What Color is a Golden Boy? The Glorification and Disparagement of Male Superstar Athletes in Sports Illustrated

Abstract

This study examined media representations of male superstar athletes over more than three decades. Some journalists portrayed their subjects as smart, physically attractive young men at the top of their games. Other writers emphasized their flaws and told stories of tarnished heroes. Based on an analysis of 140 references to sports stars in Sports Illustrated magazine articles, the results showed that favorable and unfavorable framing of athletes depended on their race/ethnicity, the dominance of their sport, and the historical context in which they played. Compared to white sports stars, racial minority athletes were more often portrayed with unfavorable frames, such as unintelligent, immoral, or lacking charm. Athletes from lesser-known sports were also more likely to be described with unfavorable frames than athletes from the four most dominant sports in the US (football, basketball, baseball, and hockey). Both favorable and unfavorable frames were more common in articles published in the most recent period (2013–2021) than in earlier decades (1987–2012), signaling an increasing interest among journalists in the personal qualities of sports stars. The study provides new empirical and theoretical insight on the relationships between three social antecedents—racism, hegemonic sport culture, and technological change—and the framing of superstar athletes.