1. Educational
Institutions…
Athletes…
Social Change…
Soolmaz Abooali
Muhammad Ali Center
Louisville, KY
March 29-30

2. Examples
 Muhammad Ali 
 Athlete, political, and social force
 Gholamreza Takhti
 Athlete, political and social force
 Mia Hamm
 Athlete, social force
 Dikembe Mutombo
 Athlete, social force

3. Operationalizing Terms
 Athlete:
 Mind – “I will”
 Body – “I can”
 Spirit – “I am”
 Social Change: an alteration in the social
order of a society.
 At the base is change in the human thought
process

4. “Athlete” + “Social Change”
 Through sport, the athlete is required to engage in thought
processes - as an individual first - in order to be successful
 For example, “I will”, “I can”, and “I am” require analysis and
reflection
 Athletes are thus trained and equipped with the skills to
ask who, what, when, where, and why- the questions that
lead to personal change, new insights, and ideas
Mind-Body-Spirit Connection
directly linked to
Thought-processes that generate ideas

5. Questions:
 Should athletes even advocate anything beyond their
respective sport?
 Why don’t we see more athletes engaged beyond the
playing field?
Answer:
 Absolutely. Athletes qualify as human beings with
fundamental rights.
 Lack of 1) space 2) guidance on how to effectively
engage

6. Utilizing Educational Institutions: The
Athlete’s Court Away from Court
 Education as key to: (World Bank data)
- Creating  Theory, Idea level
- Applying  Praxis level
- Spreading knowledge  Transformation level
Other key phrases related to education and social change:
Reducing poverty and inequality, dynamic and democratic societies,
sustained economic growth, critical thinking
Educational institutions as safe space to develop ideas that
address key elements above

7. Initiatives
 Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown
University
 Sport and Development Project: change the way we define sport
and how to enhance its role in community development
 University of Tennessee at Knoxville
 Center for Sport, Peace, and Society: cultural understanding, to
enhance student learning, to improve community welfare, and
to foster social change.
 School
for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George
Mason University
 Sport and Peace: Scholar-Athlete Initiatives: media platform that
highlights individuals and research in the sport, peacebuilding,
development and sport diplomacy fields.

8. Case Study
 Israeli-Palestinian
basketball youth group at the
School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, GMU
 Purpose: emphasize leadership skills through
sport/martial arts that transfer into life
 Theory: identity, narratives, dialogue, conflict
analysis
 Praxis: martial arts drills focusing on building
trust, emotional stability, energy exchange
 Transformation: From skepticism to a hug

9. Moving Forward
 Merging Theory & Praxis:
 Universities (Theory) = idea development
 Fieldwork (Praxis) = transformations play out
 Creation of an Athletes for Social Change Association:
 Promote and oversees theory & praxis in curriculum
development
 Create inter-disciplinary space for research, critical
analysis, and exchanges
 Leverage public-private partnerships between universities,
corporations, non-profit, media, and governments

10. Key Messages
 To change social order, athletes must move toward
becoming Scholar-Athletes
 Merge Theory & Praxis at university space that
allows for thought processes/ideas to be developed
 Athletes for Social Change Association:
 An interdisciplinary entity that helps develop
curriculum, research, and public-private partnerships

11. Thank you 