Anika Taylor was an undergraduate student at the University of Toronto Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education (KPE) when she saw the clip of Fox News journalist Laura Ingraham rebuking the Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James for “talking politics” during an interview.
Taylor was taking a course on sport and popular culture at KPE and the instructor played the clip during a class discussion on sports and the media. In the clip, Ingraham tells LeBron to “shut up and dribble,” saying that she is not interested in political advice from “someone who gets paid $100 million a year to bounce a ball.”
“That really stuck with me,” says Taylor. “Sport isn’t the apolitical space that its often made out to be - why shouldn’t athletes be able to speak about their experiences and have their unique perspectives heard?”
The question followed her all the way to her master studies at KPE, where she gravitated towards the study of safeguarding - or proactively protecting athletes from harm through the promotion of values-based sport. So, when the time came to choose a topic for her thesis, she decided to combine her two interests and explore how sports journalists can lend a hand in shifting perceptions and preventing athlete abuse, harassment and discrimination in their news coverage.
Taylor interviewed 12 sports journalists from North America about their efforts to challenge and critique the institutions and systems that enable harm to athletes. She found that these efforts, combined with an emphasis on promoting the benefits of sport and newsroom cultures that value accessibility, inclusion and athletes’ well-being, all contributed to a heightened public focus on athletes’ human rights and more solutions-oriented conversations. She also discovered that the risk of challenging the systems that perpetuate harm for athletes was greater for journalists from marginalized social groups, including women, racialized or disabled persons.
“As someone who’s been involved in sport all my life as a soccer player and more recently as coach and director-at-large, I’ve long been an advocate for intentionally designing sport to protect athletes from harm and promote equitable opportunities for thriving,” says Taylor. “I’m glad to see this issue getting more and more attention.”
Taylor was part of KPE’s Safe Sport lab, studying under the supervision of Associate Professor Ashley Stirling. She credits the lab’s supportive environment for helping her navigate through the challenges of grad school.
“At times it was hard to sit at the computer all day writing my thesis, but at the same time, I was very, very lucky to have the support of my lab mates and supervising committee,” she says. “It felt like a community and we could all count on each other for insights and support.
“That’s definitely something I want to take forward in my personal and professional life – being there for others and investing in people, the way my supervisor and peers invested in me.”
Her advice to students considering going into grad school is to not be afraid to try new things.
“If someone is offering you an opportunity, you don’t have to take it, but believe that you’re capable of doing it, because otherwise they wouldn’t be offering it to you,” says Taylor. “You may have some learning to do, but people will be there to support you.”
Also, ”work to live, don’t live to work.
“I was a very driven student and I’m the same way as an employee, but I also care a lot about my time outside of school and work,” she says. “I’m constantly working on finding that balance to prioritize the moments that mean the most to me.”