ABSTRACT
Since the beginning, sports and media have enjoyed a devoted, consistent relationship. Both sports and media are powerful forces within society, and that completes the triangle – sports, media, and society in a constant symbiotic interchange, influencing and being influenced by each other. By the turn of the twenty-first century, the media horizon is continuing to expand, with sports and society in its enabling wake. Identity provides such an effective lens for looking at the interplay of sports, media, and society, and even a traditional sport like baseball has its episodes. Beginning with the integration of baseball in the late 1940s and the talent infusion it generated, and with the vocal support of African American athletes and leaders, sports become a strong force in integration, and the same sports media that was complicit in sport’s segregation suddenly finds its integration to provide a narrative worth promoting.
