(Written) Representations of Black Athletes in the Media: Academic Analysis

The following piece will focus on critically analysing the representation of black athletes from both online and print media publications over the past decade. I will uncover how racial ideologies are often connoted through intentional discourse practices, such as the use of specific words and phrases, as well as visual imagery. This analysis will allow for a wider dialogue on the societal results of each of these individual examples that happened at the time of the publication of each story. I will discuss what the real world consequences are of racially motivated stereotypes and tropes used to portray black athletes in the media, and the common themes that emerge when comparing various cases.

I will examine two separate case study examples of media portrayals of prominent black athletes from two different sporting backgrounds. The first case study will focus on English professional footballer Raheem Sterling and an article written in The Sun addressing how he spends his wealth. I will compare this with an example of how a white footballer is represented entirely differently despite being in an almost identical scenario. The second case study example will explore American civil rights activist, and former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, and his portrayal by online media publication The Blaze, after his highly publicised decision to not stand for the national anthem before NFL games.

I will apply a combination of three different models of critical discourse analysis to provide the framework for the examination of each case study. Firstly, Halliday’s (1994) model of transitivity, which is described by Machin and Mayr as “The study of what people are depicted as doing and refers, broadly, to who does what to whom, and how. This allows us to reveal who plays an important role in a particular clause and who receives the consequences of that action” (104). Social actor analysis (van Leeuwen 1996; 2008) will be used to understand how the athletes in question have been verbally identified, categorised, and ultimately represented within the texts. Finally, I will use Barthes’ (1977) theory of two levels of meaning in visual texts, denotation and connotation to analyse any visual imagery that appears in the various articles. Ed White explains that Barthes idea of visual denotation “refers to a neutral or what some would call ‘objective’ designation or indication of that which is represented” (16). Connotation is instead used to search for a deeper meaning as it “refers to the abstract or ‘subjective’ interpretive elements, which are the substance of most of our interpretations” (16).

Before critically analysing the three case study examples for potentially racially motivated discourse, it is necessary to first define what constitutes racism in the modern world. It is naive to think of racism as only overt discrimination or segregation based on skin colour. Modern day publications may not use blatantly racist terms, but this doesn’t mean that they are not guilty of producing racially motivated content. In Ethnic Minoriteis van Dijk details that, “In many respects, contemporary forms of racism are different from the old racism of slavery, segregation, apartheid, lynchings, and systematic discrimination, of white superiority feelings, and of explicit derogation in public discourse and everyday conversation” (33). Modern day racism in the mainstream media often consists of racial stereotypes and tropes that need a deeper level of analysis to fully understand the racially motivated ideologies they are attempting to disseminate. Publications often focus on perceived cultural differences and an “us versus them” mentality when speaking about minority communities or races. Therefore it is not possible to take statements at pure face value alone, and it is necessary to unearth the ideology behind the specific language used, to understand how racism can still be prevalent even if it is not immediately apparent in some cases.

In his book The New Racism (1981) Martin Barker coined the term “new racism” to describe this shift in approach and application of racism in society. According to Robin DiAngelo “racism has adapted over time so that modern norms, policies, and practices result in similar racial outcomes as those in the past, while not appearing to be explicitly racist” (106). This clear understanding of the differences in “old racism” versus “new racism” is imperative in the pursuit of accurately analysing representations of “race” in modern day discourses.

Case Study 1: Raheem Sterling

Raheem Sterling is an English professional footballer that plays for Premier League club Manchester City. Sterling rose to stardom playing for Liverpool FC in 2014 at the age of nineteen, and since that time he has been a frequent target of the tabloid press in the UK for both his on field, and off field activities. In June 2016, The Sun obtained footage posted privately by one of Sterling’s close friends on the social media app Snapchat. The video was taken from the inside of a new house that Sterling had bought for his mum, and showed him giving his friends a tour of the property. The Sun decided to cover this seemingly innocuous event, leading with the story on their June 30th front cover (Appendix 1). The front page headline leads with “Obscene Raheem” and goes onto say “England failure steps off plane and insults fans by showing off blinging house”.

Using the transitivity model of analysis we can examine the various components of this headline. The first component is the actor (in this case Sterling), he is branded as the “England failure”. Sterling is functionally identified as this due to being a member of the England national team squad that were surprisingly knocked out of the Euro 2016 football tournament by Iceland. This sporting defeat is an easy way to shame Sterling even in an article that has nothing to do with that prior event. This individualised functional identification immediately establishes Sterling as a person who is unsuccessful, and is an attempt to disgrace him in the eyes of the reader, even before the story in question is explained.

The use of the material process “insults fans by showing of blinging house” insinuates that supporters are entitled to take offence to the ways in which Sterling spends his personal wealth. “Showing off” implies that Sterling has showcased the house on his own social media platforms in order to publicly portray his fortune. In reality this is not the case, as the video in question was not meant for public consumption, and only became common knowledge after The Sun posted the footage. This headline is a complete misrepresentation of Sterling as an individual, and incorrectly frames him as having intentions to aggravate England supporters.

The functional, informal identification of Sterling and the insinuation that he insults fans, could be seen as a vilification of his character, but not necessarily racially motivated in nature. However, the use of the slang adjective “blinging” to describe the house that Sterling has bought changes this perception. The term bling is associated with material items that are expensive, but lacking in traditional “taste”, purchased with the intent of garnering attention. The concept of publically displaying ones wealth through exorbitant material goods is a common stereotype that is often labelled towards young black males. This originates from the late 1980’s and early 90’s gangster rap culture in the USA, which was mainly comprised of young black artists. Music from that era, in that genre, often glorified and proliferated the idea that displaying your wealth through excessively flashy material goods such as cars, houses and jewellery was a necessary way of increasing social status.

This suggestion that Sterling has purchased a “blinging house” rather than an “expensive house”, reinforces his public perception of fitting into this stereotypical profile of a young, rich black man. If a successful, white, businessman bought an identical property, the house would not have been described in this manner, but may instead have been referred to as an “extravagant” or “luxury” property instead. The object denoted in the image on the front cover is of a luxury bathroom sink that is encrusted with diamonds. This is the one item from the more than five minute long video that was purposely chosen as a still photo to connote this idea of exorbitance. Other parts of the video showed Sterling in various parts of the property with rooms and furnishings that you would expect in any home. This freeze-frame image was selected with the purposeful intention of acting as evidence to corroborate the claims being made in the article about Sterling’s spending habits. When viewed in the context of The Sun’s article, it is reasonable as a reader to assume that this is representative of the property as a whole, but this is clearly not the case when the full context of the story is reviewed.

The Sun intentionally ignore not only important visual context but also linguistic context. The paper implies that the house Sterling has bought is for himself, when in reality the purchase was a gift for his mother who raised him as a single parent. This additional context is entirely ignored by The Sun, and as a result the narrative is completely twisted from the genuine reality of the situation. This added information is ignored by the paper as its inclusion may result in Sterling actually being endeared by the readers of the article, rather than the intended consequences of disparaging the public perception of his character.

The newspaper and media focus on how young, successful, black athletes spend their money is not only limited to Raheem Sterling. In January 2018 Sterling’s black teammate Tosin Adarabioyo also bought a house for his mother. The Daily Mail made a story out of this, stating that “Young Manchester City footballer, 20, on £25,000 a week splashes out on mansion despite having never started a Premier League match” (Appendix 2).

In the same year, Sterling and Adarabio’s white Manchester City teammate, Phil Foden, who was nineteen at the time, and similarly, had played very little football for the club, also purchased a property for his mother. Once again The Daily Mail made a story out of this, but the difference in language and tone is striking in comparison to the headlines created about both Sterling and Adarabio. The headline stated “Manchester City starlet Phil Foden buys new £2m home for his mum” (Appendix 3).

The Foden headline has no mention of his lack of football experience, but instead glorifies his potential ability by identifying him as a “starlet”. Adarabio is instead identified as a “Young” footballer to highlight how his lack of experience means it is wrong for him to be spending large amounts of money without any on-field success to back it up. The Foden headline includes the critical context that the purchase was for his mother, while in the Adarabio headline this is ignored entirely, Foden is glorified for actions while Adarabio is scrutinised for them. This example illustrates how two identical people in terms of age, stage of career and wealth can be represented diametrically opposed by the same media organisation when both individuals have carried out identical actions.

There is a clear pattern that emerges when looking at the linguistic choices used to represent both of the black players as discussed above. The focus on overall wealth, excessive spending habits, and a lack of key contextual information, are all elements that are used for both black players, and are not used when discussing the white player. Fairclough explains that “The constant doses of ‘news’ which most people receive each day are a significant factor in social control, and they account for a not insignificant proportion of a person’s average daily involvement in discourse” (30). This type of linguistic representation has an appreciable impact of the perception of the individuals from the general public.

Case Study 2: Colin Kaepernick

Colin Kaepernick is a former NFL quarterback who in 2016 became a central figure in the conversation around social injustice and police brutality against black Americans. His decision to kneel during the American national anthem before NFL games served as a means of protest against these issues, and was a highly publicised and debated action. The portrayal of the event, and of Kaepernick himself varied radically at the time of the protest. Left wing publications generally endorsed his stance, treating him as an activist with a just cause. Right wing publications instead attempted to invalidate the legitimacy of the protest, fixating on the act of kneeling, and a supposed disrespect towards the American flag and military due to the nature of the protest.

Right wing American online publication The Blaze posted an article shortly after the first protest in which they lambasted Kaepernick for his actions. The headline of the online article stated, “Dear Colin Kaepernick: You're Not Oppressed. You're Spoiled” (Appendix 4). The article attempts to dispel the notion that America has societal problems that are grounded in racial discrimination, in an effort to delegitimise Kaepernick’s protest. The article proclaims that minority communities are “targeted from within by pimps and thugs and drug dealers who murder, maim, exploit and poison them”. This is an example of what Van Dijk (1987) calls “elite racism” where elites, in this case the media, blame lower class members of society for their own issues, and in the process deflect from the overall issue at hand. It is undeniably true that a large percentage of black communities have huge problems related to drug use and gang culture, where black on black violence is unfortunately all too common. However, the article conveniently decides to ignore the contemporary and historical societal factors that are the reason that these problems exist in the first place. Disregarding this societal context allows the writer to shift the blame away from middle and upper class white Americans, and back onto the minority communities that are demanding the change in the first place. Fixating on the outcomes of racial inequalities rather than the root cause of the problem can tangibly impact the general public’s perception of the legitimacy of the protests.

In a further attempt to diminish the validity of the protest the article states that, “When African warlords oppress their people, entire villages are butchered and burned. When ISIS oppresses the people it conquers, women and children are raped and killed. When America oppresses racial minorities, they become presidents and NFL quarterbacks”. The material process verb “oppresses” is used three times as an attempt to justify that black members of society in the Untied States are not oppressed when compared to other cultures. This comparison between the treatment of civilians in Africa, Iraq/Syria and the United States is made to prove an apparent point that other parts of the world have considerably worse societal issues than America, thus there is nothing legitimate to complain or protest about in the United States as a black person.

The term “oppression” is over lexicalised throughout the article and is used not as way to reinforce the legitimacy of Kaepernick’s protest, but rather as an attempt to change the definition of what the word means. The narrative is created that because there are successful black members of society, consequently racial inequality must not exist to any extent that is worth protesting over. This is objectively not true, as these two points clearly can be mutually exclusive. Patricia Hill Collins explains that modern media “present hegemonic ideologies that claim racism is over. They work to obscure the racism that does exist and they undercut antiracist protest” (54). This article is a clear example of attempt to undercut an antiracist protest, and silence the unprivileged minority in society.

The article is written as a direct message towards Kaepernick, individualising him throughout, hence the headline “Dear Colin Kaepernick”. He is consistently informally nominated, being referred to as simply “Colin” and spoken to directly by the writer (“you should listen”). This serves as an effective method of attacking Kaepernick’s character, presenting a one way conversation in which he is directly spoken to, without any means of rebuttal. This empowers the writer to make sweeping personal statements about him that may or may not be true, but are presented to the reader as valid criticisms.

One such example of this is when the article states that “As a biracial guy from an adoptive family — whose only marketable skill is running fast and throwing a ball, and not even all that well — you have personally experienced the very best of what this country has to offer”. Physically identifying Kaepernick as a “biracial guy from an adoptive family” is used as evidence to reinforce the earlier established narrative that Kaepernick is wealthy despite his upbringing, therefore he should have nothing to complain about. This point is immediately contradicted however by the stereotypical trope that Kaepernick’s, “only marketable skill is running fast and throwing a ball”. The notion that Kaepernick has only succeeded due to his athletic ability is a point that inadvertently proves that racial discrimination exists. It is common knowledge that young black males from underprivileged backgrounds in the United States often believe the only way that they can succeed in life is through making it in the world of professional sports, due to a lack of opportunities in more traditional fields of work due to their racial background and upbringing.

When viewing other articles from the right wing press, it becomes apparent that they all share similar narratives on Kaepernick as a person, and the validity of the protests. Viewed through this larger lens, it is obvious how this type of coverage is a way for elite members of society to exert their hegemonic control over minorities. Delegitimising the reasons behind the protest, attacking the character of Kaepernick and focusing on a perceived disrespect towards the flag and military, all serve as ways to keep the black community “in their place” and ultimately serves to maintain the status quo as related to race based issues.

Conclusion:

The analysis conducted on the two case study examples reveal clear patterns that emerge when comparing the representation of two black athletes in the press. Although the stories and athletes are very different, the linguistic and narrative representation and focus is similar for both individuals. Stereotypical tropes and assumptions are made relating to areas such as wealth, family and career, in an attempt to vilify the black athletes for actions that non-minority athletes would often be celebrated for. This is achieved by either subtly or outright suggestively denigrating the character of the person in question through these linguistic choices. It is also noticeable how often key contextual elements are not included that would completely change the perception of the individual in question in a positive way. This type of context is intentionally ignored so the stories fit into the established racially motivated narratives about black athletes. There are tangible societal results from the constant reinforcement of these tropes from the media. The public rely on the press to help stay informed on important issues, so when black athletes are biasedly represented through racially motived discourse, it is easy to see how public opinion can be swayed on sensitive issues such as racial injustice and inequality, as well as the perception of individual black athletes.

Works Cited

Barker, Martin. The New Racism: Conservatives and Ideology of the Tribe. Junction Books, 1981.

Collins, Patricia Hill. Black Sexual Politics: African Americans, Gender, and the New Racism. 4th ed., vol. 22, Routledge, 2005.

DiAngelo, Robin. “Chapter 8: ‘New’ Racism.” Counterpoints, vol. 398, Peter Lang AG, 2012, pp. 105–32, http://www.jstor.org/stable/42981488.

Fairclough, Norman. Language and Power. 2nd ed., Longman, 2001. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cat02616a&AN=qub.b15634760&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Machin, David, and Andrea Mayr. How to Do Critical Discourse Analysis : A Multimodal Introduction, SAGE Publications, 2012. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.queens.ezp1.qub.ac.uk/lib/qub/detail.action?docID=880803.

Van Dijk , T.A., and Cottle Simon. “New(s) Racism: A Discourse Analytical Approach.” Ethnic Minorities and the Media, Open University Press, Buckingham, UK, 2000, pp. 33–49.

Van Dijk, T.A. Communicating Racism: Ethnic Prejudice in Thought and Talk. Sage, 1987.

White, Ed. How to Read Barthes' Image-Music-Text, Pluto Press, 2012. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.queens.ezp1.qub.ac.uk/lib/qub/detail.action?docID=3386680.