Sport is often celebrated as a unifying force that brings people together around shared goals. Yet it also reflects - and at times reinforces - the deeper divisions and tensions present in society, challenging and perpetuating ideas about race, belonging and identity.
Adam Ali, a professor at the School of Kinesiology in Western's Faculty of Health Sciences, studies how sport intersects with race, media representation and policies aimed at countering violent extremism. His work examines how sport can both create opportunities and reflect societal inequities, offering insight into the experiences of racialized athletes.
Personal experience to research inquiry
Raised in a sports-focused family, with parents who were both high-performance field hockey players and coaches, Ali played ice hockey, soccer and baseball. Yet it was field hockey that provided the most inclusive environment.
"Field hockey isn't a traditionally Canadian sport, but it attracts players from diverse backgrounds, including Sikh, Muslim and South Asian communities," he said. "That made it feel like a safe and welcoming space for me, which was quite different from my experience in ice hockey where I was often the only racialized player on my team."
That sense of belonging was disrupted in his teen years, during a road trip to a field hockey tournament with his father, a Pakistani immigrant to Canada. While driving, they were pulled over by police for a random ID check.
"It was a classic father-son moment - until it wasn't," Ali said. "That incident stayed with me and made me think more deeply about who gets to feel at home in sport."
Ali carried those thoughts into his undergraduate studies in kinesiology, and they resurfaced during his master's in sport management.
"My thesis focused on Canadian student-athletes who accepted scholarships to compete in the NCAA," he said. "What I found was that their experiences were shaped by the significant power coaches and institutions held over them. That realization raised even more questions for me and ultimately led me to pursue a PhD."
As he moved through his doctoral studies, Ali began to explore how his own racialized identity had been shaped by the post-9/11 social and political landscape, particularly its effects on Muslim communities. These themes have since shaped the core of his research.
Powerful tool for inclusion
Ali's primary research area currently focuses on the role of sport in countering violent extremism, particularly in programs targeting Muslim and newcomer communities.
Governments and organizations, including the United Nations, have increasingly turned to sport as a tool for preventing radicalization. While often framed as positive interventions, Ali's research suggests these programs can also reinforce racialized assumptions.
"Many countering violent extremism programs assume that certain communities, particularly Muslim and immigrant youth, are inherently at risk of radicalization," he said. "This leads to sport being used not just for engagement but for surveillance."
His work examines how these programs create environments where racialized youth are observed rather than supported. Instead of fostering a sense of belonging, they may unintentionally reinforce the very social divides they claim to address.
"Sport can absolutely be a powerful tool for inclusion, but only when it is used to build trust and community rather than reinforce security-based narratives." - Adam Ali, professor of sociocultural studies
By connecting his research with local sport programs where many newcomer and Muslim athletes participate, Ali aims to develop practical recommendations for using sport as a meaningful tool for connection and empowerment - free from undertones of suspicion.
Narratives in sport media
Ali's research on countering violent extremism reveals how sport policies can both include and marginalize. That same dynamic plays out in media, where cultural narratives shape public perceptions of race in sport.
In recent years, Canadian sports networks have introduced equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) initiatives aimed at increasing representation. Ali's research assesses whether these initiatives have resulted in substantive change.
"We're looking at how racialized and Indigenous professionals experience the Canadian sport media industry," he said. "Are these initiatives actually shifting workplace culture and storytelling, or are they just surface-level efforts?"
As part of this work, Ali aims to draw attention to the subtle but powerful ways entertainment can reinforce or challenge assumptions about who belongs in sport.
Professor Adam Ali (right) speaks to graduate students in the International Centre for Olympic Studies. (Western Health Sciences)
Challenging these assumptions is central to his research. A persistent stereotype, he notes, is that Muslim girls and women are uninterested in sport, despite research that shows otherwise.
"One of my key objectives is to challenge that stereotype by highlighting the untold experiences of Muslim men and women, boys and girls, in Canadian sport and physical activity," Ali said.
Through this work, Ali is not only amplifying overlooked stories but also encouraging a shift in how racialized athletes are portrayed. His goal is to ensure that diversity in sport is reflected not only in who participates, but in how those individuals are seen, heard and valued in media narratives.
Sport as a site for change
Ali's research moves beyond simply identifying systemic problems. He is focused on developing practical approaches that influence policy and ensure youth sports programs genuinely support inclusion rather than surveillance. His findings can also inform media organizations in how they portray racialized athletes, creating narratives that empower rather than marginalize.
By sharing his research with communities, he hopes to support grassroots initiatives that use sport as a tool for empowerment, belonging and social transformation.
"The long-term goal of my work, alongside other scholars, is to challenge and reshape problematic assumptions about Muslim communities and newcomers," Ali said. "It's a big task and requires collective effort. We're living in a time of serious political division, and I believe sport can be a powerful entry point for dialogue and building understanding."
