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INTRODUCTION

Sport has historically been a place where more general social contests are played out. The rapidity, magnitude and visibility of those contests have changed with digital media. Previously entertainment platforms, they now have become a public space where race, gender and sexuality are discussed as they happen, sometimes in the context of a live sporting event. What comes from it is a real mixed message: digital media has the capacity of both representing marginalised voices and calling the attention of governing bodies to the demands of society, and reproducing discrimination and hostility that it seems to be countering.

THE ROLE OF RACE AND RACISM IN THE LIMITATIONS TO VISIBILITY

Raising concerns about Black athletes, racist abuse online has been reported again and again in academic and industry reports. Kick It Out (2021) highlighted that the number of discriminatory social media incidents against professional footballers in England is substantial, particularly against black players, in the 2019-20 season. There is no random pattern. The architecture of big platforms, especially engagement-based algorithms, fosters situations where inflammatory content spreads more quickly than the amount of content that is considered “abuse,” clicks get clicks, and clicks get clicks, Kilvington (2022) writes.

There has been coordinated action from sport organisations. A boycott of social media, organised by clubs, governing bodies and players in English football over the course of the weekend in 2021 was a big story. However, others (Carrington 2010) claim that symbolic acts can only be as effective as replacing visibility with structural change. Trending hashtag campaigns create media coverage but don’t change the platform architecture on which it is possible to abuse, nor the racial inequalities which lie at the heart of sport institutions making black people more vulnerable.

4%   of all UK sport media coverage was dedicated to women’s sport in 2021 (Women in Sport, 2021)

GENDER REPRESENTATION AND THE PERSISTENCE OF INEQUALITY

Women’s sport in the UK has traditionally been under-represented in the media compared to men’s sport. According to Women in Sport (2021), women’s sport has increased in 2021 to make up around 4% of all media coverage; although it has grown since then it is a clear indication of the extent of the structural gap. Partly, though, a digital solution has been found: The Women’s Super League’s 2021 broadcast rights package with the BBC and Sky, alongside vigorous investment in social media, helped to see clubs grow in their followings and reach. The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup was watched by an all-time high number of viewers on TV, and showed that when distribution is made a priority, there is appetite for women’s sport. Visibility isn’t necessarily equitable representation. Kane (1996) recognized the prevalent news framing of ‘gender marking’ in sports news, that is, news coverage which emphasizes femininity, personal biography, and appearance over athletic ability and tactical acumen. This trend hasn’t gone away on social media either.

INCLUSIVE SPORT AND ATHLETE ACTIVISM

Josh Cavallo’s October 2021 coming out as the first openly gay active AFC male footballer was met with extensive media coverage and hordes of homophobic abuse online. The juxtaposition of public solidarity and digital hostility, is the result of the contradictory nature of the relationship between LGBTQ+ athletes and the sport media; as their inclusion in sport continues to be welcomed as a sign of progress, it at the same time is exposing them to greater risks through their visibility as a sign of recognition (Caudwell, 2011). Lack of further openly gay male players in the topflight game indicates the disconnect between what is spoken and lived is still great.

Digital media has affected the world of sport in general. The Premier League clubs’ solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement had been taken to the knees, with taking the knee being discussed, celebrated and challenged through social media at an unprecedented speed in a pre-digital sport. As the next generation of players emerges to take over the sport, this story of Naomi Osaka’s withdrawal from the 2021 French Open, due to mental health and media commitments, sparked a conversation that was largely held on Instagram and Twitter, and one that would not have been as sustainable before athletes had direct access to audiences (Sack and Johnson 2004).

CONCLUSION

The social aspects of sport have become more prominent in digital media and can now be discussed regularly in the public sphere, typically in response to sport events, such as those featuring racism, gender inequality or marginalisation of LGBTQ+ audiences. However, there is a difference between what’s visible and what’s changed. Platforms where athlete voices can be heard host the abuse that makes athlete voices often necessary. Reporting can promote women’s sport and be accompanied by reporting that takes it down.

“Sport is not a mirror of society — it is a site in which social relations are actively produced and contested.” — Carrington (2010)