The sports industry, which accounts for 2 percent of global GDP, consists of several publicly subsidized, self-regulating entities. Everyone has almost complete control over their sector.
These organizations are not only subject to the control of competitors, but are also largely free from government supervision. This gap has created space for widespread abuses of all kinds – racial, sexual, financial, human rights. The few reform organizations that exist are generally funded by the sports industry itself.
The challenges are getting worse as the industry is increasingly influenced by undemocratic, repressive states like Saudi Arabia and China. And yet, over the past year, many of the media channels that have reliably scrutinized the sports industry from a journalistic perspective have drastically reduced or closed their reporting.
This lack of accountability in sports has led to the need for investigative reporters to play a critical role in informing the public. Over the past two decades, they have exposed the connection between concussions and brain damage, the dangers of performance-enhancing drugs and the widespread physical and mental abuse of NCAA student-athletes. This important work saves lives and money and protects the vulnerable.
But the investigative landscape is shrinking (including the end of HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, where I worked for seventeen years). Much of the remaining sports coverage – much of it funded by the industry itself – leans more towards advertising campaigns than journalism, and is published or broadcast by organizations that value access over accountability.
In the United States, for example, wealthy team owners receive billions of public dollars, depleting the treasuries of some of the country's poorest cities. But because of the positive coverage teams typically receive – both in the local press and on television shows – owners are often viewed as local benefactors rather than recipients of public money.
Accordingly, the sports industry spends millions on lobbying and political donations. But the press doesn't cover these issues regularly – in part, it seems, because for-profit local media companies want a sports franchise in their community to boost ratings and readership. Additionally, there is great fear of losing access to local franchises, owners, games and athletes.
The lack of a strong investigative culture in sports journalism can have a devastating impact on children and young adults, millions of whom play organized sports. The NCAA's own data, for example, shows that its athletes are the most mistreated workers in America, a story that gets very little attention.
At the high school level, higher-income families are increasingly banning their children from playing soccer because of the known risks to brain health. Yet few reporters investigate the troubling ways coaches recruit poorer kids to supplement their rosters. These are stories with extraordinary implications for health, safety and ethics, but far too often they are ignored or treated with a collective shrug.
So what, if anything, can be done?
The good news is that many of the entities that play a major role in sports – high school teams, public school varsity teams, government agencies that subsidize stadiums – are public entities and are subject to open records laws. In this context, much of the questionable special treatment — tax policy, regulatory policy, corporate welfare — comes through lobbying, political donations and influence peddling, both in Washington and in state capitals. This is also publicly available information.
Additionally, because people often engage in sports for idealistic reasons, there are many dissatisfied current and former employees of sports organizations who are willing to share details of misconduct.
Of course, some people are doing the work to turn these potential sources into journalism, but not nearly enough. What is needed is long-term, stable support for investigative reporting on the sports industry.
Nonprofit investigative journalism has increased accountability compared to other industries, saved valuable public resources, and prevented the exploitation of vulnerable communities. A comparable effort is required in sport.
Major donors have typically portrayed their support for independent journalism as a way to build trust in civic institutions, reduce division within politics, and strengthen democracy. In all these respects, supporting investigative sports journalism is a good thing.
The American public has an ongoing and overwhelming interest in sports. The philanthropic community has an opportunity to help sports journalists find a sustainable model for investigative reporting on the industry. The time for this is now.
Josh Fine is an award-winning investigative reporter and producer who most recently served as senior segment producer on HBO's Real Sports alongside Bryant Gumbel. He is a two-time recipient of the Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award.
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