Is Stereotypical Coverage of African-American Athletes as "Dead as Disco"?: An Analysis of NFL Quarterbacks in the Pages of Sports Illustrated

Abstract

Racial stereotypes in magazine sports writing appear to be fading. A content analysis of Sports Illustrated coverage of six white and six African-American NFL quarterbacks during the 2002, 2003 and 2004 seasons found no difference in the way the athletes' intelligence was described and only slight differences in physical descriptions. Unlike similar research from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, this study found the coverage was less stereotyped than it had been in previous decades.