Increasingly, athletes are using their platforms to make political statements. Dr. Ann Pegoraro, the Lang Chair in Sport Management in the Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics, explained to CBC News, including what that means for the future of sports.  

“For a long time we’ve seen the idea that sports and politics don’t mix,” she said on the International Olympic Committee’s decision to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from the Paralympics. “The last few weeks have shown us that’s not possible anymore.”  

Pegoraro also noted that athletes are using their platforms as a tool for political activism, and that sports organizations are re-examining how they respond.  

The director of the International Institute for Sport Business and Leadership, Pegoraro researches gender equity, sport consumers, marketing and communication, and is also the co-director of the National Network for Research on Gender Equity in Canadian Sport.