Thirteenth International Conference on Sport & Society

Abstract

Conspiracy theory can often be dismissed, by those with the power to do so, as an epistemologically-flawed product of pathological individuals. On the other hand, “conspiracy theorist” can also be understood as a pejorative term (i.e., one of derision), which is part of a vocabulary of motive used to pathologize individuals who espouse views which run counter to received centrist perspectives. Both of these approaches appear in popular culture and in academic analysis, and are difficult to parse. This paper takes an exploratory approach to the politics and functions of the label by “stepping sideways” and studying the term in a non-political venue: sports news. We use the example of conspiracies in the sporting world to divorce talk of conspiracy solely from talk of politics. Through an analysis of sports reporting in the New York Times, we begin to demonstrate the role of power in determining who gets charged with conspiracy, and who is labeled a “conspiracy theorist.” We also consider the role of fans and “fan power” in the construction of such labels.