In-and-Out: How Fashion Journalists Write About Black NBA Dandies

The National Basketball Association (NBA), now flush with lucrative television contracts from its broadcast partners and an owner-friendly collective bargaining agreement, is as popular as ever. Besides athleticism only reserved for a small portion of humans and basketball plays that can only be made by not even most elite college players, what also keeps fans on the edge of their seats are the outfits worn by Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Lebron James and the many other fashionable players. Using what Bourdieu’s (1984) termed cultural intermediary in Distinction as a conceptual framework, this study will examine how 12 fashion journalists write about Black NBA dandies. According to Bourdieu (1984), cultural intermediaries are involved in the presentation and representation of cultural and symbolic goods and services, some of whom are salespeople, advertising executives, and interior designers. Cultural intermediaries serve as the link between production and consumption, giving the end consumer access to legitimate culture. As fashion journalists, these participants educate their readers on the latest in bespoke wear, haute couture clothing and Black style. The Black NBA body provides a medium for fashion journalists to highlight the exclusivity and democratic ideals of fashion because of the ways in which they peel off the layers of celebrity, position Black NBA dandies within a network of images, and create a dialectic tension between Black culture and a generic White culture.

Exploring adversity and the potential for growth among Iron[wo]man competitors

The Ironman triathlon is one of the most famous endurance races in the world. Consisting of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride, and a 26.2-mile run, it requires significant physical and mental fitness training (Atkinson, 2008) as well as substantial investments in equipment, time, and emotional energy. As opposed to more casual leisure pursuits, the Ironman triathlon can be considered a serious leisure pursuit (Stebbins, 1982). Like other serious athletic leisure pursuits, participation in triathlon can facilitate personal growth experiences, especially through overcoming sport-related adversity (e.g., Atkinson, 2008; Connaughton et al., 2010; Galli & Reel, 2012). In fact, researchers have reported self-discovery, empowerment, agency, and mental toughness as potential benefits of sport-related growth through adversity (Atkinson, 2008; Cronan & Scott, 2008; Galli & Vealey, 2008; Granskog, 1992, 2003; Howells & Fletcher, 2015; Howells et al., 2017; Sarkar et al., 2015).

A Lot of People Did Not Want This to Happen

Using three highly visible promotional videos from the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), we perform a critical examination of the UFC’s branding during the COVID-19 pandemic. The first is a recorded endorsement from President Donald Trump, the second introduces the origin of an international pay-per-view series called “Fight Island” and the third is an end of year retrospective of the UFC’s performance in 2020. Employing content analysis grounded in brand psychology and narrative persuasion, we deconstruct the visual communication and story-based elements within this advertising to reveal how the company has adopted an identity of heroic dominance and defiance. This persona is built from a cognitively biased and framed suggestive notion which the UFC uses to market themselves as the lone organization fearless enough to “conquer” COVID-19 through the continuation of live events and overcoming obstacles posed by government regulation and media criticism. Ultimately, we find three dominant narratives actively established from this identity and heavily employed in their subsequent branded content: “Sport Must Go On,” “Unstoppable Force,” and “World Gone Crazy.” We conclude by arguing that the UFC’s branding reifies the tenuous social and political position the young sport occupies by marketing the combat sports company as different than other mainstream sport leagues, through repeated celebration of the Dana White (President of the UFC) as a heroic figure, by their disavowal of caution in the face of a pandemic, and in portrayal of the mainstream media as a jealous enemy.

A New Way to Play Hockey in Canada

Youth sport provides the opportunity for children to develop skills, motivation, and interests towards an active lifestyle. In Canada, more than 75% of young people (6-12 years old) are engaged in organized sport; more specifically, over 300 000 children participate in organized hockey. Hockey Canada recently decided to propose a new way to introduce young people to hockey by implementing the half-ice game play model for novice players (7-8 years old). Based on other similar contexts, changes in the culture of a sport tend to cause a divergence in public opinion, which makes them controversial, thus making implementation more difficult at the grassroots level. This paper studies the parents and coaches of young hockey players by measuring their beliefs regarding the half-ice game play model for novice hockey, in the preceding year to official implementation. More specifically, the objective is threefold: 1) to describe and verify parents’ and coaches’ beliefs regarding the half-ice game play model, 2) to examine their preferences regarding the format of play they believe is best for their children (or players), and 3) to verify if their beliefs differ based on their province or association. The sample consisted of 6,892 participants (81% parents, 19% coaches) from across Canada (8 provinces/regions). Questionnaires measuring socio-demographic factors, beliefs, and preferences regarding the play model were completed and group comparisons were conducted. Results indicate that mothers’ beliefs differ significantly from those of fathers and coaches. The second part of the analysis also reveals important differences, in terms of territorial predispositions towards the preferred format for novice ice hockey. To facilitate implementation of a new ice hockey program, the results of this study suggest there are crucial aspects to consider with respect to the education of parents and coaches. Further research perspectives based on a long-term approach are also discussed.