Race in the Present Day: NBA Employees Sound Off on Race and Racism

Resulting from the 2008 election (and 2012 re-election) of the first African-American President of the USA and the overrepresentation of African-American male athletes in American football and basketball today, it is possible that many Americans buy into the notion of a postracial society. Utilizing critical race theory as a lens, we interviewed five employees of an NBA franchise to better understand their perspectives on the topic of race and racism in American sport and society as a whole and, more specifically, how it has impacted African-American male professional athletes. This was a departure from the majority of the literature on this topic, which tends to focus on African-American male athletes in college sport. Our analysis of the data revealed three major themes: (1) the theme race matters, illustrated how race and racism persist in the NBA and broader society; (2) the theme moving forward concerned the participants' thoughts on how to go about dealing with race and racism in the future; and (3) the theme, LeBron James, was in reference to the backlash LeBron James received after deciding to play for the Miami Heat. Implications for future research are discussed.