Sports Media and masculinity
Sports media also contribute to the construction of masculinity in contemporary society. A study conducted by the Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles reports that 98 per cent of American boys between the ages of 8 and 17 consume sports media. Since professional sports are virtually dominated by men—from the athletes and coaches to the commentators and reporters—sports media have the potential to transmit powerful ideas about manliness and masculinity. Recent studies on gender and sports media find that sports commentary reinforces perceptions of "violent masculinity." By praising athletes who continue to play while injured, and by using language of conflict and war to describe action, sports commentary reinforces violence and aggression as exciting and rewarding behavior.
One of sports coverage’s dominant messages is that the most aggressive athletes are rewarded. Viewers are continually immersed in images that highlight and commentary that praises athletes who most successfully employ physical, aggressive play, as well as toughness. This message was found most often in NBA games, comprising 40 of the 66 examples from our sample. For example, on SportsCenter, after having his toughness called into question, NBA player Brian Grant was awarded redemption by a commentator because he showed that he was “not afraid to take it to Karl Malone.
During the NFL games, there were 15 examples of this message, as commentator enthusiastically described and replayed scenes of players who got “buried,” “stuffed,” or “walloped” by the defense, or “cleaned out” or “wiped” by the blocker. There also were several of instances of this theme during Extreme Sports (4 times), Major League Baseball games (4 times), and SportsCenter (3 times)
One of sports coverage’s dominant messages is that the most aggressive athletes are rewarded. Viewers are continually immersed in images that highlight and commentary that praises athletes who most successfully employ physical, aggressive play, as well as toughness. This message was found most often in NBA games, comprising 40 of the 66 examples from our sample. For example, on SportsCenter, after having his toughness called into question, NBA player Brian Grant was awarded redemption by a commentator because he showed that he was “not afraid to take it to Karl Malone.
During the NFL games, there were 15 examples of this message, as commentator enthusiastically described and replayed scenes of players who got “buried,” “stuffed,” or “walloped” by the defense, or “cleaned out” or “wiped” by the blocker. There also were several of instances of this theme during Extreme Sports (4 times), Major League Baseball games (4 times), and SportsCenter (3 times)
White males dominate the world of sports commentary.
The voices of authority on the sports shows surveyed are almost exclusively those of White males. More than three-fourths of sports announcers in the sample are White males (77%) who conduct the “play-by-play",ongoing “color commentary” in the NFL, NBA, and Major League Baseball games, as well as on SportsCenter, in Wrestling, and in Extreme Sports
Women and people of color are presented sparingly and, with the exception of ESPN’s use of a woman and an African American male co-anchor, play minor supporting roles. In this sample, they rarely appear as the main voices of authority in the booth,” conducting “play-by-play” or providing ongoing “color commentary.” White females and African-American males each account for only 10% of sports commentators; African-American females account for only 3% of announcers.For example, the NFL broadcasts occasionally cut to a White woman for field-level
color commentary, but her reporting was very brief (about three and a half minutes of the nearly three hours of actual game and pre-game commentary). Further,there were no Latino or Asian Pacific American sports commentators in our sample of sports shows.
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