Exploring Intersectionality in Identity and Sport: Transforming Support Through Understanding

In sport, identity is often distilled into performance: fast or slow, starter or bench, winning or losing. Yet behind every athlete is a complex web of intersecting identities—cultural, racial, gendered, neurodiverse, socio-economic, and more.

These intersecting layers shape how an athlete experiences their sport, how they’re perceived, and the kind of support they receive.

Understanding and applying an intersectional lens in sport is not just theoretical, it’s a necessary step toward inclusive, ethical, and effective support for all athletes.

What is Intersectionality?

Originally coined by legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw (1989), intersectionality describes how multiple aspects of identity such as race, gender, and class interact to create unique experiences of discrimination or privilege. In sport, this can mean that a queer, neurodivergent, Black female athlete experiences and navigates sport differently than her neurotypical white male teammate, even within the same team culture.

Intersectionality invites us to look beyond single labels and acknowledge the compound, layered experiences athletes bring to sport. This perspective matters not only for advocacy and equity but also for performance, wellbeing, and trust.

Identity in Sport: More Than Just the Jersey

Athletes often carry a range of identities that are visible (e.g., race, gender expression) and invisible (e.g., neurodivergence, cultural beliefs, trauma history).

These shape how athletes:

• Respond to coaching styles and team dynamics

• Experience inclusion or marginalisation

• Make sense of their successes and setbacks

• Manage wellbeing, stress, and resilience

Yet sport environments have often been slow to integrate this awareness. As Adair and Vamplew (2021) highlight, the Australian sport system remains deeply shaped by whiteness and heteronormative ideals, leading to systemic exclusion for those who don’t "fit the mould."

Athletes may learn to mask, code-switch, or suppress elements of their identity to gain acceptance or avoid harm which can come at the cost of mental health and long-term performance.

Examples of Intersectional Identity in Practice

• A Pasifika male rugby player may face stereotypes of aggression or physical dominance, which influence how he’s coached and disciplined but also carry deep cultural values around family, humility, and service.

• A neurodivergent swimmer may excel in performance routines but struggle with sensory overwhelm at competitions, masking distress to avoid being seen as "difficult."

• A Muslim female netballer may navigate fasting during Ramadan, modesty in uniforms, and a disconnect between religious obligations and team culture.

Each of these examples highlights how different aspects of identity interact to shape athlete experience and why a “one-size-fits-all” model of support fails.

What Happens When We Miss It?

When intersectionality is ignored in sport, we risk:

• Exclusion: Athletes may feel like outsiders in their own teams or sporting codes.

• Misunderstanding: Coaches or psychologists may misinterpret behaviour, stress responses, or communication differences.

• Injury and burnout: Athletes who suppress parts of themselves often overcompensate to maintain a sense of belonging or success.

• Attrition: Diverse athletes may exit sport prematurely due to a lack of safety, visibility, or respect.

In contrast, when identities are understood and embraced, athletes can show up more fully leading to better mental health, deeper team connection, and more sustainable performance outcomes.

Practical Considerations for Coaches and Practitioners

Here are key takeaways for sport psychologists, coaches, and allied health professionals working with athletes:

1. Build Cultural Intelligence

Understand how culture, faith, and community shape values, communication, and help-seeking. Learn from athletes rather than assuming—use questions like:

• “Are there any cultural or personal beliefs that are important to consider in your sport experience?”

• “How does your background influence how you prepare for competition or manage setbacks?”

2. Avoid Assumptions of Sameness

Don’t treat all female athletes, autistic athletes, or Black athletes as monolithic. Intersectionality reminds us that every individual holds unique experiences.

3. Be Informed

Marginalised groups may carry historical, generational, or personal trauma. Understand how systems of oppression, exclusion, or microaggressions can affect psychological safety in sport.

4. Prioritise Psychological Safety

Create environments where athletes don’t have to mask or hide parts of their identity. That means standing up against racism, homophobia, and ableism whether subtle or overt.

5. Adapt Communication and Support

Neurodivergent athletes may benefit from verbal cues or sensory considerations. Athletes who speak English as a second language may prefer visual cues to aid explanations. Understanding intersectionality includes tailoring your methods.

6. Acknowledge Power and Privilege

Allied health professionals and coaches often hold power in sporting spaces. Reflect on your own biases, privileges, and blind spots. Ask yourself:

• Who is included in this space?

• Who is left out or feels invisible?

• What does safety look like for everyone?

Reflecting on Our Role

As sport professionals, we are often gatekeepers to safety, performance, and wellbeing. Recognising the multiple identities that athletes carry requires us to listen deeply, remain curious, and move away from a "fix-the-athlete" model toward one that champions whole-person performance.

It is not about having all the answers but about creating space for all the questions that come with being human in sport.

Final Thoughts

Intersectionality reminds us that no athlete shows up with just one story. Each athlete is a mosaic of identities, histories, pressures, and values and when we understand this, we create space for them to thrive. By recognising intersectionality as a strength rather than a complication, sport becomes more than just a place for performance it becomes a space for belonging, growth, and possibility.

APA References

1. Adair, D., & Vamplew, W. (2021). Sport in Australian History: Culture, Identity and Context. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780367854287

2. Paccagnella, A., & Martinkus, K. (2016). Intersecting identities: Race, gender, and sport. Sociology of Sport Journal, 33(3), 218–230. https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.2016-0113

3. Schinke, R. J., McGannon, K. R., Parham, W. D., & Lane, A. M. (2014). Toward cultural praxis and cultural sensitivity: Strategies for self-reflexive sport psychology practice. Journal of Sport Management, 27(6), 424–434. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsm.2013-0079

4. Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex. University of Chicago Legal Forum, 1989(1), Article 8.

5. Schinke, R. J., Stambulova, N. B., Si, G., & Moore, Z. (2018). International society of sport psychology position stand: Transnationalism, mobility, and acculturation in and through sport. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 16(5), 520–534. https://doi.org/10.1080/1612197X.2017.1280836

6. Norman, L. (2021). Gendered working lives in sport: A research agenda. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 56(4), 399–415. https://doi.org/10.1177/1012690220966621

7. DeLuca, J. R. (2013). Submersed in the field: An ethnographic account of the race and gendered dynamics of competitive swimming. Sport in Society, 16(7), 910–922. https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2012.753525

Melton, E. N., & Cunningham, G. B. (2014). Who are the champions? Using a multilevel model to examine perceptions of employee support for LGBT inclusion in sport organizations. Journal of Sport Management, 28(2), 189–206. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsm.2013-0101