Outside of My Realm: Athletic Professionals' Reflections on Their Preparation for Working With Diverse Students

• In Event: 54.071 - Diversifying the Discussion: Experiences of Underrepresented Student-Athletes

Abstract

At the University of Oklahoma and the University of Missouri, student-athletes were recently in the spotlight for their responses to campus racial tensions. These specific incidents suggest much about the political power of student-athletes, but at a basic level they are also indicative of the relative racial diversity in Athletics (Loughran & Etzel, 2008) and athletes’ hyper-visibility (Adler & Adler, 1999) as community members onto whom wider campus conflicts are projected. Despite the diversity of the student-athlete population, many athletics staff members are not specifically trained to work with diverse individuals, much less racial “incidents.” Using semi-structured interviews with 20 athletics practitioners from 2 universities, this study explores how participants approach working with diverse students and what training they received.

Authors

• Laura Bernhard, Stanford University

• Siduri J. Haslerig, The University of Oklahoma