigating ecological debt?
  • How to equip communities with tools to resist environmental injustices related to sport?

Conclusion

• Incorporating EJ within sport management research will lay a foundation for responsible scholarship that embraces its social justice agenda.
• Engaging with the stakes of EJ allows for a transformative role for sport in advocating for equity, inclusion, and environmental sustainability across communities.