Suicide on the Sidelines: Media Portrayals of NFL Players’ Suicides from June 2000 to September 2012

From 2000 until 2012 there have been almost a dozen suicides by current or retired nfl athletes. Stories about these suicides have made their way into mainstream news and sports-related media coverage. Current research does not fully account for all the important aspects related to suicide among athletes—especially nfl athletes—nor does it explore the ways in which the suicides have been covered by mass and online media. To date, there has not been a comprehensive analysis to identify the ways in which the media covered the stories or what themes exist in the coverage. This study examines media coverage of nfl athlete suicides from June 2000 to September 2012 in six sources: the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Washington Post (print); espn, Sports Illustrated, and Bleacher Report (online). The study discusses the results of qualitative content analysis performed on the 176 articles, using framing analysis to address the specific research questions. Ultimately, this research presents media portrayals and discussion of commonly appearing frames, discusses thematic elements and framing tools, and provides suggestions for future scholarship on the topic.