Abstract
This chapter uses critical race theory (CRT) as a theoretical framework to explore the influence of contemporary sports on the social construction of Black masculinity. In order to analyze this phenomenon, this chapter employs Delgado and Stefancic’s (2012) CRT themes of (1) race as a social construction, (2) omnipresent racism, (3) color blindness, and (4) interest convergence. This chapter argues that Black masculinity found in the National Football League (NFL) is often displayed and interpreted through the “White gaze” as unintelligent, violent and hyper-aggressive, and arrogant. These racist portrayals of Black masculinity contribute to the exploitation and oppression of Black males inside and outside of sports.
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
Akbar, Na’im. 1984. Chains and images of psychology slavery. Jersey City: New Mind Productions.
———. 1991. Visions for Black men. Tallahassee: Mind Productions & Associates.
Asante, Molefi. 1987. The Afrocentric idea. Philadelphia: Temple Press.
Ball, Jared A. 2011. I mix what I like!: A mixtape manifesto. Oakland: AK Press.
Bancroft, Frederic. 1959. Slave-trading in the old south. New York: Ungar Publishing Company.
Beamon, Krystal. 2010. Are sports overemphasized in the socialization process of African American males? A qualitative analysis of former collegiate athletes’ perception of sport socialization. Journal of Black Studies 41(2): 281–300 (Sage Publications).
———. 2012. ‘I’m a Baller’: Athletic identity foreclosure among African-American former student-Athletes. Journal of African American Studies 16: 195–208.
Bell, Derrick A. 1992. Faces at the bottom of the well: The permanence of racism. New York: Basic Books.
Bernal, Martin. 1987. Black Athena: The Afroasiatic roots of classical civilization. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press.
Biko, Steve. 2002. I write what I like: Selected writings. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Bird, S.R. 2008. International encyclopedia of the social sciences. Masculinity studies, 2nd ed.
Black, Daniel P. 1997. Dismantling black manhood: An historical and literary analysis of the legacy of slavery. Taylor & Francis.
Bonilla-Silva, Eduardo. 2003. Racism without racists: Color-blind racism and the persistence of racial inequality in the United States. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.
Boren, Cindy. Richard Sherman frustrated by reaction, equates “Thug” with racial slur. 01 23, 2014. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2014/01/23/richard-sherman-frustrated-by-reaction-equates-thug-with-racial-slur/. Accessed 02 10, 2016.
Brooks, Scott N., and Michael A. McKail. 2008. A theory of the preferred worker: A structural explanation for black male dominance in basketball. Critical Sociology 34(3): 369–387 (Sage Publications).
Brown, Drew. 2014. Race, colonization and the NFL draft: A fanonian analysis of the interviewing of black NFL prospects. In Race in American sports: Essays, ed. James L. Conyers, 254–266. Jefferson: McFarlan & Company.
Carrington, Ben. 2002. Fear of a black athlete: Masculinity, politics. New Formations: A Journal of Culture, Theory, and Politics 45: 91–110.
———. 2010. Race, sport and politics: The sporting black diaspora. London: Sage.
Collins, Patricia Hill. 2004. Black sexual politics: African Americans, gender, and the new racism. New York: Routledge.
Cunningham, Phillip Lamarr. 2009. “Please Don’t Fine Me Again!!!!!” black athletic defiance in the NBA and NFL. Journal of Sport & Social Issues 33(1): 39–58.
Daniel, David. 2010a. Freak show: The top 10 players on paper in the 2010 NFL draft. 3 3, 2010. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/356098-freak-show-the-top-10-players-on-paper-in-the-2010-nfl-draft. Accessed 2 3, 2014.
Daniel, G. 2010b. Reginald. More than black: Multiracial identity & new racial order. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Delgado, Richard, and Jean Stefancic. 2012. Critical race theory: An introduction. New York: New York University Press.
Dixon, T.L., and K.B. Maddox. 2005. Skin tone, crime news, social reality and judgment: Priming the darker and dangerous black criminal. Journal of Applied Social Psychology 35(8): 1555–1570.
Dufur, Mikaela J., and Seth L. Feinberg. 2009. Race and the NFL draft: Views from the auction block. Qualitative Sociology 32(1): 53–73.
eBizMBA. Top 15 most popular news websites. eBizMBA Inc. 01 2016. http://www.ebizmba.com/articles/news-websites. Accessed 01 Oct 2016.
Edwards, Harry. 1969. The revolt of the black athlete. New York: Free Press.
ESPN. 2016a. ESPN media zone. ESPN, Inc. fact sheet. http://espnmediazone.com/us/espn-inc-fact-sheet/. Accessed 01 May 2016.
———. 2016b, February 3. Survey: Fans think cam newton faces criticism more for on-field actions than race. ESPN.com . ESPN Internet Ventures. http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/14703203/fans-believe-carolina-panthers-qb-cam-newton-criticized-more-field-actions-race Accessed 3 Feb 2016.
Feagin, Joe. 2000. Racist America: Roots, current realities, and future reparations. New York: Routledge.
———. 2012. White party white government: Race, class, and U.S. politics. New York: Routledge.
Ferber, Abby L. 2007. The construction of black masculinity: White supremacy now and then. Journal of Sport and Social Issues 31(1): 11–24.
Gaston, John C. 1986. The destruction of the young black male: The impact of popular culture and organized sports. Journal of Black Studies 16(4): 369–384 (Sage Publications Inc.).
Gigante, Shelly. 2011. Yahoo Sports. йил 31-Jan. http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ys-cnbcnflbankruptplayers013111. Accessed 2011 йил 01-March.
Glasspiegel, Ryan. 2014, October 27. Russell Wilson isn’t “Black Enough,” Seahawks players allegedly say. http://thebiglead.com/2014/10/22/russell-wilson-is-black-enough-seahawks-players-allegedly-say/. Accessed 1 Nov 2016.
Gorman, Tessa M. 1997. Back on the chain gang: Why the eighth amendment and the history of slavery proscribe the resurgence of chain gangs. California Law Review 85(2): 441–478.
Guina, Ryan. 2007. Sports pensions. йил 13-April. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:KMOp_ob_BxIJ:cashmoneylife.com/sports-pensions/+nfl+pension+requirements+of+4+years&cd=16&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&source=www.google.com. Accessed 1 Apr 2011.
Harper, Shaun R. 2009. Niggers no more: A critical race counternarrative on black male student achievement at predominantly white colleges and universities. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education 22(6): 697–712.
Harrison, C. Keith. 1998. The assassination of the black male image in sport. Journal of African American Studies 3(3): 45–56.
Hawkins, Billy. 1998. The white supremacy continuum of images for black men. Journal of African American Studies 3(3): 7–18.
Hoberman, John. 1997. Darwin’s athletes: How sports has damaged Black American and preserved the myth of race. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.
———. 2000. The price of “Black Dominance”. Society 37(3): 49–56.
Hooks, bell. 2004. We real cool: Black men and masculinity. New York: Routledge.
Hunter, Andrea G., and James Earl Davis. 1992. An exploration of Afro-American men’s conceptualization of manhood. Gender and Society 6(3): 464–479 (Sage Publications Inc.).
Hylton, Kevin. 2009. ‘Race’ and sport: Critical race theory. New York: Routledge.
Kimmel, Michael S., Amy Aronson, and David Alan Sapp. 2003. Men & masculinities: A social, cultural, and historical encyclopedia. Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio Press.
Lapchick, Richard et al. 2014. The 2012 racial and gender report card: National Football League. UCF Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport, 09 Oct 2014. http://nebula.wsimg.com/1e912077d1fd5c5c7ee7c4633806cfb5?AccessKeyId=DAC3A56D8FB782449D2A&disposition=0&alloworigin=1.
Lewis, Thabiti. 2010. Ballers of the new school. Chicago: Third World Press.
Madhubuti, Haki. 1991. Black men: Obsolete, single, dangerous? The Afrikan American family in transition, vol 4. Chicago: Third World Press.
Majors, Richard. 1998. Cool pose: Black masculinity and sports. In African Americans in sports, ed. Gary A. Sailes, 15–22. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers.
Majors, Richard, and Janet Mancini Billson. 1992. Cool pose. New York: Lexington Books.
Messner, Michael A. 1990. Masculinity and athletic careers: Bonding and status differences. In Sport, men, and the gender order: Critical feminist perspectives, ed. Michael A. Messner, and Donald F. Sabo, 97–108. Champaign: Human Kinetics Publishers.
Messner, Michael A., Michele Dunbar, and Darnell Hunt. 2000. The televised sports manhood formula. Journal of Sport and Social (Sage) 24: 380–394.
MJD. Gus Johnson sorry for ‘Getting-away-from-the-cops speed’ remark, 11 Apr 2009. http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Gus-Johnson-sorry-for-Getting-away-from-the-cop?urn=nfl,200191. Accessed 01 11, 2016.
NFLsalaries.org. 2011. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:nlZVEUED-MYJ:nflsalaries.org/+total+salaries+of+nfl&cd=6&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&source=www.google.com. Accessed 1 Mar 2011.
Norman, L. 2007. Masculinity. Encyclopedia of sex and gender.
Opportunity for Black Men and boys: Public opinion, media depictions, and media consumption. New York: The Opportunity Agenda. 2011. Retrieved from https://opportunityagenda.org/files/field_file/2011.11.30%20%7C%20Report%20%7C%20Opportunity%20for%20Black%20Men%20and%20Boys%20%7C%20FINAL.pdf
Pyne, Daniel, John Logan, and Oliver Stone. 1999. Any given Sunday. Directed by Oliver Stone. Performed by Al Pacino and Jamie Foxx.
Rhoden, William C. 2006. Forty million dollar slaves. New York: Three Rivers Press.
Spencer, William N. 2011. why can’t we all just get along: A study of interpersonal relationships in the American Workplace. Indiana, IN: Xlibris, Corp.
Staples, Robert. 1982. Black masculinity: The black male’s role in American society. San Francisco: The Black Scholar Press.
Third and long: African Americans in pro football 1946–1989. Produced by Theresa Moore. Performed by Walter III Beach. 2012.
TV Ratings. 2016. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/topic/tv-ratings. Accessed 01 05, 2016
Whiting, Gilman W., and Thabiti Lewis. 2008. On manliness: Black masculinity revisited. AmeriQuests 6(1).
Whitley, David. Colin Kaepernick Ushers in an Inked-up NFL Quarterbacking Era. 11 30, 2012. http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl-news/4351417-colin-kaepernick-tattoos-49ers-qb-start-alex-smith-stats-contract-draft. Accessed 01 11, 2016
Williams, Lance. 2010. Cultural interventions for reducing violence among young, African American males. In Social work with African American males: Health, mental health, and social policy, ed. Waldo E. Johnson, 265–292. New York: Oxford University Press.
Yancy, George. 2013. Walking while black in the white gaze. The New York Times.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2017 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Brown, D.D. (2017). The Portrayal of Black Masculinity in the NFL: Critical Race Theory and the Images of Black Males. In: Hawkins, B., Carter-Francique, A., Cooper, J. (eds) Critical Race Theory: Black Athletic Sporting Experiences in the United States. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-60038-7_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-60038-7_9
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-60037-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-60038-7
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)