Living Through the Hoop: High School Basketball, Race, and the American Dream (review)

During his tenure as an assistant varsity boys basketball coach in a poor, primarily black neighborhood in Georgia, Reuben May conducted an ethnography of the young men he coached as they made their way both on and off the court. The primary focus of the analysis is how basketball, within an environment of limited educational and economic resources and opportunities, is both used and uses the boys in constructing their future aspirations and attainment. May’s investigation also delves into examining how the boys create a meaning of race and gender, understand sportsmanship, and manage the ever-present danger of substance use and criminal activity. Throughout the discussion of these issues the underlying theme is understanding why black males growing up in marginalized neighborhoods continue to perceive basketball as the most effective means of escaping poverty and climbing the social ladder.

May terms the persistent myth of basketball as a method for social mobility the “the dirty trick.” By that, he contends that basketball is an institution maintaining these boys belief in the individualistic American dream, distracting them from recognizing the structural factors limiting their potential success. Four forces are identified as sustaining this trick: media representations of professional basketball players, the community’s reverence of high school players, the competitive context of high school basketball and basketball coaches. The first two glorify individual achievement, promoting the idea that anyone can make it if they simply work hard enough. The boys who are successful on the court are given status and recognition in their communities, making it possible for them to identify with successful pro players who came from similar backgrounds. Their self-perceived chances of success are further exaggerated by the high school basketball system, which limits the quality of talent that many of these boys will face (i.e., they think they are much better than they truly are because they only play a minute percentage of the elite players.) And finally, the coaches themselves are faced with a difficult dilemma. They are compelled to be completely honest with the players in order to convince them of their unlikely odds of making it to the NBA. Yet, they must balance this desire with the need to bolster the players’ confidence in order to improve their level of play and, more importantly, help preserve the one aspect of their life that provides hope in a foreboding social environment.

Indeed, one of the central struggles that May battles with, both as a coach and sociologist, is determining the direct influence of athletic participation on these youth. At times he clearly recognizes and highlights many of the negatives of this involvement: the creation and exacerbation of a hyper-masculine identity that often leads to the degradation of women, the tacit acceptance of violence as a means for resolving conflict, and the detraction from a full dedication to academics. Yet, he simultaneously asserts that basketball provides an avenue by which males can escape the ills and challenges the boys constantly face growing up in their disadvantaged neighborhoods. In the end, May concludes that for all its faults basketball engenders hope among the participants, and even if the end goal of this hope is misguided, the pursuit of it allows them to end up in better situations than if they had they simply followed the path of the streets. For example, being on the basketball team requires at least a minimum achievement in the classroom and provides a motivation for the boys to avoid committing deviant acts, the combination of which generally leads to a high school diploma (a less than common experience for males in these neighborhoods). Thus, even when these boys hoop dreams are stifled they are equipped with tools and opportunities to succeed off the court.

One of Through the Hoop’s strongest aspects is its accessibility. This book could easily be picked up by high school educators, coaches, academics, parents, or teens...