Multi-Racial Attitudes of Sports Policy
Edward Vargas | School of Transborder Studies

The purpose of this research is to conduct a national online multi-racial survey on sports and race in America. Using critical race and racial threat theory, this study seeks to examine the relationships between public opinions in sports policy (views towards indigenous mascots, amateurism and athlete exploitation, doping, kneeling during the National Anthem, views toward concussions, Title VI in university settings) physical activity, self-rated health, and the most innovative measures of the racialization experience. In addition, this research will utilize online web survey experiments to understand if racial attitudes can be improved by racial empathy using sports as the medium.

Using a national survey of the ‘untold stories’ of other Americans, the aims of the current study are to:

Aim 1: Identify individual level factors associated with sports policy preferences by race/ethnicity.

Aim 2: Test if the relations between individual, cultural, and racial/ethnic group identity and physical activity are associated with sports policy preferences.

Aim 3: Test if individual-level variables (e.g., experiences with discrimination, racial/ethnic attitudes, perceived body image, obesity, racialization) explain the relations between sports policy preferences and if racial empathy can help improve race relations.

Last updated June 2019.