Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rcrh6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T06:13:58.013Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

PUBLIC OPINIONS ABOUT PAYING COLLEGE ATHLETES AND ATHLETES PROTESTING DURING THE NATIONAL ANTHEM

A Focus on Race/Ethnicity and Political Identities

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 June 2021

Rachel Allison ,
Chris Knoester  and
B. David Ridpath
Rachel Allison*
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, Mississippi State University
Chris Knoester
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, The Ohio State University
B. David Ridpath
Affiliation:
Department of Sports Administration, Ohio University
*
Corresponding author: Professor Rachel Allison, Department of Sociology, Mississippi State University, 207 Bowen Hall, 456 Hardy Rd., Mississippi State, MS39762. E-mail: rallison@soc.msstate.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Drawing on insights from Critical Race Theory and framing theory, as well as previous research, this study ties together and analyzes public opinions about two racialized and politicized sports-related issues: (1) the financial compensation of college athletes, and (2) athlete protests during the national anthem. Consequently, we highlight racial/ethnic identities, racial attitudes, and political identities as predictors of these public opinions. Data for our analyses come from a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults who were surveyed just prior to the 2016 presidential election. Descriptive results suggest that well over half of U.S. adults opposed having the NCAA pay college athletes; also, about two-thirds of adults viewed athlete protests during the national anthem as unacceptable. Regression results reveal that Black and Latinx adults were more supportive of paying college athletes and athlete protests during the national anthem than White adults. Other people of color were also more likely than White adults to support paying college athletes. Racial attitudes such as a lack of recognition of racial/ethnic inequalities in education and support for Black Lives Matter also shaped public opinions about these issues in expected ways. Finally, we find that political identities were linked to public opinions about these issues even after accounting for racial/ethnic identities and racial attitudes. Overall, this study documents public opinions about these prominent sports-related issues just prior to the 2016 election of a President who particularly racialized and politicized sports issues. Even then, these sports-related issues had been similarly filtered through both a White racial frame that encourages colorblind racism and a counter frame that promotes antiracist activism. Altogether, the present study offers further evidence of how sports provide cultural terrain for individuals to enact and negotiate racialized and politicized views of sports and society and illustrates how these processes were reflected in public opinions in 2016.

Keywords

Race/ethnicityPublic OpinionCollege SportProfessional SportProtest
Type
State of the Art
Information
Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race , Volume 19 , Issue 1 , Spring 2022 , pp. 61 - 83
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Hutchins Center for African and African American Research

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Agiesta, Jennifer (2017). CNN Poll: Americans Split on Anthem Protests. CNN, September 30. https://www.cnn.com/2017/09/29/politics/national-anthem-nfl-cnn-poll/index.html (accessed March 5, 2020).Google Scholar
Allison, Rachel, and Knoester, Chris (2021). Gender, Sexual, and Sports Fan Identities. Sociology of Sport Journal. https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.2020-0036.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benson, Peter (2017). Big Football: Corporate Social Responsibility and the Culture and Color of Injury in America’s Most Popular Sport. Journal of Sport & Social Issues, 41(4): 307–334.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bivens, George J. (2017). NCAA Student Athlete Unionization: NLRB Punts on Northwestern University Football Team. Penn State Law Review, 121(3): 949–978.Google Scholar
Bobo, Lawrence D., and Johnson, Devon (2004). A Taste for Punishment: Black and White Americans’ Views on the Death Penalty and the War on Drugs. Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race, 1(1): 151–180.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bonilla-Silva, Eduardo (2006). Racism Without Racists: Color-blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in the United States. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.Google Scholar
Carrington, Ben (2013). The Critical Sociology of Race and Sport: The First Fifty Years. Annual Review of Sociology, 39(1): 379–398.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chaplin, Kenneth Sean, and de Oca, Jeffrey Montez (2019). Avoiding the Issue: University Students’ Reponses to NFL Players’ National Anthem Protests. Sociology of Sport Journal, 36(1): 12–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chong, Dennis, and Druckman, James N. (2007). Framing Theory. Annual Review of Political Science, 10(1): 103–126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cooper, Joseph N. (2019). From Exploitation Back to Empowerment: Black Male Holistic (Under)development Through Sport and (Mis)education. New York: Peter Lang.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cramer, Katherine (2020). Understanding the Role of Racism in Contemporary U.S. Public Opinion. Annual Review of Political Science, 23(1): 9.1–9.17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dawson, Michael (1994). Behind the Mule: Race and Class in African American Politics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Delgado Bernal, Dolores (2002). Critical Race Theory, Latino Critical Theory, and Critical Raced-Gendered Epistemologies: Recognizing Students of Color as Holders and Creators of Knowledge. Qualitative Inquiry, 8(1): 105–126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Druckman, James N., Howat, Adam J., and Rodheim, Andrew (2016). The Influence of Race on Attitudes about College Athletics. Sport in Society: Cultures, Commerce, Media, Politics, 19(7): 1020–1039.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Druckman, James N., Gilli, Mauro, Klar, Samara, and Robison, Joshua (2014). The Role of Social Context in Shaping Student-Athlete Opinions. PLoS ONE, 9(12): e115159.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dyck, Joshua J., Cluverius, John, and Gerson, Jeffrey N. (2019). Sports, Science, and Partisanship in the United States: Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy and the Polarisation of an Apolitical Issue. International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, 11(1): 133–152.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Edwards, Harry (2017). The Revolt of the Black Athlete: 50 th Anniversary Edition . Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Enders, Adam M., and Scott, Jamil S. (2019). The Increasing Racialization of American Electoral Politics, 1988–2016. American Politics Research, 47(2): 275–303.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Enns, Peter K., and Schuldt, Jonathon P. (2016). Taking America’s Pulse 2016 Class Survey (Version 2) [Dataset]. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY: Roper Center for Public Opinion Research. https://doi.org/10.25940/ROPER-31115251.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feagin, Joe (2020) The White Racial Frame: Centuries of Framing and Counterframing, 3 rd edition. New York: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hartmann, Douglas (2000). Rethinking the Relationships between Sport and Race in American Culture: Golden Ghettos and Contested Terrain. Sociology of Sport Journal, 17(3): 229–253.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hartmann, Douglas (2016). Midnight Basketball: Race, Sports, and Neoliberal Social Policy. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hawkins, Billy (2013). The New Plantation: Black Athletes, College Sports, and Predominantly White NCAA Institutions. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hruby, Patrick (2016). Four Years a Student-Athlete: The Racial Injustice of Big-Time College Sports. Vice Sports, April 4. https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/ezexjp/four-years-a-student-athlete-the-racial-injustice-of-big-time-college-sports (accessed March 5, 2020).Google Scholar
Hylton, Kevin (2008). Race and Sport. New York: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Intravia, Johnathan, Piquero, Alex R., and Piquero, Nicole Leeper (2018). The Racial Divide Surrounding the United States of American National Anthem Protests in the National Football League. Deviant Behavior, 39(8): 1058–1068.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Intravia, Johnathan, Piquero, Alex R., Piquero, Nicole Leeper, and Byers, Bryan (2020). Just Do It?: An Examination of Race on Attitudes Associated with Nike’s Advertisement Featuring Colin Kaepernick. Deviant Behavior, 41(10): 1221–1231.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kam, Cindy D., and Burge, Camille D. (2019). Racial Resentment and Public Opinion Across the Racial Divide. Political Research Quarterly, 72(4): 767–784.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kendi, Ibram X. (2016). Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America. New York: Nation Books.Google Scholar
Kendi, Ibram X. (2019). How to be an Anti-Racist. New York: One World.Google Scholar
Kinder, Donald R., and Winter, Nicholas (2001). Exploring the Racial Divide: Blacks, Whites, and Opinion on National Policy. American Journal of Political Science, 45(2): 439–456.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knoester, Chris, Ridpath, B. David, and Allison, Rachel (2021). Should Athletes be Allowed to Protest During the National Anthem?: An Analysis of Public Opinions Among U.S. Adults. Sociology of Sport Journal. https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.2020-0153.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knoester, Chris, and Ridpath, B. David (2020). Should College Athletes be Allowed to be Paid?: A Public Opinion Analysis. Sociology of Sport Journal. https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.2020-0015.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kusz, Kyle (2007). Revolt of the White Athlete: Race, Media, and the Emergence of Extreme Athletes in America. New York: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
Marist Poll (2016). Protesting the National Anthem: Disrespectful or an Expression of Freedom? September 27. http://maristpoll.marist.edu/927-protesting-the-national-anthem-disrespectful-or-an-expression-of-freedom/#sthash.c9jKQUw4.dpbs (accessed March 5, 2020).Google Scholar
Marist Poll (2017). Growing Support for Anthem Protests. October 24. http://maristpoll.marist.edu/1024-growing-support-for-anthemprotests/#sthash.qRobBaFl.dpbs (accessed March 5, 2020).Google Scholar
Meyer, Jayma, and Zimbalist, Andrew (2020). A Win Win: College Athletes get Paid for their Names, Images, and Likenesses and Colleges Maintain the Primacy of Academics. Harvard Journal of Sports & Entertainment Law, 11(2): 247–304.Google Scholar
Mondello, Michael, Piquero, Alex R., Piquero, Nicole Leeper, Gertz, Marc, and Bratton, Jake (2013). Public Perceptions on Paying Student Athletes. Sport in Society: Cultures, Commerce, Media Politics, 16(1): 106–119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Montez de Oca, Jeffrey, and Suh, Stephen Cho (2020). Ethics of Patriotism: NFL Players’ Protests Against Police Violence. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 55(5): 563–587.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Park, Bumsoo, Park, Sanghyun, and Billings, Andrew C. (2020). Separating Perceptions of Kaepernick From Perceptions of His Protest: An Analysis of Athlete Activism, Endorsed Brand, and Media Effects. Communication & Sport, 8(4-5): 629–650.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Prewitt, Alex (2014). Large Majority Opposes Paying NCAA Athletes, Washington Post-ABC News Poll Finds. Washington Post, March 23. https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/large-majority-opposes-paying-ncaa-athletes-washington-post-abc-news-poll-finds/2014/03/22/c411a32e-b130-11e3-95e8-39bef8e9a48b_story.html (accessed March 5, 2020).Google Scholar
Quinnipiac University Poll (2016). Big Racial Gap as Americans Say No to Anthem Protests, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Blacks Disapprove of Cops, but Like Cops They Know. October 11. https://poll.qu.edu/national/release-detail?ReleaseID=2387 (accessed March 5, 2020).Google Scholar
Schneider, Raymond G. (2001). College Students’ Perceptions on the Payment of Intercollegiate Student-Athletes. College Student Journal, 35(2): 1–8.Google Scholar
Serazio, Michael, and Thorson, Emily (2019). Weaponized Patriotism and Racial Subtext in Kaepernick’s Aftermath: The Anti-politics of American Sports Fandom. Television & New Media, 21(2): 151–168.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seton Hall Sports Poll (2019). American Public Supports College Athletes Receiving Endorsement Money for ‘Image and Likeness,’ as Approved in California This Week. October 3. https://blogs.shu.edu/sportspoll/2019/10/03/american-public-supports-college-athletes-receiving-endorsement-money-for-image-and-likeness-as-approved-in-california-this-week/ (accessed March 5, 2020).Google Scholar
Sevi, Barış, Altman, Nathan, Ford, Cameron G., and Shook, Natalie J. (2019). To Kneel or Not to Kneel: Right-Wing Authoritarianism Predicts Attitudes Toward NFL Kneeling Protests. Current Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-019-00239-4.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Singer, John N. (2005). Addressing Epistemological Racism in Sport Management Research. Journal of Sport Management, 19(4): 464–479.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, Brent, and Tryce, Stephanie A. (2019). Understanding Emerging Adults’ National Attachments and their Reactions to Athlete Activism. Journal of Sport & Social Issues, 43(3): 167–194.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Solomon, Jon (2016). These Sports Figures Gave Money to 2016 Presidential Candidates. CBS Sports, March 11. https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/these-sports-figures-gave-money-to-2016-presidential-candidates/ (accessed March 5, 2020).Google Scholar
Thorson, Emily A., and Serazio, Michael (2018). Sports Fandom and Political Attitudes. Public Opinion Quarterly, 82(2): 391–403.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wallsten, Kevin, Nteta, Tatishe M., McCarthy, Lauren A., and Tarsi, Melinda R. (2017). Prejudice or Principled Conservatism?: Racial Resentment and White Opinion Toward Paying College Athletes. Political Research Quarterly, 70(1): 209–222.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weems Anthony, J., and Singer, John N. (2017). Racial Barriers in Eurocentric Sport(ing) Institutions Countering the White Racial Frame. In Thompson-Miller, Ruth and Ducey, Kimberly (Eds.), Systemic Racism, pp. 285–306. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
White, Ismail K. (2007). When Race Matters and When It Doesn’t: Racial Group Differences in Response to Racial Cues. The American Political Science Review, 101(2): 339–354.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, David C., Owens, Michael Leo, and Davis, Darren W. (2015). How Racial Attitudes and Ideology Affect Political Rights for Felons. Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race, 12(1): 73–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Winter, Nicholas (2008). Dangerous Frames: How Ideas about Race and Gender Shape Public Opinion. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar