Colorblindness:

Defined as the idea that ignoring racial differences will create equality. People who support this view might say things like “I don’t see color” or “Race doesn’t matter.” While this may seem fair, it actually ignores the real inequalities that exist in areas like education, jobs, and policing. By pretending race doesn’t matter, colorblindness overlooks the ways racism still affects people’s lives. Instead of helping, it can make it harder to talk about and fix racial injustice.

An example can be seen in college admissions policies that claim to consider only academic performance and extracurricular activities without acknowledging the racial and socioeconomic factors that influence these areas. While the intention may be to create a fair system, this approach ignores the fact that students of color may face systemic barriers that affect their opportunities and achievements. By not considering race in admissions, colorblind policies fail to address these disparities and can perpetuate existing inequalities in higher education.

Joel Bervell’s question highlights how society generalizes the athleticism of Black athletes while not applying the same assumptions to white athletes. Other examples include, when Serena Williams dominates tennis, her athleticism is often attributed to her “raw power” or her physicality, rather than the years of training and dedication. In contrast, white athletes like Roger Federer are typically praised for their skill and technique without racial implications. As a white woman, I recognize how these stereotypes diminish the accomplishments of Black athletes by attributing their success to race-based assumptions, while white athletes are seen as the result of individual effort and talent.

Rajack and Joseph highlight several ways to push back against the racism and sexism that Black women athletes face in sports media. One big strategy is letting Black women tell their own stories instead of letting the media control the narrative. Too often, their voices are ignored or distorted, so making space for them to define their own identities and experiences is key. They also talk about the need to call out biased media coverage, like when Serena Williams is painted as “angry” while white athletes showing the same emotion are seen as passionate, or when Naomi Osaka’s Haitian heritage is downplayed to fit a more acceptable image. Holding the media accountable for these double standards is an important step toward change. Another powerful tool is creating alternative spaces for representation, things like independent journalism, social media activism, and campaigns that show the full picture of Black women in sports, rather than reducing them to stereotypes. This helps shift the conversation and challenge the mainstream media’s usual framing. Finally, they emphasize the importance of community and allyship. Whether it’s other athletes speaking up, fans pushing back against unfair treatment, or journalists making an effort to report stories more fairly, change happens when people come together to demand better representation and respect for Black women in sports.

The authors argue that mainstream sports journalism needs to move beyond neoliberal feminist concerns, like pay equity, and focus more on intersectional activism led by diverse women athletes. While equal pay activism is widely accepted because it works within existing systems, movements like the WNBA’s fight against systemic racism are often ignored because they challenge deeper structural inequalities. They call for more visibility and media attention on activism that doesn’t just seek inclusion in current systems but actively pushes for systemic change, particularly in areas like racial justice, criminal justice reform, and economic inequality within women’s sports.