ABSTRACT
This chapter concerns the question of the public intellectual working in the field of sport. Some have mistakenly conflated public intellectual activity and social activism, and many intellectuals working on sport issues are noticeably silent. The role of the public intellectual in sport is fundamentally different from the role of the academic. Advocacy through sport is a specific form of representation, with crafted interventions designed to address social and public issues, both within sport and also beyond sport. Different types of sports advocacy is required for different circumstances by different groups, and these might include: self-advocacy, peer advocacy, group advocacy, citizen advocacy, transnational advocacy or a mixture of all of these, but also other forms of advocacy. Kofi Annan launched the International Year of Sport and Physical Activity by recognizing that, 'Sport is a universal language that can bring people together, no matter what their origin, background, religious beliefs or economic status'.
