Flag on the Play: A 5

This study examines the presence of journalistic antapologia (JA) in newspaper-reported sports apologies over a 5-year period (2010–2015). Results from this analysis offer a comprehensive assessment of the current landscape of JA in sports journalism, specifically, by rhetorically analyzing the kategoria and apologia that combine to trigger an antapologic response. A new presence categorization for JA is offered by examining the role enactment of adversarial journalism. This study furthers our knowledge of the rhetorical cycle and the ways in which apologetic rhetoric commingle in adversarial news reporting in sport-related social dramas