It’s (Inter)Personal: A Qualitative Examination of Black Women College Athletes' Experiences With Exploitation at Predominantly White Institutions

• In Event: Identity and Exploitation in Collegiate Athletics: Examining Discrimination, Harassment, and Labor Dynamics in College Fitness and Recreation

Abstract

Claims of racial exploitation in U.S. college athletics can be traced back several decades. Scholars have typically explained exploitation in terms of the commercialization of college athletics, labor, and economic exploitation. However, by centering revenue-generating sports and thus, Black men, scholars cannot understand what exploitation looks like for Black women athletes and others. The purpose of this study is to unpack Black women college athletes’ perceptions of and experiences with interpersonal exploitation in predominantly white college environments. By examining how interpersonal interactions and relationships, and the systems that inform them, foster, and sustain conditions in which college athletes can be systematically exploited, scholars, policymakers, and practitioners can reimagine relationships and environments in which athletes’ mental and physical well-being are prioritized.

Author

• Ezinne Ofoegbu, Santa Clara University