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RESEARCH PRODUCT

‘White men can’t jump in a black basketball game?’ An exploratory investigation of implicit strategies of outgroup discrimination

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AbstractExamining the ‘natural’ athlete myth and utilizing the recent literature on cultural/social factors in athleticism and basketball, this study through survey research examines the influence of stereotypes on the impression formation of basketball players. The primary research question is to determine from a group of students the attitudes of basketball players in terms of how they evaluate white and black players in basketball. The purpose is to identify participants’ perceptions and their appreciation as to whether or not black are superior to white basketball players. The theoretical framework employed is articulated around the theory of social categorization and racial stereotypes already observed in sports. In an initial qualitative phase, the results show that stereotypical representations exert an influence on the skills associated with basketball players depending on the colour of their skin, which is reflected in the use of adjectives specific to each of the categories of black and white. I...