‘Have You Got Game?’ Hegemonic Masculinity and Neo-Homophobia in U.S. Newspaper Sports Columns

Abstract

In February 2007, U.S. media outlets covered the coming out of retired NBA player John Amaechi, one of only 6 professional male athletes from the four major U.S. team sports to have announced that he is gay. This study analyzes newspaper columns by prominent U.S. sportswriters about Amaechi's announcement. Textual analysis found that although the columns could be read as progressive, they were not; they condemned individuals who expressed overtly homophobic views while reinforcing the status quo in a variety of ways. The neo-homophobic discourse can be compared with that of new racism, a strategy that maintain racial hegemony in the U.S. As such, these columns effectively rendered Amaechi's announcement as having little value in addressing homophobia in the sports/media complex.

A Bioecological Theory of Sexual Harassment of Girls: Research Synthesis and Proposed Model

“…J. Smith, 1994;Strom Larson, 2001). Boys are also heavy consumers of sports programming, and some of the most popular sports (such as American football and hockey) value and reinforce physical aggression and violence (Hardin et al, 2009;Messner & Sabo, 1994).…”

Inching Away From the Toy Department

“…Hardin, Kuehn, et al (2009) believe such sentiment is in keeping with the blame the victim aspect of the coverage.…”

Olympic Effort

“…As a contemporary example (though there are many throughout the mid- to late 20th century), take the coming out of John Amaechi, a gay National Basketball Association (NBA) player, whose sexuality moved him back into conversations within sports circles after his retirement. As Hardin, Kuehn, Jones, Genovese, and Balaji (2009) explain, few commentators would condemn Amaechi for being gay. Instead, his record as a basketball player was routinely and roundly attacked, whereas other more positive markers, such longevity in the league and experience on Olympic teams, were ignored.…”

“…Instead, his record as a basketball player was routinely and roundly attacked, whereas other more positive markers, such longevity in the league and experience on Olympic teams, were ignored. Thus, discrediting his ability to win reduced the need to critically examine Amaechi as a figure within a power structure that regularly worked to disenfranchise him (Hardin et al, 2009). Using the parameters of sport, as with wins and losses, to enforce social constructions of what is normal or abnormal highlights situations of hegemony.…”

“…Greatness is defined as accomplishing a relatively easy exercise that is made more complicated by individual impairment. As commercial media depictions in the past have been critiqued in both popular and academic work (Bissell & Butler, 2013; Hardin et al, 2009) as lacking diversity, the inclusion of diverse body constructions in ordinary athletic situations should be positive. On the plus side, representations of non-normative bodies are important because they counter notions that only specific bodies are normal or worth celebrating.…”