Intercollegiate Female Coaches' Use of Verbally Aggressive Communication Toward African American Female Athletes

Abstract

Despite the high proportionality of African American female athletes in intercollegiate sports, the combination of a primarily White sports media and White coaching personnel creates a fertile environment for the reproduction of racialized and gendered stereotypes. This study sought to examine this phenomenon through the lens of verbally aggressive communication between female intercollegiate coaches and African American female athletes. This study found that verbally aggressive communication is generally perceived negatively by African American female athletes and suggests that female intercollegiate coaches, like their male counterparts, often believe they can arbitrarily use the power granted to them within the sport organization to perpetuate racial and gender stereotypes.