Ninth International Conference on Sport & Society

Abstract

In the NBA, when a player signs the coveted contract, they unknowingly give up a basic and fundamental human right, one specifically crucial to any historically disenfranchised group: the freedom of speech. Given the systematic and institutional denial of voice and agency in the history of black America, the loss of the ability to “speak freely” is profound. For any group of people whose voice has historically been denied or deemed unimportant, meaningless, or ignorant, a loss of speech “agency” should be examined carefully. Such a loss is an explicit manifestation of a message that has been implicitly expressed throughout the lives of those living in poverty (particularly those of color). The message is that the only realm in which you can make a mark, get significant financial compensation or express yourself to a broader public is through sport or entertainment. Your intellectual voice is systematically devalued to the point where you yourself don’t find it worthy of being heard (visible in the ample data surrounding experiences of African-American athletes in the educational industrial complex). Your “speech” is bodily only. As professional players, when you do verbally speak to the press, and “owners,” coaches, or GM’s find it “inappropriate” you may be fined, suspended, or terminated. We fail to think of limitations associated with contracts since they are not explicitly thematized and are accompanied by exorbitantly large paychecks. I argue that this denial of voice is part of a larger hegemonic impulse to continue to objectify and exploit African-American bodies.