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Racing From the Past: Exposing Racism in Today’s Collegiate Athletics Introduction andré douglas pond cummings S ports dominate American culture. Collegiate athletics spurs passion and debate unlike any other medium in the United States. Because we become personally attached to the colleges and universities that we (or our family members) attend or live nearby, the success and/or failure of our chosen college’s athletic teams becomes extremely important to us. Today, the popularity of college sports is at an apex. Cable and satellite television, together with the Internet and twenty-fourhour sports news coverage, allow us to watch and follow our college sports in an unprecedented way. While we love our college sports, it is not yet true that our college sports love us back equally and without discrimination. The ideal of the “level playing field” is one that we cling to, but as the authors in this section distinguish, collegiate athletics has much work to do before the field can be recognized as truly level. Dean Dana Brooks and Dr. Richard Althouse trace the historical exploitation attached to African American athletes in the college setting from the very first time that a black player was able to enter the field of play. Dean Brooks and Dr. Althouse acknowledge that popular media “thrives on the notion that ‘sport is the great equalizer’” but debunk that notion by historically detailing the incredible obstacles black athletes have faced in college and continue to face today. That said, Dean Brooks and Dr. Althouse similarly recognize the wonderful opportunities available to athletes of color who take seriously the educational opportunity provided by an athletic scholarship. Thereafter, three distinct race issues or obstacles are presented that permeate collegiate athletics. First, Professor Michael McCann introduces new and fascinating research into implicit biases and the possibility that our unconscious minds dictate race-aware behavior that can be debilitating to the modern athlete. Professor McCann describes recent studies that indicate that referees and umpires call fouls or assess balls and strikes in ways that tend to favor athletes of their own race and disadvantage athletes of races that are not their own. While social psychology research and empirical studies 300 andré douglas pond cummings into implicit bias are new, the outcomes portend important progress that can be made if individuals are made aware of their internal biases. Next, Coach Marlon LeBlanc boldly addresses the absence of African American head coaches in college sports, particularly the paucity of minority coaches in collegiate soccer. Coach LeBlanc decries the discouraging percentages of head coaching hires in college soccer, pointedly challenging the status quo hiring hierarchy that results in just 4 percent of Division I soccer coaches being African American. Finally, I provide an updated snapshot of the current debate that rages on a handful of college campuses over the use of American Indian mascots, monikers, caricatures, and logos. I describe the positive movement away from offensive and hostile images and mascots by many university administrations, including the NCAA’s 2005 policy initiative outlawing most derogatory American Indian mascots, but I similarly recognize the few remaining institutions that insist on continuing in racist traditions and monikers. As Len Elmore identified in his chapter, much historical progress has been made in connection with race in college sports. The opportunities available to talented athletes of color are significant and can be life altering. Mr. Elmore advocates that, as we work earnestly to break down the remaining barriers in college sports, we must also recognize the work that we must do personally, including athletes of color, industry leaders, community members, lawyers, and parents, in seizing opportunities and working diligently toward an equal field of play. ...

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