Berger And Luckmann's Social Construction Theory

Recently, it seems an increasing number of African American football players have been leaving their respective colleges with years of eligibility left, in order to pursue a dream of playing in the National Football League. While this decision seems to be explicitly based on utility maximization and the traditional economic theory of Becker and Stigler does in fact provide an adequate explanation based on set universal preferences with efficiency determining the price of commodities, I prefer to view it as a function of a socially constructed framework of choice. Berger and Luckmann’s social construction theory presents the opportunity to more fully understand the background of these athletes that shapes their decision-making process. Not only
African Americans have had a long history of oppression within the racial hierarchy of America, dating all the way back to the slave trade. Inhumane treatment of Africans during this period has fostered a distrust that African American football players still have for the mostly white American institutions that have governed their lives throughout history. If we fast-forward to the civil rights movement of the 1960’s, we saw African Americans showing a deviance resulting in major change in their treatment after centuries of being defined as second-class citizens. Deviance from the norms of society is typically met with sanctions, as institutions are not apt to change, however this paradigm shift supports Critical Race Theory, as it exemplifies a racially-in-power institutions adapting their laws and ideology to fit their needs (Delgado & Stefancic 4). A specific example relating to African Americans would be the fact that most were barred from the NFL from 1933 to 1946 then reincorporated in the 1960’s when the AFL started competing with the NFL. How convenient? (Latrice 2). Obviously there is more to the story, however, whether its the slave trade or the American government giving in to African Americans when it became more convenient to
An athlete’s human capital diminishes rapidly, with the average NFL player lasting only 3.3 seasons, therefore it makes sense that these men would save themselves from one or two more years of punishment and truly maximize their utility (“Average Career Playing Length in National Football League”). Put simply, these athletes have a declining marginal utility of playing football for no monetary compensation, therefore the opportunity cost of leaving early and playing in the pros outweighs that of staying in school. Recently we’ve seen players stick around till senior year, only to be rewarded with injury and watch their human capital eviscerated with their opportunities. With this foundation solidified, we can go further and look at the socially constructed framework around the impact the NFL and post-college life plays. These men see their former teammates who have left before them making millions, enjoying a freer lifestyle of comparative fame and glory. These levels of fame are hard to achieve when they are restricted to almost anonymity by the institutions profiting off of their efforts. It’s simple to understand the allure of the NFL and how the diminishing marginal utility of playing college football can affect athletes’ decisions, yet with further analysis we are able to understand the background of fame and cultural factors that come with playing