Sport, Institution, and the Devil

Abstract

This chapter continues the discussion of individuality in sport, but also places the athlete in direct discussion with the institutions that organize and manage sports. Criticism of sport institutions such as the NCAA, NFL, and Olympic Committee are very popular, particularly within sociological constructivism. This chapter places this criticism in a historical context, suggesting it bears a relationship with a longer history of denigrating the athlete as idolatrous. Engaging stories and films that highlight the interaction of athletes with political, religious, and financial institutions the monstrous athlete emerges as a worthy victim caught in a kind of culture war between those who denigrate them and those who exploit them, sometimes one and the same.