The Olympics, Human Rights, and Management of Meaning in Sport - Drs Mac Ross & Michael McDougall - Meaningful Sport Series

The most recent Olympic Games in Tokyo were highly controversial for going forward despite the pandemic and resistance from the local community. Many debates have been held on whether those Games were a success or a failure, and importantly, for whom? The games were certainly exceptional due to the pandemic, but on the other hand, they were similar to previous games in many ways, such as by exceeding the budget and involving human rights concerns that are rarely mentioned in the ‘official’ Olympic narratives. In today's episode with Drs Mac Ross and Michael McDougall, we will have a critical conversation of the potential dark sides of the Olympics. We start off by reflecting a bit on skateboarding as a new Olympic sport and the management of meaning that takes place when new 'sports' are included. We then ask about the impact of the Olympics on local communities and whether the Games are doing more harm than good, especially for the worlds most vulnerable populations. Dr Michael McDougall is an Assistant professor of psychology at Keystone College, specializing in culture, sport and organizations, Dr Mac Ross is an Assistant professor of kinesiology at Western University in London, Ontario, where he teaches history, sociology and management of sport.