This research examines the effects of racial stereotypes embedded within sports media. An experiment was conducted to examine the impact of racialized “brawn” and “brain” frames on perceptions of student-athletes among their potential peers. College student participants (N = 232) were exposed to one of eight versions of a news article about a college football recruit that manipulated the athlete’s race (White vs. Black) and the frame used to describe him (brawn vs. brain vs. mixed vs. control). Results showed a college admittance essay was evaluated more positively when the author was a Black athlete compared to a White athlete. In addition, the brawn frame elicited lower levels of social attraction and greater athlete stereotype endorsement compared to all other frames. No interaction effects were revealed. These findings suggest that how the media frame student-athletes affects expectations of their academic performance, which has practical implications for interpersonal dynamics between student-athletes and their peers, as well as public perceptions of student-athletes writ large.
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