A whistle-blowing account of the harm, violence, and exploitation embedded in contemporary sports. On the one hand, sports are a tool for community building, unity, and mental and physical wellness. On the other, there is the star player who commits sexual violence, the trans athlete whose achievements are diminished, or the bigoted nationalism of the impassioned sports fan. From connections between head trauma and violence to exploring the meaning of sports in prison, Power Played reimagines sports as an analytical unit for critical criminologists. Situated at the intersections of sports, culture, and crime, Power Played blows the whistle on the power relations that are inextricably linked to violence, deviance, and punishment within sports.