Society for the Study of Social Problems Notes From the Chair Elizabeth Cavalier, PhD Georgia Gwinnett College Hello members of the Sport, Leisure, and the Body division of SSSP! Please enjoy our Winter, 2015 newsletter. In it you will find announcements of new publications from our members, calls for papers from a few journals, and two articlesÑa reprint from Dr. Mike MessnerÕs excellent article about the NFL published in Huffington Post, and Dr. Rachel AllisonÕs article about WomenÕs Professional Soccer. Thanks Mike and Rachel for your contributions to the newsletter. If you are interested in writing something for our next newsletter (this could be a great activity for a graduate student), please get in touch with me at ecavalie@ggc.edu or Rachel at rallison@soc.msstate.edu. We have an exciting program this year in Chicago, with several solo sessions and co-sponsored sessions. I will detail the program in the late spring/summer newsletter, along with the announcement of the student paper award winner. Thanks for your hard work to represent Sport, Leisure, and the Body this year! Sadly, I am reaching the end of my term as division chair for Sport, Leisure, and the Body. This means we need members to run for Division Chair for a term beginning at this yearÕs meeting in Chicago. I need at least one more person who is interested in running to let me know, preferably by the end of March. This is a position that is available to graduate students or faculty. If you are interested but want to discuss it further before you commit, IÕm happy to have a conversation with you. Undergraduates and graduate students, if you would like to apply for a travel scholarship for SSSP, those applications are due by March 15. There are several other award nominations due by April 15, including the Thomas C. Hood Social Action Award, the Joseph B. Glitter Award, and the Lee Founders Award. Also, please remember to vote in the General Election for SSSP. Finally, please make sure you renew your memberships in Sport, Leisure, and the Body when you renew your SSSP membership in the upcoming year, and tell a friend! WeÕd love to add to our diverse membership with more voices. A special thanks to Dr. Rachel Allison, our newsletter editor, for putting together all of the content in this newsletter. Enjoy! Beth Cavalier, PhD Georgia Gwinnet College Member News Michael A. Messner, Max A. Greenberg & Tal Peretz, Some Men:Ê Feminist Allies and the Movement to End Violence Against Women.Ê Oxford University Press. Ê Against the backdrop of renewed public concern about domestic violence and sexual assault, Some Men explores the promise of menÕs violence prevention work with boys and men in schools, college sports, fraternities and the U.S. military. The book also illuminates the strains and tensions of such workÑincluding the ways male privilege is reproduced in feminist spheresÑand explores the ways that men and women navigate these tensions. Ê Based on life history interviews, Some Men examines the experiences of three generational cohorts:Ê a Òmovement cohortÓ of men who engaged with anti-violence work in the 1970s and early 1980s, during the height of the feminist anti-violence mobilizations; a Òbridge cohortÓ who engaged with anti-violence work from the mid-1980s into the 1990s, as feminism receded as a mass movement and activists built sustainable organizations; a Òprofessional cohortÓ who engaged from the mid-1990s to the present, as anti-violence work has become embedded in community and campus organizations, non-profits, and the state. Across these different time periods, Some Men illuminates menÕs varying pathwaysÑincluding men of different racial/ethnic and class backgroundsÑinto anti-violence work, and explores the promise and pitfalls of menÕs work as feminist allies. Ê To learn more about the book, visit http://www.somemen.org/ Call For Papers Strength and Conditioning Journal Special Topics Issue: Strength and Conditioning for Female Athletes Guest Editor: Nicole C. Dabbs, PhD (California State University, San Bernardino) Background and Context Scholarly interest in female athletes is emerging rapidly and is at an all-time high. The need to prepare and enhance the knowledge of strength and conditioning coaches of the considerations for female athletes is essential. As the number of female athletes continues to grow, the amount of literature on female athletes has flourished. Scholars from multiple disciplines are investigating critical issues such as: female development in strength and power, mentoring, female athlete-coach relationships, female coaches, ethic, power and politics, and promoting the science and practice of and for women coaches. In order to understand how the female athleteÕs body responds to training, a majority of the research within the field is physiology-based and the recommendations for strength and conditioning coaches are largely bio-medical (e.g., sport physiology, injury prevention, nutrition). While scholars often assume that coaches need merely to acquire and use physiological and bio-medical knowledge and may also benefit to other issues currently raised with females and sports. Strength and conditioning in female athletes is recognized as multifaceted and requires diverse knowledge base with practical application for strength and conditioning coaches. Call for Papers This special issue aims to expand and challenge our thinking of females in strength and conditioning, as athletes and coaches. Building upon the growth of females, this special issue is timely and likely to have wide appeal and readership. Specifically, the purpose of this special issue is to bridge the gap between research and literature in female athletes and female strength and conditioning coaches. We encourage submissions of interest to both contributors and readers such as (but not limited to): ?ÊResistance training considerations for female athletes in a variety of sports (force, power, velocity, hypertrophy, etc.) ?ÊInjury prevention in females in specific sports ?ÊSocial-psychological aspects of training females ?ÊTraining mental intensity in female athletes ?ÊTypes of motivation for female athletes ?ÊMobility in specific joints for injury prevention or rehab in females ?ÊModalities that increase sport performance in female athletes ?ÊFemale strength and conditioning coaches influence on the field ?ÊConsiderations for military training in females ?ÊNutrition considerations in female athletes ?ÊSelf-confidence and/or body image issues in female athletes ?ÊHistory or changes in female S&C coaches ?ÊFemale youth considerations in sport ?ÊGender Issues and Sport ?ÊTraining programs for the female obese population Writing and Publishing Guidelines General Instructions The mission of the Strength and Conditioning Journal is to, ÒÉpublish articles that report both the practical applications of research findings and the knowledge gained by experienced professionals.Ó It is inappropriate to submit original research to this journal. Submissions must be directly relevant for strength and conditioning coaches. While scholars are encouraged to draw upon research in females, it will be the author(s) responsibility to transfer this material to the context of strength and conditioning. Authors will need to do more than state Òfemales learn or experienceÉand females in strength and conditioning may glean from thisÉÓ Authors are encouraged to consult with the guest editor or an experienced strength and conditioning coach to help provide practical knowledge, examples or context. The guest editor has a reference list of research and literature on females in strength and conditioning, knowledge, and characteristics that is available upon request. Authors are also encouraged to advance a new position, or a critique of existing one, related to the field of strength and conditioning as long as it is connected to females. More information can be found at the Strength and Conditioning Journal homepage: http://journals.lww.com/nsca-scj/pages/default.aspx Audience and Tone The audience for the SCJ is primarily practitioners. Submissions should be written without excessive technical or theoretical language while avoiding the recent concern to Òdumb-downÓ articles. In other words, please write to your audience. Author(s) ability to balance these requirements is essential. Submission Instructions Strength and Conditioning Journal is a peer-reviewed journal with wide readership in the field. It has an impact factor of 0.713 and ranks 57/79 in Sport Sciences. It is, arguably, the most widely read and esteemed practitioner journal in the field of strength and conditioning. When submitting for this Special Issue for Females and Strength and Conditioning, please note in your submission that it is for theÊFemale Special Issue, so that it is not published in the regular issues. Instructions for authors are available at the following url: http://journals.lww.com/nsca-scj/Pages/instructionsforauthors.aspx Tentative Submission Deadlines: 1. Targeted submission deadline August, 2015 2. Initial Peer review August-September, 2015 3. Author corrections September-October, 2015 4. 2ndÊReview if necessary September-October/November, 2015 5. Publisher corrects and finalizing of manuscripts November-December, 2015 6. Published issue targeted in February, 2016 *Please note: Delays in the submission process and the need to receive a sufficient number of manuscripts will ultimately influence the targeted publishing date. Questions should be directed to: Nicole C. Dabbs, PhD Department of Kinesiology California State University Ð San Bernardino 5500 University Parkway, HP 120 San Bernardino, CA 92407 Office: (909) 537-7565 Email:Êndabbs@csusb.eduÊorÊncdabbs@gmail.com Call for Papers: Special Issue on The Political Economy of Amateur Athletics Special Issue Guest Editors: Joshua I. Newman Florida State University Kyle S. Bunds North Carolina State University Concerned by the rise of professionalism in sport, and in an attempt to protect the sanctity of amateurism, the famous author and early bicycling aficionado G. Lacy Hillier proclaimed in 1892, ÒSport is amusement solelyÉThe essence of sport is relaxationÉThe sportsman (sic), then, is the man who has an amusement which may cost him something, but which must not bring him in anything, for an amusement which brings him in anything is not a sport but a businessÓ (as cited in Allison, 2001, p. vii). In the historical present, however, it has become quite clear that sport is now a deeply privatized and commercialized feature of most societies. Considering the widespread development of both mass participant and mass spectator sport over the course of the last 150 years, historians, sociologists, economists, legal scholars, and behavioral scientists have in recent decades dedicated considerable effort to the study of how market forces and logics have infiltrated, and in some ways been remediated by, the function of amateurism within sport. This coupling of sport and business has impacted the structure of amateur sport organizations as well as the ethic of amateurism more generally. Issues such as a) the professionalization of the Olympic Games, b) the rights of intercollegiate student-athletes to gain remuneration through their economically-productive sporting practices, and c) the hyper-commodification of youth sports feature largely in many a nationsÕ public discourse. It has been argued that amateurism serves a double function: on the supply side, amateurism produces a system of governance that suppresses wage labor (in relation to market value) and exacerbates income inequality (allowing those with capital to produce incomes at rates that exceed those producing income through labor); and on the demand side, the structure of amateur sport allows for the uneven allocation of public resources dedicated to fostering community development and health through sport and physical activity. Given the current environment, there is a need for scholarly research and discussion on the political economy of amateur sport in the contemporary (global) market society. In this special issue on the political economy of amateur athletics, we welcome submissions focused on the following topics: Intercollegiate Athletics at all levels Adult Amateur Sport and Recreation The blurring lines between Amateur and Semi-Professional Sport Amateurism and the Olympic Games The Commercialization/Marketization of Youth Sport The political economy of the contemporary sporting body The market politics of gender, race, sexuality, or (dis)ability We invite a wide range of articles, essays, and creative works that will embrace and carry your work and/or the conference experience into the journal; scholars, researchers, and practitioners across disciplines and drawing upon a wide range of methods are encouraged to submit. If you have an interest in pursuing a manuscript for submission, please send an initial proposal (including a working title and a 150-200 word abstract) through e-mail to both Dr. Joshua Newman (jinewman@fsu.edu) and the JAS office (jamsport@ku.edu) by April 15th, 2015. The final manuscript needs to be submitted for review no later than October 1st, 2015. NFL in L.A.? We Don't Need the Headaches (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-messner/nfl-in-la-we-dont-need-th_b_6565046.html) Michael Messner University of Southern California As another Super Bowl comes and goes, this time amidst a clamor over deflated footballs, I have to say I am happy to be living and working in a major metropolitan area that is still, for the moment, an NFL-Free Zone. In recent weeks, breathless news commentators and Los Angeles civic leaders have expressed unabashed enthusiasm for the latest story that won't go away: "NFL team coming to LA?" An unspoken assumption in the resurgent buzz seems to be that having an NFL franchise in Los Angeles will be a great thing. I don't think so. Considering what we now know about the long-term risks of head injuries caused by football and the NFL's continued resistance to addressing domestic violence, sports fans should reconsider whether having an NFL team is something to be proud of. The devastating effect of head injuries routinely absorbed by football players is finally coming to light. Even "Iron Mike" Ditka, the archetype of the tough guy player and coach, said last week to HBO's Bryant Gumbel that if he had a young son today, he would not let him play football: "I think the risk is worse than the reward. I really do." Ditka is not the only one thinking this way: a December 2014 Bloomberg Politics Poll found that 50 percent of people do not want their son to play football. In that same poll, only 17 percent said that they expect the popularity of the sport to grow. Maybe football is a bad long-term investment? And then there is the continuing parade of stories about football players committing sexual assault and domestic violence against women and children. Social scientists have long pointed to a correlation between playing aggressive sports like football and ice hockey and violence against women; what is less well known is that there is also a correlation between incurring head injuries and committing off-field acts of violence. Todd Crosset, a sociologist at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, reported that men who suffered multiple head injuries were six times more likely to perpetrate marital violence. Thankfully, there are some former football players--men like Jackson Katz and Don McPherson who are profiled in my new book, Some Men: Feminist Allies and the Movement to End Violence Against Women--who have stepped up to lead a growing national effort to prevent men's violence against women. But I wonder if, just as with the way it deals with head injuries, the NFL's effort to prevent violence against women is more of a public relations containment strategy than an effort to change the ways that the sport glorifies violence. Tolerance of pain and injury is the cultural core of football. If the league were to truly commit itself to confronting the roots of the long-term dangers to football players and to the people around them, the game would likely no longer be football as we know it. Millions of people love to watch football, no doubt. But consider this: The same Bloomberg poll that showed declining parental support for football also revealed that professional class people are far more likely than working class people to say they would not let their sons play football. Do we really want a future in which boys and men from working class backgrounds, many of them men of color, will continue to pay the health costs for our dubious entertainment? Is this really what we want America's sport to represent? But, what about the civic pride that comes with being an NFL city? Come on. Los Angeles already has plenty to be proud of: gorgeous coastlines and mountains; myriad ethnic cuisines and cultures; world class colleges and universities; a thriving creative culture in music and film; multiracial working people's organizations that are at the heart of a national push for a living wage. NFL in LA? We just don't need the headaches. Gender and Organizational Goals in U.S. WomenÕs Professional Soccer Rachel Allison PhD Mississippi State University Many of you are likely familiar with the above image. This is Brandi Chastain, a former defender on the U.S WomenÕs National Soccer Team, immediately after scoring the gold medal-winning penalty kick in the 1999 WomenÕs World Cup. Not only was the U.S. team victorious on the field, but off the field in record attendance, sponsor, and viewership figures. The unanticipated successes of this tournament sparked optimism among players, staff and fans regarding the possibilities of a fully professional league for women in the U.S. The ensuing league, the WomenÕs United Soccer Association (WUSA), emerged in 1999 and featured many of the stars of the Õ99 tournament, including Chastain. Unfortunately, WUSA folded in 2003, citing a bevy of financial challenges. And WUSA was not the only failed professional team sports league for women in the U.S. The 1990Õs and 2000Õs also saw leagues in softball, volleyball, and football, among others, fail after very few seasons. As an April 2014 New York Times article on womenÕs professional soccer concluded, ÒThe struggle of womenÕs sports leagues has long been a nagging problem. In the world of womenÕs professional team sports, progress always seems to be inch by inch, if there is progress at all.Ó What accounts for the uneven, incremental, and often stalled development of womenÕs professional sports? Specifically, what types of challenges do owners and staff face when trying to build and sell womenÕs professional sports leagues in the U.S.? My own study of womenÕs soccer addressed these broad questions. My ethnographic research involved participant observation with one womenÕs team, the ÒMomentum,Ó 55 in-depth interviews with team and league stakeholders, and collection and analysis of media data. One of the major findings to emerge from my project, and the one I touch upon in the first manuscript from these data, is the existence of two distinct goals for womenÕs soccer as a league. I conceptualize these as macro-cultural ÒlogicsÓ that emerge from the team and leagueÕs embededness in both local and extra-local social contexts. What I call ÒbusinessÓ logic holds that the major goal of womenÕs soccer should be to generate profit for ownership through corporate and media partnerships. Business logic is the dominant logic organizing U.S. professional team sport; menÕs pro sports leagues were a highly visible and common point of reference for staff in womenÕs soccer. Pressures toward a commercialized definition of success also came from local and national corporations, media personnel, and the sports business and sports management programs many staff had graduated from. In contrast to business logic was a ÒcauseÓ logic that defined the success of womenÕs soccer on the basis of the empowerment of girls and women. While ÒempowermentÓ was often embraced as a goal for womenÕs soccer, the label of feminism was widely rejected as either inappropriate or dangerous to the work of the league. Empowerment pressures emerged from coaches, staff, and parents in youth sports leagues, from teachers and schools, from organizations focusing on women, gender and sport like the WomenÕs Sports Foundation, and from media tropes of Òthe Ô99ersÓ that framed coverage of the league through the ÒpioneeringÓ work of an earlier generation of players. Importantly, these logics were not taken up equally by all staff, but were adopted differently by men and women. Men were more likely to adopt business logic as defining the goals of the league, as well as those work strategies likely to lead to success. While many men were on board with empowerment goals, their acceptance derived from a view of empowerment as a marketing tactic valuable only in its potential to make money. For many women, however, empowerment was believed to be a goal antithetical to profit. Thus, business and cause approaches were not understood to be compatible by women who took up an empowerment focus. My research documents debate internal to womenÕs professional soccer about appropriate and desirable organizational goals. I document two goals, profit and empowerment, that are sometimes in competition with one another, and sometimes in accordance. How these goals are balanced depends centrally on gender, as menÕs and womenÕs prior experiences with and socialization into sport clearly led to unique orientations to work. One implication of my research is that who is in charge of directing the womenÕs game, and the goals they embrace, will matter to how the work of womenÕs pro sports leagues is organized. 13