The Social, Cultural and Political Uses of the Sporting Role-Model

The sporting role-model is a widely used trope in sport policy, as well as in print and digital media. There is however a lack of conceptual clarity as to what the term means, limited research on how young people construct role-models, and a dearth of critical scholarship on the impacts (positive and negative) of role models on youth development in/through sport. This study seeks to augment our empirical and theoretical knowledge of sporting role models.