The End of Sport Podcast

Episode 79: Status Coercion in College Sport with Erin Hatton

In this episode, all three hosts are joined by Dr. Erin Hatton to discuss her brilliant intervention Coerced: Work Under Threat of Punishment and how status coercion shapes working conditions in college sport. Erin Hatton is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University at Buffalo and also author of The Temp Economy: From Kelly Girls to Permatemps in Postwar America.
Too often, the conversation around exploitation in college sport becomes strictly focused on their lack of access to the free market. This episode moves beyond that paradigm to explore how the power dynamics inherent to college sport as presently conceived are far more coercive, harmful, and exploitative than we often imagine.
You can find Erin Hatton's book Coerced here. You can find an article she authored on status coercion in college sport for The Conversation here. You can find her on Twitter @eehatton.
Dr. Erin Hatton is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University at Buffalo and author of Coerced: Work Under Threat of Punishment and The Temp Economy: From Kelly Girls to Permatemps in Postwar America.
 
 
For a transcription of this episode, please click here. (Updated semi-regularly Credit @punkademic)
Research Assistance for The End of Sport provided by Abigail Bomba.
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If you’re interested you can support the show via our Patreon.
As always, please like, share, and rate us on your favorite podcast app, and give follow us on Twitter or Instagram.
www.TheEndofSport.com

Episode 78: “Understanding Gymnastics on its Own Terms” with Dvora Meyers, Part II

Here is the second part of Johanna’s interview with Dvora Meyers where they talk about America’s role in gymnastics’ abusive history, what (certain) responses to Suni Lee’s gold medal tells us about the sport, and the impact of name, image, likeness (NIL) developments on college gymnastic athletes.
Dvora Meyers is a writer and freelance journalist (formerly of Deadspin), and the author of the book The End of the Perfect 10: The Making and Breaking of Gymnastics’ Top Score —from Nadia to Now. Dvora writes prolifically about gymnastics and other sports from political, cultural, and social angles and her work has appeared in The New York Times,The Guardian, The Atlantic, Vice, Defector, FiveThirtyEight and many more. She also has a substack titled Unorthodox Gymnastics, which we strongly encourage people to subscribe to get a roundup of her published pieces, plus additional exclusive analyses made available to subscribers.
Pieces mentioned in this episode:
“Why it’s Not Surprising that Simone Biles Cheered for Angelina Melnikova” FiveThirtyEight
 “Time for the End of the Teen Gymnast” FiveThirtyEight
“Suni Lee Doesn’t Owe Her Gold Medal to Anyone” Unorthodox Gymnastics
“Women’s Gymnastics is blasting into the future, but its scoring code is stuck in the past.” Defector
You can follow Dvora on Twitter!
 
For a transcription of this episode, please click here. (Updated semi-regularly Credit @punkademic)
Research Assistance for The End of Sport provided by Abigail Bomba.
_________________________________________________________________________
If you are interested you can support the show via our Patreon.
As always, please like, share, and rate us on your favorite podcast app, and give follow us on Twitter or Instagram.
www.TheEndofSport.com

Episode 77: “Understanding Gymnastics on its Own Terms” with Dvora Meyers, Part I

In part one of a two-part episode, Johanna is joined by Dvora Meyers to talk about the antiquated and problematic roots of gymnastics, systemic racism in the sport, athlete activism, and the ways in which the gaze of observers and fans hurts athletes within the sport and reproduces various forms of harm and exploitation.
Dvora Meyers is a writer and freelance journalist (formerly of Deadspin), and the author of the book The End of the Perfect 10: The Making and Breaking of Gymnastics’ Top Score —from Nadia to Now. Dvora writes prolifically about gymnastics and other sports from political, cultural, and social angles and her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, The Atlantic, Vice, Defector, FiveThirtyEight and many more. She also has a substack titled Unorthodox Gymnastics, which we strongly encourage people to subscribe to get a roundup of her published pieces, plus additional exclusive analyses made available to subscribers.
Pieces mentioned in this episode:
“Why it’s Not Surprising that Simone Biles Cheered for Angelina Melnikova” FiveThirtyEight
 “Time for the End of the Teen Gymnast” FiveThirtyEight
“Women’s Gymnastics is blasting into the future, but its scoring code is stuck in the past.” Defector
You can follow Dvora on Twitter!
 
For a transcription of this episode, please click here. (Updated semi-regularly Credit @punkademic)
Research Assistance for The End of Sport provided by Abigail Bomba.
_________________________________________________________________________
If you are interested you can support the show via our Patreon.
As always, please like, share, and rate us on your favorite podcast app, and give follow us on Twitter or Instagram.
www.TheEndofSport.com

Episode 76: Abolishing the Olympics with Jonny Coleman of NOlympics LA

On today’s episode, Johanna and Derek are joined by NOlympics LA coalition member and community organizer Jonny Coleman to talk about the LA28 Olympic bid, the powerful people behind the Games, the harms associated with LA28, and how the Olympics may be quite far beyond any possibility of reform.
Jonny Coleman is a writer and organizer based in Los Angeles and a member of the NOlympics LA coalition, which was launched in 2017 by the Housing and Homelessness Committee of the LA Chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. The Coalition has since expanded to include over two dozen partner organizations based in LA and California, as well as a growing transnational movement with dozens of groups around the world. Jonny has published widely on the harms associated with the Olympics in Jacobin Magazine, Knock LA, The Nation, The Appeal, Deadspin, Slate, and many others.
Follow NOlympics LA on Twitter!
 
The piece mentioned by Gia Lappe and Jonny in Jacobin can be found here “Abolish the Olympics.”
Check out our episode on the Tokyo 2020 games with Jules Boykoff here “Buying Unicorns with Dogecoin.”
For a transcription of this episode, please click here. (Updated semi-regularly Credit @punkademic)
Research Assistance for The End of Sport provided by Abigail Bomba.
_________________________________________________________________________
If you are interested you can support the show via our Patreon.
As always, please like, share, and rate us on your favorite podcast app, and give follow us on Twitter or Instagram.
www.TheEndofSport.com

Episode 75: Unfiltered with Kaiya McCullough

In this episode, all three hosts are joined by Kaiya McCullough, a former UCLA soccer player and former member of the Washington Spirit and Wurzberger Kickers, Athlete Ally ambassador, host of the Unfiltered Podcast, co-founder of the United College Athlete Advocates.
The first half of the conversation ranges from why college athletes need representation to Kaiya's views on the working conditions in college sport and NIL. In the second half, Kaiya shares her perspectives on athlete protest, the gender dynamics of coaching, and the racist culture of soccer.
Check out Kaiya's wonderful "Letter to a Younger Me" here. Listen to her podcast Unfiltered here. Join the United College Athlete Advocates here. Follow Kaiya on Twitter @hiyakaiya.
For a transcription of this episode, please click here. (Updated semi-regularly Credit @punkademic)
Research Assistance for The End of Sport provided by Abigail Bomba.
_________________________________________________________________________
If you are interested you can support the show via our Patreon.
As always, please like, share, and rate us on your favorite podcast app, and give follow us on Twitter or Instagram.
www.TheEndofSport.com
 

Episode 74: Buying Unicorns with Dogecoin at the Tokyo Olympics with Jules Boykoff

All three hosts are joined by show favorite and Professor and Chair of Politics & Government at Pacific University Jules Boykoff to talk all things Tokyo Olympics, principally why they shouldn't be happening at all.
The conversation ranges from why the Tokyo Olympics should have been cancelled in the first place, to overarching problems with the Olympics as an institution, to the racial politics at play in these Games in particular. The discussion also addresses the ethics of the Tokyo Games from the standpoints of fan consumption and athlete participation.
Jules Boykoff is author of the recent book NOlympians and the classic Power Games. He has recently written on the Games in countless venues, including the Los Angeles Times, The Nation (with Dave Zirin), and the Washington Post. The terrific piece co-authored by Michael MacDougall and MacIntosh Ross can be found here.

Episode 73: On the Rich Aquatic History of the Black Diaspora with Naji Ali

**our apologies for the audio issues at the r beginning of this episode!**
On this episode of The End of Sport, Johanna and Derek chat with Naji Ali, producer and host of Crossing the Lane Lines podcast, to discuss the role that swimming has played in his life, the rich aquatic history of the Black diaspora, and the white supremacist history of modern swimming and USA Swimming’s complicity. Naji provides so much detail and nuance about his experiences with racism in and out of the pool and how that continues to influence the wonderful work he does now with the swimming community in San Francisco.
 
Naji Ali is the producer and host of Crossing the Lane Lines, a podcast that highlights the achievements, struggles, and activism in, on, or near the water for Black folk. The podcast is dedicated to giving voice to the Black Swim community by connecting with coaches, swimmers, authors and activists. Naji is a long distance open water swimmer, who swims year around, without a wetsuit, in San Francisco Bay, as well as the Pacific Ocean. He is also a Total immersion Swim Coach, who specifically teaches Black and Brown children and adults how to swim, at whatever cost they can afford.
 
You can check out Naji’s interview with Johanna on the Crossing the Lane Lines podcast here.
 
For a transcription of this episode, please click here. (Updated semi-regularly Credit @punkademic)
Research Assistance for The End of Sport provided by Abigail Bomba.
_________________________________________________________________________
If you are interested you can support the show via our Patreon.
As always, please like, share, and rate us on your favorite podcast app, and give follow us on Twitter or Instagram.
www.TheEndofSport.com

Episode 72: College Sport 'Apocalypse'

*Content warning: discussion of physical and sexual abuse within the episode*
 
On this episode of The End of Sport, Derek and Nathan break down why recent name, image, and likeness developments in college sport are neither apocalypse nor cause for celebration by focusing on the myriad ways college sport remains profoundly exploitative. The hosts draw on their work in a recent piece published in The Guardian, entitled "There's never been a better time for US college athletes to unionize," to show that unionization and explicitly employee status are the only avenue of reform that can comprehensively address the layers of harm that define the college sport industrial complex, including the horrific abuse that has recently been disclosed at the University of Michigan.
For more background, check out two other pieces heavily cited in the episode: our article on the plantation dynamics of college sport and a column by Nathan and Kevin Shafer on the abuses in Ann Arbor and Columbus. The End of Sport crew have also published a number of relevant articles on the corrupt college football system, health and safety issues related to college sports during the pandemic, and the NCAA's union-busting tendencies. 
 
For a transcription of this episode, please click here. (Updated semi-regularly Credit @punkademic)
Research Assistance for The End of Sport provided by Abigail Bomba.
_________________________________________________________________________
If you are interested you can support the show via our Patreon.
As always, please like, share, and rate us on your favorite podcast app, and give follow us on Twitter or Instagram.
www.TheEndofSport.com
 
 
 

Episode 71: On Trans and Non-Binary Sporting Inclusion with Verity Smith and Abby Barras

For this episode, Johanna interviews two experts from the UK: rugby player and diversity and inclusion leader for the International Gay Rugby and other organizations, Verity Smith, and scholar of trans- and nonbinary sporting inclusion and exclusion, Abby Barras. The discussion focuses on the barriers that trans and nonbinary athletes face broadly and specifically within the UK, what we need to be to ensure that the LGBTQ+ community broadly experience full inclusion on the field, and Verity and Abby’s fantastic efforts to improve inclusion.  
In the interview, Verity shares his experiences witnessing the World Rugby Federation ban transgender athletes. He details how the lived experiences of trans and non-binary athletes are very often overlooked when sporting organizations update their policies on inclusion, and why we all need to work together to help reduce barriers to participation.  Abby walks us through her piece in the journal British Mensas’s: Androgyny about the BBC1’s documentary featuring athlete Martina Navratilova. We discuss how ‘mundane transphobia’ helps us understand how Navratilova reasserted her gendered power to control the language, discussion, and public conversation over the women in ways that focused on their bodies and transition stories, and not their humanity and full selves. We end the conversation by articulating how transphobic people use the words ‘fair’ and cheating’ in sport really means as tools for exclusion and oppression, and the superb work that Verity and Abby are doing for Mermaids, which supports and connects transgender, nonbinary, and gender diverse children, young people, and their families to supportive resources.  
Verity Smith is a rugby player who holds numerous important roles in his work on gender inclusive and expansive policies in sport, such as the diversity and inclusion leader for the International Gay Rugby, the chief diversity officer for the World Barbarians Foundation rugby club, and as the Trans Inclusion in Sport Youth Worker for Mermaids. You can find him on Twitter @VeritySmith19.  
Abby Barras is a researcher at Mermaids and an academic. Her recently submitted PhD explored the lived experiences of trans including non-binary adults in everyday sport and physical exercise in the UK. Her publications include “Hostility to elite athletes is having a negative impact on participation in everyday sport” for The Conversation, and “We just want to be listened to:’ Mundane transphobia in BBC1’s ‘The Trans Women Dispute with Martina Navratilova” for British Mensa’s: Androgyny and others. You can find her on Twitter @abbybarras.  
For a transcription of this episode, please click here. (Updated semi-regularly Credit @punkademic) Research Assistance for The End of Sport provided by Abigail Bomba. _________________________________________________________________________
If you are interested you can support the show via our Patreon. As always, please like, share, and rate us on your favorite podcast app, and give follow us on Twitter or Instagram. www.TheEndofSport.com  

Episode 70: Gender Expansive Gymnastics with Half In, Half Out

In this very special episode of The End of Sport, Johanna is joined in co-hosting duties by friend of the show Dr. Georgia Cervin to interview founders and co-hosts of the Half In, Half Out podcast, Blake and Kino, the only LGBTQ+ focused gymnastics podcast, to discuss the genesis of the show and LGBTQ+ culture in the gymnastics world. The discussion focuses on how despite the labor of folks across the gymnastics landscape, the sport remains an exclusive space in need of major reformation. Blake and Kino also walks us through the creation of the podcast, its wide impact, and the reception it has received from folks within and outside the sport.
Follow Blake, Kino, and the Half In, Half Out podcast on all the socials, and check out Kino and Blake’s “How to Host a Pride Meet: A Guide from Half In, Half Out Podcast”!
**Episode disclaimers: 1) Kino and Blake did not attend the Pride meet referenced in the show – we just want to make that clear as it was lost in the recording; 2) we had a few recording issues with this episode – we had to re-record parts of this episode due to technical errors. Our sincerest apologies if some of the discussion does not align perfectly or is somewhat inconsistent. We also wanted to send a HUGE THANKS to Blake and Kino for their help with this episode. Wow! What wonderful folks over there at Half In, Half Out! 3) For those new to this topic there are a few acronyms mentioned in the show that may benefit from some explanation: MAG = Men’s Artistic Gymnastics (but they use MAG b/c not everyone who does MAG is a man); WAG = Women's Artistic Gymnastics (same); T&T = trampoline and tumbling
 
For a transcription of this episode, please click here. (Updated semi-regularly Credit @punkademic)
Research Assistance for The End of Sport provided by Abigail Bomba.
_________________________________________________________________________
If you are interested you can support the show via our Patreon.
As always, please like, share, and rate us on your favorite podcast app, and give follow us on Twitter or Instagram.
www.TheEndofSport.com