The seventh edition of Sport in Society: Issues and Controversies has a threefold purpose. First, it is designed to show students how sociology can be used to study sports in society. Second, it is written to encourage students to ask questions and think critically about sports as parts of social life. Third, it is organized to facilitate the use of published literature combined with the Internet and the world wide web to learn about sports in society.

I organize chapters around curiosity-arousing issues and questions, and then discuss them in terms of recent research and theory in the sociology of sport. Although the concepts and source materials are not taken exclusively from sociology, discussions throughout the book are grounded in a sociological approach. Therefore, the emphasis is clearly on sports and sport-related behaviors as they occur in social and cultural contexts.

Sport in Society is written for those taking their first look at sports as social phenomena. The content of each chapter is presented so it can be understood by beginning college students who have not taken other courses in sociology or sport science. Discussions of issues do not presume in-depth experiences in sports or a detailed knowledge of sport jargon and statistics. My goal is to push students to think more critically about sports and how sports are related to their social lives. I use concepts, theories, and research as tools that enable us to "dig into" sports as parts of culture and see them as more than activities that simply reflect the world in which we live.

Since the book is organized in terms of an "issues approach," the content of many chapters is useful for those concerned with sport policies and program administration. My emphasis through the book is on making sports more democratic and making sport participation more accessible to all people.

This edition is a total revision of the past edition; each chapter was re-written line-by-line. My goal is to clarify points and increase the ease of reading. I shortened chapters to make the book more usable during a standard semester. Integrating this edition with a new website for the book enabled me to cut material from the text and transfer it to the website.

All chapters are updated, and over half are reorganized in response to new research findings and new theoretical developments in the field. There are more than 300 new references cited in this edition; most of them identify materials published since the sixth edition went to press in 1997.

A major challenge in doing this revision was determining what references and topics I would not include. The field has expanded to such an extent that this edition of Sport in Society is more of an introduction to the field than an overview of it. Because chapters are shorter and more concisely written, readers may want to use the website (http://www.mhhe.com/hper/physed/coakley_sport) to review chapter-by-chapter pages on the site.

This edition continues to emphasize socialization themes as well as the increasing organization, commercialization, and globalization of sports. The connection between sports and cultural ideology is more explicitly explained in this edition.

The chapter on theory (chapter 2) is more concise so readers can compare theories more easily and see how they are used to understand everyday social life. A section on Figurational Theory is included to reflect the impact of figurational research on the field. Summaries of studies using particular theoretical approaches are now found on the website.

The history and socialization chapters (chapters 3 and 4) are organized as they were in the previous edition, but they are updated and edited to read more smoothly. The chapter on youth sports (chapter 5), always a favorite of mine, is revised to reflect new questions and issues that I have heard from coaches and parents since 1997.

The chapters on deviance and violence (chapters 6 and 7) are rewritten to clarify the concept of positive deviance, now called "deviant over conformity," and to maintain conceptual consistency between the two chapters. The chapter on deviance contains new materials on why the use of performance enhancing substances is so prevalent among athletes today. Chapter 7 has been retitled Violence in Sports, and is now organized around a more clearly sociological approach, with social psychological materials included on the website. Also, the topic of assault and male athletes’ violence against women is given expanded attention and moved to this chapter.

The chapter on gender (chap. 8) is revised to recognize recent changes in the status of women’s sports in many cultures. Included also are new materials on gender ideology, homophobia, and the experiences of lesbian and gay athletes.

The chapter on race and ethnicity (chap. 9) includes new information on the concept of race and on how ethnicity is becoming increasingly significant in the social dynamics associated with sports around the world. The chapter provides an updated analysis of race-related, genetic factors and sport performance; a new Reflect on Sport section summarizes the search for "jumping genes" by "race scientists;" there is a discussion of Latinos in baseball; and there is new information on managing diversity in sports. Material on the history of racial desegregation in U.S. sports and on stacking have been included on the website to make room for materials explaining why race and ethnicity are crucial issues in sports today.

The chapter on social class and class relations (chap. 10) has been completely rewritten, with a new emphasis on inequality. I’ve included new materials on who has power in sports and how sports are used to transfer money from the public sector to the private sector of the economy. The chapter contains new analyses of the intersections of class, gender, and race/ethnicity in sports; a discussion of class segregation among sport fans in new luxury stadiums; updated information on social class and sport participation; and a new section on sport participation and social mobility.

The chapter on the economy (chap. 11) is rewritten to include new data and an expanded discussion of commercialization. A new Reflect on Sport section discusses professional wrestling as an extreme expression of commercialized sports.

The chapter on the media (chap. 12) includes new information about the Internet, and about video games and virtual sports. There are new materials on the connection between sports and the media and on the images and messages contained in media representations of sports.

The chapter on politics (chap. 13) includes new material on the political economy of global sports and political processes at local, national, and global levels. Material on politics in sports is updated with references to the Olympic scandals related to site selection processes.

The chapter on education (chap. 14) contains updated NCAA information and new material on the experiences of intercollegiate athletes. There are new data on gender equity and on economic issues in intercollegiate sports. A new Reflect on Sport section presents a discussion of the role played by sport participation in the status systems of US high schools in what might be called the "post-Columbine" era.

The chapter on religion (chap. 15) includes updated information on sports and world religions. A new Reflect on Sport section presents a discussion of public prayers at public school sport events in the U.S.

The chapter on the future (chap. 16) is updated and now includes a section on using theories to envision and promote changes in sports. This ties the final section of the book together with the theories introduced in chapter 2 and used throughout the revision.

Each chapter is followed by updated references to relevant and interesting books, and to websites that may serve as useful sources of information about topics raised in chapters. The Website Resources is a new feature of this edition and I look forward to your feedback on how you used it, and how it might be revised in the future to better meet your needs.

There are 34 new photos and 33 new cartoons in this edition. The use of photos, cartoons, figures, and tables has been carefully planned to visually break up the text and make reading more interesting. I’ve spent many weeks taking and selecting photos and reviewing cartoons directly related to the content of each chapter. I was especially lucky to meet Fred Eyers, a caricaturist who has a knack for capturing social issues in cartoon images. He did all the new cartoons for this edition. His drawings and captions reflect ideas from the text combined with his creative interpretations.

http://www.mhhe.com/hper/physed/coakley_sport is a new feature associated with this seventh edition of Sport in Society. The site contains general information about this edition along with links to supplemental materials associated with each chapter. Those materials include:

• A downloadable PowerPoint presentation
• Updated URLs for Website Resources
• Discussion issues and questions
• Group projects
• Materials from past editions that add depth and background to current chapter topics
• Brief editorial comments that call attention to current issues related to sports in society
• A message board enabling readers to interact with one another, respond to each other’s questions, and provide information about sports as social phenomena in their locales and lives. (DELETE this later part of 7^th bullet if this can’t all fit.)
• A link to PageOut to help create your own website.

Instructor’s Manual and Test Bank. An instructor’s manual and test bank has been developed to assist those using Sport in Society in college courses. It includes the following:

Chapter outlines. These provide a quick overall view of the topics covered in each chapter. They are useful for organizing lectures, and they can be reproduced and given to students as study guides.

Test questions (multiple choice and true-false). These questions have been designed to test the students’ awareness of central points made in each chapter. They focus on ideas rather than single, isolated facts. For the instructor with large classes, these questions are useful for chapter quizzes, midterm tests, or final examinations.

Discussion/essay questions. These questions can be used for tests or to generate classroom discussions. They are designed to encourage students to synthesize and apply materials in one or more of the sections in each chapter. None of the questions asks the students simply to list points or give definitions.

Computerized Test Bank. A computerized version of the Test Bank for the Instructor's Manual is available for both IBM and Macintosh to qualified adopters. This software provides a unique combination of user-friendly aids and enables the instructor to select, edit, delete, or add questions, and constuct and print tests and answer keys.

McGraw-Hill’s Human Performance Supersite. The human performance supersite provides a wide variety of information for instructors and students, from text information to the latest technology. It includes professional organization, convention, and career information. Link to the on-line catalog to find the perfect text or ancillary for your course. Additionally, web links are also provided here for all our course offerings. Visit the web site at
www.mhhe.com/hper/physed/humanperformance

Additional features of the supersite include:

• This Just In. This link provides featured articles, related publications, web resources and more updated monthly.
• Faculty Support. This links to PageOut, on-line supplements, Online Learning Centers, PowerWeb, and much more.
• Student Success Center. This helps students to locate new study skills, job hunting tips, and web links to assist in preparing for the job search and career development.
• Author Arena. Contact our authors, visit their websites, and see our featured Author of the Month here.

Sport in Society homepage. Developed specifically for the seventh edition of Sport in Society, a PowerPoint presentation has been prepared, and can be downloaded from the Instructor Center. Additionally, a link to PageOut, our web-based program which can be used to help create your own web site, is included here. Visit the Sport in Society homepage at www.mhhe.com/hper/physed/coakley_sport.

This book has evolved out of ideas coming from many sources. Thanks go to the students in my sociology of sport courses; every semester they provide constructive critiques of my ideas and open my eyes to new ways of looking at sports as social phenomena. Special thanks also go to friends and colleagues who have influenced my thinking, provided valuable source materials, and given me personal support during difficult times. Nancy Coakley, Rebecca Bauder, Bo Pearton, Bob Hughes, Peter Donnelly, and Andrew Jennings deserve special thanks in this regard.

My appreciation goes to the publisher’s reviewers, whose suggestions were crucial in the planning and writing of this edition. They include the following:

My thanks also to Danielle Coakley Hicks, Kimberly Gunn, Tini Campbell, and Mary Bowden for photos, and to Fred Eyers for his cartoons and his willingness to create images with a critical edge.

Finally, I took special care with this revision because it is dedicated to the memory of my son, Dennis Coakley. He and I shared many things during his 32 years. We played many sports together and learned from and about each other in the process. As a student, Dennis even took my sociology of sport course. We had many friendly and spirited debates on issues related to sports in society, and he took photos that I have used in various editions of this book. He was an insightful critic and supporter of my work. While writing this edition I moved to his home in Reno so I could be with him as he faced the final challenges of living with an aggressive and untreatable form of melanoma. He died on January 13^th, 2000.