Assessing the sociology of sport: On public sociology of sport and research that makes a difference

On the 50th anniversary of the ISSA and IRSS, one of the most influential scholars linking the sociology of sport to policy and social change, Peter Donnelly, considers the prospects for a nexus meshing public intellectualism with the doing of research. Noted in considering the trajectory of the field was an early absence of the sociologist as partisan and the staking of positions that make clear whose side we are on. While the critical turn in the sociology of sport has grounded its calling more clearly, challenges remain for the field to be taken seriously, and a key to advancing this is to quicken the pace for sociological knowledge about sport to filter down to public knowledge and play a role in influencing policy changes that can help make sport a more equitable and humane place. In considering the future of the field, Donnelly notes the inherently practical value underlying sociological knowledge and calls for sociologists of sport to engage Piketty's call for public engagement in a way that can make a difference in how people experience sport.