Journal of Sport and Social Issues
Founded in 1991 by a new generation of sports scholars, commentators, and activists, the Journal of Sport and Social Issues is an international leader in the publication of critically oriented, interdisciplinary research on sport, its structure, and its role(s) in the contemporary, global world. Given sport’s ever-expanding scope and its complicated relationships with power and privilege, this work is needed now more than ever.
The core of JSSI is scholarship of the highest quality—empirically grounded, methodologically rigorous, and theoretically sophisticated—on sport and sport in social life. JSSI is especially interested in supporting more international and mixed-methods inquiry from sport specialists as well as in research and scholarship from scholars in more traditional academic disciplines and settings looking to engage sport and sport scholarship seriously and systematically.
In addition to traditional journal articles, JSSI welcomes proposals and submissions for innovative, alternative approaches to research and theory development. Alternative formats can include:
- special issues on emerging topics or social problems, either in sport or in terms of sport’s role in social life;
- extended review essays;
- shorter research notes or focused conceptual treatments;
- in-depth, edited interviews with elite or leading scholars in the field;
- curated, cross-disciplinary roundtable exchanges
Proposals for special topics and/or alternative formats can be submitted to the Editor or any member of the Associate Editor team.
All formal submissions will be processed and reviewed according to established, double-anonymized editorial standards and protocol.
The Journal of Sport and Social Issues (JSSI) publishes high-quality, peer-reviewed sport scholarship rooted in sociological inquiry broadly conceived and as practiced across a range of disciplines, theoretical orientations, and methodological approaches.
Published bimonthly, JSSI is interested in original research that engages critically and empirically with social issues in and around sport—especially those which uniquely impact sport and related physical cultures, or where sport exerts social, cultural, or political impacts. Scholarship that addresses the sociocultural dimensions of sport in the contemporary world are welcomed, particularly with attention to issues of power, identity, inequality, and social change.
Articles should make clear, original, and substantive contributions to sport studies and should offer new empirical or theoretical insights. Interdisciplinary and international scholarship is encouraged, as is research from scholars in more traditional academic disciplines willing to engage sport and sport scholarship seriously and systematically.
Except in unusual circumstances, the journal does not accept work focused on athlete development, health and safety, or performance; nor does it prioritize scoping reviews or meta-analyses. When there is overlap with research on sport management, psychology, or communications, it is strongly encouraged to situate findings and analyses in a broad social context. JSSI embraces an interdisciplinary approach, meaning articles should highlight the more general social, cultural, and theoretical implications for sport and sport’s role in social life.
Please note that large language models and generative AI may be used in a limited capacity—for example, as an aid to handling data or to improving the quality of language. Any use of AI must be disclosed with your submission. More details on our AI policy can be found in the Submission Guidelines.
| Douglas Hartmann | University of Minnesota, USA |
| Rachel Allison | Mississippi State University, USA |
| David L. Andrews | University of Maryland, USA |
| Trygve Broch | University of Inland Norway, Norway |
| Adrian Burgos, Jr. | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA |
| Monica Casper | University of Arizona, USA |
| Joseph Cooper | University of Massachusetts, Boston, USA |
| Christopher Knoester | The Ohio State University, USA |
| David Leonard | Chico State University, USA |
| Mary McDonald | Georgia Institute of Technology, USA |
| Mary Louise Adams | Queens University, Canada |
| Ben Carrington | University of Southern California, USA |
| Jay Coakley | University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, USA |
| Daniel Cook | Rutgers University, USA |
| Cheryl Cookey | Purdue University, USA |
| Phillip Lamarr Cunningham | Wake Forest University, USA |
| Simon Darnell | University of Toronto, Canada |
| Kevin Delaney | Temple University, USA |
| Clifton Evers | Newcastle University, England, UK |
| Matthew Sakiestewa Gilbert | University of Illinois, USA |
| Richard Giulianotti | Loughborough University, UK |
| Lyndsay MC Hayhurst | York University, Canada |
| Victoria Hefford | Stony Brook University, USA |
| Lisa Henderson | University of Massachusetts, USA |
| Brett Hutchins | Monash University, Australia |
| Rachel Joo | Middlebury University, USA |
| C. Richard King | Washington State University, USA |
| Samantha King | Queen's University, Canada |
| Kyle Kusz | University of Rhode Island, USA |
| Pirkko Markula | University of Alberta, Canada |
| Toby Miller | Loughborough University in London, England; and Murdoch University, Australia |
| Sarah Projansky | University of Utah, USA |
| David Rowe | Western Sydney University, Australia |
| Theresa Rundstedler | American University, USA |
| Samantha Sheppard | Cornell University, USA |
| Michael L. Silk | Bournemouth University, UK |
| Mel Stanfill | University of Central Florida, USA |
| Damion Thomas | University of Maryland, USA |
| Alan Tomlinson | University of Brighton, UK |
| Ann Travers | Simon Fraser University, Canada |
| Travis Vogan | University of Iowa, USA |
| Lawrence A Wenner | Loyola Marymount University, USA |
The Journal of Sport & Social Issues publishes the work and ideas of scholars and others interested in understanding the relationship between sport and society from diverse theoretical and disciplinary perspectives. Contributors should follow the style guidelines of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. Manuscripts will undergo blind review. Authorship should be identified only on the title page. Author name/address/affiliation/position should appear on the title page. Manuscripts should be prefaced by an abstract of no more than 125 words. References, tables, and figures should appear at the end of the manuscript. Notes should be avoided. Figures should be camera ready.
Manuscripts will be submitted in electronic format to http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jssi where authors will be required to set up an online account on the SAGETrack system powered by ScholarOne.Submission of a manuscript implies commitment to publish in the journal. Authors submitting manuscripts to the journal should not simultaneously submit them to another journal, nor should manuscripts have been published elsewhere in substantially similar form or with substantially similar content. Authors in doubt about what constitutes prior publication should consult the editor. Journal of Sport &. Social Issues seeks ideas for themes to be developed in future FOCUS sections. The TRENDS section publishes research and research notes on all topics impacting the social understanding of sport. The VIEW section publishes commentary and review essays. Direct all editorial correspondence to: C.L. Cole, Editor, Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 236 Gregory Hall, 810 S. Wright Street, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, email mailto:clcole@illinois.edu (inquiries only; do not send submissions via e-mail).
Authors who want to refine the use of English in their manuscripts might consider utilizing the services of SPi, a non-affiliated company that offers Professional Editing Services to authors of journal articles in the areas of science, technology, medicine or the social sciences. SPi specializes in editing and correcting English-language manuscripts written by authors with a primary language other than English. Visit http://www.prof-editing.com for more information about SPi’s Professional Editing Services, pricing, and turn-around times, or to obtain a free quote or submit a manuscript for language polishing.
Please be aware that SAGE has no affiliation with SPi and makes no endorsement of the company. An author’s use of SPi’s services in no way guarantees that his or her submission will ultimately be accepted. Any arrangement an author enters into will be exclusively between the author and SPi, and any costs incurred are the sole responsibility of the author.
SAGE Choice
If you or your funder wishes your article to be freely available online to nonsubscribers immediately upon publication (gold open access), you can opt for it to be included in SAGE Choice, subject to the payment of a publication fee. The manuscript submission and peer review procedure is unchanged. On acceptance of your article, you will be asked to let SAGE know directly if you are choosing SAGE Choice. To check journal eligibility and the publication fee, please visit SAGE Choice. For more information on open access options and compliance at SAGE, including self/author archiving deposits (green open access) visit SAGE Publishing Policies on our Journal Author Gateway.