Marissa Kiss

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Immigration, Inequality, Race, and Sports

Marissa Kiss, PhD, earned her doctorate in Sociology at George Mason University in 2020. Her dissertation, Baseball: The (Inter) National Pastime, examined immigrant Major League Baseball players and immigration policy. Dr. Kiss is currently Co-Principal Investigator on an AmeriCorps project which examines the degree to which athletes use their visibility to strengthen communities.

Selected Publications

PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS

Mirance, K., Foltz, K. E., Hattery, A. J., Kiss, M., & Smith, E. (2024). Theorizing Feminist Abolitionist Approaches to Gender-Based Violence: A Descriptive Case Study of Gender-Based Violence in SportsWorld. Gender & Society, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/08912432241266271

Kiss, M., Foltz, K.E., Hattery, A., Mirance, K. & Smith, E. (2024). What Is a Girl Worth?: Gender-Based Violence and Accountability in SportsWorld. Sociology of Sport Journal. https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.2023-0135

Freetly Porter, E., Mendoza, M. P., Deng, M., Kiss, M., Mirance, K., Foltz, K., & Hattery, A. J. (2024). Institutional Betrayal in the Criminal and Civil Legal Systems: Exploratory Factor Analysis with a Sample of Black and Hispanic Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605241253030

Smith, E., Hattery, A. J., Kiss, M., & Foltz, K. E. (2023). Re-Conceptualizing Kaepernick’s Kneeling Protests and His Banishment From the NFL as an Infringement on His “Right to Work.” Journal of Black Studies, 54(6), 469-489.

Smith, J., Pocratsky, B., Kiss, M., & Suero, C. (2021). Streaming Popular Feminism: Netflix’s Jessica Jones as Feminist Hero. Studies in Popular Culture, 43(2), 104–129.

Hattery, A.J., Kiss, M., & Smith, E. (2019). Always the Bridesmaid and Never the Bride: Women’s and Minorities Coaching Opportunities in Intercollegiate Sports. Journal of Higher Education Athletics & Innovation, 1(5):37-47.

Mbaba, M., Brown, S., Wooditch, A., Kiss, M., Murphy, A., Kumari, S., Taxman, F., Altice, F., Lawson, W.B., & Springer, S.A. (2018). Prevalence, Diagnosis, and Treatment Rates of Mood Disorders among Opioid Users under Criminal Justice Supervision. Substance Use & Misuse, 1-10.

Wooditch, A, Mbaba, M., Kiss, M., Lawson, W., Taxman, F., & Altice, F.L. (2017). Housing Experiences among Opioid-Dependent, Criminal Justice-Involved Individuals in Washington, D.C. Journal of Urban Health, 1-10.

OP-ED PUBLICATIONS

Witte, J. and Kiss, M. (2025, August 12). America loses its humanity in the Florida Everglades. Richmond Times-Dispatch. Available here.

Witte, J. and Kiss, M. (2025, January 15). Mass deportation is unlikely. Micro-deportations are the graver concern. Tribune News Service. Available here.

Kiss, M. and Witte, J. (2024, October 14). Are Major League Baseball and immigration reform on a collision course? Tribune News Service. Available here.

Witte, J. and Kiss, M. (2022, July 26). Immigrant athletes can become agents of change. Richmond Times-Dispatch. Available here.

Smith, E. and Kiss, M. (2021, April 1). Why are there so few Black American players in MLB 74 years after Jackie Robinson took the field? The Philadelphia Inquirer. Available here.

Kiss, M. and Witte, J.C. (2019, July 11). The Streak(s) Continue: Immigrant Players Bring Baseball Victories, The Bridge. Available here.

Witte, J.C. and Kiss, M. (2019, July 3). Predicting the Outcome of the 2019 MLB All-Star Game: Immigrant Ball Players Are a Key Factor, InsideSources. Available here.

Expanded Publication List

ADDITIONAL PUBLICATIONS

Mirance, K., Foltz, K.E., Hattery, A.J., Kiss, M., and Smith, E. (2024, August 12). Is There a Better Way to Address Gender-Based Violence in SportsWorld? Gender & Society Blog Post. Available at: https://gendersociety.wordpress.com/2024/08/12/is-there-a-better-way-to-address-gender-based-violence-in-sportsworld/#like-7824

Hattery, A.J, Smith, E., Foltz, K., Kiss, M. (2023, April 4). Ineffective policies for gender-based violence in sports result in a lack of accountability. The Brookings Institution. Available at: https://www.brookings.edu/blog/how-we-rise/2023/04/04/ineffective-policies-for-gender-based-violence-in-sports-result-in-lack-of-accountability/

Kiss, M., Smith, E., and Hattery, A. (2023, January 9). Black Interim Head Coaches in the NFL. The Society Pages. Available at: https://thesocietypages.org/specials/black-interim-head-coaches-in-the-nfl/

BOOK CHAPTERS

Smith, J., Pocratsky, B., Kiss, M., and Suero, C. (2019). “Chapter 7. Programming Gendered Content: Industry, Post-feminism, and Netflix’s Serialized Exposition of Jessica Jones” In the Netflix at the Nexus: Content, Practice, and Production in the Age of Streaming Television edited by T. Plothe and A. Buck.

Kiss, M., Del Principe, S., and Taxman, F.S. (2019). “Traditional and Innovative Reentry Approaches and Interventions.” In the Wiley International Handbook of Correctional Psychology, edited by D. Polaschek, A. Day, and C. Hollin. West Sussex, UK: Wiley.

Witte, J., Kiss, M. and Lynn, R (2013). “The Internet and social inequalities in the U.S.” Pp. 67-84 in The Digital Divide: The Internet and social inequality in international perspective, edited by M. Ragnedda and G.W. Muschert. New York, NY: Routledge.

In the Media

Pierre-Louis, Kendra (2025, April 30). Trump’s immigration and tariff policies complicate disaster response ahead of hurricane season. The Emancipator. https://theemancipator.org/2025/04/30/sections/politics-and-policy/trump-immigration-tariff-hurricane/

Candaele, Kelly and Dreier, Peter. (2024, October 18). Immigrants Have Always Made Baseball Better. The Progressive Magazine. https://progressive.org/latest/immigrants-have-always-made-baseball-better-candaele-dreier-20241018/

Caputo, Patricia (2024, September 16). The Price for a Passion: Athletes are finding unique ways to manage the rising costs of youth sports. Tiger TV. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOBDDfzptVg

Dure, Beau. (2024, August 5). USA’s Olympic team is bolstered by a crucial group of athletes: immigrants. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/article/2024/aug/05/usas-olympic-team-is-bolstered-by-a-crucial-group-of-athletes-immigrants

Rose, Vanessa Ivy, host. "The Forgotten League, Ep. 6. 'A White Man's Sport'. Reclaimed: The Forgotten League, ABC News. October 30, 2023. https://abcaudio.com/podcasts/reclaimed-forgotten-league/

Walker, Teresa M., Campbell, Dave, and Dubow, Josh. (2023, January 5). Family ties have long run strong in the ranks of NFL coaches. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/san-francisco-49ers-tennessee-titans-new-york-jets-sean-mcvay-sports-394ab491b8dd9d9829a9f3db9d87e23b

Schad, Tom. (2022, October 15). What's in it for interims? Carolina's Steve Wilks latest Black coach thrust into challenging role. USA Today. https://www.yahoo.com/now/whats-interims-carolinas-steve-wilks-141046930.html

Starr, Stephen (2020, September 14). Can Small-Town America Survive Pandemic's Hit to Minor League Baseball? OZY.

Kiss, M. and Witte, J.C. (2020, May 22). America’s International Pastime [Radio broadcast]. With Good Reason Radio. https://withgoodreasonradio.org/episode/take-me-out-to-the-ballgame/