ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on racism because of its long history and the lessons applied to the experience of black men in sport. It argues that the development of cohesion is often more about the out-grouping of others than it is about learning to love members of one's own group. The chapter suggests that when sport is structured so that people of various colors, abilities, sexualities, or gender play together, it might reduce prejudicial thinking through Gordon Allport's notion of contact theory, but when teams of differing demographic backgrounds play against each other, it has the opposite effect. Coaches and athletes frequently express ill feelings toward one's competitor, as they have been socialized into an in-group/out-group perspective that is predicated upon establishing the other team as the enemy. Rather than viewing competitors as agents in cooperation to bring out the best in individuals and groups, other teams are viewed as obstacles in the path of obtaining cultural and economic power.
