Chapter 9: Sports and the American Dream
9
SPORTS AND THE AMERICAN DREAM
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
9.1Explain the state of sport in the United States.
9.2Compare stock theories about U.S. sport.
9.3Apply the matrix approach to sport.
9.4Describe strategies for transforming the institution of sport
Lacrosse, originating with Indigenous peoples of the Eastern Woodlands and the Great Lakes region, is the oldest sport in the U.S. Most other American sports were derived from British sports. Sports such as football, baseball, and softball all derive from British sports, including rugby football, British baseball, and rounders. Although a derivative, each has a distinctive American flavor, with its own rules, styles, and equipment. The Cincinnati Red Stockings, established in 1869, were the first professional sports team. With all players being paid salaries, amateur sports became professional. The National League, the first major professional league, was established in 1876. The first professional football team, known as the Scotch Professors, appeared in the late 1870s. One of the first professional teams was known as “the Invincibles,” who became the first champions of the English Football League in 1888-89. The first winter indoor activity was invented by Dr. James Naismith in 1891 and became known as Basketball. It was quickly picked up by many colleges and soon became the source of the future professional leagues. Professional soccer in the United States owes its origins to European immigrants (Scottish, Irish, German\, and Italian) arriving in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They formed clubs linked to their ethnic communities and often challenged other teams in various industrial towns such as Fall River, Massachusetts, and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. As the sport increased in popularity, the American Football Association was established in 1884.
Table 9.1 Most Popular Sports In The USA By Total Fans
Rank | Sport | # of Total Fans |
1 | 188.4 Million | |
2 | 171.1 Million | |
3 | 155.9 Million | |
4 | 136.2 Million | |
5 | 123 Million | |
6 | 71 Million | |
7 | 10.7 Million |
Playfly Fanscore, using Vision Insights studies, estimated these US fan totals. Source: 
The Most Popular Sports in the United States
The top three sports in the US are football, baseball, and basketball. The most popular sport in the United States today is the National Football League (NFL). In 2024, the NFL generated total revenue of over $23 billion across 32 teams. Each team received an average of $416 million from the league from broadcast, sponsorship, and licensing. During the 2025 regular season, an average of 18.7 million viewers were tracked per game. Over 57.2 million viewers watched the Chiefs-Cowboys Thanksgiving game. A record 127.7 million viewers watched Super Bowl LIX. (
Gaines, 2026) In the second spot is Baseball. In 2023, Major League Baseball (MLB) reported total revenues of $12.1 billion and a fan base of about 171 million. And finally, Basketball generated total revenue of $12 billion and has a fan base of 155.9 million. The NBA Finals Game 7 between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers averaged 16.4 million viewers on ABC. (See Table 9.1) From its beginning to now, American sports have been defined by race and gender. Our journey begins with our youth.
Sports and Youth
Young people as young as 6 began their journey into sports, but that journey is deeply associated with Race, class, and gender. On the positive side, youth participation in sports enhances physical, mental, social, emotional, cognitive, and academic abilities. (President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition Science Board 2020) But it can also lead to traumatic injuries (strains, broken bones, or ligament tears), overuse injuries (accounting for half of all injuries, associated with repetitive injuries often associated with throwing or jumping), mental health and burnout (depression, stress, anxiety, and lowering of self-worth associated with intensive training, accounting for an estimated 70% of young athletes leaving the sport by age 13) and over training. (Brenner and Watson, 2024) The average family cost increased nearly 40% from 2019 to 2024 (going from $693 to $1016 in that period). (Solomon 2025) Although these increases impacted negatively on most racial groups, Black youth participation decreased the most by slightly over 10%. Similarly, male participation decreased by 9%. Interestingly, both females and Asian/Pacific Islanders saw a one percentage increase in participation. Finally, youth at both ends of the economic spectrum (those living in households with incomes under $25,000 and over $100,000) saw about a 6% decline.
Figure 9.1.
Source: https://projectplay.org/youth-
A $2.9 billion NCAA settlement has caused universities to reconsider their sports program. The settlement was in response to former and current college athletes who were denied the right to earn money from the use of their names, images, and likenesses before the 2021 NCAA rule changes. The settlement provides $21 million annually to athletes for the use of their names, images, and likenesses, starting with the 2025 academic year.
The two highest revenue-generating sports -football and men’s basketball -will receive the bulk of the compensation. What this means is that obvious gender inequities may continue as the economic landscape of college sports will be reshaped and more likely to benefit male basketball and football players. (Christovich 2025)
Gender and Sports
Female sports leagues and professional women’s sports are less likely to receive attention and resources compared to their male counterparts. Media coverage, salaries, sponsorship, and promotional campaigns for female athletes garner significantly less.
In the face of these challenges, a new set of dimensions has opened for women athletes who have been able to leverage social media engagement. One of the leaders in this movement was Caitlin Clark of the Iowa Hawkeyes. Leading her team to victory during the 2023-2024 women’s basketball season led to a 48% increase in T.V. ratings. This surge, driven by higher ticket prices and spikes in advertising, led to greater support and investment in women’s athletics overall. (Darvin 2024) Caitlin Clark (about $3.8 million per year) joins Bronny James, out of USC (about $5.9 million), as the top NIL earners of all time.
Source: DALLAS, TEXAS - APRIL 02: Caitlin Clark #22 of the Iowa Hawkeyes shoots the ball against Angel Reese #10 of the LSU Lady Tigers during the fourth quarter during the 2023 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament championship game at American Airlines Center on April 02, 2023, in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
Source: https://voltedu.com/marketing-
The most significant professional women's sports teams are the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). The NWSL, with 14 teams, generated $214 million in 2025. This compares with the $200 million generated by the WNBA, which has 13 teams. A record 2 million fans attended NWSL games in 2024. Overall, 64% of the NWSL fan base is male. In that same year, the WNBA topped 17.3 million fans, of which 57% male. (Nielsen, 2025)
Transformational Story
Source: Babe Didrikson Zaharias: The ‘greatest all-sport athlete’ who helped revolutionize women’s golf | CNN Getty Images
Mildred Ella “Babe” Didrikson Zharais (June 26, `9`` - September 27, 1956) was a multi-talented athlete excelling in golf, basketball, baseball, swimming, figure skating, billiards, and track and field. In the 1932 Summer Olympics, she won two gold medals and a silver medal in track and field. Then she launched her golf career, winning 10 major LPGA championships. Her parents, both immigrants from Norway, grew up in Beaumont, Texas. In preschool, while playing baseball, she hit five home runs, earning her the nickname "Babe". Didrikson won six individual and team titles in the American Athletic Association in 1932. In 1932, Didrikson began playing golf, and by 1934, it had become her primary sport. In 1938, she became the first woman to compete in a male golf event, although she did not make the cut. In 1946, she won the U.S. Women’s Amateur tournament, and in the following year, won 17 golf championships. As a professional, she won the U.S. Women’s Open in 1948 and again in 1950.
In 1950, Zaharias helped found the Ladies Professional Golf Association, where she was a star competitor. Over the years, she revolutionized the sport. After surgery in 1953 and wearing a colostomy bag, Didrikson Zararias again won the U.S. Open. She followed this in 1954 with four other tournament wins and two more in 1955. She died the following year. In 2021, she was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. (Britannica, 2024)
End of story
Race and Sports
Race is deeply intertwined in every sport, but not on every level. At least 66% of the U.S. population aged 13 or older is classified as a sports fan. Of the estimated 186 Americans, most (30%) are boomers and Gen Z, with Millennials at 24%, and Gen Z the remaining 16%. Overall, approximately 39% of youth aged 6-17 participated in some form of sports (either on a sports team or through after-school or weekend lessons). Although half of all boys aged 6 to 17 participated in 2013, only 41% did so in 2023. Girls aged 6 to 12 (34%) and 13-17 (38%) regularly played at higher levels in 2023 than in 2012. Among all racial groups, Black youth participated at the lowest rate. Only 25% of Black youth ages 6–17 participated regularly in 2023, compared to 45% in 2013. It should also be noted that in 2013, they were participating at a higher rate than their White peers. During this same period, Hispanic children's participation increased 14% in 2023. White males were over 60% more likely to participate in sports than women (54%), Asians (57%), Multiracial (58%), Hispanics (49%), or Blacks (47%). These disparities are most closely associated with the costs borne by families, organizations, and schools for youth sports activities. Many such programs charge fees for equipment, travel, and registration. One estimate is that the average family will pay around $693 per child for one sport per year, with some paying more than $2,000.
At the professional level, the MLB leads all sports in diversity, at least when comparing players. As the 2024 season began, a total of 264 players were born internationally from 19 countries and territories. Among these players, those from the Dominican Republic accounted for 108, followed by Venezuela with 58 and Cuba with 18. When looking at domestic persons of color, African Americans were at a historic low. The NBA, with over 80 percent of league players Black, has 1 out of 3 of its coaches Black, but no major owners Black. A similar picture is seen in the WNBA, where in 2019, 83% of players and 25% of head coaches were Black. The numbers go down from there. See figure X.1 below.
Source: What’s Going On in This Graph? | Diversity in Professional Sports - The New York Times
Who participates in sports is based on where you live, who you are, and what kinds of injuries you might receive, all of which are tied to race and ethnic disparities. Multiple barriers, including financial resources, community-based programming, and the availability of athletic trainers, contribute to the gap between who plays and who does not. Within the U.S., over 50 years after Title IX prohibited any sex-based discrimination in any educational program or activity receiving federal assistance, intersectional gaps persist. While White women have benefited, women of color are still vastly underrepresented across many sports.
As part of the House v NCAA settlement, an NCAA Division I athlete will receive over $2.3 billion in 2025. (NCAA 2025) Football and Men’s basketball will account for almost 90% of the team-specific revenues in what the NCAA labels Power Conference Schools.
Estimated Revenue Sharing | Revenue | Allocation | # of eligible | Average per |
Football | 75% | $ 15,375,000 | 105 | $ 146,428 |
Men's Basketball | 15% | 3,075,000 | 15 | 205,000 |
All Other Sports | 10% | 2,050,000 | 456 | 4,495 |
Totals 2025-26 | 100% | $ 20,500,000 | 576 |
Source: NCAA Revenue Sharing & NIL Estimates 2025
Finally, among the 2025 NIL Top 10 Highest paid players, 1 is a female (Livvy Dune), and 6 are Black (A.J. Dybantsa, Jeremiah Smith, D.J. Lagway, Bryce Underwood, Mark Sears, and R.J. Davis).
Source: 50 Years After Title IX, Racial Equity Gaps Persist in Sports - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
The racial connections to sports go back to the time of slavery, where slave owners would force the enslaved to participate in bare-knuckle fighting. Thus, like the ancient slave gladiators, the enslaved Africans would fight each other for the entertainment of their enslavers.
The History of Sports
During the colonial period, the English imported sports such as cricket and soccer. As early as the 1500s, they played a game of rounders that featured a bowler, batter, and a team in the field. By the middle of the 19th century, these led to the development of professional sports that could be seen throughout the United States. In 1858, the first to appear was the National Association of Baseball Players. Eleven years later, the Cincinnati Stockings emerged as the first professional team with paid players recruited from across the country. Within a few decades, baseball was the most popular sport in the United States.
In the early days of baseball, Whites and Blacks often played together. Prior to 1885, as many as three African American men played in the major leagues. This included William Edward White, who was light enough to pass for White and played one game for the Providence Grays in 1879. The first obviously Black man to play was Moses Fleetwood Walker, who played for the Toledo Blue Stockings of the American Association from May 1 to Sept 3, 1884. Ironically, his brother, Weldy Walker, played for the Toledo Club at the same time. As many as 54 Black players played on integrated teams from 1883 to 1898. But soon, racial animosity surfaced, as White players became concerned that Blacks would take their spots on the team. Then on September 11, 1887, the President of the St. Louis Browns, Chris von Der Ahe, canceled a scheduled game with the Cuban Giants, an all-Black team, because the White players refused to play against “colored players”. (Keeney 2016)
Major League Baseball became all-white in 1884, and its minor leagues followed suit in 1889. Black responded in 1891 by forming the Ansonia Cuban Giants, but they too were expelled from the Connecticut State League. It was not until April 15, 1947, that Jackie Robinson broke the color line and played for the Brooklyn Dodgers. The last team to allow a Black player was the Boston Red Sox in 1959, when they allowed Pumpsie Green to pinch-run on July 21.
Japanese Americans and Baseball: Transformative Story[1]
Most people know of the exclusion and racism targeting African Americans in Baseball, but we rarely talk about how these same forces served to impact Asians or Latin Americans. Baseball has a long history in Japan, being introduced in the 1870s by Horace Wilson, an American schoolteacher. And as the 19th century ended, baseball was the most popular sport in Japan. Many of those immigrating from Japan were already addicted to the game. So, it is no surprise that, in 1899, a group of Japanese immigrants formed the Excelsior ball club in Hawaii. Later in 1903, a group of Issei (first-generation Japanese immigrants) formed the Fugi club in San Francisco. Again, systematic racism barred Japanese players from playing with Whites, so all Japanese teams and leagues developed and thrived in California and the Pacific Northwest.
As America entered World War II, and Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1942 signed Executive Order 9066, Japanese internment led to the mass incarceration of 120,000 Japanese and others in 10 detention camps spread across the U.S.
A total of five Japanese internment camps located in Arizona became the home to several thousand evacuees. And it was here that Japanese Americans used baseball to provide a sense of normalcy in this chaotic situation. According to George “Hats” Omachi, “Without baseball, camp life would have been miserable.” Omachi, a second-generation player in the Japanese American league in Fresno, California, later became a major league scout.
Figure X highlights the data in graphical form.
Source: Baseball Demographics, 1947-2016 – Society for American Baseball Research
From 1947 to the 1970s, Black players continued to rise within Professional Baseball. And remained between 16% to 19% from 1972 to 1996. Afterward, a consistent decline occurred, and they now account for about half of that.
With the color line officially broken, several groups made their debuts in the Major Leagues. One of the first groups to win entry was Latino players. A whole string of exceptional players have emerged, including Fernando Valenzuela, Edgar Martinez, Miguel Cabrera, Albert Pujols, Vladimir Guerrero, Nelson Cruz, Juan Soto, and Ronald Acuña Jr. Currently, as many as 28.5 percent of Major League Players are Latino. (Aponte 2025)
Mansanori Murakami became the first Japanese player in Major League Baseball in 1964. major league. Although he played only one year, he posted an ERA under 4 (striking out over 1 batter per inning pitched) and earned 8 consecutive saves. He returned to Japan due to contractual obligations to his original Japanese team, the Nankai Hawks.
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[1] Derived from Vascellaro, Charlie. 2019: https://globalsportmatters.
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In 2019, officials from the Army West Point football program rebranded their team logo after an internal investigation discovered that the phrase on their team flag originated with White supremacist biker gangs. The original logo included the slogan “GFBD,” which stands for “God Forgives, Brothers Don’t.” Embarrassed by the discovery, Gen. Darryl Williams, West Point Commandant, admitted that the team was ignorant of the slogan’s origins, and that its selection had nothing to do with any covert or internal beliefs in White supremacy or other bigoted organizations or beliefs (Murphy 2019). West Point and its athletic program join countless other professional and collegiate sports that have had to come to grips with imagery that links race to sport.
Sport is not an isolated institution, but rather an integral part of the institutional structures that comprise the United States. Sports have historically been associated with masculinity and dominance, and the West Point example shows how different sport contexts—race, gender, and class—intersect. Sports are highly stratified, segregated, and reflective of these intersections. This means that while some sports may appear more diverse than others, closer analysis of ownership, coaching, and fan bases reveals that examining sport as an institution can benefit from an intersectional approach. Let’s first look at contemporary trends in sports and how they relate to the American dream.
THE STATE OF SPORT TODAY
Sport encompasses a range of activities that involve physical exertion and skill. These activities are organized around sets of rules and can be played at either the individual or the team level. Today’s athletes are remarkable, and some of the best set some dazzling new records that continue to amaze us:
· In 2020, 24-year-old Patrick Mahomes became the second-youngest quarterback to ever win a Super Bowl and the youngest player in NFL history to win a regular-season MVP (Freiman 2020).
· At the 2019 World Championships, gymnast Simone Biles took home five of the six golds. With a total of 25 world gold medals, she is now considered the greatest gymnast of all time (Wamsley 2019).
· Major league club owners, such as Linda G. Alvarado (co-owner of the Colorado Rockies), demonstrate that women can be not only CEOs and innovators in corporate roles, but also transformative leaders who shape American sports culture and industry (Echegaray, Gray, and Kolur 2017).
· Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady is considered by many sports analysts to be the greatest quarterback of all time (Harrison 2019). To date, he has 34 postseason wins and has participated in 10 Super Bowls (earning 7 wins), the most of any player in NFL history.
Across the country and in many of our colleges, high schools, and local communities, athletes are writing new chapters in a long tradition of competition and victory, sometimes earning fame, high salaries, and lucrative endorsement deals. But all sports are not equal, as we will see in our exploration of the business of sports.
The Business of Sports
The most-watched sport in the United States has traditionally been football, and the Super Bowl leads all other single sporting events. Games run by the National Football League (NFL) generated 40 of the top 50 U.S. sports audiences in 2018 and accounted for 80% of the total (Paulsen 2019).
We can identify some interesting demographics among the NFL viewership numbers:
· The NFL fan base is 41% more likely to be males than females.
· They are, on average, between 50 and 59 years old.
· They have an average annual income of $75–100,000.
· Politically, they are more likely to be Republicans (Johnson 2017).
· Over two-thirds of the fan base is White, while Blacks (16%), Hispanics (9%), and Asians (4%) make up the remaining third (Kertcsher 2017).
The statistics for Major League Baseball (MLB) fans are similar to those of NFL fans.
· They are slightly older (more likely to be aged 56–60).
· They are slightly wealthier (more likely to have incomes of $150–250,000).
· They are even more likely to be male (48%).
· They are about evenly split politically between Republicans and Democrats (Johnson 2017).
· MLB fans are also most likely to be White (Z2solutions 2016).
The National Basketball Association (NBA) has the most diverse fan base. During the 2016–17 regular season, 66% of NBA television fans were racial minorities. Of these, Blacks were 47%, Hispanics 11%, and Asians 8%. The least diverse fan base was associated with the National Association for Stock Car Racing (NASCAR). For example, its most popular televised event in 2017 had an audience that was over 90% White (Piacenza 2018). Let’s now consider the link between the popularity of sports and their impact on the economy.
It is not surprising that the sports we choose to watch reveal something about our values and interests, and that certain fan bases, composed of distinct social groupings, can have a significant impact on the business of sport. In fact, the makeup of a sport’s fan base not only affects television viewership but also links directly to both the salaries athletes can earn and the endorsement contracts they are offered.
Sport constitutes a significant portion of the U.S. economy, and its popularity generates billions of dollars each year. In 2017, Americans spent $100 billion on sports. Over half, $56 billion, was spent on attending sporting events, with money spent on tickets, transportation, food, and beverages. The next-largest sports expenditure, $33 billion, was for sports equipment, followed by gym memberships ($19 billion) (Kutz 2017). In 2016 the NFL, with income of $13 billion, led all other professional sports leagues in revenue (Kutz 2016). Also, in 2016, among colleges and universities, 24 schools had annual athletic department revenues of at least $100 million (Gaines 2016).
After the stunning victory of Naomi Osaka over Coco Gauff in the 2019 U.S. Open Tennis Championship, Osaka invited her 15-year-old opponent to join her in the on-court interview. When asked why she was willing to share the spotlight, Ms. Osaka remarked “I think it’s better [for her] than going into the shower and crying.” This tremendous moment of compassion is not unique among women athletes who regularly support each other both directly and indirectly. Even as access to sports for young women and girls is increasing, women athletes receive minimal media coverage across all sports leagues. During the same U.S. Open match, a 90-second spot aired discussing the problems associated with women’s professional sports. In the ad, tennis great Billie Jean King pointed out that women athletes receive only 4% of all sports coverage. She invited viewers to use the hashtag #womenworthwatching to inspire others to watch and encourage female athletes (Beato 2019).
The same issues apply to scholarships, positions, and endorsements. While female athletes make up more than half of the college student-athlete population, they receive only 43% of NCAA athletic scholarship opportunities. In 2018–19, women received 62,225 fewer NCAA athletic positions than their male counterparts (NCAA 2019). Men received about 56% of NCAA support for college athletes, while women received 45% (NCAA 2019). These inequities continue into professional sports.
Insert Photo
Coco Gauff of the U.S. celebrates her win over Anastasia Potapova of Russia during their first-round match of the women's 2019 U.S. Open tennis tournament August 27, 2019, in New York.
Shi Tang/Getty Images
U.S. athletes, primarily from the NFL or the NBA, accounted for the majority (48.34%) of the world’s highest-paid athletes in 2025. Of these, more than a quarter (14) were Black, 16% were biracial (8), 8% were White (4), 2% were Asian and Hispanic (1). Surprisingly, 4 were immigrants. Not one female athlete made it into the top 50 highest-paid athletes. The top 50 highest-paid athletes, as ranked by Forbes, earned more than $53.6 million. Consequently, Coco Gulf, earning $34.4 million, did not make the list. (see Table 9.1). Three African American men—Stephen Curry, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant— were among the 10 highest-paid athletes. The top-grossing athletes in the world in 2019 were 3 male international soccer players (Forbes 2025).
TABLE 9.1 ■ The Highest-paid athletes in 2025
| Name | Pay | Sport |
1 | Cristiano Ronaldo | 275M | Soccer |
2 | Stephen Curry | 156M | Basketball |
3 | Tyson Fury | 146M | Boxing |
4 | Dak Prescott | 137M | Football |
5 | Lionel Messi | 135M | Football |
6 | LeBron James | 133.3M | Basketball |
7 | Juan Soto | 114M | Baseball |
8 | Karim Benzema | 104M | Football |
9 | Shohei Ohtani | 102.5M | Baseball |
10 | Kevin Durant | 101..4M | Basketball |
| Coco Gauff | 34.4M | Tennis |
Source: “The World’s Highest-Paid Athletes,” Forbes, 2025.
The Intersection of Race and Class
Table 9. 2 Number of NCAA student athletes in the United States in 2025, by ethnicity
|
|
|
|
|
White |
|
|
| 337,836 |
Black |
|
|
| 89,090 |
Hispanic/Latino | 38,654 | |||
Two or more races | 37,188 | |||
International | 22,624 | |||
Unknown | 13,938 | |||
Asian | 22,924 | |||
American Indian/Alaska Native | 2,364 | |||
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander | 1,920 | |||
Total | 566,538 | |||
Source: National Collegiate Athletic Association. (December 11, 2025). Number of NCAA student athletes in the United States in 2025, by ethnicity. NCAA Demographics Database - NCAA.org
The majority of college athletes (61%) were White, 16% were Black, and 7% were Hispanic or Two or more races. Breaking these numbers down reveals some discrepancies. Across all three divisions, Black males comprise a significantly larger share of the athletic population than of the student body. For example, among Division I schools, Black males comprise just 4% of the undergraduate student body but 14% of Division I athletes. Alternatively, white men constitute 24 percent of the student body and 27 percent of the student athletes. (Cook and Colin, 2024) Black male student-athletes at Division 1 schools have an aggregate federal graduation rate that is 10 percentage points higher than that of Black male students at the same schools. Black women athletes graduate at 12 percentage points higher. (NCAA 2023)
Therefore, while Black males make up 20% of Division I athletes, they are only 16% of athletes at colleges, and they receive the bulk of athletic scholarships. At more prestigious colleges, this figure goes as high as 65%. In 2019, a scandal dubbed "Operation Varsity Blues" revealed a criminal conspiracy in which 53 people were charged with attempting to influence undergraduate admissions at several elite American universities. Thirty-three parents of potential students were accused of paying more than $25 million between 2011 and 2018 to inflate their children’s entrance examination scores and bribe college officials. The organizer of the scheme, William Rick Singer, admitted “helping” children from as many as 750 families (Winter and Burke 2019). According to the allegations, Singer bribed coaches to fill slots at universities allocated to new players with his clients’ children. Applicants would pose for pictures that showed them performing a sport, or their faces were digitally manipulated onto athletes' bodies to support their athletics-based applications (Lam and Fedschum 2019).
Insert Photo
Children get involved in sports from an early age.
iStock.com/Geber86
“Operation Varsity Blues” demonstrates that, rather than sports being a level playing field, students of color are systematically disadvantaged. The systematic disadvantages include reliance on ACT/SAT test scores and legacy admissions at elite institutions that continually favor White upper-class admits (Byrd 2019). Ivy League universities such as Harvard privilege athletes for admissions. Consequently, athletes with a top academic score are 83% more likely to receive an acceptance letter than non-athletes with the same score. In fact, at 30 selective colleges, athletes received a 48% admissions advantage, compared to 25% for legacies (children whose parents attended the school in question) and 18% for racial minorities (Desai 2018).
But race and gender disparities begin long before athletes enter college. Some believe that participation in sports helps keep kids engaged in school and off the streets. In 2023, participation among youth ages 6-11 was higher (57.0%) than among older youth (53.9%). High school sports participation has declined by almost 6.5 percentage points in 2023. Girls traditionally participate at lower rates than boys (in 2023, 60.2% and 50.3%, respectively). Participation rates have also decreased for racial and ethnic groups. Asian children's participation dropped the most by 5.2 points (59.6% to 49.7%), and Black children fell as well (going from 49.1% to 45.0%). (USAFacts, 2024) Those children in the lowest-income homes in states such as New Mexico, Mississippi, and Louisiana had the lowest youth participation rates, where minority populations participate in sports at half the rate of those from the highest-income groups. (Aspen Institute, 2024) Other factors fueling this decline are recent studies that link brain damage, particularly chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), to repeated blunt impacts like those that occur with head tackles in football. At least 21% of high school players are expected to develop CTE (Chen 2017).
The precipitous decline in football participation demonstrates the perceived choices available to different families. And these choices reflect the race/class divide as kids from mostly White upper-income communities in the Northeast, Midwest, and West are opting to play lacrosse or baseball, avoiding the potential for CTE and other injuries more common in contact sports. While Whites continue to make up the largest share of youth players in tackle football, their share is shrinking. In 2018, among the 50,000 eighth-, tenth-, and twelfth-grade students, 44% were Black, compared to 29% who were White (Semuels 2019).
Players, Coaches, and Owners
The intersections of race, class, sexuality, and gender are reflected in the biographies of successful athletes, coaches, and owners. An examination of these intersectional background structures demonstrates the unequal pathways into professional sports (Keating 2011). As we will see, these intersectional realities help us understand many of the variabilities associated with sports in this country.
Often, when we speak of diversity, we refer to binary constructions—that is, we account for only two major racial or ethnic groups. A more realistic measure of diversity would account for a greater number of racial, ethnic, and gender groups.
Most professional sports are at least somewhat segregated by race, ethnicity, and gender. Across all professional sports, males not only constitute the largest proportion, but also make considerably more than females. (83.5% and 50,242, respectively). Whites constitute the largest single group of professional athletes (72.8%), followed by Blacks (8.9), Hispanics or Latinos (7.8%), and Asians (3.7%). Ironically, Asian athletes’ average salary surpasses that of all other known racial groups. (Zippia, 2021) (See table 9. 2, below)
Table 9.2: Professional athlete wage gap by race
Ethnicity
Unknown
White
Black/African American $49,475
Asian
Hispanic or Latino $49,172
Source: Zippia, 2021
In 2023, the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) had the highest racial and gender diversity among all professional sports. Three-quarters of WNBA presidents are women, while 16.6 percent are people of color. Head coaching positions show similarly pronounced breakdowns, with women and people of color accounting for 75% and 33.3%, respectively. And 81.9 percent of the players were of color. (Lapchick, 2023) During the same period in the National Basketball Association (NBA), Black players accounted for about 78.3%, while White players accounted for 19.1%. Hispanic and Asian, respectively, accounted for 1.8% and .08%. Remarkably, in 2023, Blacks accounted for the largest number of coaches (15), compared to Whites (14) and Asians (1). The percentages of People of Color and Women who held the role of President/CEO were 7.0 and 10.5, respectively. (Lapchick, 2023) Players of color accounted for 48.8% of Major League Baseball (MLB). The largest number comes from Latinos (28.6%) and internationally born (27.8%). Blacks (6.2%), Asian (3.1%), Pacific Islanders (.3), and Native Americans (.2%) constituted the remainder. (Castrovince, 2025) The MLB has the fewest Presidents/CEOs who were either People of Color (3.8%) or Women (3.8%). People of Color comprised 31.0 percent of the MLB Coaches. Only 9% of the managers in the league offices are people of color. Major League Baseball was the least diverse organization in 2018, with only 42.5% of its players people of color. (Lapchick, 2023) Although over half of the National Football League (NFL) players are non-white (53.5%), only 36.59% of its coaching staff are. Women held just 9.4% of CEO/President positions, while people of color constitute 18.17% of Presidents. (NFL, 2023)
Only one professional sports league can truly be called international. In 2024, Major League Soccer (MLS) had players from 79 different countries. The closest rival comes from the NBA, with 45. The MLS also had 52.2% of its players and 26.7% of its coaches from diverse groups. (MLS, 2024) People of Color and Women both constituted 14.3% of the Presidents/CEO’s within the MLS. (Lapchick, 2023)
Table 9.3: Diversity within major sports leagues in the U.S.
Sport
WNBA 81.9% 33.3% 34
NBA
NFL
MLB
MLS 52.2% 26.7% 79
Data sources: WNBA(Lapchick, 2023) , NBA (Lapchick, 2023) , NFL (NFL, 2023), MLB (Lapchick, 2023), MLS (MLS, 2024)
Insert Figure
FIGURE 9.1 ■ Major League Soccer Was the Most Diverse Professional Sports League in the United States in 2019 (replace with above)
Source: Data from “The 2019 Racial and Gender Report Card: Major League Soccer,” Lapchick, Richard et al., November 13, 2019, page 6, https://43530132-36e9-4f52-
The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) has consistently been a leader in racial and gender hiring practices in professional sports. In 2022, just under 40% of its professional-level staff positions were held by people of color. Blacks made up 25.5%, Asians 6.4% of these positions. While 76.0 percent of the team presidents were women, 16.7 percent were people of color. (Lapchick 23).
Transformational Story
Sheila Johnson, First Black Female Billionaire
May of 2025 was a remarkable moment in the WNBA as Schela Johnson, the first Black female billionaire, became the first Black woman to own a WNBA team. She led the ownership team that purchased the Washington Mystics. Johnson is also a cofounder of Black Entertainment Television (BET) and part of the Lincoln Holdings LLC, which purchased the Mystics from Abe Pollin’s Washington Sports& Entertainment. As the president and managing partner, Johnson represents the team on the WNBA Board of Governors and, in the process, challenges the “stock” story that only men can own and lead sports. Johnson is also the principal shareholder in two other teams, the NBA’s Washington Wizards and the NHL’s Washington Capitals. This is a new day for women in general and for Black women in particular. (Brown, 2026)
End of story
The NBA has the most owners of color (43) and the most female owners (10) of all professional leagues. The NBA also has the highest number of coaches of color (33.3%). While there are 32 head coaches in the NFL, only 4 are people of color. This is in a league where 70% of players are Black (Cornish 2020).
To address this, the National Football League mandated that the league develop a diverse pool of manager and general manager candidates. This was known as the Rooney Rule, and it took effect in 2003. The rule specifically requires teams to interview minority candidates for head coaching and senior football operations jobs. But a 2018 study documented that, of the 35 head coaching positions open in the NFL between 2013 and 2017, 29 went to White men, while only six were awarded to Black men. Of the 22 interviews conducted from 2013 to 2017, only one Black candidate for the coach position was interviewed. Alternatively, in cases (12 in total) where two or more Black coaches were in the candidate pool, four (33%) were hired. During the same period, Black coaches were more likely to be fired than their White counterparts. Part of the issue is that, while the Rooney Rule requires teams to interview at least one minority applicant, it does not address the underlying problems (Gibbs 2019).
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