African American Crime in the NFL: Does the NFL Have a Crime Problem?

• In Event: Race and Perceptions of Race: Implications for Crime and Victimization

Abstract

They are bigger, faster, stronger and taller; they generate millions of dollars on the collegiate and professional level; they are heroes of many and many people aspire to be like them at an early age. However in the media they've been portrayed as over-aggressive, gangsters, uneducated and womanizers; this is the black athlete. This study will negate the negative stereotypes that society is placing upon black athletes within the National Football League (NFL). From Michael Vick, Adam Jones, Ray Rice, and Plaxico Burress all of these black athletes have been stereotyped under one of the categories presented above. Focusing on the sport of football, in which the majority of blacks are thought to only play, will be a key point in showing arrests rates concerning blacks in the NFL. Debunking the identity of these athletes concerning sports and crimes will be the focus of the research and how it can affect the psyche of a black athlete. Some may think the media has a tendency to over-exaggerate and over-analyze incidents when it comes to the arrest of black athletes, the fact that this is happening and it seems to constantly happen to NFL athletes shall be researched and dispelled.

Author

• Devonte Cortez White, Texas Southern University