Top-level sport turns out to be a monoculture: all athletes look the same
Dutch top-level sports have a homogeneous culture. It doesn't matter in which branch of sport, the average top-level athlete is someone with little fear, who can take a punch and solves problems themselves. This is evident from the extensive research by Verinorm into the top-level sports culture in the Netherlands.
"It is an outcome that surprised me a lot," says researcher Marjan Olfers. "We expected a diversity of cultures, but that turns out not to be the case. All top athletes and coaches are more or less similar in personality."
This monoculture also has a downside. The research shows that there is little room for top athletes who are 'different'. For example, many top athletes did not want to state their gender in the questionnaire and top athletes with a country of birth other than the Netherlands feel less at home and experience more bullying.
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