This case study is situated in a growing interest in a sense of community in sport – a focus of research, theorizing, and conceptual model building that moves beyond specific psychological and social benefits toward larger frameworks of cohesion, support, and identity.

Josh Compton & Jordan Compton

The Camden Hills high school football season was cancelled mid-season after multiple injuries to current team members led to not having enough participants to safely field a competitive team. The decision to cancel the team came from school administrators. This paper offers a rhetorical analysis of the image repair strategies used by Superintendent Libby in her attempt to help explain the decision-making process used by administrators to come to this decision. Additionally, this study focuses on aspects of community and sport, examining potentially competing interests of safety and community.

Compton, J., & Compton, J. L. (2017, March). Image repair, image prepare, and high school football: The Camden Hills case [paper presentation]. International Association for Communication and Sport Summit, Phoenix, AZ, United States.