Athlete advocacy is recognized as an important method of persuading the public on social issues, and it demonstrates the role of athletes in achieving racial justice. However, how athlete advocacy can gain the persuasiveness to encourage public involvement remains unclear. This study investigates how the evaluation of an advocate athlete functions to encourage public issue involvement, focusing on Naomi Osaka’s racial advocacy. In particular, driven by balance theory and attribution theory, this study examines the effects of five sociopsychological factors on public involvement in racial issues: perceived credibility, hypocrisy, cause fit, effort expended, and role model status of advocate athletes. Data were collected from a cross-sectional online survey of 855 Japanese adults who were aware of Osaka’s advocacy. The findings highlight that public involvement in racial issues is significantly associated with the evaluations of the athlete’s credibility and hypocrisy. These evaluations are further influenced by perceptions of the athlete’s cause fit and role model status. This study enriches the literature on the management of sports for social change by demonstrating the importance of source evaluation in athlete advocacy in achieving advocacy outcomes. Our evidence implies that athletes looking to promote racial justice issues should effectively be seen as credible, knowledgeable, and non-hypocritical in their issue advocacy.
In Japan, philanthropic activities conducted by elite athletes play important roles in community development and disaster relief. Many athletes have engaged in these activities, such as giving lectures about sports and making site visits. However, little effort has been made to examine the nature of athletes' charitable activities that focus on society and community. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the forms of philanthropic activities conducted by elite athletes. The units of analysis for this study were stories reported in Japanese nationwide newspapers. The articles' collection period ranged from January 1st, 2010 to December 31st, 2019. Articles containing philanthropic activities conducted by elite athletes were searched for, using keywords including "athlete and philanthropy," "sport player and philanthropy," and "sport and philanthropy." Following the procedure described above, 498 articles were obtained. Based on the content analysis, we found 9 forms of activities that athletes have implemented to contribute to society and community-based causes. Athletes conducted a broad range of philanthropic activities; both tangible and intangible activities were identified. The results from this study indicate that the popularity of athletes can help society and community-based causes through philanthropic activities, such as conducting monetary and non-monetary donations, providing psychological support, and attracting public attention towards society and community-based issues. In summary, this study has provided initial insights into philanthropic activities conducted by elite athletes in Japan.
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