ABSTRACT

Purpose/Rationale: We consider the influence of racial identity on the real and perceived welcomeness of youth across popular U.S. sports.

Design/Methodology/Approach: We administered an instrument measuring perceived sport welcomeness to 273 middle school students. Statistical analyses were run to determine any significant differences in feelings of welcomeness, perceived welcomeness, and favorite sport(s).

Findings: Participants revealed a sporting environment where youth of all races are perceived to feel welcome, albeit to varying degrees. Moreover, the racial identity of our study’s participants significantly influenced their own personal feelings of welcomeness, and subsequently, their favorite sports.

Research Contribution: Previous research typically centers on adult populations, whereas, we analyzed welcomeness, as well as perceptions of other racial groups’ welcomeness, in sports from actual youth participants. Additionally, we link perceptions of welcomeness to a tangible outcome, demonstrating that perceived welcomeness influences the participants’ favorite sport.

Originality/Value: We discuss how such feelings and perceptions of welcomeness influence participation in sport, as well as how youth might be exploited by, yet unknowingly perpetuate, sport as a racialized space. In doing so, we extend the theoretical reach of welcome theory and offer implications for creating more inclusive sport spaces and programming.

摘要

目的/理由：我们考虑种族身份对美国流行体育运动中年轻人真实和感知的受欢迎程度的影响。

设计/方法/途径：我们使用了一个工具来衡量 273 名中学生对体育运动的欢迎程度。进行统计分析以确定受欢迎的感觉、感知的受欢迎和最喜欢的运动之间的显着差异。

调查结果：参与者揭示了一种体育环境，尽管程度不同，但所有种族的年轻人都感到受欢迎。此外，我们研究参与者的种族身份显着影响了他们个人的受欢迎程度，进而影响了他们最喜欢的运动。

研究贡献：以前的研究通常以成年人为中心，而我们分析了实际青少年参与者对体育运动的受欢迎程度以及对其他种族群体受欢迎程度的看法。此外，我们将受欢迎程度与实际结果联系起来，表明受欢迎程度会影响参与者最喜欢的运动。

原创性/价值：我们讨论这种受欢迎的感觉和看法如何影响体育运动的参与，以及青少年如何被体育运动作为一个种族化的空间所利用，但却在不知不觉中使其永久化。在此过程中，我们扩展了欢迎理论的理论范围，并为创建更具包容性的体育空间和项目提供了启示。