SPORT, INTELLECTUALS AND PUBLIC SOCIOLOGY Obstacles and Opportunities

This article seeks to explain why it has proved so difficult for sociologists of sport to assume the mantle of public intellectuals even in relation to sport itself. Using a case study relating to sport in Northern Ireland and rooted in personal experience, the article examines alternative ways in which intellectual activity, albeit unconventionally understood, can influence the world of sport. Specifically, the analysis draws upon Antonio Gramsci's distinction between traditional and organic intellectuals. It is argued that only through engagement with organic intellectuals who exercise authority within the subcultures of sport can critical sociologists hope to influence sporting practices.