Sport is playing a heightened role in this new era of social justice, as teams, leagues, athletes and affiliated organizations work to better listen and use their platforms in service to their communities, players, fans and employees in a polarized society.
This provides a huge opportunity for the sector to fuel further investment in resources and initiatives to uplift, educate, stimulate action and change mindsets with a specific focus on historically marginalized populations. But how should this opportunity be harnessed authentically and effectively?
Beyond Sport United 2022 explored sport through the lens of Social Justice. Within this theme, we focused on three key challenges facing today’s society:
Leveraging sport’s platform and assets to galvanize volunteerism, citizen participation, inclusion, activism and advocacy
Addressing systemic health inequity in the US by using sport as a platform to advocate for policy change and through the creation and implementation of community partnerships
Realizing sport's potential to address climate change and environmental racism and improve the lives of people from communities most affected by these issues, encompassing infrastructure, internal best practices, program delivery and advocacy