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Section One: The Fundamentals
A) Keywords
Exercise 1:
Briefly (in 100 words or less) define one of the keywords in the padlet (including one that you. may have added yourself).
| Intersectionality is a concept of understanding the differences in a person’s identity such as race, gender, class, sexuality, disability, and many more, in which they overlap and interact with each other to shape their experiences of privilege and oppression. It was originally created by Kimberle Crenshaw in 1989 to describe how black women face unique forms of discrimination that are not just about race or gender but a mix of the two. |
B) Representing Race
Exercise 2: Notebook Prompt
In about 50-70 words, consider Joel Bervell’s question: why do we feel the need to extrapolate the athleticism of one Black athlete to all Black people when we do not do the same for white athletes?
Try to think of examples when this happens, making sure to reflect on your own positionality.
| The question posed by Joel Bervell is out of clear examples of racism and stereotyping of black athletes. This highlights the obsession that the media has on discrediting black athletes. We see athletes like Usain bolt who yes have an amazing build for the sport of sprinting, but that has nothing to do with his hard work, dedication, practice and sacrifice that goes into becoming the athlete that he did. I feel that there is a focus on the physicality of black athletes that is not the same when comparing or talking about white or another race of athletes.
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C) Gender, Race & Sport
Exercise 3: Notebook Prompt
What are some strategies for resistance that Rajack and Joseph identify in their article as a means of pushing back against and resisting misogynoir?
| Some strategies for resistance that Rajack and Joseph identify in their article as a means of pushing back against and resisting misogynoir were challenging stereotypes, promoting black women in media, and promoting media literacy. I feel the media highlights untrue narratives to exaggerate any little thing they can, so finding ways to combat this is important. Having more black women in media would help advocate for “realer” sports journalism, helping ensure more accurate and less stereotyped stories. This along with challenging these stereotypes, that could help confront the media and put an end to harmful biases. Having more narratives coming from diverse places would push for audiences to get their information and articles from different places, giving them broader perspectives.
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Section Two: Making Connections
A) Athlete Activism
Exercise 3: Padlet Prompt
Do athletes have a responsibility to use their platform for social change? Why or why not? Please remember to record your response in both the padlet below and in your Notebook.
No, I do not think that athletes have a responsibility to use their platform for social change. It is not their responsibility, whether they choose to do it or not is their choice but I feel although they have large platforms and large followings, it is still not their responsibility to use it for such things. If athletes feel they are in a position to make a change and help people, then they have the right to do so, and same goes for if they choose not to. I feel athletes have a ton of pressure already, they shouldn’t feel pressured to promote social change from everyone. It is the same for everyday regular people like us, we are all fully able of making contributions to support social change in our communities, whether it is helping out at a homeless shelter, or supporting a foodbank, but we all still have a choice, we are not burdened with a responsibility of doing it. Overall, do I think that athletes should use their position to promote the right things, yes; but do I believe that it is their responsibility, no.
B) Athlete Activism & Feminism
Exercise 4: Complete the activities
Exercise 5: Notebook Prompt
What do the authors of the article call for as a way of challenging how mainstream sports journalism privileges neoliberal feminist concerns? (100 words max.)
| This article calls for sports media personnel to “tell stories differently” by focusing the activism of women’s athletes (particularly women of colour) who’s contributions are often marginalized. The media frequently emphasizes individual success and personal empowerment over collective action and change in women’s sport, this is the main critique of the article. To change the way stories are told, there needs to be a focus on how athletes work together to fight against things like fairness, inclusion, and social change. |
C) Corporate social justice
Exercise 6: Padlet Poll
| I am not exactly sure if I am in favour or not. I believe that sports leagues should raise awareness of social justice movements and should be a part of the solution as they hold so much power in culture and influence, but I don’t feel they have a responsibility to do so if they feel it is not in the best interest of the league. To go along with that point, I also do not feel that any player should be silenced or not be allowed to express their own personal opinions on any social justice matter. The players have a large platform and following, and are their own entity, and should not be hushed or told to have their voice quieted. To go back to the point of the NFL not doing anything to support the movement on BLM in the way that the NBA did, I understand that it may not have been in the best interest of the league to do so as they may have felt their viewers or earnings may have decreased. I find this scenario to be very weird, as the article stated that 70% of the players are black athletes, and yet the league does nothing to support the hardships of this one majority section of their athletes. Although I stated that sports leagues should not have a responsibility to support social justice movements, in this case it is a very hard thing for a league like the NFL to refrain from any support when the NBA on the other hand handled the movement very well. I understand that both leagues are a business at the end of the day, and they operate to bring in the most money/ viewers, but I feel it is a disgrace the way that they have handled themselves with any sort of social justice or movement forward in the social growth of the world.
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Section Three: Taking a shot
Module Assignment (submit as part of notebook and separately through Blackboard mini assignment #1 portal)
Response to Mini Assignment
In the tv show “Colin in Black & White”, Colin Kaepernick highlights his journey as a young black athlete through a lens of racial awareness and activism. This show is something I had watched when it first came out on Netflix, and the production did a fantastic job at pointing out systemic racism that is found in sport. Throughout the episodes, Colin Kaepernick comes to understand himself as a racialized athlete, and the adversity and unjust acts he is put through. Colin Kaepernick’s later life activism, including kneeling during the national anthem in the NFL, aligns with Cheryl Cooky and Dunja Antunovic’s (2020) argument that athlete activism extends beyond individual empowerment to collective social change.
One strategy that Colin Kaepernick employs to speak out would be his large platform as a professional athlete. As an NFL player, there is a level of fame and following that is largely available to be used to promote activism and social change. Colin chose to use his to bring attention to police brutality and racial injustice. The show exemplifies how Colin’s personal experiences with racial profiling and microaggressions in his youth, guided his later activism. One example from the show highlighting this is when a young Colin Kaepernick is trying out for a team and is constantly overlooked by coaches and recruiters who favoured white quarterbacks. Colin’s situation relates to Cooky and Antunovic’s argument of neoliberal feminism in sports media. This relation shows how structural racism in sport affects talent recognition, similar to how neoliberal feminism fails to challenge deeper systemic inequalities.
The commentary in “Colin in Black & White” on athletes using their voices is very complex. The show portrays backlash faced by Colin, demonstrating how the sports world often discourages black athletes from activism. Again, this aligns with Cooky and Antunovic’s (2020) call for media narratives to look beyond celebrating individual success, but instead highlight structural inequalities that could promote social change. “Colin in Black & White” really challenges its viewers to ask why racialized athletes are expected to remain silent about many social issues. Within the show, Colin is continuously racialized and discriminated in many ways, leading to outbursts and expression to his parents (both white) who belittle his thoughts and ignore the issues he faces.
Lastly, race plays a very large role in shaping how Colin Kaepernick is represented. Colin being a biracial male adds a whole new form of intersectionality to his experiences. Gender also has a role to play as Colin being a male black athlete, there are many stereotypes that are often framed on him. One example being the stereotype of black male athletes being framed as threats or aggressive when they may challenge authority. These sorts of representations shape our understanding of sports by exposing how deeply rooted racial biases are in athletics and media, overall reminding us of the need for continuous activism with sports culture.
References
Cheryl Cooky and Dunja Antunovic, “‘This Isn’t Just About Us’: Articulations of Feminism in Media Narratives of Athlete Activism.” Communication and Sport 8, no. 4–5 (2020): 692–711. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167479519896360.
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