Abstract
The authors examine ways that media contribute to the maintenance of US sport as a racial structure. In a content analysis of ten major US sport magazines over a 10 year period, they utilize Joe R. Feagin’s theory and his concept of the white racial frame to advance an understanding of how these periodicals portray black athletes. Findings reveal that only a small minority of articles addressed race directly, and of those that did, three predominant themes emerged: (i) the first black person to have accomplished something significant in a sport; (ii) correct wrongs of the past; and (iii) highlight the small or declining numbers of black participants in a sport. Consequences of such portrayals are explored.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsBibliography
Agyemang, Kwame J.A. “Black Male Athlete Activism and the Link to Michael Jordan.” International Review for the Sociology of Sport 47, no. 4 (2012): 433–45. doi:10.1177/1012690211399509.
Bastable, Alan. “Writing the Wrong.” Golf Magazine 52, no. 8 (2010).
Bruce, Toni. “Marking the Boundaries of the ‘Normal’ in Televised Sports: The Play-By-Play of Race.” Media, Culture, and Society 26, no. 6 (2004): 861–879. doi:10.1177/0163443704047030.
Buffington, Daniel and Todd Fraley. “Skill in Black and White: Negotiating Images of Race in a Sporting Context.” Journal of Communication Inquiry 32, no. 3 (2008): 292–310. doi:10.1177/0196859908316330.
Buffington, Daniel. “Contesting Race on Sundays: Making Meaning Out of the Rise in the Number of Black Quarterbacks.” Sociology of Sport Journal 22, no. 1 (2005): 9–37. doi:10.1123/ssj.22.1.19.
Carrington, Ben. Race, Sport, and Politics: The Sporting Black Diaspora. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2010.
Clarke, David M. “Boom Times.” Golf Magazine 52, no. 8 (2010).
Coakley, Jay. Sports in Society: Issues and Controversies. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2015.
Coventry, Barbara T. “On the Sidelines: Sex and Racial Segregation in Television Sports Broadcasting.” Sociology of Sport Journal 21, no. 3 (2004): 322–341. doi:10.1123/ssj.21.3.322.
Davis, Laurel R. and Othello Harris. “Race and Ethnicity in US Sports Media.” In MediaSport edited by Lawrence A. Wenner, 154–169. New York: Routledge, 1998.
Douglas, Delia D. “Venus, Serena, and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA): When and Where ‘Race’ Enters.” Sociology of Sport Journal 22, no. 3 (2005): 256–282.
Dufur, Mikaela. “Race Logic and ‘Being Like Mike’: Representations of Athletes in Advertising, 1985–1994.” Sociological Focus 30, no. 4 (October, 1997): 345–356. doi:10.1080/00380237.1997.10571085.
Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, Racism Without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in America. New York: Rowman and Littlefield, 2013.
Eileen L. Zurbriggen and Aurora M. Sherman. “Race and Gender in the 2008 Presidential Election: A Content Analysis of Editorial Cartoons.” Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy 10, no. 1 (2010): 223–247.
Feagin, Joe R. and Kimberley Ducey, Elite White Men Ruling: Who, What, When, Where, and How. New York: Routledge, 2017.
Feagin, Joe R. Racist America: Roots, Current Realities, and Future Reparations. New York: Routledge, 2014.
Feagin, Joe R. Systemic Racism: A Theory of Oppression. New York: Routledge, 2006.
Feagin, Joe R. The White Racial Frame: Centuries of Racial Framing and Counter-Framing. New York: Routledge, 2013.
Feinstein, John. “Hatred Is Ugly—In Any Color.” The Sporting News 233, no. 5 (2009).
Finch, Peter. “Woman Undercover.” Golf Digest 63, no. 5 (2012).
Foster, John D. White Race Discourse: Preserving Racial Privilege in a Post-Racial Society. Lanham, MD: Lexington, 2013.
Hurford, Molly. “She Wants to Be the First African American Female Pro.” Bicycling 56, no. 8 (2015). http://www.bicycling.com/culture/people/cyclist-could-become-first-african-american-woman-go-pro. Accessed 13 August 2016.
Lawrence, Andrew. “Giving Kids a Lifeline.” Sports Illustrated 113, no. 6 (2010): 64–70.
Leonard, David J. After Artest: The NBA and the Assault on Blackness. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 2012.
Leonard, David J. and C. Richard King. “Lack of Black Opps: Kobe Bryant and the Difficult Path of Redemption.” Sport and Social Issues 35, no. 22 (2011): 209–223. doi:10.1177/0193723511405482.
Menez, Gene. “Celebrating a Lasting Legacy.” Sports Illustrated 107 (2007).
Perine, Shawn. “The Colbert Report.” Flex 24, no. 5 (2006): 274–278.
Price, S.L. “Serena Williams.” Sports Illustrated 123, no. 24 (2015): 66–86.
Rosenthal, Ken. “Baseball Needs to Expand Its Reach.” The Sporting News 229, no. 26 (2005): 36–37.
Sports Illustrated, “Racy Allegations.” Sports Illustrated 108, no. 25 (2008): http://www.si.com/vault/2008/06/23/105705001/racy-allegations. Accessed 13 August 2016.
Thamel, Pete. “Big Meets Strong.” Sports Illustrated 121, no. 3 (2014). 28 July 2014. http://www.si.com/vault/issue/1012621/1/1.
Wahl, Grant. “Eddie Makes This Game Look Cool.” Sports Illustrated 102, no. 22 (2005).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2017 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Foster, J.D., Chaplin, K.S. (2017). Systemic Racism in the Media: Representations of Black Athletes in Sport Magazines. In: Thompson-Miller, R., Ducey, K. (eds) Systemic Racism. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59410-5_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59410-5_11
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-59409-9
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-59410-5
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)