Black male athlete activism and the link to Michael Jordan: A transformational leadership and social cognitive theory analysis

Abstract

Have you ever thought about the potentialities coming about if Michael Jordan chose to emulate previous figures such as Muhammad Ali, John Carlos, and Tommie Smith regarding social activism? Michael Jordan has often been criticized for his failure to speak on social matters. Like Jordan, contemporary Black male athletes' engagement in social activism has been minimal, unmatched to that of their predecessors of decades ago. The article employs transformational leadership principles and social cognitive theory (SCT) to analyze the link between Michael Jordan and the lack of Black male athlete activism in the current era. Implications for current and future generations of Black male athletes are discussed. Future research directions are also presented for scholars interested in Jordan's impact on Black male athlete activism.

The Effect of Economic Vulnerability on Protest Participation in the National Football League

“…Research on athletes and activism has explored the vastly divergent involvement levels of some of the most prominent figures in sports. While some make a commitment to appear ever apolitical (Agyemang, ), others speak out but with measured steps and deliberation (Coombs and Cassilo, ), and still others make an unrestrained commitment to political causes (Smith, ). While players can attempt to seek or dodge political issues, political realities nonetheless tend to impinge on athletes.…”

Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM) Expansion: Measuring Racial, Religious, and National Aspects of Sense of Ethnic Identity Within the United Kingdom

“…Even U.S. President Barack Obama, whose election was hailed by some observers as proof that the United States is becoming a "post-racial" society, was forced to defend his "Americanness" in the wake of claims from "birthers" that President Obama was really a constitution-defying (and possibly Socialist) Kenyan citizen (R. H. King, 2011; for everyday examples concerning some White Americans' challenges to the "Americanness" of racial minority group members in the United States, see Devos, Huynh, & Banaji, 2012;and Licata, Sanchez-Mazas, & Green, 2011). Although some Black athletes (e.g., Thierry Henry, Michael Jordan, Rolando) seemingly have escaped the negative consequences of stigmatization, and although we do not wish to overstate our point regarding the perniciousness of stigmatization against Blacks, we argue that even among Black athletes, racial identity development occurs in response to stigmatization (e.g., Michael Jordan has been perceived as consciously avoiding engagement in social activism, in order to achieve his lucrative yet nonthreatening celebrity status; Agyemang, 2012). Markus (2008) defined race as "a dynamic set of historically derived and institutionalized ideas and practices that (1) sorts people into ethnic groups according to perceived physical and behavioral human characteristics; (2) associates differential value, power, and privilege with these characteristics and establishes a social status ranking among the different groups; and (3) emerges (a) when groups are perceived to pose a threat (political, economic, or cultural) to each other's world view or way of life; and/or (b) to justify the denigration and exploitation (past, current, or future) of, and prejudice toward, other groups" (p. 654).…”

A qualitative case study examination of athlete ally using social movement theory.

“…Michael Jordan most embodies the notion that financial implications lead to the decrease in activism (Agyemang, 2011;Powell, 2008). Despite his popularity and global influence, Jordan refused to address issues of race in his home state or sweat shops and child labor issues with Nike (Agyemang, 2011). Additionally, Agyemang postulates that the "Be Like Mike" commercial from Nike served as a reminder to young Black athletes to remain silent like Mike.…”

“…After decades of silence on social issues, (Agyemang, 2011;Candaele & Dreier, 2015;Powell, 2008), the athlete activist has triumphantly returned with the assistance of other athletes and formal organizations (Coombs & Cassilo, 2017;Gibbs, 2016;Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality, 2017). Formal SMOs, like Athlete Ally, can provide numerous benefits for athletes engaging in activism as they provide the basis of mobilization for social movements (Caniglia & Carmen, 2005).…”

“…Money, fame, and Michael Jordan are a few of the reasons cited for the decline in athlete activism (Agyemang, 2011, Powell, 2008. As Powell (2008) states, the 1990s/2000s athlete "…has a comfortable standard of living, a fair degree of fame, a healthy amount of respect from the public, and because he does not want to jeopardize any of that, he also has a severe case of laryngitis" (p. 26-27).…”