Professional and college sports organizations say they’re committed to DEI. We asked what that means.

On the field and court, mainstream sports like basketball, football and soccer have looked like some of the most diverse institutions in the world. Take a look at the stands, though, and the front offices of those teams, and the look has historically been quite different.

Many sporting organizations – like companies and agencies in other sectors – have placed an emphasis on DEI in recent years.

“Sports” is a wide and varied sector, of course, but there are common threads. Consumption of sports is the essence of discretionary. Games on TV, tickets, jerseys and the like are all things many people want, but nobody really needs. Yet the major sports have a massive platform and huge cultural influence that they can use for good or ill.

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