Modern Sport and the African American Experience is a collection of essays from some of America's most brilliant and vibrant sport sociologists and race scholars. This text highlights more of the experiences of African Americans in modern sport than any of its kind. Among its diverse topics, this book examines predictions about African American sports performance and participation in the 21st century, discusses the role of sport in African American culture, and gives a candid look at the experiences of African American athletes attending America's predominantly white colleges and universities. It also discusses the experiences of African American women in these environments, a largely ignored topic. A book of this type would not be complete without also examining racism, discrimination, and the conflict black athletes and coaches encounter with the white establishment. This volume is a representation of Dr. Gary Sailes' well-known, much-respected scholarship and work as a consultant in American commercial sports.

A comprehensive study of black participation in sports since slavery reveals a checkered history of prejudice and cultural bias that have plagued American sports from the beginning.

In the 1960s and 1970s, America experienced a sports revolution. New professional sports franchises and leagues were established, new stadiums were built, football and basketball grew in popularity, and the proliferation of television enabled people across the country to support their favorite teams and athletes from the comfort of their homes. At the same time, the civil rights and feminist movements were reshaping the nation, broadening the boundaries of social and political participation. The Sports Revolution tells how these forces came together in the Lone Star State. Tracing events from the end of Jim Crow to the 1980s, Frank Guridy chronicles the unlikely alliances that integrated professional and collegiate sports and launched women’s tennis. He explores the new forms of inclusion and exclusion that emerged during the era, including the role the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders played in defining womanhood in the age of second-wave feminism. Guridy explains how the sexual revolution, desegregation, and changing demographics played out both on and off the field as he recounts how the Washington Senators became the Texas Rangers and how Mexican American fans and their support for the Spurs fostered a revival of professional basketball in San Antonio. Guridy argues that the catalysts for these changes were undone by the same forces of commercialization that set them in motion and reveals that, for better and for worse, Texas was at the center of America’s expanding political, economic, and emotional investments in sport.

Modern Sport and the African American Experience is a collection of essays from some of America's most brilliant and vibrant sport sociologists who are race scholars. This text highlights more of the experiences of African Americans in modern sport than any of its kind. Among its diverse topics, this book examines predictions about African American sports performance and participation in the 21st century, discusses the role of sport in African American culture, and gives a candid look at the experiences of African American athletes attending America's predominantly white colleges and universities. It also discusses the experiences of African American women in these environments, a much ignored topic. A book of this type would not be complete without also examining racism, discrimination and the conflict black athletes and coaches encounter with the white establishment. This volume is a representation of Dr. Gary Sailes' well-known, much-respected scholarship and work as a consultant in American commercial sports.

Explores the often overlooked role of the NFL in the American civil rights movement Watching a football game on a Sunday evening, most sports fans do not realize the profound impact the National Football League had on the civil rights movement. Similarly, in a sport where seven out of ten players are Black, few are fully aware of the history and contributions of their athletic forebears. Among the touchdowns and tackles lies a rich history of African American life and the struggle to achieve equal rights. Outside the Lines traces how football laid a foundation for social change long before the judicial system formally recognized the inequalities of racial separation. Integrating teams to include white and Black athletes alike fifty years before the reversal of Plessy v Ferguson, the National Football League served as a microcosmic fishbowl of the highs and lows—the trials and triumphs—of racial integration. In this chronicle of the important stories of Black NFL athletes in the early twentieth century, Charles K. Ross has given us an important insight into the role of sports in the fight for racial justice.

Race, Sport and the American Dream (2007) won the annual North American Society for the Sociology of Sport Best Book Award, announced at the Society''s 2008 annual conference. Race, Sport and the American Dream reports the main findings of a long term research project investigating the scope and consequences of the deepening relationship between African American males and the institution of sport. While there is some scholarly literature on the topic, author Earl Smith tries to understand through this project how sport has changed the nature of African American Civil Society and has come to be a major influence on economic opportunities, schooling and the shaping of African American family life. The third edition of Race, Sport and the American Dream improves upon the second edition in four key ways: (1) by updating the empirical data so that it is the most current on the market, (2) by expanding the discussion of the Athletic Industrial Complex (AIC) to include a robust discussion of the explosion of Conference Realignment, (3) by expanding the discussion of leadership in SportsWorld to include the most current theory in the area of sports management and (4) by adding an entirely new chapter on male athletes and violence against women. In addition, the third edition expands the discussion of the elusive American Dream and the role of sports in accessing better life chances, success and happiness. The third edition of Race, Sport and the American Dream also includes a discussion of the increased role that social media plays in SportsWorld by allowing everyone and anyone to become a "sports critic" as well as a discussion of race in SportsWorld in the era of changing the racial landscape of the US. Specifically, the US has become more racially diverse and critics are debating the role that the election of the first African American president plays in this changing landscape. All in all, the third edition of Race, Sport and the American Dream expands on existing discussions and provides new areas of inquiry. This book is intended to provide social scientists and others interested in sports with an understanding of carefully selected issues related to the African American athlete. Smith examines the world of amateur sports (Olympic and intercollegiate sport) using Immanuel Wallerstein''s "World-Systems Paradigm" which provides a lens with which to examine the colonizing and exploitative nature of intercollegiate sports and the special arrangements that universities have with SportsWorld. All of the topics in this book are addressed within the context of the history of racial oppression that has dominated race relations in the United States since its inception as a nation-state in the 1620s. Across a variety of topics including sport as big business--which Smith terms the Athletic Industrial Complex--to criminal behavior by athletes, to the lack of leadership opportunities for African American athletes, to the question of the biological superiority of African American athletes, Smith argues that any discussion of race and sport must be understood within this context of power and domination. Otherwise the importance of the question itself will always be (a) misunderstood or (b) underestimated. "Dr. Earl Smith''s 3rd edition of Race, Sport and the American Dream is much-needed scholarship for understanding the life chances for not only young African American athletes -- competing in a new global sports marketplace -- but their family''s investments in sports. His analysis is crisp, insightful and he brings to this 3rd edition new empirical evidence for understanding a whole set of interlocking and very complicated issues that have exploded in SportsWorld since the 2nd edition, including, but not limited to: NCAA conference realignment and its impact on college athletes; violence against women perpetrated by college and professional athletes; and a complex theoretical analysis of the decline of Black head coaches, especially in college and professional football and other challenges African Americans face in their lives after sports." -- Kenneth L. Shropshire, David W. Hauck Professor at the University of Pennsylvania''s Wharton School of Business, Director of the Wharton Sports Business Initiative. His most recent book is Negotiate Like the Pros: A Top Sports Negotiator''s Lessons for Making Deals, Building Relationships and Getting What You Want. "Earl Smith has been a scholar on the issue of race and sport for many years. His Race, Sport and the American Dream is essential reading for anyone interested in the subject. He organized the book in a clear layout that puts forth an important lens on the issue. He gives us theory that demonstrates the mighty struggles of African Americans in sport but also is real-life enough to help us feel both the pain of the barriers and the joy in overcoming them." -- Richard Lapchick, Director, Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport, University of Central Florida "This well-documented book provides insights into race and sport, as African American athletes have made their way along the path toward an equal playing field and the American dream. Summing up: Recommended." -- CHOICE Magazine

Sixteen contributions cover topics such as African American culture and sport, the representation of O.J. Simpson, the impact of Tiger Woods' success, a physiological review of race and athletic performance, the case against NCAA Proposition 48, racism and discrimination in sport, and African American male head coaches. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR