Autoethnography can connect embodied experience to the social organisation of sport, but writing the self also exposes relationships, institutions, and other people. Relational ethics addresses this problem, yet sport scholarship has given comparatively less attention to the explicit moral traditions through which authors decide both what to disclose and what to withhold. This article conducts a critical autoethnographic textual comparison of two works written twenty years apart. The first is a 2006 doctoral study of power, coercion, injury, and the coach-athlete relationship. The second is a 2026 book that locates sporting development within a broader life history and the Maldives’ inaugural Olympic participation. 16 focal representational decisions were analysed through a comparison matrix and five situated Islamic concepts: amanah (trust), 'adl (justice), niyyah (intention), satr (protective concealment), and hisab (accountability). The comparison shows a shift from an individuated pseudonym carrying diary-derived speech towards named individuals, selective paraphrase, recurrent retrospective self-correction, and wider structural framing. Both texts declare reconstruction rather than transcription, so what changes across the twenty years is the unit of representation rather than the evidential claim. From this analysis, the article develops accountable testimony: a non-mechanical approach that places a burden of justification on silence as well as disclosure. It contributes to autoethnographic ethics and athlete safeguarding by showing how faith-informed moral reasoning can be made methodologically explicit, proportionate, and open to scholarly scrutiny.
Abd Rahim, B. H., Ahmad, A. S., Mohamad Diah, N., & Wan Chik, W. M. Y. (2023). Maq??id al-shar??ah and sport: What it means to the practising Muslims. Journal of Fatwa Management and Research, 28(1), 16–31. https://doi.org/10.33102/jfatwa.vol28no1.477
Adams, T. E., Holman Jones, S., & Ellis, C. (2015). Autoethnography: Understanding qualitative research. Oxford University Press.
al-Bukhari, M. ibn I. (1997). Sahih al-Bukhari (M. M. Khan, Trans.; Vols. 1–9). Darussalam.
al-Ghazali, A. H. (2015). On vigilance and self-examination: Kit?b al-mur?qaba wa'l-mu??saba, Book XXXVIII of the revival of the religious sciences (A. F. Shaker, Trans.). Islamic Texts Society.
Allen-Collinson, J. (2013). Autoethnography as the engagement of self/other, self/culture, self/politics, selves/futures. In S. Holman Jones, T. E. Adams, & C. Ellis (Eds.), Handbook of autoethnography (pp. 281–299). Left Coast Press.
Anderson, L. (2006). Analytic autoethnography. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 35(4), 373–395. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891241605280449
Barker-Ruchti, N., & Tinning, R. (2010). Foucault in leotards: Corporeal discipline in women's artistic gymnastics. Sociology of Sport Journal, 27(3), 229–250. https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.27.3.229
Chang, H., Ngunjiri, F. W., & Hernandez, K.-A. C. (2013). Collaborative autoethnography. Left Coast Press.
Chroni, S. A., & Kavoura, A. (2022). From silence to speaking up about sexual violence in Greece: Olympic journeys in a culture that neglects safety. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, Article 862450. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.862450
Denzin, N. K. (2014). Interpretive autoethnography (2nd ed.). SAGE.
Edwards, J. (2021). Ethical autoethnography: Is it possible? International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 20. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406921995306
Ellis, C. (2007). Telling secrets, revealing lives: Relational ethics in research with intimate others. Qualitative Inquiry, 13(1), 3–29. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800406294947
Ellis, C., Adams, T. E., & Bochner, A. P. (2011). Autoethnography: An overview. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 12(1), Article 10. https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-12.1.1589
Ellis, C., & Bochner, A. P. (2000). Autoethnography, personal narrative, reflexivity: Researcher as subject. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (2nd ed., pp. 733–768). SAGE.
Frank, A. W. (2010). Letting stories breathe: A socio-narratology. University of Chicago Press.
Gillard, A., Mountjoy, M., Vertommen, T., Radziszewski, S., Boudreault, V., Durand-Bush, N., & Parent, S. (2024). The role, readiness to change and training needs of the athlete health and performance team members to safeguard athletes from interpersonal violence in sport: A mini review. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 6, Article 1406925. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2024.1406925
Gurgis, J. J., Kerr, G., & Darnell, S. (2022). "Safe sport is not for everyone": Equity-deserving athletes' perspectives of, experiences and recommendations for safe sport. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, Article 832560. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.832560
Haleem, H. (2006). Running in pain: An autoethnography of power, coercion and injury in a coach-athlete relationship [Doctoral thesis, University of Otago]. OUR Archive. https://hdl.handle.net/10523/141
Haleem, H. (2026). (UN)defeated Maldivian Olympian: An autoethnography of the first Maldivian Olympian. Muhibbah Publications.
Herrmann, A. F., & Adams, T. E. (2026). Autoethnography as testimony: Bearing witness, taking a stand, and speaking truth to power. Journal of Autoethnography, 7(1), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1525/joae.2026.7.1.1
Holman Jones, S., Adams, T. E., & Ellis, C. (Eds.). (2013). Handbook of autoethnography. Left Coast Press.
Houlihan, B., & Zheng, J. (2015). Small states: Sport and politics at the margin. International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, 7(3), 329–344. https://doi.org/10.1080/19406940.2014.959032
Johns, D. P., & Johns, J. S. (2000). Surveillance, subjectivism and technologies of power: An analysis of the discursive practice of high-performance sport. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 35(2), 219–234. https://doi.org/10.1177/101269000035002006
Khomutova, A., Chroni, S. A., Kavanagh, E., Ruffault, A., Miles, A., Moesch, K., Fontanesi, L., Nery, M., & Vertommen, T. (2025). FEPSAC position statement on safeguarding athletes in sport. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 80, Article 102897. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2025.102897
Lapadat, J. C. (2017). Ethics in autoethnography and collaborative autoethnography. Qualitative Inquiry, 23(8), 589–603. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800417704462
Luzzi, F. (2024). Testimonial injustice in sports. Sport, Ethics and Philosophy, 18(2), 161–176. https://doi.org/10.1080/17511321.2023.2208741
McMahon, J., Penney, D., & Dinan-Thompson, M. (2012). "Body practices—Exposure and effect of a sporting culture?" Stories from three Australian swimmers. Sport, Education and Society, 17(2), 181–206. https://doi.org/10.1080/13573322.2011.607949
Medford, K. (2006). Caught with a fake ID: Ethical questions about slippage in autoethnography. Qualitative Inquiry, 12(5), 853–864. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800406288618
Mohammed Insaf, M. G., & Shehu, F. (2025). Exploring the Islamic ethical framework for athletes: Its significance, development, and justification. Journal of Islam in Asia, 22(1), 254–274. https://doi.org/10.31436/jia.v22i1.1223
Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj. (2007). Sahih Muslim (N. al-Khattab, Trans.; Vols. 1–7). Darussalam.
Osman, A. (2023). The right to be forgotten: An Islamic perspective. Human Rights Review, 24(1), 53–73. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12142-022-00672-2
Parent, S., Radziszewski, S., Aghedo, O. J., Daignault, I. V., Kavanagh, E., Lang, M., Mountjoy, M., Pankowiak, A., Topart, J., Woessner, M., & Vertommen, T. (2024). Identifying future research priorities in the field of interpersonal violence towards athletes in sport: A Delphi study. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 58(22), 1345–1352. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2024-108763
Phillips, L. J., Christensen-Strynø, M. B., & Frølunde, L. (2022). Thinking with autoethnography in collaborative research: A critical, reflexive approach to relational ethics. Qualitative Research, 22(5), 761–776. https://doi.org/10.1177/14687941211033446
Purdy, L., Potrac, P., & Jones, R. (2008). Power, consent and resistance: An autoethnography of competitive rowing. Sport, Education and Society, 13(3), 319–336. https://doi.org/10.1080/13573320802200693
The Qur'an (M. A. S. Abdel Haleem, Trans.). (2004). Oxford University Press.
Rattani, A., & Hyder, A. A. (2019). Developing an Islamic research ethics framework. Journal of Religion and Health, 58(1), 74–86. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-017-0508-8
Sparkes, A. C. (2020). Autoethnography: Accept, revise, reject? Reflections of an evaluative self. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 12(2), 289–302. https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2020.1732453
Sparkes, A. C. (2024). Autoethnography as an ethically contested terrain: Some thinking points for consideration. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 21(1), 107–139. https://doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2023.2293073
Stirling, A. E. (2009). Definition and constituents of maltreatment in sport: Establishing a conceptual framework for research practitioners. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 43(14), 1091–1099. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsm.2008.051433
Stirling, A. E., & Kerr, G. A. (2008). Defining and categorizing emotional abuse in sport. European Journal of Sport Science, 8(4), 173–181. https://doi.org/10.1080/17461390802086281
Stirling, A. E., & Kerr, G. A. (2013). The perceived effects of elite athletes' experiences of emotional abuse in the coach-athlete relationship. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 11(1), 87–100. https://doi.org/10.1080/1612197X.2013.752173
Tolich, M. (2010). A critique of current practice: Ten foundational guidelines for autoethnographers. Qualitative Health Research, 20(12), 1599–1610. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732310376076
Tuakli-Wosornu, Y. A., Burrows, K., Fasting, K., Hartill, M., Hodge, K., Kaufman, K., Kavanagh, E., Kirby, S. L., MacLeod, J. G., Mountjoy, M., Parent, S., Tak, M., Vertommen, T., & Rhind, D. J. A. (2024). IOC consensus statement: Interpersonal violence and safeguarding in sport. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 58(22), 1322–1344. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2024-108766
Tuakli-Wosornu, Y. A., Kirby, S. L., Tivas, A., & Rhind, D. (2023). The journey to reporting child protection violations in sport: Stakeholder perspectives. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, Article 907247. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.907247
Wall, S. (2008). Easier said than done: Writing an autoethnography. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 7(1), 38–53. https://doi.org/10.1177/160940690800700103
Willson, E., Kerr, G., Battaglia, A., & Stirling, A. (2022). Listening to athletes' voices: National team athletes' perspectives on advancing safe sport in Canada. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 4, Article 840221. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2022.840221
Winkler, I. (2018). Doing autoethnography: Facing challenges, taking choices, accepting responsibilities. Qualitative Inquiry, 24(4), 236–247. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800417728956
Haleem, H. (2026). Disclosure, Concealment, and Accountable Testimony: A 20-Year Comparative Textual Analysis of Islamic Moral Reasoning in a Muslim Athlete’s Autoethnographies. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 16(9), 1356–1378.
Copyright: © 2026 The Author(s)
Published by Knowledge Words Publications (www.kwpublications.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode
