The price of “Black dominance”

Academics versus athletics: An examination of the effects of background and socialization on African American male student athletes

“…Responses from African-American football players show that these players hold expectations to become a professional football player at an even higher rate than that found in the literature. In this study, 84 percent of Black respondents believed that they would have a career in professional sports as opposed to 66 percent, 44 percent, and 66 percent cited in past studies (Hoberman 2000;Snyder 1996;Sellers and Kuperminc 1997, respectively Kuperminc (1997) concluded that Black players were twice as likely than white players to expect professional sports careers. This study also found Black players holding this belief at a rate that is twice as high as that of their white teammates (84 percent for whites and 41 percent for Blacks).…”

News Selection Patterns as a Function of Race: The Discerning Minority and the Indiscriminating Majority

“…Likewise, social comparisons during the resulting media exposure may alter perceptions of the self, according to social comparison theory (Festinger, 1954). For instance, it has been argued that predominant portrayals of successful Black athletes in the media discourage academic success among Black children and teens and leads them to focus on sports instead-as a career choice that holds promise for extremely few (e.g., Hoberman, 2000). This is just one example of how rewarded behaviors performed by seemingly similar media characters may have crucial impacts.…”

False Start?

“…Racial stereotypes in sport remain firmly established as a kind of folklore, with a commonly assumed notion that Blacks are more naturally athletic than Whites (Hoberman, 2000). This has been reinforced both via disproportionate success and over-representation in some sports and positional roles, and media representation emphasising inherent physicality (Coakley, 2003).…”

“…Whilst White athletic success is often equated with qualities of character, dedication, work ethic, dependability, and intelligence, Black success is often equated with instinctive physical qualities, and a lack of cognitive endeavour (Hoberman, 2000). These assumptions attain apparent commonsense legitimacy, and sporting mythology is reinforced (St. Louis, 2004).…”

“…This includes Black self-stereotyping via powerful role models (Hoberman, 2000). But while the gifted natural ability premise may seem attractive, and confidence boosting, it could also invite associations with intellectual inferiority and primitivism (Harrison, 2001).…”