Archon Fung
Director, Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation;
Co-Director of the Program on Democracy and the Informed Public;
Winthrop Laflin McCormack Professor of Citizenship and Self-Government
Sports, Democracy and Civic Health
Seeking to explore ways scholars, the sports industry, and civic organizations can work together to help strengthen civic life in America through sports.
Related Programs
Sports remain one of the few spaces where Americans of different races, classes, religions, sexual orientations, nationalities, and political beliefs come together around a shared identity and purpose. Fans experience powerful feelings of joy, belonging, and collective pride. When the home team wins, “we won” refers to anyone who shares that allegiance. This common identity can foster trust, empathy, social connection, and civic pride—capacities that are essential to a healthy democracy.
Under the leadership of Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation Director and Winthrop Laflin McCormack Professor of Citizenship and Self-Government Archon Fung, the Reimagining Democracy Program provides scholars and those on the frontlines of our democracy with a space for generating ambitious ideas and practices to make democracy more resilient, responsive, and inclusive.
For the last 6 years, Professor Fung and Tova Wang, Director of Research Projects in Democratic Practice of the Reimagining Democracy Program at Harvard Kennedy School’s Ash Center, has collaborated with academics, election officials, democracy advocates, and professional sports organizations to explore how Americans’ love of sports can support civic health and participation. Initial work has focused on how teams can use their facilities and fan networks to increase voter engagement, work we continue to do.
The Ash Center has now also expanded its work to examine the broader ways in which professional sports and fandom can strengthen democratic life and how teams, leagues, scholars, the sports business industry and civil society can intentionally harness that potential.The Project on Sports, Fandom, and American Democracy will explore the underrecognized but powerful role that sports play in sustaining civic life in the United States. Its goals are to:
- Reframe sports as not just an entertainment business, but also a belonging business that contributes to civic, democratic, and social health.
- Synthesize and present research and use narrative storytelling to explore ways in which sports fandom produces social goods like reduced polarization, increased trust and compassion, and higher civic participation.
- Offer practical strategies and frameworks for teams, leagues, athletes, civic organizations, and scholars to leverage the connective power of sports to strengthen democracy.
Participants Include:
- Lara Brown, Senior Policy Advisor to the Center on Civility and Democracy at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, Political Scientist
- Amina Bulman, Chief Revenue Officer, Boston Legacy FC
- Michael Butterworth, Governor Ann W. Richards Chair for the Texas Program in Sports and Media, Professor in the Department of Communication Studies, and Director of the Center for Sports Communication & Media at The University of Texas at Austin.
- Griffin Colaizzi, Research Fellow, More in Common
- Michael Crawford, Vice President, Spitfire Strategies
- Elizabeth B. Delia, Associate Professor of Sports Management, UMass Amherst
- David Friedman, Exec. Vice President, Legal & Government Affairs, Boston Red Sox
- Michael Hanmer, Professor of Government and Politics, Director of the Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement, University of Maryland
- Lilah Haye, Government & Community Relations Specialist, Las Vegas Raiders
- Ashleigh Huffman, Senior Director, Sports and Society, Aspen Institute, former Chief of Sports Diplomacy, U.S. Department of State
- Joe Kennedy, Co-Founder of The Team and Director of Athletics and Sports Leadership, Obama Presidential Center
- Jason Mangone, Executive Director, More in Common
- Andrew Maraniss, sports historian, Athletics Special Projects Director, Vanderbilt University
- Jane McManus, former reporter for ESPN, Lecturer at Columbia University’s SPS MS in Strategic Communication
- David Nickerson, Professor of Political Science, Temple University
- Jay Osterman, Founder & Executive Director · redclover impact
- Piper Overstreet-White, SVP, Government and Community Relations, Las Vegas Raiders
- Farah Pandith, Muhammad Ali Global Peace Laureate, Muhammad Ali Center
- Scott Pioli, Former NFL executive, New England Patriots, Atlanta Falcons, Kansas City Chiefs, Atlanta Falcons; consultant and speaker
- Todd Rogers, Weatherhead Professor of Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School
- David Sikorjak, Founder, Dexterity Consulting
- Donte Stallworth, former NFL player
- Kevin Sullivan, Kevin Sullivan Communications, Inc. and Senior Adviser, George W. Bush Presidential Center
- Ben Valenta, VP Marketing, Fox Sports
Additional Resources
- What Boston’s World Cup Summer Showed Us About Sports and Civic Life
- Leveraging Sport for Civic Engagement at Boston Legacy FC’s Mutual Aid Fair
- Nevada Secretary of State, Clark County announce partnership with the Las Vegas Raiders and the NFL to open Allegiant Stadium as a polling location on Election Day
- Take me out to the voting booth
- Former Patriots executive Scott Pioli’s new passion is more patriotic than ever
- Allegiant will host the Super Bowl. Will it host voters next?
- Athletes’ advocacy for voting rights garners broad support, poll finds
- Former NFL exec: Sports venues ideal polling places
Meet the Experts
Tova Wang
Director of Research Projects in Democratic Practice
Feature
What happens when sports stadiums and arenas are used as polling sites?
Research shows professional sports stadiums and arenas are not only ideal polling locations, but support for their use in elections reaches across the aisle and benefits the team.