African-American Athletes: A Case Study

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Young African-American athletes participating in a competitive sport may dream of becoming the next sport superstar, earning a large salary, and gaining access to opportunities, such as education and employment (Bimper & Harrison, 2011). However, the marketing strategy of high profile sports do not display the true paths pros have taken to get to where they are at currently, which is usually characterized by a vast amount of time and effort practicing their skills.
This research hopes to foster interests in schools hiring more culturally responsive counselors, coaches, and educators which can increase caring and understanding to bridge the gap between the African-American culture and the values of mainstream American society on Black athletes
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Racial identity development training for teachers, coaches, counselors, and other community leaders can foster a more holistic and balanced identity development in African-American adolescents (Day-Vines et al., 2003; Harrison et al., 2002). By creating a space within the educational system that promotes the development of a stronger academic identity among African-American adolescents, alternative opportunities will begin to become accessible within the values of their culture (Harrison et al., 2002). This is deemed very important towards black athletes being exposed to more than athletics. Having competence in cultural awareness is even more important working with diverse athletes because their culture and ethnicity concerns in society can affect their performance in their sport and perception of self in a white dominant atmosphere (college campuses). These factors may ultimately affect the athletes ability to transition out of their athletic identity. Or at-least that is what this research is gear to