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NC

Nikki Coutsouros

SUNY Cortland
An Examination of Contrapower Harassment in Collegiate Athletic Administration
An Examination of Contrapower Harassment in Collegiate Athletic Administration
Commonly misconceived as having a single objective to obtain a sexual encounter, sexual harassment often stems from gender issues where the goal is to create a hostile environment for an individual deemed unfit in his or her role. Members of sports organizations may target individuals due to their gender identification that may not be commonly represented in that role (Leskinen, Cortina, & Kabat 2011). This can often take the form of contrapower harassment which occurs in situations where the harasser is an individual that possesses a role with lesser authority in the organization than the individual being harassed (Benson, 1984). While sport management is a male dominated field, which can allow for increased incidences of sexual harassment (Gruber, 1998), there has been minimal research in this area and none that looks specifically at collegiate sport administrators. This study explores the incidences of contrapower harassment in collegiate sport administration. Participation invitations were emailed to NCAA, NAIA, and NJCAA athletic administrators with a link to a qualitative survey. Results will reveal trends in contrapower harassment experienced by collegiate athletic administrators, including types of harassment that occur, and common positions that experience contrapower harassment.