The civic responsibility of professional sports teams: Exploring the role of a team in its community

The goal of this research was to examine the way professional sports teams communicate with and impact the community in the markets that support them. In the new age of media, professional athletes and teams and undergoing a fundamental shift in the way they interact with the people around them. The research here is meant to study what interactions a team should be undertaking to develop relationships with its community.;To do this, the concept of "civic responsibility" will be introduced and then discussed. The beginning portions of this thesis will define what exactly is meant by civic responsibility and how it applies to professional teams and their roles in today's communities.;This paper's research portion will first discuss the ways teams can communicate with the local community members, taking into consideration the role that a team can play in producing that information. Then, individual teams will be examined in case studies designed to spotlight effective community relations tactics that have been successfully integrated by modern teams. The noteworthy aspects of these campaigns will be accumulated into a series of best practices following the conclusion. These suggestions are intended to be considered by today's sports teams both as an educational tool and potential tactics for use in professional practice.