“I Don’t Know How You Get Past That”: Racism and Stereotyping in College Football Recruiting Media

in Sociology of Sport Journal

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Adam Love The University of Tennessee

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Sam Winemiller The University of Tennessee

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Guy Harrison The University of Tennessee

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Jason Stamm The University of Tennessee

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DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.2020-0189
First Published Online:
20 Sep 2021
In Print:
Volume 39: Issue 2
Page Range:
141–149
Restricted access

College football programs invest millions of dollars into recruiting top high school prospects. This recruiting process is covered extensively by reporters from sports media outlets. While the players being recruited are predominately Black, the sports media is disproportionately dominated by White men. In this context, the current study reports on data from interviews with 15 participants who work in the college football recruiting media industry. While some participants adopted a color-blind perspective dominated by a belief that racism no longer exists, most reporters expressed an awareness of racial stereotypes in the sports media and felt a need to address racial inequity. Such awareness presents an opportunity for anti-racist training that may help media members avoid racial stereotyping and address racism in the field.

The authors are with The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA.

Love (adamlove@utk.edu) is corresponding author.
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