Cogent Social Sciences

Sport and Online Abuse: The Increasing Proliferation of Digital Harms

Discrimination continues to shape participation, governance, and representation across global sport. Despite recognition of inequalities within sporting cultures, discriminatory practices remain embedded in many sporting institutions, communities, and digital environments. In recent years, the rapid expansion of social media and digital platforms has transformed how sport is experienced, discussed, and consumed, while also creating new environments in which discriminatory abuse can occur. Athletes, officials, journalists, and fans are now routinely exposed to online harassment, hate speech, and exclusionary practices that mirror and amplify wider social inequalities. This Collection examines the complex and evolving forms of discrimination within contemporary sport, bringing together interdisciplinary perspectives that explore how discrimination is produced, experienced, and challenged across different sporting contexts. Its focus includes a range of social identities such as race, gender, sexuality, disability, religion, nationality, and class, as well as both offline and online sporting spaces.

Understanding discrimination in sport is critical as it remains a highly visible cultural institution that reflects and shapes broader social relations. While sport is promoted as a site of inclusion, fair play, and social cohesion, persistent forms of discrimination oppose these ideals. Digital communication has intensified these challenges by enabling discriminatory behavior to spread rapidly across online platforms, often targeting athletes and other sport stakeholders. Such abuse can have serious consequences for mental health and wellbeing, participation, and representation within sport. Equally, sport also provides opportunities for resistance, activism, and policy innovation to reduce discrimination and promote equality. Addressing these issues requires interdisciplinary collaboration between scholars, practitioners, and policy makers who can analyze the structural conditions that sustain discrimination while also identifying effective strategies for prevention and intervention. Gathering insights across disciplines and sectors, this collection aims to advance understanding of discrimination in sport and contribute to meaningful social change.

This Article Collection welcomes contributions that examine discrimination across a broad range of sporting contexts, levels of participation, and interdisciplinary perspectives. Submissions topics can include empirical research examining the nature and extent of discrimination in sport, such as racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, religious discrimination, and other forms of marginalisation. We particularly encourage research examining online discrimination and digital abuse directed at various sports stakeholders (e.g., athletes, officials, journalists, fans).

Contributions may also examine intersectional experiences of discrimination, theoretical advancements in the study of sport and inequality, and the role of sport in challenging or reproducing wider social hierarchies. Policy-focused explorations that outline recommendations for how sporting organizations, governing bodies, and digital platforms can provide increased safeguarding and welfare protections, tackling discrimination within sporting institutions are also welcome. The collection invites empirical articles, theoretical contributions, policy analyses, and interdisciplinary perspectives that deepen understanding of discrimination and promote equitable sporting environments.

When submitting to this Collection, please select the Sport and Discrimination Section, and select the name of the Collection from the dropdown menu when prompted. 

Dr. Lauren M. Burch is a Reader in Sport Business at Loughborough University London. Her research examines digital forms of communication within a sports context, specifically focusing on social media. Interested in the utilization and impacts of digital communication on various sport stakeholders such as athletes and fans, current research strands focus on the motivations, forms, and impacts of online abuse within sporting spaces.

Dr. Leon Davis is Senior Lecturer in Management at the University of Chester. His research explores sport and event cultures, with particular interests in fandom, participation and prosumption, and the cultural dynamics of live sporting events. Using qualitative and ethnographic methods, his work examines how crowd behaviour, ritual, and media practices shape the atmosphere and cultural value of live sport environments. His research also advances the use of informal conversational methods to capture fan experiences and behaviours within live event settings.

The Guest Advisors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

For more information about this Collection, please contact the Commissioning Editor, Dr. Molly Cole, at [email protected].