The Media and Racial Stereotyping

Link to the Website: http://thesportdigest.com/archive/article/media-s-effect-perceptions-athletes-gender-and-race

In class on October 27th, 2011 we talked about the media and it's effect on sports.  In Coakley’s text on pages 425-428, he discusses how men who are not white are talked about and viewed differently as athletes.  When talking about white athletes, they talk about how they are hard working, intelligent, highly disciplined and driven by high character.  When talking about an African American athlete, they describe them as instinctive and naturally talented.  Stereotypes are often cited as well like African American athletes being able to run faster or jump higher.  Coackley also talks about how we overlook the whiteness in some stories.  In a news story about white men shooting people, people don’t think about the shooters but about how sad it is that it happened.  If the shooters had been black, it would have been made a racial thing.  This is because we are in a white-centered culture and tend not to “see” it.

In the article, Shailendra Sharma talks about how the media’s presence allows for stereotyping to become adopted by the views beliefs.  Especially on television, the viewer will hear, see, and form a bias based on what they see and hear.  This causes negative stereotypes to be adapted by many viewers who see and hear the same things.  She also discusses how African American males are described as having natural athletic ability and are just physically gifted rather than mentally gifted.  This is a negative stereotype created by the media that many people believe.  It will be difficult to eliminate all negative stereotypes but with proper training and commentators watching what they say may eliminate some of the negative stereotypes around African American athletes and all other athletes of a different race.