Signal: The Pomona City Council unanimously approved an agreement for Fairplex to host cricket during the LA28 Olympic Games. Cricket will return to the Olympics for the first time since the 1900 Paris Games. (Los Angeles Cricket)

Source and date: Los Angeles Cricket, published November 5, 2025, by Team Los Angeles Cricket. The article uses information from the City of Pomona and statements from Pomona Mayor Tim Sandoval and Fairplex President and CEO Walter Marquez. (Los Angeles Cricket)

What happened: On November 3, 2025, the Pomona City Council unanimously approved an agreement making Fairplex a venue for Olympic cricket during LA28. The agreement involves the City of Pomona, Fairplex, and LA28 organizers. Planning will now focus on the venue layout, transportation, fan experience, and community involvement. Local clubs, schools, and families are also expected to have opportunities to participate through volunteer programs, cricket clinics, and other events. (Los Angeles Cricket)

Why it matters: Hosting Olympic cricket gives Pomona an opportunity to receive international attention and become part of cricket's return to the Olympics after 128 years. However, the article mainly presents the decision from the perspective of organizers and local officials. That raises questions about whose voices were included in the decision and who will experience the benefits and costs of hosting the event.

This connects strongly to Tenet 4: Lived Experience Is the Scout Report because residents, particularly those living near Fairplex, can provide important information about how Olympic development, transportation, crowds, and construction actually affect the community.

It also connects to Tenet 6: Spectatorship Is Power because cricket's large international following gives the sport significant value to the Olympics. Fans and cricket communities can help determine whether cricket's Olympic return remains successful beyond LA28.

Who benefits:

• Cricket players and fans who have wanted the sport represented in the Olympics

• Pomona and Fairplex through increased international exposure

• Local businesses that may receive additional customers during the Games

• LA28 organizers and Olympic stakeholders

• Hotels, restaurants, transportation services, and other businesses serving visitors

• Local cricket organizations that could gain participation and recognition

• Residents who receive employment or volunteer opportunities connected to the Games

Who may bear risk or cost:

• Residents living near Fairplex who could experience increased traffic, crowds, noise, or other disruptions

• Lower-income Pomona residents if public resources are redirected toward Olympic preparations

• Residents who rely on transportation routes affected by Olympic traffic and security

• Disabled spectators if temporary venue and transportation plans do not provide adequate accessibility

• Community members who may experience the effects of Olympic planning without having meaningful input in the process

SportsCrit™ Tenet connection:

• Tenet 4: Lived Experience Is the Scout Report — The article includes statements from Pomona's mayor, Fairplex leadership, and Los Angeles Cricket, but it does not present perspectives from residents living around Fairplex. Their experiences could reveal benefits or problems that organizers may overlook.

• Tenet 6: Spectatorship Is Power — Cricket has a large international fanbase, and the article describes its return as an important moment for Southern California's cricket community. The attention generated by fans can influence the sport's Olympic visibility, financial value, and future.

• Tenet 7: Progress Only Happens When Power Is Paid — Bringing cricket back to the Olympics requires agreements among organizations with significant institutional power, including LA28, Fairplex, and local government. This raises questions about who controls the resources and decisions involved and who ultimately receives the economic benefits.

• Tenet 9: Justice Is Historical, Present, and Futuristic — Cricket's return after a 128-year Olympic absence connects the sport's past to decisions being made today. What Pomona and LA28 build or change for the Games could also create a legacy that continues after 2028. (Los Angeles Cricket)

What should we investigate next?

• Were Pomona residents consulted before the City Council approved the agreement?

  • What did residents living near Fairplex think about the decision?

• How much will preparing Fairplex for Olympic cricket cost?

  • Who is paying for those preparations?

  • Will any Pomona taxpayer money be involved?

• Who will financially benefit from hosting cricket at Fairplex?

• What changes will be made to Fairplex and the surrounding area before 2028?

  • Will those changes remain after the Olympics?

• Will the venue and transportation system be fully accessible to disabled spectators?

• Will local residents receive jobs created by the Games, and what types of jobs will they be?

• How will Olympic traffic and security affect neighborhoods surrounding Fairplex?

• Cricket was added to the Olympic program for LA28, so who advocated for its inclusion and who had the power to make that decision?

• How much influence did cricket's large international audience and commercial potential have on its return to the Olympics?

• What will hosting cricket leave behind for Pomona residents and local cricket communities after LA28 ends? (Los Angeles Cricket)

Signal: The LA28 Paralympic Games are expected to be the largest Paralympics yet, with more athletes, increased gender representation, growing audiences, and higher levels of athletic performance.

Source and date: Inside the Games, published August 17, 2026, by Sam May. The article focuses on statements from International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons.

What happened: IPC President Andrew Parsons predicted that the LA28 Paralympics could produce the best level of sporting performance in Paralympic history. He connected this improvement to more Para athletes being able to train full-time and having greater access to sports science, coaching, nutrition, psychology, and other resources.

LA28 is expected to include about 4,480 athletes from roughly 165 National Paralympic Committees across 23 sports. Para climbing will also make its Paralympic debut. The article highlights growing public awareness of the Paralympics and expects Los Angeles to attract large crowds and audiences.

Why it matters: The growth of the Paralympics gives disabled athletes greater visibility on an international stage, but the article also raises questions about who has access to the resources necessary to participate and succeed.

The article credits better training and resources for improved athletic performances, which connects to Tenet 3: The Game Looks Different Depending on Your Position. An athlete from a well-funded Paralympic program may experience elite sport very differently from an athlete without the same access to equipment, coaching, money, or sports science.

The increasing audience also connects directly to Tenet 6: Spectatorship Is Power. More fans and media attention can influence which athletes and sports receive recognition, sponsorships, funding, and opportunities.

Who benefits:

• Para athletes receiving increased recognition and exposure

• Athletes with access to full-time training and advanced resources

• Fans who want greater access to Paralympic sports

• The IPC and LA28 organizers

• Sponsors, broadcasters, and companies associated with the Games

• Los Angeles businesses and tourism

• Newer Paralympic sports such as Para climbing

Who may bear risk or cost:

• Para athletes from countries or communities with fewer financial resources

• Athletes who cannot afford specialized adaptive equipment or full-time training

• Disabled people whose experiences may not receive the same attention as elite Para athletes

• Athletes in Para sports that receive less media attention or funding

• Local disabled residents if accessibility improvements for LA28 do not continue after the Games

SportsCrit™ Tenet connection:

• Tenet 3: The Game Looks Different Depending on Your Position — Disability, nationality, gender, and economic resources can affect an athlete's experience and opportunities. Although the article discusses improving Paralympic performances overall, not every athlete has equal access to the resources contributing to those improvements.

• Tenet 5: The Body Is the Battleground and the Banner — Paralympic athletes' bodies are highly visible and are classified and regulated to determine how they compete. At the same time, their performances can become symbols used to represent the success and growth of the Paralympic movement.

• Tenet 6: Spectatorship Is Power — The article emphasizes increasing awareness and viewership of the Paralympics. As more people watch, fans and audiences have greater power to influence which athletes, sports, and disability stories receive attention and financial support.

• Tenet 7: Progress Only Happens When Power Is Paid — Parsons credits better resources and professional support with improving athletic performance. This raises questions about who is paying for that progress, who controls those resources, and whether athletes across different countries have equal access to them.

What should we investigate next?

• Which countries provide the most funding and resources to their Paralympic athletes?

  • How does their performance compare with athletes from less-funded programs?

• How much are Olympic athletes funded compared with Paralympic athletes?

• Who decides which Para sports are included in the Paralympics?

  • Why was Para climbing added while other adaptive sports remain excluded?

• Does increased Paralympic viewership result in more funding for athletes, or does most of the financial benefit go elsewhere?

• Which Para athletes and disabilities receive the most media coverage?

  • Which receive the least?

• Are disabled people from Los Angeles involved in planning LA28?

• Will accessibility improvements created for LA28 remain available to disabled Los Angeles residents after the Games?

• Does the increased visibility of elite Para athletes create broader opportunities for disabled people outside of professional sports?

What happened: LA28 Paralympics is not ready for the para-cricket games due to claims of insufficient para-athletes, the games aren't consistently part of world competitions, and the games are not quadrennial.

Why it matters: Cricket is the second most popular sport globally. Given how popular it is, why isn't there enough momentum to make the games accessible to para-athletes? It is worth looking deeper into the politics surrounding the game.

Who benefits? This is also a question to look into more deeply: who needs to benefit to make cricket more accessible to the disabled community? Why is there not an infrastructure already in place in the Paralympics, and why isn't para-cricket more accessible for world competitions?

SportsCrit™ Tenet connection:

Tenet One: The Field Isn’t Leveled—It’s Colonized

Tenet Six: Spectatorship Is Power

Spark of Attention: A new sport – Cricket; Support of aspiring athletes through bringing the sport back to the Olympics

Importance: This news page involves community care because the return of Cricket to the Olympics is fore sought to increase funding and institutional support in many countries. In sports, we often talk about inequities due to financial constraints, for instance, among certain individuals or communities where their passion for playing a particular sport is nonetheless present. We should ask ourselves, “How is bringing cricket back onto the world stage (into Pomona specifically) going to support aspiring athletes who play it?”

What this tells us about LA28: This is a direct way to impact and grow what LA28 is trying to be. It is independent and it is a nonprofit organization. And like stated before, there are different career or job paths ranging from marketing and transportation, to broadcast and sports.

SportsCrit Tenets: Tenet 3 - The game looks different depending on your position. Tenet 2: Whiteness gets the jersey, locker, legacy.

Source and date: City of Pomona Document Archives.

What happened: The City of Pomona announces itself as a host during LA28. The city views this as a massive opportunity for growth and participation in the cultural and artistic aspect of the LA28 Olympics.

Why it matters: Cultural inclusion and expression is of great importance, and this can allow Pomona to potentially participate in Cultural Olympiad. This gives opportunities to elevate local artists, it can also attract funding, arts infrastructure, and partnerships.

SportsCrit Tenets

Tenet 3 since these decisions affect different groups differently, such as residents, disabled civilians and athletes, workers, spectators.

Tenet 7 since we can see the city progressing, such as the construction of the cricket venue and their attempt to participate in cultural Olympiad, yet with costs such as low-income residents, people being surveilled, disabled spectators, etc.

Construction for the Cricket stadium begins in Pomona which will be hosting the Olympic Cricket Games.

Source and Date:

International Cricket Council (ICC), April 22, 2026

What Happened?:

A ceremony will be held at the Fairplex in Pomona, CA to commemorate the construction of the Cricket Venue that will be hosting the Cricket matches for the 2028 LA Olympic Games.

Why it Matters?:

It matters because it moves beyond promises and dives into actual development. This construction of the new venue shows that LA28 will be establishing a lasting presence for Cricket in an area that never had it before.

Who Benefits?:

Overall many people benefit; cricket fans, local youth in LA County and parts of San Bernardino, the Fairplex, LA28 Athletes, and local businesses that will experience increased tourism due to the events.

Who may experience disadvantages or risks?:

Local residents in the area who are impacted by traffic from construction or the event itself, and community members who received false promises if the goals do not come into fruition.

SportsCrit™ Tenets:

Tenet #6 Progress is made, when power gets paid

Tenet #8 Spectatorship is power

Tenet #1 The Field isn't leveled- It's colonized

What should we investigate next?:

Will local Pomona Youth have an opportunity to access the venue?

What happens with the venue/facility after LA28?

Will the public benefit from this after the Olympic Games?

An artifact connected to LA28 can therefore be viewed as more than memorabilia. It can become a primary source for studying public policy. Researchers could examine what symbols appear on the artifact, whose stories are represented, what communities are included or excluded, and how ideas such as sustainability and accessibility are communicated to the public.

Why it's important

Reliable local transportation could improve traffic and accessibility for guests with disabilities, employees, and spectators at LA28.

Who gains?

LA28 visitors and spectators, event workers, athletes, and volunteers.

Residents with disabilities or without cars and seniors.

Who may bear risks or costs?

Taxpayers who pay for upgrades to services and infrastructure.

Dial-A-Ride customers in the event that future financial constraints result in increased fares, fewer vehicles, or less hours.

riders whose itineraries or stops are altered or eliminated.

Regular riders may face more traffic and crowded busses by Olympic guests.

People without smartphones rely more and more on applications or QR codes for information.

SportsCrit Tenets

Tenet 3: Depending on their position, residents, workers, tourists, and riders with disabilities are all impacted differently by transit improvements.

Tenet Four: Schedules, accessibility, stops, and dependability should all be determined by the lived experiences of riders.

What Happened: Claremont PD uses Flock cameras to collect license plate information and share it to 199 California agencies.

Why it's important:  LA28 security can surveil athletes, spectators, employees, and residents more closely and frequently. Protesters, black and brown people, immigrants, and individuals with disabilities may be more vulnerable to false information or data abuse.

Who benefits:

LA28 organizers and security, local police agencies as well as the federal police.

Who may bear risk or costs:

Locals who's location could be tracked whether they commit a crime or not.

Immigrants who fear deportation and being detained by ICE. 

Communities that are heavily policed such as Black, Latino, disabled, homeless, and others.

During LA28, it was possible to follow protesters, employees, and spectators.

Inaccurate camera data led to people making incorrect identifications.

The cameras, upkeep, supervision, and penalties for misuse are paid for by taxpayers.

SportsCrit Tenets

Tenet 3: While surveillance may seem protective to some, it poses a threat to communities where policing is more prevalent.

Tenet Six: Attendees of LA28 may also find themselves under surveillance.

Tenet Eight: The effects of monitoring can vary according on a person's race, handicap, immigrant status, and other identities.

Tenet Nine: After the Games, communities may still be impacted by security systems that were extended for LA28.

The IPC has guidelines for how the Paralympic Movement presents and represents itself and its identity.

Source and Date: October 2019, International Paralympic Committee

What Happened:

The IPC created a set of guidelines for how the Paralympic Movement should be represented. It covers the Paralympic symboling, colors, fonts, and look and sensation of movementt.

Why It Matters:

I thought it was interesting in the way Para Sport and athletes are presented in towards the public, as this can cause people to view them in a very specific way, thus affecting the Paralympics public image. By having a consistent identity it could help make the Paralympic Movement more recognizable and accepted.

Who Benefits:

Para Athletes would benefit, as well as the IPC, organizations associated with para athletes and Paralympics, and sponsoring companies. It also helps to inform and teach the public who may not recognize the movement.

Who bears risk or costs:

Athletes and disabled communities whose experiences may not be represented by the IPC or the official imaging that they present.

SportsCrit™ Tenet connection:

Tenet#4 Lived experience is the scout report

Tenet #7 Identity isn't one dimensional

What should be investigated next?:

Are we asking the athletes themselves if they feel represented by the IPC's identity?

Does marketing or branding affect the way Para Sport seen, and does it challenge stereotypes?

How much influence does sponsoring and media have on representations?

Why it matters: This is the official document outlining the qualification standards for Paralympians. It is a 128-page document that includes various sports regulations, important dates, and an overview of the Games program.

Why it matters: The document is essential for understanding what Paralympians must do to qualify for the Paralympic team. We can also use it to compare with the IOC regulations and see the differences in qualifications for Olympians and Paralympians.

Who benefits: Possibly the Paralympians and the people in charge of making the regulations.

Who may bear risks or costs: Paralympians who do not meet the rigid requirements.

SportsCrit™ Tenet connection:

Tenet 4: The field isn't leveled- it's colonized

Tenet 3: The game looks different depending on your position

What should we investigate next?

• Compare the different sport qualifications to each other to see if the more popular sports have a more rigorous qualification than less popular sports.

• Compare it to the IOC qualifications to see if there are any injustices from one report to the other

• See who is writing these qualifications, how they are qualified to write the regulations, and how they are truly benefiting from it.

Source and date: Announcement on the official LA28 Olympics website, published July 1, 2028, by Ubaid Parkar

What happened: LA28 Olympics announces the building hosting the cricket match, its size, and how much land was used to create space for it. It also announced the number of teams for both the men's and women's teams while giving the dates of the matches.

Why it matters: The venue is the first one to host cricket at the LA28 Olympic Games. It also raises questions such as:

• What will happen to the venue after the Olympics

• Was anyone displaced during the building?

• Is the building ADA compliant, and if so, why are there no Paralympic cricket games?

Who benefits:

• Countries who've wanted Cricket teams in the Olympics

• Pomona, the surrounding cities, and its investors

• Organizers, the company that built the building, and its workers

• Visitors who want to watch cricket in the Olympics

• Current residents of Pomona looking for employment

Who may bear risk or cost:

• The currently unhoused

• Disabled spectators

• Pomona residents and low-income residents due to potentially higher taxes

SportsCrit™ Tenet connection:

• Tenet 6: Spectatorship is Power

• Tenet 7: Progress only happens when power is paid

What should we investigate next?

• Did fans, followers, and spectators of cricket push for it to be in the Olympics?

  • If so, then why not in the Paralympics too?

• Why is cricket now in the Olympics?

• Who in power benefited from allowing this to happen?

• Were there people who were pushed out of Pomona for the infrastructure of the building?

Importance:  I want to explore the ways in which LA28 goes about maximizing today’s performance without compromising on future ones (e.g. how air pollution will be regulated for inhabitants’ health?); and so far, how LA28 is being monetarily responsible with taxpayer dollars (budgets, fundraising, etc.) in preparation for the Olympics.

What changed

Pomona published its first detailed report on sidewalk-vending enforcement since adopting updated regulations in November 2024.

For October 2024 through August 2026, the City reports:

• 44 permits issued—but only 16 currently active

• Only five permits for food vendors

• 419 citations assessing $143,126 in fines

• Just $7,763 collected, approximately 5.4% of assessed fines

• 106 enforcement operations

• 31 equipment impounds, with only four retrieved

• $309,642 in overtime costs for Police, Code Compliance and Public Works

• $7,832 in permit-fee revenue

In blunt fiscal terms, Pomona spent roughly 40 times more on enforcement than it collected in fines or permit fees. That calculation is derived from the City’s figures; it is not the City’s characterization. Official Pomona staff report

Status distinction: The report is confirmed. The Council is scheduled to receive and file it on September 21, 2026. No ordinance change is proposed, and Council action had not been recorded when this alert was prepared. Official Council item · September 21 agenda

Why it matters

California law explicitly identifies sidewalk vending as an entrepreneurship pathway for low-income and immigrant communities. It also requires ability-to-pay consideration for fines and permits temporary-event restrictions only under specified conditions. California SB 946

The Pomona data do not by themselves establish unlawful enforcement. They do reveal a system in which:

• Enforcement investment dramatically exceeds collected revenue.

• Most permits issued are no longer active.

• Equipment is frequently not reclaimed after impoundment.

• Food vendors must navigate both County health permitting and City licensing.

• The City’s regulatory capacity appears substantially stronger than its vendor-development infrastructure.

The power question is simple: Is Pomona spending more public money policing informal entrepreneurship than helping vendors enter the formal economy?

Pomona and Fairplex

This report is not an Olympic policy document, and no Fairplex-specific enforcement plan has been confirmed.

It nevertheless creates a crucial baseline. LA28 is inviting hundreds of regional restaurants, carts, food trucks and small businesses into its L.ocal A.uthentic Program and promises assistance with insurance and permitting. LA28 vendor-program announcement

Pomona must now answer:

• Will sidewalk vendors be permitted near Fairplex during Olympic cricket?

• Will special-event boundaries remove existing vendors from profitable locations?

• Will displaced vendors receive the same notice or mitigation afforded other affected businesses?

• Can vendors cited or impounded under the current system realistically qualify for LA28 opportunities?

• Will Fairplex prioritize concessionaires while local informal vendors are pushed beyond security perimeters?

• Will Pomona invest in permitting assistance, County health certification, insurance support and multilingual technical assistance—not merely enforcement?

Observatory and teaching actions

• Observatory: Build a vendor-access pipeline tracking City permits, County health permits, insurance, RAMP registration, LA28 selection, contracting, Fairplex placement and worker protections.

• Public records: Request citation and impound locations, repeat-citation rates, fine reductions, ability-to-pay determinations, equipment disposition and language-access records.

What changed

Confirmed: LA28 is seeking Expressions of Interest from firms capable of providing accessible-mobility resources and services for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

• Decision-maker: LA28

• Response deadline: September 18, 2026

• Current stage: Market input and procurement design

• Next stage: LA28 may invite selected respondents into later procurement steps

This is not a contract award. No budget, quantities, vendor selections or implementation schedule have been disclosed. Official RAMP LA procurement notice · LA Area Chamber opportunity portal

Why it matters

Accessibility is being defined through procurement now—not in 2028.

The unanswered power question is whether disabled athletes, spectators, workers and disability-led organizations will help design the system or merely receive whatever vendors build. The eventual scope could determine first- and last-mile access, equipment reliability, staffing, maintenance, service integration and complaint procedures.

Qualified suppliers and LA28’s mobility operations gain access and influence. Disabled people bear the risk if services are segregated, unreliable, unaffordable, under-resourced or designed without lived expertise.

Pomona and Fairplex

Confirmed: Fairplex is the planned Olympic cricket venue. LA28 Fairgrounds Cricket Stadium

Not confirmed: The accessible-mobility solicitation does not publicly identify Fairplex, Pomona-specific resources, local suppliers or service quantities.

The Observatory should ask:

• Is Fairplex cricket included in this procurement?

• How will disabled spectators travel from regional transit to the venue entrance?

• Will accessible shuttles accommodate wheelchairs without advance segregation or excessive waiting?

• Who controls equipment, charging, storage, repairs and emergency replacements?

• Will Pomona disability organizations participate in design and testing?

• Are disability-led and local firms positioned to compete before the short deadline?

Update and teach next

• Observatory: Archive the full EOI and request its scope, budget, evaluation criteria, service standards, disability co-design process, subcontracting goals and accountability plan.

• 
  

1. The IOC has materially changed its mental-health standard

Citation: Reardon, C. L., Gouttebarge, V., Kroshus-Havril, E., et al. (2026). Mental health in elite athletes: International Olympic Committee consensus statement (2026). British Journal of Sports Medicine, 60(15), 1083–1130. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2025-111514

What changed: The updated consensus recommends routine screening and ongoing monitoring with validated instruments, culturally and contextually appropriate treatment, and attention to the environments in which athletes train and compete. It explicitly states that many athletes can continue competing safely while receiving care. Crucially, it identifies young athletes, retiring athletes and Para athletes as distinct but understudied populations.

Evidence strength: Moderate-to-strong for guidance, weaker for intervention effects. This is a 30-author synthesis using systematic literature review and Delphi consensus. It represents the field’s most authoritative clinical direction, but consensus is not proof that implementation improves outcomes. Much underlying research remains observational, self-reported and concentrated in well-resourced Western systems.

SportsCrit™ implication: Add an institutional-response question to Conditions of Care:

Does the organization merely identify distress, or does it alter the conditions producing it while protecting the athlete’s right to participate?

That sharply separates care from paternalistic body control.

But researchers should not be the only people asking questions.

We want to hear from you.

As LA28 approaches, what do you think researchers, students, policymakers, journalists, athletes, and communities should be paying attention to?

Add a post and tell us:

• What question do you have about LA28?

• What concerns you about the Olympics or Paralympics coming to Southern California?

• What are you excited or hopeful about?

• What promise or commitment should someone track between now and 2028?

• Whose voice or experience do you think needs to be heard?

• What issue do you think people are overlooking?

You do not need to be an expert. A good research question can begin with curiosity,

concern, experience, or simply: “I wonder…”

Need an idea?

You might post:

I wonder who decides how Olympic-related public investments are spent.

How will people with disabilities experience transportation to LA28 events?

Will communities near Olympic venues see benefits that remain after the Games?

How are athletes being included in decisions about health and wellness?

Who gets to define what a “successful” Olympic legacy looks like?

What happens to promises made before the Games after the Closing Ceremony?

Your Questions May Inspire Our Research

Our SportsCrit™ scholars will review the questions shared here as we develop our research agenda for Spring 2027 & beyond.

Important: Posts shared here are for civic engagement and research inspiration. Posting to this board does not mean you are participating in a research study, and we will not treat your post as research data without appropriate research and consent procedures.

Ask boldly. Stay curious. Help us follow the legacy before the Games begin.

And I would set up the Padlet section itself with a very simple instruction at the top:

➕ CLICK “+” TO ADD YOUR QUESTION

First name or anonymous: Your choice
Title: Your question in 5–10 words
Post: Tell us more, if you'd like

That keeps participation very low barrier.

I'd also allow visitors to like/react to other people's questions if your Padlet settings permit it.

Welcome to the CCEP × SportsCrit™ LA28 Research & Praxis Commons, a public-facing collection of research, resources, questions, media, and emerging scholarship exploring the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

This Commons is created by student scholars in the SportsCrit™ Leadership Collective in collaboration with the California Center for Ethics and Policy (CCEP) at Cal Poly Pomona.

We are studying LA28 before the Games become history.

Our researchers are asking questions about power, policy, public money, health and community care, disability justice and accessibility, media and storytelling, athlete voice, infrastructure, civic participation, and Olympic/Paralympic legacy.

Our work is organized across four Research & Praxis Teams:

🔎 Research & Policy
Who decides? Who pays? Who benefits? Who is accountable?

❤️ Health Equity & Community Care
Who is cared for? Under what conditions? Who experiences harm, exclusion, or extraction?

♿ Paralympic Justice & Advocacy
Who has access? Who participates in defining accessibility? What would a meaningful Paralympic legacy look like?

🎙️ Digital Humanities & Public Scholarship
How do we document, preserve, interpret, and communicate what we learn?

What will you find here?

You may encounter:

Research articles • policy documents • news and media • podcasts • videos • historical materials • community resources • student research • Civic Education Guides • maps and visual scholarship • questions we're still investigating

Some posts document what we know.

Others identify what we still need to know.

That's intentional.

Research isn't simply collecting information. It is learning to ask better questions, evaluate evidence, recognize what remains uncertain, and understand how an issue can look different depending on your position.

Explore. Question. Follow the Evidence.

As you move through the Commons, we invite you to ask:

Who produced this information?
Whose perspective is represented?
Whose perspective might be missing?
What evidence supports the claim?
Who holds power?
Who experiences the consequences?
What should we continue investigating?

This Commons will continue to grow as our scholars follow LA28 through 2028.

The Games haven't started yet. The legacy already has.

#Disrupt #Reframe #RewriteTheGame

The Commons invites you to examine who decides, who benefits, who bears the costs, and whose knowledge shapes the future. This is a curated annotated bibliography and further-reading companion, not a claim that every listed work was cited in every guide.

Sources

Annotated reference list. Entries combine journal-style citations with organizational web references. “n.d.” means no stable publication date was confirmed for this citation. Some scholarly full texts require institutional access; the annotation states when only citation metadata or an abstract was available.

S01 — NAACP. (n.d.). Out of Bounds.

Campaign primary source | Civic power; Research & Policy

Explains the campaign’s demands and athlete, fan, and alumni participation. Use to explain NAACP’s position and organizing strategy; it is an advocacy source, not independent proof of every legal or financial claim.

S02 — NAACP. (2026). NAACP calls on Black athletes & fans to withhold support of public schools in states attacking Black voting rights.

Campaign launch statement | Civic power

Establishes the campaign’s launch, eight priority states, and intended audiences. Attribute its assessments to NAACP. The campaign reaches beyond the SEC; do not describe it as targeting only that conference.

S03 — NAACP. (n.d.). Out of Bounds: College athletics toolkit.

Public organizing toolkit, 3 pages | Civic power; Media

Provides demands and participation options. Pages 1–3 support an explanation of institutional leverage through recruitment, spending, and donations. Present these as campaign proposals, alongside space for public deliberation.

S04 — City of Pomona. (n.d.). Mayor & City Council.

Municipal information | Research & Policy

Identifies an at-large mayor and six council districts. Helps readers locate local representation. The current page was blocked during full-page retrieval; official indexed text was checked. Specific budget or permit powers still require charter, ordinance, or decision records.

S05 — California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. (n.d.). Civic engagement and voter empowerment.

Campus civic resource | Civic power

Connects fair visitors to campus voter education, registration, and election resources. Use official state and county sources to confirm election procedures and deadlines when posting an update.

S06 — California Secretary of State. (n.d.). Voter registration.

State election resource | Civic power; Updates

Authoritative starting point for registration, language resources, and upcoming deadlines. Link the live page rather than relying on an undated screenshot. Verify eligibility and procedures through the official linked guidance.

S07 — LA28. (n.d.). Fairgrounds Cricket Stadium.

Organizer venue page | All Pomona guides

Confirms the Fairgrounds in Pomona as the Olympic cricket venue. Establishes the local connection; it does not establish local hiring totals, housing impacts, or completed accessibility improvements.

S08 — LA28. (2025). LA28 celebrates updated Olympic venue plan.

Organizer announcement | Research & Policy; Access

Describes Olympic cricket at Pomona’s Fairgrounds in a temporary, purpose-built structure. Read alongside the live venue page and later planning records before equating this Olympic arrangement with reports about a permanent club ground.

S09 — LA28. (n.d.). Cricket.

Organizer sport explainer | All Pomona guides; Media

Explains T20 cricket and the planned six-team men’s and women’s tournaments. Useful for a short visitor-friendly introduction. Sport format is distinct from evidence of community benefits.

S10 — LA28. (2025). LA28 releases impact and sustainability plan.

Organizer policy announcement | Research & Policy; Care

Documents stated community and sustainability commitments. Use it to identify promises to track, rather than treating publication of a plan as evidence of delivery. The announcement was reviewed; the separate V4 plan PDF was not retrievable in this check.

S11 — LA28. (2026). LA28 procurement plan.

Organizer procurement plan | Research & Policy; Food justice

Sets targets of 75% of addressable spend with local businesses and 25% with small businesses, and explains that opportunities are not guaranteed. Review the executive summary and local/small procurement sections. Regional targets do not specify a Pomona allocation or actual awards.

S12 — LA28. (2026). LA28 opens applications for the LA28 L.ocal A.uthentic program, bringing small and local food businesses to the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Organizer food-vendor announcement | Research & Policy; Care

Documents an application pathway for small and local food vendors. Relevant to procurement, food culture, and access to business opportunities. Applying or entering a vendor pool is different from receiving a contract.

S13 — Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. (n.d.). LA 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Regional agency planning resource | Care; Access; Policy

Explains Games mobility goals, temporary enhanced service, and longer-term projects. Use to ask about affordable, accessible journeys. A regional plan does not prove a specific Pomona route, fare, shuttle, funding commitment, or service outcome.

S14 — LA28. (2025). LA28 unveils venue plan for 2028 Paralympic Games, a historic first for the City of Los Angeles.

Organizer Paralympic venue announcement | Access

Provides the announced Paralympic venue geography and accessibility priorities. Compare against subsequent live plans. Pomona’s Olympic cricket assignment should not be described as a Paralympic cricket event.

S15 — International Paralympic Committee. (2020). IPC provides global reference on accessibility for Olympic and Paralympic organisers.

Institutional accessibility guidance overview | Access; Care

Introduces the IPC Accessibility Guide, covering transportation, accommodation, venues, information, and services. This overview was reviewed; follow its guide link for detailed audit criteria. Guidance is a benchmark, not proof of local compliance.

S16 — U.S. Department of Justice. (2010). 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design.

Federal accessibility standards | Access

Provides physical-access standards relevant to routes, seating, parking, and facilities. Useful for research questions and document review. Determining a particular venue’s obligations or compliance requires facility-specific facts and the applicable rules.

S17 — LA28. (n.d.). What type of accessible tickets can I purchase?

Official ticketing FAQ | Access

Describes wheelchair spaces, semi-ambulatory seating, adjacent companion seats, and up to three companion tickets per order. The page does not state companion-ticket prices, discounts, or a universal doubling of admission costs.

S18 — LA28. (n.d.). How do companion tickets work?

Official ticketing FAQ | Access; Updates

Confirms that guests purchasing accessible tickets may purchase up to three adjacent companion tickets. It does not establish pricing. Retain affordability as a research question until a pricing or assistance policy supplies the missing evidence.

S19 — U.S. Census Bureau. (n.d.). QuickFacts: Pomona city, California.

Federal demographic and socioeconomic data | Maps/data; Care

Provides citywide population, housing, income, language, disability, and other indicators. Record the year or survey period of each variable. These are community baselines, not evidence that the Games caused a change.

S20 — LA28. (n.d.). LA28 Olympic Games map.

Organizer venue map | Maps/data; All Pomona guides

Shows Pomona’s cricket venue within the regional Games geography. Pair the map with live venue listings because plans can change. It is not a detailed map of accessible pedestrian routes or neighborhood impacts.

S21 — LA28. (2026). Olympic competition schedule by event (Version 3.1).

Organizer schedule | Maps/data; Care; Access

The cricket table on PDF page 13 identifies Pomona sessions and times. This version is newer than V2.1 in the team register. The schedule remains subject to change; it can guide questions about heat, shifts, transport, and service demand.

S22 — City of Pomona. (n.d.). City Council district map.

Municipal map resource | Maps/data; Civic power

Links residents to council-district geography. Use to ask which representatives and neighborhoods are relevant to an issue. Council boundaries alone do not establish turnout, political influence, or a Games impact.

S23 — California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. (n.d.). CalEnviroScreen 4.0 data dashboard.

Environmental screening data tool | Maps/data; Care

A starting point for tract-level environmental-burden mapping. The indexed dashboard description was checked; the interactive data could not be inspected through the text tool. Record indicator vintage, tract boundaries, and methodology before posting a Pomona map or score.

S24 — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Heat and athletes.

Public-health guidance | Care; Access

Supports questions about heat exposure and prevention in outdoor sport. Apply the civic lens to athletes, workers, spectators, and residents. General guidance does not predict weather or quantify risk at a particular LA28 session.

S25 — Entman, R. M. (1993). Framing: Toward clarification of a fractured paradigm. Journal of Communication, 43(4), 51–58.

Foundational theoretical scholarship | Media; SportsCrit™ analysis

A foundational framing reference for studying how texts select and emphasize interpretations. Use as further reading alongside SportsCrit™ Critical Framing Analysis. Publisher citation metadata was reviewed; full text was not available in this check. It is not a study of LA28 or Pomona.

S26 — Müller, M. (2015). The mega-event syndrome: Why so much goes wrong in mega-event planning and what to do about it. Journal of the American Planning Association, 81(1), 6–17.

Comparative planning scholarship | Policy; SportsCrit™ analysis

Uses interviews, site visits, and documentary material to identify recurring planning problems, including overpromising, underestimated costs, and elite capture. The university record/abstract was reviewed. Use as an inquiry framework; it does not establish that every problem will occur in Pomona.

S27 — Preuss, H. (2007). The conceptualisation and measurement of mega sport event legacies. Journal of Sport & Tourism, 12(3–4), 207–228.

Conceptual legacy scholarship | All teams; SportsCrit™ analysis

Further reading on defining and measuring legacy. Helps distinguish a legacy claim from a specified outcome and measurement plan. Bibliographic metadata and an indexed abstract were checked; full text was not retrieved. No Pomona outcome is established by this source.

S28 — McCartney, G., Thomas, S., Thomson, H., Scott, J., Hamilton, V., Hanlon, P., Morrison, D. S., & Bond, L. (2010). The health and socioeconomic impacts of major multi-sport events: Systematic review (1978–2008). BMJ, 340, c2369.

Open-access systematic review | Care; Policy

Reviews evidence on host-population health and socioeconomic impacts and finds insufficient evidence to confirm or refute expected benefits. Supports careful evaluation rather than automatic-benefit claims. Its historical period and limitations prevent treating it as a forecast of LA28.

S29 — Pullen, E., Jackson, D., & Silk, M. (2020). (Re-)presenting the Paralympics: Affective nationalism and the “able-disabled.” Communication & Sport, 8(6), 715–737.

Empirical media scholarship | Media; Access

Examines Rio 2016 Paralympic broadcasting using production/editorial interviews, quantitative content analysis, and qualitative moving-image analysis. Useful for examining which disabled bodies and identities gain visibility. UK broadcast findings do not establish LA28 coverage patterns.

S30 — Sins Invalid. (n.d.). 10 principles of disability justice.

Movement-authored framework and plain-language resource | Access; Care

Centers intersectionality, disabled leadership, interdependence, and collective access. Adds community knowledge to technical accessibility research. It is a normative movement framework, rather than a venue-compliance assessment or quantitative outcome study.

S31 — Pomona Public Library. (n.d.). Digital collections.

Local archival resource | Media; Team research

A starting point for local historical images and records that can place Olympic narratives within Pomona’s longer history. The collection portal was located; individual holdings were not reviewed. Verify item dates, descriptions, rights, and missing perspectives before using an artifact.