Black male college athletes historically have endured racial mistreatment, particularly at Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs). Yet research examining how these athletes, particularly football players in Power Five conferences, experience such mistreatments and the effects they have on their psychological health and well-being has been sparse. Thus, we interviewed 13 current Black male college football players to document their experiences. Through reflexive thematic analysis, we determined that the athletes (a) believed that football defined and limited them, (b) felt misunderstood and isolated on campus, (b) were dehumanized and criminalized, and (d) were physically and psychologically exhausted from chronic racial mistreatments. There remains a clear need for clinical, policy, and systemic changes to support the mental health needs of Black male college athletes.
AnglinD. M.WadeJ. C. (2007). Racial socialization, racial identity, and Black students’ adjustment to college. Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology, 13(3), 207–215. https://doi.org/10.1037/1099-9809.13.3.207
BallesterosJ.TranA. G. T. T. (2020). Under the face mask: Racial-ethnic minority student-athletes and mental health use. Journal of American College Health, 68(2), 169–175. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2018.1536663
4.
BeamonK. (2008). Used goods: African American student-athletes’ perception of exploitation by division I universities. The Journal of Negro Education, 77(4), 352–364. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25608704
5.
BeamonK. (2014). Racism and stereotyping on campus: Experiences of African American male student-athletes. The Journal of Negro Education, 83(2), 121–134. https://doi.org/10.7709/jnegroeducation.83.2.0121
6.
BimperA.HarrisonL.ClarkL. (2012). Diamonds in the rough: Examining a case of successful black male student athletes in college sport. Journal of Black Psychology, 39(2), 107–130. https://doi.org/10.1177/0095798412454676
7.
BimperA. Y. (2015). Lifting the veil: Exploring colorblind racism in Black student athlete experiences. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 39(3), 225–243. https://doi.org/10.1177/0193723513520013
8.
Bonilla-SilvaE. (2017). What we were, what we are, and what we should be: The racial problem of American sociology. Social Problems, 64(2), 179–187. https://doi.org/10.1093/socpro/spx006
BraunV.ClarkeV. (2019). Reflecting on reflexive thematic analysis. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 11(4), 589–597. https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2019.1628806
11.
BraunV.ClarkeV.WeateP. (2016). Using thematic analysis in sport and exercise research. In SmithB.SparkesA. C. (Eds.), Routledge handbook of qualitative research in sport and exercise (pp. 191–205). Routledge.
12.
BrooksD. D.AlthouseR. C. (Eds.). (2013). Racism in college athletics: The African American athlete's experience (3rd ed.). Fitness Information Technology.
13.
CampbellJ. L.QuincyC.OssermanJ.PedersenO. K. (2013). Coding in-depth semistructured interviews: Problems of unitization and intercoder reliability and agreement. Sociological Methods & Research, 42(3), 294–320. https://doi.org/10.1177/0049124113500475
14.
ComeauxE. (2010). Racial differences in faculty perceptions of collegiate student-athletes’ academic and post-undergraduate achievements. Sociology of Sport Journal, 27(4), 390–412. https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.27.4.390
15.
ComeauxE. (2018). Stereotypes, control, hyper-surveillance, and disposability of NCAA division I black male athletes. In GaylesJ. G. (Ed.), Special issues: Critical issues for student athletes: Going behind the invisible wall (pp. 33–42). Wiley.
16.
CooperJ. N. (2016). Excellence beyond athletics: Best practices for enhancing Black male student athletes’ educational experiences and outcomes. Equity & Excellence in Education, 49(3), 267–283. https://doi.org/10.1080/10665684.2016.1194097
17.
CooperJ. N.HawkinsB. (2014). The transfer effect: A critical race theory examination of black male transfer student athletes’ experiences. Journal of Intercollegiate Sport, 7(1), 80–104. https://doi.org/10.1123/jis.2013-0033
18.
CoshS.TullyP. J. (2015). Stressors, coping, and support mechanisms for student athletes combining elite sport and tertiary education: Implications for practice. The Sport Psychologist, 29(2), 120–133. https://doi.org/10.1123/tsp.2014-0102
19.
DavorenA. K.HwangS. (2014). Depression and anxiety prevalence in student-athletes. In BrownG. T.HainlineB.KroshusE.WilfertM. (Eds.), Mind, body and sport: Understanding and supporting student-athlete mental wellness (pp. 38–39). National Collegiate Athletic Association.
20.
DrewM.PetrieT. A.PalmateerT. (2021). National Collegiate Athletic Association athletic departments’ mental health screening practices: Who, what, when, and how. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 17(2), 131–147. https://doi.org/10.1123/jcsp.2021-0036
21.
FullerR. D. (2017). Perception or reality: The relationship between stereotypes, discrimination, and the academic outcomes of African American male college athletes. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 41(5), 402–424. https://doi.org/10.1177/0193723517719664
22.
FullerR. D.HarrisonC. K.BuksteinS. J.MartinB. E.LawrenceS. M.GadsbyP. (2020). That smart dude: A qualitative investigation of the African American male scholar-baller identity. Urban Education, 55(5), 813–831. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085916668955
23.
GiacobbiP. R.LynnT. K.WetheringtonJ. M.JenkinsJ.BodendorfM.LangleyB. (2004). Stress and coping during the transition to university for first-year female athletes. The Sport Psychologist, 18(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1123/tsp.18.1.1
24.
GriffinW. (2017). Who is whistling Vivaldi? How Black football players engage with stereotype threats in college. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 30(4), 354–369. https://doi.org/10.1080/09518398.2016.1250174
25.
HartA. R.LavnerJ. A.CarterS. E.BeachS. R. H. (2021). Racial discrimination, depressive symptoms, and sleep problems among blacks in the rural south. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 27(1), 123–134. https://doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000365
26.
HigginbothamG. D.ShropshireJ.JohnsonK. L. (2022). You play a sport, right? A persistent and pernicious intersectional bias in categorization of students vs. Student-athletes. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 48(11), 1531–1547. https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672211044067
27.
HodgeS. R.HarrisonL.,Jr.BurdenJ. W.,Jr.DixsonA. D. (2008). Brown in Black and White—Then and now: A question of educating or sporting African American males in America. American Behavioral Scientist, 51(7), 928–952. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764207311998
JacksonJ. S.KeiperS.BrownK. T.BrownT. N.ManuelW. (2002). Athletic identity, racial attitudes, and aggression in first-year Black and White intercollegiate athletes. In GatzM.MessnerM. A.Ball-RokeachS. J. (Eds.), Paradoxes of youth and sport (pp. 159–172). State University of New York Press.
32.
KieferH. R.PetrieT. A.WallsR. (2023). The transition from collegiate sport: An analysis of the current retirement planning practices of NCAA institutions. Journal for the Study of Sports and Athletes in Education, 17(1), 66–82. https://doi.org/10.1080/19357397.2021.2013101
33.
LapchickR. E. (2011). Keeping score when it counts: Graduation success and academic progress rates for the 2011 NCAA Division 1 Men’s Basketball Tournament Teams. The Institute for Ethics and Diversity and Sport. Retrieved fromhttp://tidesport.org/Grad%20Rates/2011_Mens_Bball_FINAL.Pdf
34.
LawrenceS. M. (2005). African American athletes’ experiences of race in sport. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 40(1), 99–110. https://doi.org/10.1177/1012690205052171
35.
MartinB. E.HarrisonC. K.StoneJ.LawrenceS. M. (2010). Athletic voices and academic victories: African American male student-athlete experiences in the Pac-Ten. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 34(2), 131–153. https://doi.org/10.1177/0193723510366541
MelendezM. C. (2008). Black football players on a predominantly White college campus: Psychosocial and emotional realities of the Black college athlete experience. Journal of Black Psychology, 34(4), 423–451. https://doi.org/10.1177/0095798408319874
38.
NadalK. L.DavidoffK. C.AllicockN.SerpeC. R. (2017). Perceptions of police, racial profiling, and psychological outcomes: A mixed methodological study. Journal of Social Issues, 73(4), 808–830. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12249
ObachB. (1999). Demonstrating the social construction of race. Teaching Sociology, 27(3), 252–257. https://doi.org/10.2307/1319325
41.
PetrieT. A.GreenleafC.ReelJ.CarterJ. (2008). Prevalence of eating disorders and disordered eating behaviors among male collegiate athletes. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 9(4), 267–277. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0013178
42.
RamaekerJ.PetrieT. (2019). “Man up!”: Exploring intersections of sport participation, masculinity, psychological distress, and help-seeking attitudes. Psychology of Men & Masculinities, 20(4), 515–527. https://doi.org/10.1037/men0000198
43.
RubinL. M.FullerR.StokowskiS. (2022). “I might as well get my education”: The experiences of Black male division III college athletes. Journal of Athlete Development and Experience, 4(1), 17–36. https://doi.org/10.25035/jade.04.01.03
44.
SadberryS.MobleyM. (2013). Sociocultural and mental health adjustment of black student athletes: Within-group differences and institutional setting. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 7(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1123/jcsp.7.1.1
45.
SailesG. A. (1993). An investigation of campus stereotypes: The myth of Black athletic superiority and the dumb jock stereotype. Sociology of Sport Journal, 10(1), 88–97. https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.10.1.88
46.
SaundersB.SimJ.KingstoneT.BakerS.WaterfieldJ.BartlamB.BurroughsH.JinksC. (2018). Saturation in qualitative research: Exploring its conceptualization and operationalization. Quality & Quantity, 52(4), 1893–1907. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-017-0574-8
47.
ShadravanS. M.BarceloN. E. (2021). Social injustice and mental health inequities. In ShimR. S.VinsonS. Y. (Eds.), Social (in)justice and mental health (pp. 46). American Psychiatric Association Publishing.
48.
ShimR. S.ComptonM. T. (2021). Social injustice and the social determinants of mental health. In ShimR. S.VinsonS. Y. (Eds.), Social (in)justice and mental health (pp. 13–30). American Psychiatric Association Publishing.
SingerJ. N. (2005). Understanding racism through the eyes of African American male student athletes. Race Ethnicity and Education, 8(4), 365–386. https://doi.org/10.1080/13613320500323963
51.
SlavinL. E.PalmateerT. M.PetrieT. A.MooreE. W. G. (2022). Collegiate student-athlete psychological distress and counseling utilization during COVID-19. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 17(1), 72–85. https://doi.org/10.1123/jcsp.2021-0091
52.
SmileyC. J.FakunleD. (2016). From “brute” to “thug:” The demonization and criminalization of unarmed Black male victims in America. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 26(3-4), 350–366. https://doi.org/10.1080/10911359.2015.1129256
53.
SmithB.McGannonK. R. (2018). Developing rigor in qualitative research: Problems and opportunities within sport and exercise psychology. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 11(1), 101–121. https://doi.org/10.1080/1750984X.2017.1317357
54.
SmithW. A.AllenW. R.DanleyL. L. (2007). “Assume the position … you fit the description”: Psychosocial experiences and racial battle fatigue among African American male college students. American Behavioral Scientist, 51(4), 551–578. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764207307742
55.
SmithW. A.HungM.FranklinJ. D. (2011). Racial battle fatigue and the miseducation of Black men: Racial microaggressions, societal problems, and environmental stress. The Journal of Negro Education, 80(1), 63–82. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41341106
56.
SparkesA. C.SmithB. (2013). Qualitative research methods in sport, exercise and health: From process to product. Routledge.
57.
SteinfeldtJ. A.ReedC.SteinfeldtM. C. (2010). Racial and athletic identity of African American football players at historically black colleges and universities and predominantly white institutions. Journal of Black Psychology, 36(1), 3–24. https://doi.org/10.1177/0095798409353894
58.
SteinfeldtJ. A.SteinfeldtM. C. (2012). Profile of masculine norms and help-seeking stigma in college football. Sport,Exercise, and Performance Psychology, 1(1), 58. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0024919
59.
StoneJ.HarrisonC. K.MottleyJ. (2012). “Don’t call me a student-athlete”: The effect of identity priming on stereotype threat for academically engaged African American college athletes. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 34(2), 99–106. https://doi.org/10.1080/01973533.2012.655624
60.
StrehlowS.FosterS. J. L.FullerR.RidpathB. D.FridleyA.StokowskiS. (2021). Division I college athletes’ self-perception: Investigating the impact of race and discrimination. Journal of Athlete Development and Experience, 3(3), 150–169. https://doi.org/10.25035/jade.03.03.01
61.
SueD. W.CapodilupoC. M.TorinoG. C.BucceriJ. M.HolderA. M. B.NadalK. L.EsquilinM. (2007). Racial microaggressions in everyday life: Implications for clinical practice. The American Psychologist, 62(4), 271–286. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.62.4.271
TranA. G. T. T.HolzapfelJ.LamC. K.EusticeK. L. (2023). Race and student-athlete status: Peer appraisals of academic skills, intelligence, and favorability. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 16(3), 346–355. https://doi.org/10.1037/dhe0000339
64.
WintersM. F. (2020). Black fatigue: How racism erodes the mind, body, and spirit. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
65.
YangJ.SchaeferJ. T.ZhangN.CovassinT.DingK.HeidenE. (2014). Social support from the athletic trainer and symptoms of depression and anxiety at return to play. Journal of Athletic Training, 49(6), 773–779. https://doi.org/10.4085/1062-6050-49.3.65
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
