Racial Stacking in Football
Social Constructs Behind Racial Stacking and Stereotypes in Football
Sport as an institution has seen many of its records and barriers shattered over its countless years of existence. For instance, sport has seen Jackie Robinson break the color barrier in Major League Baseball, and Billie Jean King defeat former champion Bobby Riggs in “The battle of the sexes”. One barrier that still exists in sports today is racial stacking and stereotyping. The social phenomenon of racial stacking and stereotyping within the institution of sport has profoundly hindered the development and participation of particular races in different dimensions of sport. Racial stacking is a term coined by sociologists which refers to the over or under representation of certain racial group members in particular positions on a sports team (Woodward, 2002). Some instances of racial stacking seen in football include the majority of quarterbacks, centers, and middle linebackers being Caucasian, as well as the majority of defensive backs, running backs, and wide receivers being African American.
An explanation as to why racial stacking occurs is the existence of stereotypes in football. A stereotype is an exaggerated generalization of a group that can be both positive and negative. Unfortunately, even in today’s society stereotypes are still prevalent parts of institutions, especially sports. The stereotypes that affect sports can be both positive and negative, and in most cases can be a significant determinant in who excels in their particular sport. In football, African Americans are thought be to be both aggressive and athletic, as Caucasians are viewed as intelligent and hard working individuals. These are some examples of positive stereotypes in football. Some negative stereotypes that can relate to football include African Americans being unintelligent and lazy, as well as Asians being too small to play the game. Although stereotypes are not true statements about groups of people,
Sport as an institution has seen many of its records and barriers shattered over its countless years of existence. For instance, sport has seen Jackie Robinson break the color barrier in Major League Baseball, and Billie Jean King defeat former champion Bobby Riggs in “The battle of the sexes”. One barrier that still exists in sports today is racial stacking and stereotyping. The social phenomenon of racial stacking and stereotyping within the institution of sport has profoundly hindered the development and participation of particular races in different dimensions of sport. Racial stacking is a term coined by sociologists which refers to the over or under representation of certain racial group members in particular positions on a sports team (Woodward, 2002). Some instances of racial stacking seen in football include the majority of quarterbacks, centers, and middle linebackers being Caucasian, as well as the majority of defensive backs, running backs, and wide receivers being African American.
An explanation as to why racial stacking occurs is the existence of stereotypes in football. A stereotype is an exaggerated generalization of a group that can be both positive and negative. Unfortunately, even in today’s society stereotypes are still prevalent parts of institutions, especially sports. The stereotypes that affect sports can be both positive and negative, and in most cases can be a significant determinant in who excels in their particular sport. In football, African Americans are thought be to be both aggressive and athletic, as Caucasians are viewed as intelligent and hard working individuals. These are some examples of positive stereotypes in football. Some negative stereotypes that can relate to football include African Americans being unintelligent and lazy, as well as Asians being too small to play the game. Although stereotypes are not true statements about groups of people,
Cited: Bureau, U. C. (2009). Poverty. Retrieved April 17, 2010, from US Census Bureau: http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/poverty08/pov08hi.html Butler, P Dyreson, M. (2008). American Ideas About Race and Olympic Races in the Era of Jesse Owens: Shattering Myths or Reinforcing Scientific Racism? International Journal of the History of Sport , 247-267. Edwards, H. (2000). Crisis of Black Athletes on the Eve of the 21st Century. Society , 9-13. Lapchick, R. (2003). Asian American Sports Stars & Athletes. Retrieved April 21, 2010, from Asian Nation: http://www.asian-nation.org/sports.shtml Lapchick, R Lapchick, R. (2006b, August 17). Report Card: Tagliabue 's legacy includes new model for racial hiring. Retrieved April 22, 2010, from ESPN: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=lapchick_richard&id=2552322 Lapchick, R Schaap, J. (2009, August 14). Owens ' 1936 feat stands test of time. Retrieved April 17, 2010, from ESPN: http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/trackandfield/columns/story?id=4396363 Silver, M Spicer, J. (2008, December 17). NFL: A study in racial separation by position. Retrieved April 21, 2010, from City Pages: http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2008/12/nfl_a_study_in.php Sports Industry Overview Stephanie and John (2008). Why are most quarterbacks in the NFL white? Retrieved April 21, 2010, from Yahoo Answers: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071209220323AAl00N4 The Racial and Gender Report Card Tomlinson, D. (2010, April 20). White receivers in NFL becoming scarce. Retrieved April 20, 2010, from Packersnew.com: http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/PKR0205/608130608/0/theme Vance, L Werder, E. (2007, December 11). Apologetic Vick gets 23-month sentence on dogfighting charges. Retrieved April 14, 2010, from ESPN: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3148549 Will Wonderlic Sample Test . (2010). Retrieved April 21, 2010, from WaltersFootball.com: http://walterfootball.com/draftwonderlic.php Woodward, J