How is American Exceptionalism Reflected in Sports?

Jun 6, 2022

How is American Exceptionalism Reflected in Sports?

A Discussion with Andrei Markovits

Andrei Markovits

Hosted by International Horizons

Summary

The US women's soccer team recently reached a deal with the owners of American Professional Soccer for pay equity with the men. It was noted that the women's soccer teams in the United States were more successful on the international stage and were generating considerable revenue for investors, and yet women had been on the short end of the stick when it came to paying for their work. Meanwhile, international men's soccer has been plagued by scandal in recent years, undermining the image of the sport for many people. So what's going on out on the soccer pitch? This week, Andrei Markovits, Professor of comparative politics and German studies at the University of Michigan, talks with Ralph Bunche Institute Director and Graduate Center Presidential Professor John Torpey about the comparative history of sports in Europe and the United States and how soccer was crowded out from the hegemonic sports space in the U.S. The conversation covers the rise of soccer in the US, the way in which soccer is a "catholicized" institution and the implications that pay equity has for the sport.

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International Horizons

International Horizons is a podcast of the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies that brings scholarly expertise to bear on our understanding of international issues. John Torpey, the host of the podcast and director of the Ralph Bunche Institute, holds conversations with prominent scholars and figures in state-of-the-art international issues in our weekly episodes.

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