Despite an emerging body of research on race and representation in televised sport, little is known about commentator practices and understandings, particularly in relation to the construction of racial difference. Based on interviews and analysis of commentary, the results of this study point to a complex interaction between embedded racist ideologies and media practices specific to live basketball coverage. Taken together, and despite the conscious intentions of commentators, these interactions appear to contribute to an ongoing ‘Othering’ of African Americans and men of color and the normalization of dominant white cultural understandings of difference.
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