Understanding Emerging Adults’ National Attachments and Their Reactions to Athlete Activism

Abstract

Recently, striking numbers of U.S. professional athletes have protested social injustices during the customary pregame national anthem (e.g., not standing in protest to police brutality). Fans have met athletes’ protests with mixed reactions, thus calling into question whether fans’ national attachments might help explain their reactions. In this empirical study of emerging adults (N = 514), we posit and find that disapproval of athlete activism is related significantly to overall national attachment. Decomposing national attachment into its respective subdimensions, we also find that fans’ disapproval relates most strongly to uncritical patriotism followed by national identity, symbolic patriotism, and constructive patriotism. Leveraging partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and importance-performance analyses, we offer a rare multifaceted look into how national attachments can shape fans’ reactions to athletes’ social protest behaviors.

“My Story Is My Activism!”: (Re-)Definitions of Social Justice Activism Among Collegiate Athlete Activists

“…B. Smith and Tryce (2019) found this to be particularly true for fans who have a strong sense of national identity, as the stronger the overall national attachment of a fan, the greater the disappointment and opposition to seeing athletes protest.…”

Incorporating the Protests: The NFL, Social Justice, and the Constrained Activism of the “Inspire Change” Campaign

“…In doing so, the protest movement, seeking to address large and complicated structures of racism that permeate the whole of U.S. society, could be rearticulated within the established arguments surrounding patriotism, “love for the country,” and respect for governing structures that often animate partisan political discourse. Quite simply, the protests were transformed, at least in the eyes of many critics, from a call for justice to an embrace of political division (Montez de Oca & Suh, 2019; Sevi et al, 2019; B. Smith & Tryce, 2019; L.…”

Examining Athlete Ally Through Resource Mobilization Theory

“…How can SMOs best serve the athlete activists that they have a formal or informal relationship? It has been recently noted that athlete activists often receive criticism for their activism (see Smith & Tryce, 2019). One potential reason for this phenomenon is the belief that athletes should “be restrained to their sporting roles only and eschew any broader social and political remit” (Darnell, 2012, p. 1).…”

“…One potential reason for this phenomenon is the belief that athletes should “be restrained to their sporting roles only and eschew any broader social and political remit” (Darnell, 2012, p. 1). If they were to engage in activism, the athletes subject themselves to negative ramifications like verbal backlash from fans, coaches, and teammates (Frederick et al, 2017, 2018; Sanderson et al, 2016), loss of respect (Smith & Tryce, 2019), and potentially the loss of future financial income (Agyemang et al, 2010; Schmidt et al, 2018). In this instance, a SMO could be utilized to shield the athletes from any negative ramifications of their activism.…”

“…With the growing prominence of athlete activism in today’s landscape (see Smith & Tryce, 2019), SMOs can occupy an important source of support for these athletes against negative ramifications. In addition to Athlete Ally, other sport-specific SMOs, such as The Women’s Sport Foundation and the Players Coalition, partner with athletes to advance social justice causes.…”