Abstract
Economic research on racial discrimination frequently employs data from sports. We analyze admission decisions for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame (HOF) for evidence of discrimination against Black National Basketball Association (NBA) players from the 1950s to the 2010s. Our results suggest that, holding career performance constant, the average Black former All-Star, who is not currently in the HOF, is about five percentage points less likely to be admitted into the HOF compared to similar non-Black All-Stars. This represents about a 50% reduction in the probability of admission into the HOF. The anonymous electors to the HOF appear to act on discriminatory preferences. Like the results in the NBA salary discrimination literature, this effect disappeared in the 1980s and 1990s and reappeared in the 2000s.
Published Version
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