Biography

Jaime Schultz is a Professor of Kinesiology at Pennsylvania State University with an affiliate faculty appointment in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. An award-winning teacher and scholar, she earned her Ph.D. in Cultural Studies from the University of Iowa. She has published seven books, including Regulating Bodies: Elite Sport Policies and Their Unintended Consequences (Oxford University Press, 2024). Schultz currently serves as co-editor of the Sport and Society series at the University of Illinois Press.

Project Title: The History and Ethics of Sport’s Concussion Crisis

Abstract: Sport’s “concussion crisis” is not a recent phenomenon. Instead, scientists, physicians, and sports organizations have been aware of the dangers of traumatic brain injury for over a century. In this interdisciplinary project, I investigate the evolving science and policies around sports-related concussions. I am interested in understanding the ethics of why we play, watch, and invest in sport, even when we know the damage that it does. This includes the spectators’ regard for athletes’ humanity, the health risks that athletes accept as “part of the game,” the businesses that hide those risks from their employees, and how institutions are held accountable when the truth comes out. It also includes the ways that ideologies of race, gender, and age affect issues related to diagnosis, treatment, prevention, representation, restitution, and research within the ongoing concussion crisis.