Kassimir, Spencer Varon (2025) Americanization, At-Will Employment, and Football Codes: A Historical Comparison of the USA and Australia through Pat O’Dea and Rugby League. PhD thesis, Victoria University.

Abstract

This thesis examines the historical relationship between Australian and American sport, investigating the extent to which Australian sport has been influenced by American practices and whether it can be accurately described as ‘Americanized.’ Through an analysis of key historical developments, legal frameworks, and cultural exchanges, this study explores how Australia’s sporting landscape has evolved in response to direct and indirect American influence. While certain structural elements, such as commercial models, media engagement, and governance structures, bear the imprint of Americanization, the extent of this influence is neither uniform nor absolute. By evaluating these dynamics within the broader context of sport’s role in national identity and transnational exchange, this thesis contributes to a deeper understanding of the evolving sporting relationship between Australia and the United States. The dynamics between the American and Australian relationship as it pertains to sport must be examined via how the United States, the world’s largest economy and sports entertainment market, diverted from the tradition of English Common Law in favor of at-will employment in the 1890s, what has happened subsequently, and how those circumstances not only impact the internal dynamics of sport but also externally through a combination of soft power as well as direct and indirect U.S. influences on other post-industrial nations, in particular, Australia. The impact of American law and culture is not limited to Australia and sport as the same principles apply to other post-industrial nations in addition to other industries that look to American practices for influence, be it for or against their status quo. Moreover, this impact is then applied in an in-depth analysis on how it has had a direct impact on both sport codes and individuals, with the major focus being on rugby league and the Australian rules footballer Pat O’Dea, who remains the only Australian to be in the American football Hall of Fame. Each section provides an insight on early influence, which then provides an understanding as to how the relationship dynamic between the United States and Australia formed and continues to operate today. Because this research examines the impact of the now-long-standing divergence in American employment law from the 1890s to the present, and applies this approach to the sports business and sporting individuals through the lens of history, law, cultural impact and sport, there are also applications to business management, which can be extrapolated and applied based on the overwhelming amount of time that has passed and the pattern of subsequent events over the last 150-plus years. Focusing on these areas of research results in a study that straddles multiple fields of research. Therefore, there was a need to apply multiple research methodologies that suit each field to provide clear direction, while also being malleable enough to work with one another. The research results provide a unique insight into the ever-adapting dynamics of the Australian-American relationship, along with the common cornerstone constants and themes that have persevered since the late 1800s. Therefore, these findings can be applied to other post-industrial nations and their relationship with the United States, and is not limited to the sports entertainment industry alone.

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