Institutional Racism within the Print Media: A Content Analysis of <i>Sports Illustrated's</i> Media Coverage of Black NFL Head Coaches

Abstract

The purpose of the present study is to investigate the prevalence of institutional racism in the coverage of African American and Caucasian National Football League (NFL) head coaches who have appeared in Sports Illustrated from 1998 through 2004; the resultant impact on interscholastic athletics and student athletes will be explored. This study applies institutional racism and framing theories to determine to what degree, if any, differences occur between African American and Caucasian NFL head coaches in terms of cover photographs, subheads, kickers, editorials/opinions, and sport blurbs in <i>Sports Illustrated.</i>