Playing Through Pain

The Violent Consequences of Capitalist Sport

Daniel Sailofsky

$255

Hardback

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English

The University of North Carolina Press
06 May 2025

Violence in society; Economic systems & structures

For many fans and casual observers, professional sports and violence are deeply connected. Violence on the field has real consequences for players, notably in the form of life-altering injuries from concussions. Off the field, in the last several decades, scores of athletes have committed violent acts, from domestic abuse and sexual assault to animal abuse and murder. Beyond athletes, sport also serves as a site of political and structural violence, from the displacement and hyperpolicing of everyday people for mega-events to the ""sportswashing"" of environmentally harmful industries.

Daniel Sailofsky examines the endemic violence in professional sports and argues that—while related to masculinity, misogyny, and individual factors like alcohol consumption and gambling—it is most intimately tied to capitalism and to capitalist modes of consumption and profit. Sailofsky explains how capitalism creates the conditions for violence to thrive and uncovers how sports leaders—coaches, league officials, and team owners—obfuscate these relationships to avoid accountability.

From minor league baseball exploitation to spectator hooliganism, Sailofsky shows the connections between the business of sports and violence, but also, more importantly, he imagines new forms of sport that are not places of harm.

By: Daniel Sailofsky
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 235mm, Width: 155mm,
ISBN: 9781469685861
ISBN 10: 1469685868
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 06 May 2025
Audience: Professional and scholarly , College/higher education , Undergraduate , Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Daniel Sailofsky is assistant professor of kinesiology and physical education at the University of Toronto.