African Americans in Sports

Research on African American athletes generally fo-cuses on negative stereotypes of physical prowess, and socially controversial themes. Most studies in-vestigate racism, prejudice, discrimination, and ex-ploitation experienced by African American athletes. Many studies contrast African American and white athletes on a number of variables that support pre-vailing elitist stereotypes and denigrate African Ameri-can athletes. But few studies investigate the diverse and complex cultural dichotomies within the infrastruc-ture of sport in the African American community. Gary Sailes maintains that it is crucial to develop a more eclectic and immersed cultural approach when investigating African American involvement in com-petitive sports. The contributors to 'African Americans in Sports' show that there are also intrinsic cultural paradigms that are evident, presenting an informa-tive and interesting narrative regarding African American athletes. The chapters that make up this volume were written by noted scholars who were selected based on their expertise in their specific academic areas. They write about different components of the experience of African American male athletes. Chapters and contributors include: "Race and Athletic Performance: A Physiological Review" by David W. Hunter; "The Athletic Dominance of African Americans--Is There a Genetic Basis?" by Vinay Harpalani; "African American Player Codes on Celebration, Taunting, and Sportsmanlike Conduct" by Vernon L. Andrews; and "Stacking in Major League Baseball" by Earl Smith and C. Keith Harrison. Many chapters were originally published as a special issue of the 'Journal of African American Men.' This volume should be read by all those involved in athletics, as well as by sports sociologists and African American studies scholars.

Gary A. Sailes teaches in the Department of Kinesiology at Indiana University, Bloomington, and is editor of the Journal of African American Men.

Introduction; I: African American Culture and Sport; 1: The Role of Sport in the Black Community; 2: Cool Pose: Black Masculinity and Sports; 3: Betting Against the Odds: An Overview of Black Sports Participation; II: The Image of the African American Athlete; 4: The Dominant Images of Black Men in America: The Representation of O.J. Simpson; 5: Black Sports Images in Transition: The Impact of Tiger's Roar; 6: Race Logic and "Being Like Mike": Representations of Athletes in Advertising, 1985-1994; III: Athletic Performance: A Question of Black is Best; 7: Race and Athletic Performance: A Physiological Review; 8: The Athletic Dominance of African Americans-Is There a Genetic Basis?; 9: An Examination of Basketball Performance Orientations Among African American Males; IV: College Sports: Opportunity or Exploitation?; 10: The Case Against NCAA Proposition 48; 11: African American Player Codes on Celebration, Taunting, and Sportsmanlike Conduct; V: Racism and Discrimination in Sport; 12: The African American Athlete: Social Myths and Stereotypes; 13: Stacking in Major League Baseball; 14: African American Male Head Coaches: In the "Red Zone," But Can They Score?; VI: Professional Sports: Chasing the Dream; 15: Race, Sport, and Future Orientation; 16: A Comparison of Professional Sports Career Aspirations Among College Athletes