Title: Toward a framework for understanding Black male athlete social responsibility (BMASR) in big-time American sports

Authors: Kwame J.A. Agyemang; John N. Singer

Addresses: Department of Exercise and Sport Science, Eastern Kentucky University, Moberly 229, 521 Lancaster Ave., Richmond, KY 40475, USA. ' Department of Health and Kinesiology, Texas A&M University, 4243 TAMU College Station, TX 77843, USA

Abstract: Stemming from their commodification as a means for growing sport into a commercial entity, multi-million dollar professional contracts with teams and sponsors, and sometimes, socially (un)acceptable acts, current Black male professional athletes in big-time American sports face not only the pressure to perform athletically, but also to conduct themselves in a socially responsible manner. Given the above mentioned factors, this paper sees today|s Black male athlete as a business, therefore necessitating them to engage in socially responsible acts as a means of management, just as scholars have encouraged CSR initiatives, among many strategies, to manage a corporation. Answering the call of sport management scholars to further analyse and expand CSR principles in sport, the purpose of this paper is to illuminate on Black male athlete social responsibility (BMASR) as a management strategy with the intention of moving toward a framework for understanding this concept.

Keywords: black males; male athletes; corporate social responsibility; CSR; gender; race; USA; United States; commodification; commercial entities; professional contracts; sports teams; sponsors; unacceptable acts; acceptable acts; athletics; professional athletes; socially responsible conduct; BMASR; accountability; stakeholders; branding; brands; sport management; sport marketing; stewardship; sustainability; sustainable development.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSMM.2011.043613

International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 2011 Vol.10 No.1/2, pp.46 - 60

Received: 16 Aug 2010
Accepted: 10 Aug 2011
Published online: 21 Feb 2015 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article