University programs preparing future sports administrators, journalists and executives are drawing criticism over courses centered on identity, inclusion and social activism as legal and political challenges to DEI policies reshape athletics.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
College sports-management and kinesiology programs are facing growing scrutiny over courses that train students to examine athletics through the lens of race, gender, sexual orientation, disability and other identity categories, prompting questions about whether diversity, equity and inclusion ideology will remain embedded in professional and collegiate sports even as corporations, courts and government agencies move away from such policies.
A Just the News investigation identified multiple universities offering required or core classes that present sports as an arena for addressing social inequities, advancing inclusion and challenging traditional institutional structures. Critics argue that graduates of those programs may carry the same priorities into careers as athletic directors, league executives, broadcasters, journalists and other decision-makers who shape sports policy and public coverage.
San Jose State University is among the schools offering an academic track with that emphasis. Its Department of Kinesiology’s Sports Studies program says it studies athletics “from a critical perspective that addresses issues of social identity, power, and agency.”
The program also says it trains students to “identify and analyze ways that sport and exercise can produce, reproduce, or contest social inequities to potentially affect positive social change.”
San Jose State became the focus of a national dispute in 2024 over transgender athlete Blaire Fleming, who played on the university’s women’s volleyball team. The controversy intensified the debate over sex-based athletic categories, competitive fairness and the application of Title IX in college sports.
Ohio State University’s online master’s degree in sports administration similarly includes a core class titled “Diversity and Inclusion in Sport.”
The course description states that students examine “the role of sport in the lives of women, minorities, people with disabilities, and gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals” while considering “issues and controversies affecting these populations.”
One of the course’s stated learning objectives is for students to be able to “articulate the benefits of diversity in the sport industry.”
Former ESPN commentator Jason Whitlock has argued that the industry’s emphasis on DEI has displaced traditional standards of performance and competition. During an episode of his “Fearless” podcast, Whitlock said that “the hyperfocus on DEI [has] diminished merit, has diminished competition, has undermined the pursuit of excellence for the pursuit of quotas.”
The University of Michigan-Dearborn requires students in its Bachelor of Arts in Sports Management program to complete a course titled “Inclusion and Ethics in Sports.”
Students are taught to evaluate how “differences based on race, ethnicity, gender, age, physical and mental ability, class, and sexual orientation” affect athletics. The course also directs students to explore “tensions through the range of diversity dimensions among a variety of stakeholders in professional sport settings.”
The university presents those subjects as necessary preparation for work in modern sports organizations.
“Diversity is also assessed as an asset to enrich the professional environment,” the course description states, adding that “inclusive practices are also examined in the context of policies, systems, and processes in places of employment in sport settings.”
At the University of Oklahoma, a workshop-style course titled “Inclusive Praxis in Intercollegiate Athletics” incorporates “inclusive practice, multicultural competence, and cultural humility” into the preparation of future college sports administrators.
The course focuses on contemporary issues involving race, gender, religion, nationality, class, sexual orientation and “power-based violence.”
Critics say such programs can create a direct pipeline from university classrooms into sports organizations where hiring, reporting and athletic policy may prioritize identity-based considerations.
Bobby Burack, a commentator for Fox News Media-owned sports and opinion outlet OutKick, told Just the News that major sports networks have allowed identity preferences to influence personnel decisions and editorial coverage.
“For years, companies like ESPN have prioritized putting people on air not for their talents or credentials, but because of their skin color or gender combination,” Burack said.
He pointed to the treatment of WNBA player Caitlin Clark as an example of what he views as ideologically driven sports coverage.
“This is evident in the ongoing coverage of Caitlin Clark. No one at ESPN will point out the obvious that the straight white girl is the one targeted because they were hired on the basis that straight white people should be targeted – also known as DEI.”
Burack said identity-based preferences conflict with the competitive foundation of athletics.
“Sports are supposed to be the ultimate meritocracy. As soon as a team, program, or organization favors someone’s identity over their talent, the very foundation of sports is then broken. It is destroyed. At that point, athletics are no longer about winning but box checking. It defeats the entire purpose.”
The dispute extends beyond college curricula and corporate hiring practices to the legal obligations governing sex-based equality in education.
Title IX, the landmark federal civil rights law enacted in 1972, prohibits sex discrimination in education and requires equal athletic opportunities at public and private schools, colleges and universities that receive federal funding.
The Supreme Court ruled earlier this summer that states may prohibit transgender athletes from participating on girls’ and women’s sports teams.
The justices unanimously concluded that laws adopted by Idaho and West Virginia did not violate federal civil rights statutes. The court was divided, however, over whether West Virginia’s law violated the Constitution as applied to the athlete involved in that case.
The decision strengthened the authority of states seeking to preserve sex-separated athletic categories while placing additional pressure on colleges, sports associations and administrators to reconcile institutional inclusion policies with changing legal standards.
President Donald Trump’s administration has also intensified federal action against DEI programs in higher education through executive orders, civil rights investigations and other enforcement measures.
Jennifer Sey, a former national gymnastics champion and founder of XX-XY Athletics, said diversity ideology remains entrenched in universities and major sports institutions despite recent resistance.
“DEI is still alive and well at Big Sport and in academia, though its influence is unwinding,” Sey told Just the News.
She said current controversies reflect “this same institutional capture, the product of years of DEI training that prioritized ideological conformity over merit.”
Sey also cited broader political and corporate changes as evidence that DEI’s influence may be receding.
“Trump’s executive order targeting DEI practices, dozens of major corporations publicly rolling back DEI language and programs, and regulatory scrutiny (like the EEOC’s Nike investigation) all suggest the tide is turning,” she said.
Identity-based policies in sports existed before the DEI label became widely used. Affirmative-action principles and race- or gender-conscious initiatives have long influenced hiring and organizational practices across professional athletics.
One of the most prominent examples is the National Football League’s Rooney Rule, adopted in 2003. The policy requires teams to prioritize consideration of diverse candidates when filling head-coaching, general manager and other leadership positions.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier subpoenaed the NFL in May as part of an investigation into what he described as the league’s “history of open discrimination.”
Uthmeier argued that the Rooney Rule may violate Florida law because it encourages teams to use race and gender as factors in employment decisions.
The NFL has also faced criticism over political and social messages displayed during games. In 2020, the league allowed “End Racism!” to be painted in end zones, a gesture widely associated with the broader Black Lives Matter movement.
The NFL removed the message last year following criticism from Trump and others.
Major League Baseball has encountered similar disputes through team-sponsored Pride Nights intended to support LGBTQ+ fans. Although league rules generally prevent clubs from requiring players to wear specialty rainbow uniforms during games, controversy continued this season when some players displayed Bible verses on their caps in protest and received a warning from the league.
The combined disputes illustrate how debates that begin in academic programs can extend into athlete eligibility, workplace hiring, journalism, corporate messaging and league governance.
Supporters of the college courses argue that future sports professionals must understand how identity, discrimination and access affect athletes, employees and fans. Critics maintain that the programs often begin from ideological assumptions, teach students to view sports through group identity and risk replacing merit-based decision-making with political activism.
As federal investigations, court rulings and corporate policy reversals challenge DEI initiatives, universities continue to educate future sports leaders through programs that explicitly emphasize inclusion, social inequity and identity-based analysis.
The long-term influence of those courses may become increasingly visible as graduates move into positions that determine who competes, who is hired, how athletes are covered and whether professional sports remain centered primarily on talent, performance and winning.
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