A research paper conducted by scholars at the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport entitled  “‘To build a more just society’: WNBA teams’ uses of social media for advocacy” has recently been published in the Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal (WSPAJ).

The paper examines how WNBA teams communicated about social issues during the 2021 season. The authors found that teams posted about women’s empowerment, racial justice, and LGBTQ+ rights in ways that take a stand. Social media posts reflected advocacy stances in teams’ community outreach initiatives, game-day promotions, and amplification of stakeholders’ voices (e.g., athletes). The posts ranged from recognitions of a historical event to calls for legislative action and/or political transformation.

The paper’s lead author is Dunja Antunovic, PhD, assistant professor in the School of Kinesiology and affiliated scholar in the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport; co-authors include Nicole M. LaVoi, PhD, senior lecturer and director of the Tucker Center, Kim Soltis, former Tucker Center research assistant and incoming Master’s student in sport sociology, as well as external collaborators Ceyda Mumcu, PhD (University of New Haven), and Tucker Center external affiliated scholars, Katie Lebel, PhD (University of Guelph), Nancy Lough, PhD (UNLV), and Ann Pegoraro, PhD (University of Guelph).

The article is a part of a larger research project titled “Communicating for Justice and Equality: Women’s Sport and Corporate Social Advocacy,” which received a grant from The Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication at Penn State University.