![[PDF]](/pb-assets/Icons/adobe-pdf-icon-1498649896243.png){kind=icon}
Abstract
Despite widespread perceptions of elite US sport as meritocratic, there is little empirical research on the social origins of those who play college and professional sports in the US or how these vary by race. We use the case of American football, linking Entertainment and Sports Programming Network’s national recruit rankings data on incoming college football players from 2007–2016 (N=929) with 2000 US Census data. Our study compares hometown socioeconomic and demographic indicators for black and white college athletes and then for those drafted into the National Football League. Findings show that the socioeconomic and demographic profiles of the hometowns producing elite football athletes vary by both athlete race and draft status. Black draftees come from denser, more socioeconomically disadvantaged and blacker hometowns than black non-drafted athletes, while white draftees come from less socioeconomically disadvantaged hometowns than white non-drafted athletes.
References
|
Beamon, KK (2010) Are sports overemphasized in the socialization process of African American males? A qualitative analysis of former collegiate athletes’ perception of sport socialization. Journal of Black Studies 41(2): 281–300. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Beamon, KK, Bell, PA (2002) “Going pro”: The deferential effects of high aspirations for a professional sports career on African-American student athletes and white student athletes. Race & Society 5(2): 179–191. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Beamon, KK, Messer, CM (2014a) Professional sports experiences as contested racial terrain. Journal of African American Studies 18(2): 181–191. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Beamon, KK, Messer, CM (2014b) The Enduring Color Line in U.S. Athletics. New York: Routledge. Google Scholar | |
|
Bierman, JA (1990) The effect of television sports media on black male youth. Sociological Inquiry 60(4): 413–427. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Bimper, AY (2014) Game changers: The role athletic identity and racial identity play on academic performance. Journal of College Student Development 55(8): 795–807. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Boone-Heinonen, J, Diez Roux, AV, Kiefe, CI. (2011) Neighborhood socioeconomic status predictors of physical activity through young to middle adulthood: The CARDIA study. Social Science and Medicine 72(5): 641–649. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Buford May, RA (2008) Living through the Hoop: High School Basketball, Race, and the American Dream. New York: New York University Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Carrington, B (2013) The critical sociology of race and sport: The first fifty years. Annual Review of Sociology 39: 379–398. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Coakley, J (2009) Sports in Society: Issues and Controversies. 10th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill. Google Scholar | |
|
Conchas, GQ, Lin, AR, Oseguera, L. (2014) Superstar or scholar? African American male youths’ perceptions of opportunity in a time of change. Urban Education 50(6): 660–688. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
Dubrow, JK, Adams, J (2012) Hoop inequalities: Race, class and family structure background on the odds of playing in the national basketball association. International Review for the Sociology of Sport 47(1): 43–59. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Dufur, MJ, Feinberg, SL (2009) Race and the NFL draft: Views from the auction block. Qualitative Sociology 32(1): 53–73. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Eitle, TM (2005) Do gender and race matter? Explaining the relationship between sports participation and achievement. Sociological Spectrum 25(2): 177–195. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Eitle, TM, Eitle, DJ (2002) Race, cultural capital, and the educational effects of participation in sports. Sociology of Education 75(2): 123–146. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Estabrooks, PA, Lee, RE, Gyurcsik, NC (2003) Resources for physical activity participation: Does availability and accessibility differ by neighborhood socioeconomic status? Annals of Behavioral Medicine 25(2): 100–104. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Florida, R (2012) Which parts of the country produce the most NFL players? The Atlantic City Lab. Available at: http://www.citylab.com/design/2012/04/which-parts-country-produce-most-nfl-players/1840/ (accessed 10 May 2016). Google Scholar | |
|
Goldsmith, PA (2003) Race relations and racial patterns in school sports participation. Sociology of Sport Journal 20(2): 147–171. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Harper, SR, Williams, CD, Blackman, HW (2013) Black Male Student Athletes and Racial Inequities in NCAA Division I College Sports. Philadelphia, PA: Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education, University of Pennsylvania. Google Scholar | |
|
Harris, O (1994) Race, sport, and social support. Sociology of Sport Journal 11(1): 40–50. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Harrison, L, Sailes, G, Rotich, WK. (2011) Living the dream or awakening from the nightmare: Race and athletic identity. Race, Ethnicity, and Education 14(1): 91–103. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Hartmann, D (2000) Rethinking the relationships between sport and race in American culture: Golden ghettos and contested terrain. Sociology of Sport Journal 17(3): 229–253. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Hodge, SR, Burden, JW Jr, Robinson, LE. (2008) Theorizing on the stereotyping of black male student-athletes. Journal for the Study of Sports and Athletes in Education 2(2): 203–226. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Hylton, K (2010) How a turn to critical race theory can contribute to our understanding of ‘race,’ racism, and anti-racism in sport. International Review for the Sociology of Sport 45: 335–354. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Lapchick, R, Robinson, L (2015) The 2015 Racial and Gender Report Card: National Football League Report. Orlando, FL: The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport, University of Central Florida. Google Scholar | |
|
Leonard, WM (1996) The odds of transitioning from one level of sports participation to another. Sociology of Sport Journal 13(3): 288–299. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
MacDonald, DJ, Cheung, M, Côté, J. (2009) Place but not date of birth influences the development and emergence of athletic talent in American football. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology 21(1): 80–90. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Mirabile, MP, Witte, MD (2013) Collegiate and professional careers of high school athletes. Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics 6: 41–56. Google Scholar | |
|
Murty, KS, Roebuck, JB, McCamey, JD (2014) Race and class exploitation: A study of black male student athletes (bsas) on white campuses. Race, Gender & Class 21(3/4): 156–173. Google Scholar | |
|
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) (
2015) Estimated probability of competing in professional athletics. Available at: http://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/2015%20Probability%20Chart%20Web%20PDF_draft5.pdf (accessed 10 May 2016). Google Scholar | |
|
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) (
2016) NCAA demographic database. Available at: http://web1.ncaa.org/rgdSearch/exec/main (accessed 10 May 2016). Google Scholar | |
|
Powell, LM, Slater, S, Chaloupka, FJ. (2006) Availability of physical-activity related facilities and neighborhood demographic and socioeconomic characteristics: A national study. American Journal of Public Health 96(9): 1676–1680. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Rudman, WJ (1986) The sport mystique in black culture. Sociology of Sport Journal 3(4): 305–319. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Schroffel, JL, Magee, CSP (2012) Own-race bias among NBA coaches. Journal of Sport Economics 13(2): 130–151. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Shakib, S, Veliz, P (2013) Race, sport, and social support: A comparison between African American and white youths’ perceptions of social support for sport participation. International Review for the Sociology of Sport 48(3): 295–317. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Singer, JN, Buford May, RA (2010) The career trajectory of a black male high school basketball player: A social reproduction perspective. International Review for the Sociology of Sport 46(3): 299–314. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Spreitzer, E, Snyder, EE (1990) Sports within the black subculture: A matter of social class or a distinctive subculture? Journal of Sport & Social Issues 14(1): 48–58. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
Stephens-Davidowitz, S (2013) In the NBA zip code matters. The New York Times, 2 November. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/03/opinion/sunday/in-the-nba-zip-code-matters.html?_r=0 (accessed 10 May 2016). Google Scholar | |
|
Tainsky, S, Mills, B, Winfree, JA (2015) Further examination of potential discrimination among MLB umpires. Journal of Sport Economics 16(4): 353–374. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
United States Census Bureau (2014) Quick facts 2014. Available at: http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/00#headnote-js-a (accessed 10 May 2016). Google Scholar |
