Abstract

System justification theory posits that members of various groups seek to maintain the status quo by reinforcing and internalizing the thoughts, behaviors, and expectations of existing systems. The current study examines these notions in the context of disciplinary actions against Black and white male athletes in the National Football League (NFL), attempting to compare punishment within the league and United States society. Data on all reported fines and suspensions from the 2002 to 2018 NFL seasons were obtained from Spotrac. Imprisonment rates by race and gender from the sampled period were collected from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). Results from our analyses showed that Black NFL players were fined and suspended at a higher rate than white players, as compared to the actual distribution of players by race in the NFL. Consistent with system justification theory, the data reveal an overrepresentation of Black players who were disciplined by the league relative to their own race group than white players. Limitations of the present study and future directions for research are discussed.