The Dangers of Sports Journalism

According to The Committee to Protect Journalists, 2 per cent of all journalists killed since 1992 worked on the sports beat. However, at present there is little understanding of the specific dangers faced by sports journalists. This chapter presents findings from exploratory research on 78 reports about violations of the media freedom or personal safety of sports journalists. Threats to media freedom include being banned from press conferences or events, the seizure of passports or denial of accreditation.The personal safety of sports journalists is compromised through verbal abuse, assaults, attacks, personal and social media harrassment, detention, legal pressure, and killings. The key perpetrators identified in the sample were fans, athletes and coaches, owners and officials of sports clubs and national associations, international sports federations, and authorities in authoritarian regimes hosting sports mega-events.