Commodified and Criminalized New Racism and African Americans in Contemporary Sports

by Leonard, David J.; King, C. Richard; Andrews, David L.; Cole, C.L; Guerrero, Lisa; King, Samantha; Kusz, Kyle W.; Lorenz, Stacy L.; Mirpuri, Anoop; Mower, Ronald L.; Murray, Rod; Sexton, Jared; Silk, Michael L.; Spencer, Nancy E.

• ISBN13: 9781442206779
• ISBN10: 1442206772
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-12-28
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Summary

Commodified and Criminalized examines the centrality of sport to discussions of racial ideologies and racist practices in the 21st century. It disputes familiar refrains of racial progress, arguing that athletes sit in a contradictory position masked by the logics of new racism and dominant white racial frames. Contributors discuss athletes ranging from Tiger Woods and Serena Williams to Freddy Adu and Shani Davis. Through dynamic case studies, Commodified and Criminalized unpacks the conversation between black athletes and colorblind discourse, while challenging the assumptions of contemporary sports culture. The contributors in this provocative collection push the conversation beyond the playing field and beyond the racial landscape of sports culture to explore the connections between sports representations and a broader history of racialized violence.

Author Biography

David J. Leonard is associate professor of comparative ethnic studies at Washington State University. C. Richard King is professor and chair of comparative ethnic studies at Washington State University.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Introduction: Celebrities, Commodities, and Criminals: African American Athletes and the Racial Politics of Culture	p. 1
America's New Son: Tiger Woods and America's Multiculturalism	p. 23
Sister Act VI: Venus and Serena Williams at Indian Wells: ôSincere Fictionsö and White Racism	p. 41
Ghettocentrism and the Essentialized Black Male Athlete	p. 69
Why Can't Kobe Pass (the Ball)? Race and the NBA in an Age of Neoliberalism	p. 95
One Nation under a Hoop: Race, Meritocracy, and Messiahs in the NBA	p. 121
Much Adu about Nothing? Freddy Adu and Neoliberal Racism in New Millennium America	p. 147
Me and Bonnie Blair: Shani Davis, Racial Myths, and the Reiteration of the Facts of Blackness	p. 165
The Dennis Rodman of Hockey: Ray Emery and the Policing of Blackness in the Great White North	p. 183
Contesting the Closet: Sheryl Swoopes, Radalized Sexuality, and Media Culture	p. 203
ôLife with no hoopö: Black Pride, State Power	p. 223
Postscript: America's Son? Tiger Woods as Comrnodification and Criminalization	p. 249
Index	p. 255
Contributors	p. 259
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