Sport in Canada is struggling to demonstrate that it is accountable, value-based, and
socially responsible. Simultaneously, there is a growing consciousness among elite
athletes to use the power and appeal of sport to affect meaningful social change.
Through in-depth interviews, I sought to understand which values and experiences
motivated 15 elite Canadian athletes to become involved in social and political activities.
I employed a grounded theory approach to analyze interview data and to develop the
Athlete Social Responsibility (ASR) framework.
My results show that ASR is grounded in identity and existential development. The
research participants indicated that, early in their careers, sport provided discipline,
direction, and purpose, but through the maturation process, they indicated that becoming
socially and politically active was instrumental to their personal development,
performance, and continued participation in elite sport. They voiced frustration that the
current sport system does little to encourage such engagement and offered a number of
innovative ways in which the current system could adopt an ASR perspective. These
ideas included: developing a resource to help athletes find their cause and link with
related organizations, companies, or charities; helping athletes find ways to connect to
their local communities; and restructuring the Canadian Athlete Assistance Program to
include both performance and ASR criteria.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BRC.10170/122 |
| Date | 25 November 2009 |
| Creators | Carter, Erin |
| Contributors | Real, Michael R., 1940- |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Detected Language | English |
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