Speed, aggression, strength, and tactical naïveté: The portrayal of the black soccer player on television

The aim of the study was to analyze whether the language used by television commentators during the coverage of domestic English soccer matches differed according to the race of the player. It was hypothesized that the English television medium constructed negative images of the Black domestic soccer player through the descriptive narratives and metaphors adopted. The methodology was composed of a verbal content analysis (as used by Sabo and colleagues). The analysis centered on the identification and categorization of positive and negative commentator remarks. The categories were (a) players and their performances, (b) physical characteristics of players, and (c) psychological characteristics of players. Although Black players were depicted positively in each of the defined categories, evidence of covert racial stereotyping was found in the excessive positive depictions related to the physicality of the Black players and the psychological characteristics of the White players.