DDRIG: Governance of Athletes through Protective Policies

University Of Maryland, College Park, College Park MD

Investigators

Abstract

A range of protective policies have been implemented in the governance of sport based upon scientific and cultural understandings of biological-based differences. These protective policies include eligibility regulations and consensus statements on athletes’ health. They all depend upon social and cultural understandings of protection, and who needs protection and why. This project analyzes how protection is conceptualized across organizations, policies, and practice. Project findings will translate beyond the sporting realm to enhance our understanding of how science and society intersect to shape dominant ways of knowing. This project will yield crucial insights into how protective policies enact a range of measures to safeguard selected notions of bodies through regulation, discipline, and/or exclusion. It will be of interest to athletes, coaches, policy makers, and administrators. Focusing on the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) consensus statement on relative energy deficiency in sport, or RED-S, as a case study, this project uses policy, bibliometric, and interview data to answer two central research questions: (1) how do scientists, policymakers, and other stakeholders involved with RED-S research and policy-creation identify bodies as (not) needing protection? And (2) what types of solutions to RED-S are proposed by scientists, policymakers, and other stakeholders involved with RED-S research and policy-creation? Drawing on theoretical insights from governmentality studies, the project contributes to larger discussions about the significance of social and/or biological dimensions in defining eligible bodies. This project produces further theoretical insights for science and technology scholars into rationales and strategies of governance that impact individuals, communities, and nations. Project findings will encourage transdisciplinary dialogue about how athlete’s bodies are regulated and policed, inside, and outside of sport, and inform future efforts to create inclusive and empathetic protective policies for athletes. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.