The increasing involvement of professional sports teams in philanthropic causes will be the focus of a public lecture this week by a sport management professor who studies the topic.

Katherine Babiak, an associate professor at the University of Michigan, will be speaking as part of the Mawson Scholar Speaker Series on Wednesday at 6 p.m. in Woodruff Auditorium at the Kansas Union.

Babiak’s lecture is titled “The ‘Why,’ the ‘How,’ and ‘So What,’ of Social Responsibility in Professional Sport” and will focus on the incentives professional sports organizations and individual athletes have to get involved in philanthropic activities. Charitable organizations and athletes also support social causes as a public relations or business strategy.

“I feel that this research is meaningful, and also helps us understand the role and impact of sport in our lives and in our society,” Babiak said in an interview about the upcoming lecture.

According to Babiak, professional sports organizations are more likely to be involved in a charitable cause if it has a connection — positive or negative — to the cause. For example, if a player commits an act of domestic violence, a sport organization is more likely to publicly support efforts to reduce domestic violence.

Read the full article at the University Daily Kansan by Mitch George here: http://www.kansan.com/news/athletes-and-activism-michigan-professor-will-speak-to-university-on/article_588c97f2-b984-11e7-9536-17bc53b5de86.html