The degradation of modern sport—its commercialization, trivialization, widespread cheating, cult of athletic stars and celebrities, and manipulation by the media—has led to calls for its transformation. William J. Morgan constructs a critical theory of sport that shores up the weak arguments of past attempts and points a way forward to making sport more humane, compelling, and substantive. Drawing on the work of social theorists, Morgan challenges scholars and fans alike to explore new spaces in sport culture and imagine the rich cultural and political possibilities to be found in the pastimes we follow with such passion.|Preface xi
Introduction 1
1 THE CRITIQUE
ONE The New Left Theory of Sport 19
TWO Hegemony Theory of Sport 60
THREE The Corruption of Sport and Its Ideological Distortion 128
2 THE RECONSTRUCTED THEORY
FOUR The Path to a Critical Theory of Sport: Transcendent or Immanent? 179
FIVE A Reconstructed Critical Theory of Sport: Social Criticism with a Liberal Twist 204
Postscript: Sport in the Larger Scheme of Things 253
Index 265|"Approaching the relations of sport and society with a truly philosophic mind, Morgan has important things to say that no one else has said with quite the same degree of detailed thoughtfulness. Leftist Theories of Sport is a critique not only of sports but also of contemporary society."—Allen Guttmann, author of The Olympics: A History of the Modern Games
|William J. Morgan is a professor in the School of Physical Activity and Educational Services at the University of British Columbia. He is the editor of Ethics in Sport, third edition.