For a socio-psychological approach of the concept of racial stacking

Racist Stacking in Professional Soccer in Germany

“…When discussing and explaining prior results on stacking, the differential-attractiveness hypothesis, the role-modelling hypothesis or the self-stacking hypothesis have often been put forward. To some extent all of these hypotheses assume that Black players may rather consider some positions for themselves, while not considering others and that stacking should thus be seen as a result of self-recruitment that already starts at an early point within the athletic career (Curtis and Loy, 1978; Eitzen and Yetman, 1979; Lewis, 1995; Margolis and Piliavin, 1999; McPherson, 1975; Medoff, 1986; Perchot et al, 2015). Even though we hold it plausible that stacking in professional sports may indeed be a result of a path-dependent process, we still see how these processes may relate to racism and we emphasize the importance of not confounding victims and perpetrators when raising these arguments.…”

“…On the other hand, these single studies have added up to a substantial number of publications (e.g. Hallinan et al, 1999; Lavoie, 1989; Melnick, 1996; Perchot et al, 2015), all of which highlight the same pattern as US-studies: Black athletes are underrepresented in central positions and in positions requiring leadership, tactical and decision-making skills, while they are overrepresented in positions requiring more athletic abilities.…”

“…(c) Many scholars argue that stacking can be traced back to ‘self-segregation’ (self-stacking hypothesis). They suggest that Black players assign themselves to certain positions because they believe it will be more difficult for them to attain other positions successfully in high-level competition (differential-attractiveness hypothesis) or because there are no Black role models in those positions (role-modelling hypothesis) (Curtis and Loy, 1978; Eitzen and Yetman, 1979; Lewis, 1995; Margolis and Piliavin, 1999; McPherson, 1975; Medoff, 1986; Perchot et al, 2015).…”

En marge des grands: le football en Belgique et en Suisse

“…The theory of racial stacking, a relevant indicator of how footballers are perceived and managed by coaching personnel, offers a way of understanding the issue of racial discrimination in team sports in relation to the position of the players on the pitch. (Perchot et al, 2015). Based on Figure 6, we can suggest that some form of stacking exists in Belgian football.…”

Racial folklore, black masculinities and the reproduction of dominant racial ideologies: The case of Israel Folau

“…While those who govern and administer sport may wish to believe that sport is ‘colour blind’ and fair across racial/ethnic divides (Cleland and Cashmore, 2014; Hylton, 2018), a number of sports, including ice-hockey, motor racing, alpine sports, swimming and volleyball, continue to be dominated by white athletes (Melnick, 2001). In sports that have greater participation rates among black athletes, there is also evidence that these athletes are excluded from central playing positions or those positions that carry the most influence on the outcomes of matches (Cashmore and Cleland, 2011; Coakley et al, 2011; Hallinan et al, 1999; Perchot et al, 2015). One seminal study in this field, Loy and Elvogue (1970) found evidence that black athletes, because they were not linked to the white-dominated administrative structures, were relegated to peripheral positions in baseball and American football, and so did not have high levels of interaction with their teammates.…”