Abstracts
Abstract
This article examines how stereotypes operate in the social construction of Black Canadian male student-athletes and how those stereotypes frame these students’ lived experiences in relation to race, athletic ability, and academic performance. From qualitative interviews with twenty current and former Black Canadian student-athletes, we found that they largely resisted and challenged the stereotypes of being primarily athletes and less students. In various ways, they sought to demonstrate that they possessed the skills needed to be academically successful students with the ability to balance their athletic and academic responsibilities and commitments. This was evident in their having obtained the required grades to enter university, receiving athletic scholarships, maintaining playing eligibility, graduating from university, and going on to pursue graduate studies.
Keywords:
- student-athlete,
- stereotypes,
- male,
- race,
- education,
- athletics,
- black
Résumé
Cet article examine comment les stéréotypes opèrent dans la construction sociale des étudiants-athlètes masculins noirs canadiens et comment ces stéréotypes encadrent les expériences vécues de ces étudiants en relation de leur race, leur athlétisme et leur performance scolaire. À partir d’entrevues avec vingt étudiants-athlètes noirs canadiens actuels et anciens, nous avons constaté qu’ils défiaient les stéréotypes d’être plus athlètes qu’étudiants. De diverses manières, ils ont cherché à démontrer qu’ils possédaient les compétences nécessaires pour réussir sur le plan scolaire avec la capacité d’équilibrer leurs engagements sportifs et académiques. Cela était évident vu qu’ils avaient obtenu les notes requises par les universités, reçu des bourses d’études, maintenu leurs admissibilités au sport, obtenu leurs diplômes universitaires et ont pu poursuivre leurs études.
Mots-clés :
- étudiant-athlète,
- stéréotypes sexistes,
- race,
- athlétisme,
- éducation,
- noir
Download the article in PDF to read it.
Download
Appendices
Bibliography
- Carrington, B. (1998). Sport, masculinity, and Black cultural resistance. Journal of Sport & Social Issues, 22(3), 275–298. https://doi.org/10.1177/01937239802200300
- Coakley, J. (2006). Sports in society: Issues and controversies. McGraw-Hill.
- Codjoe, H. (2006). The role of an affirmed Black cultural identity and heritage in the academic achievement of African-Canadian students. Intercultural Education, 17(1), 33–54. https://doi.org/10.1080/14675980500502271
- Conyers, J. L., Jr. (2014). Sacrifice, modality, inspiration and triumph: An Afrocentric analysis of race and sport in America. In J. L. Conyers Jr. (Ed.), Race in American sports: Essays (p. 245 - 253). McFarland.
- Crenshaw, K. (2002). The first decade: Critical reflections, or “a foot in the closing door.” UCLA Law Review, 49(5), 1343–1372.
- Delgado, R. (1989). Storytelling for oppositionists and others: A plea for narrative. Michigan Law Review, 87(8), 2411–2441. https://doi.org/10.2307/1289308
- Dumas, M. J. (2016). Against the dark: Antiblackness in education policy and discourse. Theory Into Practice, 55, 11–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405841.2016.1116852
- Durkee, M. I., Gazley, E. R., Hope, E. C., & Keels, M. (2019). Cultural invalidations: Deconstructing the “acting white” phenomenon among Black and Latinx college students. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 25(4), 451–460. https://doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000288
- Dyck, N. (2006). Athletic scholarships and the politics of child rearing in Canada. Anthropological Notebooks, 12(2), 65–78.
- Edwards, H. (2000). Crisis of Black athletes on the eve of the 21st century. Society, 37(3), 9–13. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02686167
- Friesen, J. (2018, April 25). Canada's toughest neighbourhood. The Globe and Mail. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/canadas-toughest-neighbourhood/article1086849/
- Geiger, N. M. (2013). Intercollegiate athletics in Canada and the United States: Differences in access, quality, and funding. College Quarterly, 16(3).
- Gillborn, D. (2015). Intersectionality, critical race theory, and the primacy of racism: Race, class, gender, and disability in education. Qualitative Inquiry, 21(3), 277–287. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800414557827
- Graves, J. L. (2004). The race myth: Why we pretend race exists in America. Dutton.
- Harris, C. I. (1993). Whiteness as property. Harvard Law Review, 106(8), 1707–1791. https://doi.org/10.2307/1341787
- Harrison, L., Jr., Azzarito, L., & Burden, J., Jr. (2004). Perceptions of athletic superiority: A view from the other side. Race Ethnicity and Education, 7(2), 149–166. https://doi.org/10.1080/1361332042000234277
- Harrison, L., Jr., Sailes, G., Rotich, W. K., & Bimper, A. Y., Jr. (2011). Living the dream or awakening from the nightmare: Race and athletic identity. Race Ethnicity and Education, 14(1), 91–103. https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2011.531982
- Hinton, P. R. (2019). Stereotypes and the construction of the social world. Routledge.
- Hodge, S. R., Burden, J. W., Jr., Robinson, L. E., & Bennett, R. A., III. (2008). Theorizing on the stereotyping of Black male student-athletes: Issues and implications. Journal for the Study of Sports and Athletes in Education, 2(2), 203–226. https://doi.org/10.1179/ssa.2008.2.2.203
- Huber, L. P. (2008). Building critical race methodologies in educational research: A research note on critical race testimonio. FIU Law Review, 4(1), 159–173. https://doi.org/10.25148/lawrev.4.1.15
- Hylton, K. (2005). ‘Race’, sport and leisure: Lessons from critical race theory. Leisure Studies, 24(1), 81–98. https://doi.org/10.1080/02614360412331313494
- Ibrahim, A. (2004). One is not born Black: Becoming and the phenomenon(ology) of race. Philosophy of Education Society, 35, 77–87.
- James, C. E. (2010). Schooling and the university plans of immigrant Black students from an urban neighbourhood. In R. Milner IV (Ed.), Culture, curriculum, and identity in education (pp. 117–139). Palgrave MacMillan.
- James, C. E. (2012). Students “at risk”: Stereotypes and the schooling of Black boys. Urban Education, 47(2), 464–494. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085911429084
- James, C. E. (2021). Colour matters: Essays on the experiences, education, and pursuits of Black youth. University of Toronto Press.
- Jameson, M., Diehl, R., & Danso, H. (2007). Stereotype threat impacts college athletes’ academic performance. Current Research in Social Psychology, 12(5), 68–79.
- Joseph, J., & Kuo, B. C. H. (2009). Black Canadians' coping responses to racial discrimination. Journal of Black Psychology, 35(1), 78–101. https://doi.org/10.1177/009579840832338
- Kelly, P. (2000). The dangerousness of youth-at-risk: The possibilities of surveillance and intervention in uncertain times. Journal of Adolescence, 23(4), 463–476. https://doi.org/10.1006/jado.2000.0331
- Ladson-Billings, G. (1998). Just what is critical race theory and what's it doing in a nice field like education? International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 11(1), 7–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/095183998236863
- Ladson-Billings, G. (2011). Boyz to men? Teaching to restore Black boys’ childhood. Race Ethnicity and Education, 14(1), 7–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2011.531977
- Ladson-Billings, G., & Tate, W. F., IV. (1995). Toward a critical race theory of education. In A. D. Dixon & C. K. Rousseau (Eds.), Critical race theory in education: All God’s children got a song (pp. 11–30). Routledge.
- Laws, M. (2020, June 16). Why we capitalize ‘Black’ (and not ‘white’). Columbia Journalism Review. https://www.cjr.org/analysis/capital-b-black-styleguide.php
- Lewis, N. A., Jr., & Sekaquaptewa, D. (2016). Beyond test performance: A broader view of stereotype threat. Current Opinion in Psychology, 11, 40–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2016.05.002
- Martis, E. (2020). They said this would be fun: Race, campus life, and growing up. McClelland & Stewart.
- May, R. A. B. (2009). The good and bad of it all: Professional Black male basketball players as role models for young Black male basketball players. Sociology of Sport Journal, 26(3), 443–461. https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.26.3.443
- Miller, P. S., & Kerr, G. (2002). The athletic, academic and social experiences of intercollegiate student-athletes. Journal of Sport Behavior, 25(4), 346–367.
- Nartey, H. (2019). Experiences of Black Canadian male student-athletes [Doctoral dissertation, University of Ottawa]. UO Research. https://ruor.uottawa.ca/handle/10393/39089
- Nebeker, K. C. (1998). Critical race theory: A white graduate student’s struggle with this growing area of scholarship. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 11(1), 25–41. https://doi.org/10.1080/095183998236872
- Ogbu, J. U. (2004). Collective identity and the burden of “acting white” in Black history, community, and education. The Urban Review, 36(1), 1–35. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:URRE.0000042734.83194.f6
- Parsons, J. (2013). Student athlete perceptions of academic success and athlete stereotypes on campus. Journal of Sport Behavior, 36(4), 400–416.
- Saul, R., & James, C. E. (2006). Framing possibilities: Representations of Black student athletes in Toronto media. Comparative and International Education, 35(1), 63–80. https://doi.org/10.5206/cie-eci.v35i1.9072
- Sefa Dei, G. J. (2018). “Black like me”: Reframing Blackness for decolonial politics. Educational Studies, 54(2), 117–142. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131946.2018.1427586
- Sefa Dei, G. J., & James, I. M. (1998). ‘Becoming Black’: African‐Canadian youth and the politics of negotiating racial and racialised identities. Race Ethnicity and Education, 1(1), 91–108. https://doi.org/10.1080/1361332980010107
- Sheldon, J. P., Jayaratne, T. E., & Petty, E. M. (2007). White Americans’ genetic explanations for a perceived race difference in athleticism: The relation to prejudice toward and stereotyping of Blacks. Athletic Insight: The Online Journal of Sport Psychology, 9(3), 31–56.
- Shizha, E. (2016). Marginalization of African Canadian students in mainstream schools: Are Afrocentric schools the answer? In A. Ibrahim & A. A. Abdi (Eds.), The education of African Canadian children: Critical perspectives (pp. 187–206). McGill-Queen’s University Press.
- Solorzano, D. G., & Yosso, T. J. (2001). Critical race and LatCrit theory and method: Counter-storytelling. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 14(4), 471–495. https://doi.org/10.1080/09518390110063365
- Spaaij, R., Farquharson, K., & Marjoribanks, T. (2015). Sport and social inequalities. Sociology Compass, 9(5), 400–411. https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.12254
- Steele, C. M., & Aronson, J. (1995). Stereotype threat and the intellectual test performance of African Americans. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(5), 797–811. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.69.5.797
- Thiessen, V. (2009). The pursuit of postsecondary education: A comparison of First Nations, African, Asian, and European Canadian youth. Canadian Review of Sociology/Revue canadienne de sociologie, 46(1), 5–37. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1755-618X.2009.01201.x
- U SPORTS. (2018, September 21). Student-athlete info. https://usports.ca/en/about/student-athlete-info
- Walcott, R. (2001). Caribbean pop culture in Canada; Or, the impossibility of belonging to the nation. Small Axe, 5(1), 123–139. https://doi.org/10.1353/smx.2001.0011
- Wilson, B., & Sparks, R. (1999). Impacts of Black athlete media portrayals on Canadian youth. Canadian Journal of Communication, 24(4), 1–36. https://doi.org/10.22230/cjc.1999v24n4a1127
- Winant, H. (2000). Race and race theory. Annual Review of Sociology, 26, 169–185. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.26.1.169
- Wininger, S. R., & White, T. A. (2015). An examination of the dumb jock stereotype in collegiate student-athletes: A comparison of student versus student-athlete perceptions. Journal for the Study of Sports and Athletes in Education, 9(2), 75–85. https://doi.org/10.1179/1935739715Z.00000000036
- Zamudio, M., Russell, C., Rios, F., & Bridgeman, J. L. (2011). Critical race theory matters: Education and ideology. Routledge.