The normative trap of “sportswashing”: addressing the missing link between sports politics, journalism and media research

Recent conceptual critiques of the term “sportswashing” collectively challenge several features of its popular usage, which this article categorises into four themes. The perceptions of its (1) novel character; (2) authoritarian origin; (3) state-led nature; and (4) orientation towards efficient masking or deflection of public attention from social and political transgressions are areas for common academic analyses. However, a two-part shortcoming in scholarly reflections produced to date have implications for both policymakers and practitioners in the field, including sports journalists. Firstly, new conceptualisations do little to systematically interrogate the important dynamics of mediation and the reception of narratives that are perceived as “sportswashing.” Secondly, the mixing of ontologies within the popular usage of the concept and its academic study leads to a normative orientation of the debate that precludes a better appreciation of the field and may even exacerbate the dynamics that the concept notionally seeks to curb.