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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 that examines how various social identities (such as race, gender, class, sexuality, etc.) intersect and overlap, creating unique experiences of privilege or oppression. This framework, introduced by Kimberlé Crenshaw, helps to understand how different forms of inequality cannot be separated but must be studied in relation to each other to fully grasp the complexities of social issues. It emphasizes that people may face multiple, layered sources of discrimination or advantage simultaneously.
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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.
| Bervell’s question addresses how black athletes are often seen as representatives of their race, especially in terms of physicality, while white athletes are mostly seen as individuals. This racial stereotyping affects how individuals perceive Black bodies in sports, for example, when athletes like Michael Jordan or Simone Biles are expected to embody all of Black athleticism. This contrasts with how white athletes, like Tom Brady or Lindsey Vonn, are considered as individuals without the same racial assumptions.
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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?
| Rajack and Joseph’s article identifies a few means of pushing back and resisting misogynoir. This includes amplifying the voices of black women and speaking on experiences, creating a better community, and emphasizing supporting, creating support for others and fighting against harmful stereotypes.
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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.
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.)
| The authors seek an intersectional approach; this considers race, gender, class, and other factors as well. They argue for a more inclusive approach that does not overemphasize the individual and rather seeks a more collective approach. Listening to more perspectives and experiences from many different backgrounds will allow this change to be made and will provide a better outcome for all.
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C) Corporate social justice
Exercise 6: Padlet Poll
| I believe that major sports leagues hold a good amount of responsibility in supporting social justice movements such as BLM. Sports have such a significant platform that it is important that the league itself speaks out against issues, as well as teams and perhaps certain athletes that are willing to use their platform as well. Especially depending on the social justice movements, because in certain cases, such as BLM, it affected many players within the sport across many different leagues.
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Section Three: Taking a shot
Module Assignment (submit as part of notebook and separately through Blackboard mini assignment #1 portal)
In the 2020 Netflix movie The Trial of the Chicago 7, sports activist Tom Hayden (played by Eddie Redmayne) exemplifies the crossing of sports, activism, and race. As Hayden is no professional athlete himself, the film applies him as a vehicle for remarks on bigger problems that were common to oppressed athletes, particularly Black athletes, during the backdrop of the civil rights struggle. The characters in The Trial of the Chicago 7—especially those protesting against the Vietnam War—strategically use public spaces, like protests and media, to express their dissent. This is a reflection of the tactics used by actual athlete activists like Colin Kaepernick, who utilized his position as a professional athlete to protest racial injustice by kneeling during the national anthem. In the case of Kaepernick and Hayden, acts of protest publicly are meant to raise awareness of injustice but face intense resistance. This indicates the struggle and risk racialized athletes face when speaking out, often having to struggle not just with dominant norms but with institutions that would like to silence them. The program frames Hayden’s activism as central to social change, implying that athletes (and activists as a whole) have a responsibility to speak out against systemic injustices from their platforms. Yet the movie also critiques the tendency of these actions to be undermined by mainstream politics and media, which would debase the importance of these protests. The portrayal of Hayden—especially his efforts to be heard speaks to the same kinds of challenges that racialized athletes encounter, like being silenced or excluded by the same institutions that depend on their work. Applying knowledge from this week’s readings, like the article by Rajack and Joseph, which analyzes the resistance to misogynoir and institutional obstacles, we can observe how race and gender shape activist tactics. These activists are not just pushing against political systems but also upending the gendered and racialized orders of sports, which tend to see athletes of color as objects and not people with voices. These representations influence our conception of sports as spaces that reflect and reproduce societal injustices, where athletes’ activism can challenge and redefine the broader sports culture.
