(Re)Conceptualizing Black College Athlete Labor as a Multidimensional Concept

• In Event: Diversity, Identity, and Equity in College Athletics: Perspectives on Recruitment, Experience, and Labor

Abstract

Black college athlete labor is often relagated to discussions of what they do in relation to their athletic pursuits. This conceptualization is limited and minimizes the labor exerted in the various aspects of their college experience. As discussions of college athlete labor are shifting in favor of the athlete, it is imperative to examine labor from a holistic perspective. We reconceptualize labor as a multidimensional concept (e.g., physical, psychosocial, educational, and structural) to challenge how scholars and practitioners evaluate the exploitative relationship between college athletic departments, institutions of higher education, and the Black college athletes that continuously elevate the status of these organizations.

Authors

• Jonathan Howe, Temple University

• Robert A. Bennett, Denison University