?Going Pro?: the deferential effects of high aspirations for a professional sports career on African-American student athletes and White student athletes

Abstract

Social scientists have long noted the effects of the images of the African-American male brought forth in popular culture. In fact, popular culture and organized sports have been credited as major contributors to many of the social problems that exist among African-American males. Those social problems are characterized in the oppositional relationship that has formed between athletic and academic achievement, and the high aspirations and expectations that African-American student athletes hold concerning professional sports. This study seeks to examine this phenomenon by identifying socializing agents and influences in the lives of this group that may propel them into holding these beliefs. In addition, the academic and behavioral affects of holding these beliefs will be examined. Several independent and dependent variables were studied. The data was collected from a Division I football team through the use of a survey designed by the researchers. Several interesting findings were yielded concerning the effects of parental emphasis of sports during the socialization process and the high rates of African-American football players who held beliefs in a professional sports careers when compared to their White teammates. Additionally, those beliefs were found to affect academic achievement and behavior.