LAUSR

ABSTRACT Sports journalists in the ‘60s and ‘70s had a seat to sports icons who changed the social status quo and some reporters wrote freely about those issues. But as top athletes took a nearly 40-year hiatus from standing for socio-political causes, sports journalism, too, became apolitical. Now with the re-introduction of activist-athletes, how sports journalists cover these issues can affect how society views these social and political causes. Using Bourdieu’s field theory, this study examined why sports journalists cover these social and political topics, and the contexts and conditions that make this reporting more or less likely to happen. Responses show they want to be seen as more than a sports reporter, cover these topics when they occur on the beat, cultural capital is a predictor in how much they cover the topic, and sports reporters appear to be moving towards an issue-based approach to coverage. A lack of resources may hinder their efforts to cover these topics.