Loving Sports When They Don’t Love You Back: Dilemmas of the Modern Fan

For some sports fans, it can be tough at times to cheer passionately for your team or watch your favorite sport, while realizing the moral and ethical dilemmas that may be associated with them. This book by journalist Luther and sportswriter Davidson tackles that emotional dilemma. While admittedly, the authors write that they don’t offer many solutions, in each chapter they deal with a different topic and dive deep into the moral and ethical conflicts. “It’s about the intersections between sports and politics, sports and culture, sports and our own identities, sports and the ills of our world,” they state in the introduction. Throughout, they share thoughts on watching football while knowing that it causes considerable brain trauma, the complexities of rooting for a team when a player has been accused of domestic violence, and the challenges of watching March Madness when college athletes don’t receive compensation. The wide issues discussed in each chapter are impressive and will reach many sports fans; both authors have a tremendous background and it shows in this thoroughly researched publication.