This article draws on 3,500 responses from fans and professionals involved in association football (soccer) to an anonymous online survey posted from June 2010 to October 2010 regarding their views towards gay footballers. The overall findings are that, contrary to assumptions of homophobia, there is evidence of rapidly decreasing homophobia within the culture of football fandom. The results advance inclusive masculinity theory with 93 per cent of fans of all ages stating that there is no place for homophobia within football. Fans blame agents and clubs for the lack of openness and challenge football's governing organizations to oppose the culture of secrecy surrounding gay players and to provide a more inclusive environment to support players who want to come out.

Sporting celebrities are not regularly discussed within the broader realms of sociological debate. Yet that is not to say that their identities cannot offer insight into wider patterns of cultural change. Indeed, it is our contention within this paper that the reverse is true: that analyses of the autobiographical details of contemporary sports figures represent key sites through which cultural change can be viewed. To this end, we take one sporting icon of the present time, soccer star David Beckham, and assess his popular cultural image in terms of its contribution to debates surrounding identity, consumption, and the social construction of masculinities. Our central thesis is that while Beckham affords all the hallmarks of celebrity status, his identity remains both fluid and negotiable in accordance with the role and audience he seeks to address and the ends he seeks to achieve.

No abstract

No abstract

This article draws on 2,500 responses from association football (soccer) fans to an anonymous online survey posted from November 2011 to February 2012 examining the extent of racism in British football. The overall findings are that half of all fans are still witnessing or experiencing some form of racism. Despite the creation of anti-racist initiatives, such as Kick It Out, and a reduction in overt chanting, there exists a 'colour-blind' ideology amongst the game's governing bodies and anti-racist organisations as the extent of the problem is largely being ignored. Fans call for a long-term focus on anti-racism based on engagement and education within a greater range of social settings and, short-term, the implementation of more severe punishments by the game's governing bodies to eliminate racist behaviour amongst fans, players and clubs. For current and ex-players that continue to receive racial abuse through social media sites like Twitter, fans urge them to report it and place these matters in the hands of the police.

No abstract

No abstract

The ndings draw on independent research conducted in the aftermath of the Macpherson Report of 1999 and are based on in-depth interviews with African Caribbean and South Asian of cers in ve British police services. Serving of cers offer their frequently contrasting views on the underrecruitment of ethnic minority of cers and their experiences in the police force and beyond. While many question whether increasing the recruitment of ethnic minority of cers would make the widely-assumed positive impact in reducing racism, others maintain that it would; but they believe persistent habitual racist practices by white of cers serves as the most formidable impediment to recruitment. Reasons are offered for this persistent racism. It is proposed that the trend towards assessing occupational performance in the police has had the unintended consequence of promoting racial pro ling, or selecting ethnic minority groups for unfair treatment. Ethnic minority police of cers are subject to racist abuse as a way of 'testing' them. They believe that, if they protest against either their own treatment or that of ethnic minority civilians, they may damage their careers. This perception acts as a deterrent to challenging racism in police work and contributes towards its continuation. The under-recruitment of ethnic minority police of cersThe British police have been enjoined to recruit more of cers from ethnic minority backgrounds for over four decades. In 1965, when ethnic minorities constituted about 2 per cent of the British population, there