Jason Kido Lopez

Biography

Current and Future Projects

• A project analyzing how college athletes perceive athlete compensation.
• Ongoing research on the relationship between athlete expression/activism and sports leagues.
• Ongoing research on sports, media, and sports-based games like sports betting.

Expertise and Activities

My primary research and teaching focus is sports media from a Media and Cultural Studies perspective. I am interested in how the distinctive qualities of sport inform cultural practices, power hierarchies, and political ideologies. My research examines sports media industries, the cultural artifacts they produce, and the possibilities and constraints these structures create for those who operate within and around them. My recent work has focused on athlete activism and sports-based games like fantasy sports, March Madness brackets, and sports betting.

Education

• Ph.D. Philosophy, Indiana University, 2011
• B.A. Philosophy, Pomona College, 2004

Articles

• Lopez, J. K., & Stamm, J. (in press). From policy to promotion: The NFL’s and NHL’s branded response to the concussion crisis. Journal of Sports Media. 
• Lopez, J. K. (2026). Branded inclusivity: Participant defense of CrossFit as sport and exercise. Sport in Society. 
• Lopez, J. K., & Prasch, A. (2025). Cashing in on the chaos: The politics of sports betting and the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 43(1), 88–105. 
• Lopez, J. K. (2021). Rewriting activism: The NFL takes a knee. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 38(2), 183–196. 
• Lopez, J. K. (2013). Kierkegaard’s view of despair: Paradoxical psychology and spiritual therapy. Res Philosophica, 90(1), 589–607. 
• Lopez, J. K., & Fuxjager, M. (2012). Self-deception’s adaptive value: Effects of positive thinking and the winner effect. Consciousness and Cognition, 21(1), 315–324. 

Books

• Lopez, J. K. (2027). Gaming sports: Gambling and the sports media complex. Rutgers University Press
• Lopez, J. K. (2023). Redefining sports media. RoutledgeLopez, J. K. (2016). Self-deception’s puzzles and processes: A return to a Sartrean view. Lexington Books
• Lopez, J. K. (2016). Self-deception’s puzzles and processes: A return to a Sartrean view. Lexington Books

Chapters

• Lopez, J. K. (in press). Weaponizing sport ideology: OutKick’s “anti-woke” brand and women’s sports. In T. Vogan & T. Oates (Eds.), Sports, resistance, and power. University of Illinois Press
• Lopez, J. K. (in press). Madden NFL 24: Athletes’ role in sports branding. In A. Rugg & B. Burroughs (Eds.), How to watch sports. New York University Press
• Lopez, J. K. (2022). The construction of sports fandom by sports betting companies. In D. S. Coombs & A. Osborne (Eds.), Routledge handbook of sports fans and fandom. Routledge
• Lopez, J. K. (2022). ESPN+: Subscribing to diversity, marginalizing women’s sports. In D. Johnson (Ed.), From networks to Netflix: A guide to changing channels (2nd ed.). Routledge
• Lopez, J. K. (2020). Branding Athlete Activism. In L. Lopez (Ed.), Race and media: Critical approaches. New York University Press
• Lopez, J. K. (2018). DraftKings. In J. Morris & S. Murray (Eds.), Appified. University of Michigan Press
• Lopez, L. K., & Lopez, J. K. (2017). Deploying oppositional fandoms: Activists’ use of sports fandom in the Redskins controversy. In J. Gray, C. Sandvoss, & C. Lee Harrington (Eds.), Fandom: Identities and communities in a mediated world (2nd ed.). New York University Press

Other Invited Writing

• Lopez, J. K., & Lopez, L. (2025). Beyond the game: New perspectives on sports fandom. Transformative Works and Cultures, 45. https://journal.transformativeworks.org/index.php/twc/article/view/2985/3285
• Lopez, J. K. (2024). The Olympics and sports betting. Olympic Analysis. https://olympicanalysis.org/paris-2024-live/the-olympics-and-sports-betting
• Lopez, J. K., & Prasch, A. (2024). Odds are that gambling on the Biden/Trump competition will further reduce the presidential campaign to a horse race. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/odds-are-that-gambling-on-the-biden-trump-competition-will-further-reduce-the-presidential-campaign-to-a-horse-race-234262
• Lopez, J. K. (2021). Sports betting and the branded purity of the Olympics. Olympic and Paralympic Analysis 2020: Mega events, media, and the politics of sport. https://olympicanalysis.org/section-4/sports-betting-and-the-branded-purity-of-the-olympics/
• Lopez, J. K. (2020). Screwball and the paradoxical absurdity of sports scandals. Docalogue. https://docalogue.com/screwball/

Courses

• CA250 – Introduction to Contemporary Media
• CA313 – History of UW Sports and Media
• CA313 – Sports Gaming and Gambling
• CA313 – Reality TV
• CA347/CLS347 – Race, Ethnicity and Media
• CA359 – Sports Media
• CA375 – Ethics of Entertainment Media
• CA608 – Sports Gaming
• CA950 – Sports, Media, Culture
• CA950 – Sports Media