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Skill in Black and White

Negotiating Media Images of Race in a Sporting Context

University of Georgia

Todd Fraley

East Carolina University, fraleyt{at}ecu.edu

This article discusses the results of a unique research design that collected data regarding college students' perceptions of race in a sporting context. We address a gap in the literature that exists between the well-documented patterns through which sports announcers construct race while commentating during games and the lack of studies assessing the impact of this commentary on audience members. Our findings indicate that members of this sample often expressed the idea that Blacks and Whites possessed different physical and mental skills related to sport, including some who felt these differences were directly attributable to race. Analysis points to the influence of both exposure to television and personal experiences in the formation of these responses, indicating a process of audience—content negotiation.

Key Words: reception studies • sport stereotypes • brain vs. brawn • new racism • interpretive communities

This version was published on July 1, 2008

Journal of Communication Inquiry, Vol. 32, No. 3, 292-310 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0196859908316330


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