The strategic enactment of a media identity by professional team sports players

Abstract

This article explores the discursive behaviour of professional male team sports players in postmatch interviews from a social identity construction perspective. Drawing on a data set of 160 televised post-match interviews from two different team sports and two different regions of the world, this article identifies stances players orient to when presenting themselves in these media interviews. A supplementary data set of ethnographic semi-structured interviews with professional team sports players is also used to develop insider perspectives on the discursive behaviour of professional team sports players when speaking to the media. What is argued is that the acts and stances employed by team sports players can be interpreted as indexing a media self, or media identity, one that professional team sports players construct in order to strategically negotiate a public version of self that presents them positively to their audience and maintains their relationships with other members of their team.

Talent stories in youth sports

“…In other words, it needs to use the narratives of the skilled individual and at the same time underline, how the individual benefits the collective. Nevertheless, this story is often used as an example of a changing norm within this narrative genre, as part of a broader change of self-presentation-narratives in sports (File, 2015). These storylines include other rhetoric elements and personal characteristics, such as self-assertion and highlighting one´s own outstanding qualities, as a prerequisite for success as with success stories in other areas such as in professional life (Baker et al, 2011;Fejes, 2006).…”

“…Holstein and Gulbrium (1995) emphasize that we do not only live in a storytelling society, we live in an interviewing society. Interviews are an everyday practice and this applies especially in competitive sports, as a key element in the production of personal success stories (File, 2015). A central narrative in sports involves reaching success in a high-risk discourse and 5 how to overcome setbacks and develop through a fighting spirit, hard work and extraordinary dedication (Baker, Safai, & Fraser-Thomas, 2015).…”

“…Elite athletes are easily transformed into heroes in popular culture, and these stories are well known, easily recognizable and frequently reproduced in the media. However, an increasing intrusion of the media in the personal lives of athletes is confusing this traditional image (File, 2015). Moreover, the sporting-hero-narrative needs to balance a dilemmatic space of being a self-confident and yet humble team player.…”

“…This narrative is transgressing a traditional genre norm where one´s own talent is downplayed and the role of the teammates and coaches are highlighted. File (2015) emphasizes that presenting oneself, as an ordinary, authentic person is desirable within this genre. Accordingly, there are many historical examples of ego-focused-stories.…”

“…Two examples are the American boxer Cassius Clay when he stated that "I am the greatest of all times" (Hauser, 1991) or the Argentinian soccer player Diego Maradona declaring, "I have a god sent gift" (Maradona, 2005). However, as File (2015) highlights, these self-assured-narratives are historically rare exceptions and not common within the genre. Cameron (2000) underscores how this "anything-but-ordinary-narrative" can only be viable from an underdog position and not from a privileged position.…”