There Is No Unity, Only Politics: A Reply to Kurtz

Abstract

Jeff Kurtz offers a substantive response to my essay, “Sport and the Quest for Unity.” Although he takes seriously my claims that “unity” is too often used within sports as a rhetorical means for eliding important cultural, political, and social differences, he also responds by suggesting that I tacitly endorse claims to unity when made on behalf of social justice causes. Moreover, he contends that the unity modeled by social justice advocates is “suffocating” and thus stifles legitimate differences among and between those who would seek political change. I reply in this essay by clarifying what I think is a misreading of my original argument. More importantly, I point to potential consequences of Kurtz’s argument, which I maintain over-reads the degree to which unity has been performed and implies a false equivalency between institutional forms of power and those making the case of justice.