Sociology of Sport: Concussion

Summary

Concussion represents one of the most significant social issues in contemporary sport and has thus attracted considerable sociological attention. This research focuses on four main areas. The first body of work explores the lived experience of sport-related concussion, drawing attention to the contextually distinct features of sports subcultures that lead athletes from across the spectrum of sports to demonstrate a relatively high degree of behavioral homogeneity. The second focuses on the broader networks of relations that mediate the athlete’s experience, including studies of health care workers, coaches, match officials, and parents. The third body of work examines the impact of social structural inequalities, highlighting research that focuses on how both sex/gender and race/ethnicity mediate the individual experience and societal perceptions of concussion. A final body of work examines the historical and social structural aspects of concussion, charting how this particular injury came to attain “issue” status and the broader social processes that feed into and determine its cultural resonance. The sociological study of sport-related concussion is important not only for understanding the role of sport in contemporary society but also for illustrating the value of interdisciplinary research in the resolution of what has been termed a “crisis.”