GXSLab conference tackles systemic accountability issues in sport media
Shireen Ahmed, TSN, & Burn it All Down podcast
Photo courtesy of Michael Alberstat (external link)
The Global Experiential Sport Lab (GXSLab), one of 17 labs operating at The Catalyst at FCAD, recently launched an event, the culmination of what will be a year-long project, bringing together over 50 speakers from major sports leagues and sport media organizations from across North America to educate, listen, challenge, and change sport and sport culture towards being more inclusive.
The “Accountability Revolutn in Sport Media Virtual Conference (external link) ” featured notable figures such as Parminder Singh, the co-founding host of CBC’s former ‘Hockey Night in Canada in Punjabi’, and Shireen Ahmed, a regular contributor to TSN and award-winning sports activist podcast host, as well as speakers from Rogers Sportsnet, MLSE, WNBA, NBA, CBC, TSN, NCAA, NFL, NY Mets, Field Hockey Canada, and more.
The initiative was supervised and guided by Laurel Walzak, associate professor at RTA Sport Media and director at the GXSLab, and managed by fourth-year sport media student and Lab intern, Nathanuel Johnson, who led the 13 person GXSLab student team in hosting the event.
Nathanuel Johnson, RTA Sport Media and Team Project Lead, GXSLab
The event was structured into three panels, each with a distinct focus on prescient accountability issues in sport. The first panel, “Accountability Revolutn in Sport Media” featured 11 speakers who examined the cis gender straight white male bias in sport and how the industry needs to collectively bring quicker global responsiveness to the glaring and not so obvious inequalities women face in sport. The panel was also bolstered by an additional 30 on-demand videos from speakers who discussed their individual experiences of discrimination in sports and sport industry.
Shireen Ahmed, TSN, & Burn it All Down podcast, was a featured speaker in the ‘In Clinic’ panel
Donovan Mitchell, Director of Diversity and Inclusion of the New York Mets, was featured in the ‘Speaker Videos’ series
Dr. Cheryl Cooky, associate professor of American Studies and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Purdue University, addressed issues of equality and endemic gender bias, asking the question of the other panelists, "What is the change that we are asking for? Is the change about inclusion into mainstream sport spaces?” she said. "I am so tired of, as a women sports advocate, having to ask for permission, and the ‘if you let me play’ sort of ethos.”
The second panel, “Black Figures in Sport” initiated by Nathanuel Johnson, examined the imparity of Black figures who have been instrumental in the growth and development of the sports industry, yet still face racism and discrimination, an issue that must be addressed.
Brian Richardson Jr., director of diversity, equity and inclusion Indianapolis Colts, noted the effects of actions by figures like Colin Kapernick, the first athlete to kneel during the singing of the national anthem during a nationally televised NFL game to protest against racial injustice. "It takes one person to start a movement...Kap's actions caused discomfort because it was against the norm, and we typically don't see things change until people are made uncomfortable," Richardson Jr. asserted.
The third panel, "Out On Air", presented by Joe Recupero, RTA Sport Media associate professor, examined issues of 2SLGBTQ+ inclusion in sports and sport media.
Devin Heroux, a reporter for CBC sports, shared his experiences about the pain of discrimination and the power of representation. "Those slurs forced me out of hockey,” Heroux recalls. “But when you have representation, when you have these images of two [curling] skips in the national spotlight, being authentically themselves, it's a game changer and should not be underestimated.”
A year long effort
Such a breadth of speakers and content is almost unprecedented for an online conference and GXSLab intends to use this vast collection to keep inclusivity at the forefront of the conversation.
As part of keeping an ongoing dialogue, the GXSLab launched all 52 pre-recorded videos on April 13 for conference subscribers to watch at their leisure on the conference day, and they will have access to these videos over the next year. The Lab team will then take to social media and highlight one speaker video weekly for 52 weeks to ensure subscribers and the public-at-large stay plugged-into the conversation until the last video is posted on April 14, 2022.
“Our goal is to keep accountability in sport media top of mind for 52 weeks of the year; it’s an ongoing conversation that requires regular conversations, meaningful discussions, uncomfortable conversations, reflection, and collaborations” said Walzak.
The intentional structure of the conference is a reminder that these crucial, honest, and deliberate conversations are critical to the spirit of sport and the principle of fair play. The on-demand conference will end next year, but these conversations must remain front and centre well into the future.
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