AFR 185/SOC 214: Prof. Bruno's Classes: Sports

This study measures the use of media for sports information among African American student athletes. Television was indicated as the primary source of sports information by about one third of the target group, whereas newspapers were used much less as a source. About one fourth got their information from multiple sources. A somewhat unexpected finding was the limited use of sports radio as a source. Female respondents used media less frequently for sports information compared to male athletes.

Profiles African American soccer player Eddie Johnson. Report that Johnson is going into the World Cup qualifiers; Rise of professional African American soccer players, including naturalized American Freddy Adu; Background of Johnson as a child who grew up in the housing projects of Florida; Selection of Johnson for the Olympic Development Program and then for a scholarship to the U.S. Soccer Federation's residency program; Influence of assistant coach Brian Haynes on Johnson's professional career; Report that Johnson won the Golden Boot at the World Youth Championship in 2003. INSET: Changing Face of U.S. Soccer.

Stereotypes have the power to dynamically structure African American female
athletes' oppression (Buysse & Embser-Herbert, 2004; Kane, 1996), for example,
by trivializing their athletic efforts (Douglas, 2002). The purpose of this paper was
to examine how African American women athletes experience such stereotypes.
Drawing from Collins (1990) and Crenshaw's (1991) work on intersectionality,
data were gathered from eight African American female athletes regarding their
sport experiences. Qualitative analyses revealed two major themes: Gendered
Stereotypes and Racial Stereotypes. Findings suggested that complex intersections
of these stereotypes significantly impacted African American female athletes' sport
experiences. It is concluded that future research should explore in greater depth
the sexist, racist, and classist incidences of African American female athletes'
experiences at all levels of sport participation.

Here are the facts. Serena is the number-one tennis player in the world. Maria Sharapova is the number-two tennis player in the world. Sharapova is tall, white and blond, and, because of that, makes more money in endorsements than Serena, who is black, beautiful and built like one of those monster trucks that crushes Volkswagens at sports arenas. Sharapova has not beaten Serena in nine years. Think about that for a moment. Nine years ago Matchbox Twenty and John Edwards mattered. The chasm between Serena and the rest of women's tennis is as vast and broad as the space between Ryan Lochte's ears. Get back to me when LeBron beats Kevin Durant's Oklahoma City Thunder every time for nine years.

It is a generally accepted belief, affirmed in the media, that professional Black male basketball players from the National Basketball Association serve as role models for young Black males. Very little empirical evidence, however, is available about how the young men think about these relationships. Using the concept of role model from social learning theory as a lens, I analyze interview data drawn from a convenience sample of 19 young Black men who participated in high school basketball to investigate the idea of "professional Black male basketball players as role models." I find that young men do not necessarily accept the "good/bad" role-model dichotomy presented in the media, but rather, they are discerning in their acceptance and rejection of certain role-model attitudes and behaviors.