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“Shut up and dribble!”?Athletes activism in the age of twittersphere: The case of LeBron James

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  • Galily, Yair

Abstract

As many sport scholars claimed before, sport does not operate in isolation from broader society. Instead, sport serves as a site where societal inequalities such as racism, sexism, economic stratification, and other forms of oppression are reproduced, exacerbated, and/or ignored. Thus, the aim of the current paper is to look chronologically and conceptually at the way in which LeBron James's activism is altering not only the sporting realm but more importantly, the political discourse. In times of political polarization, when exposure to cross-cutting discourse is missing, people are far less likely to perceive opposing standpoints as legitimate, and less able to provide rational explanation to their own political decisions. LeBron's activism leveraging his position as one the world's most followed sportsperson, to assume awareness is an interesting phenomenon worth reviewing.

Suggested Citation

  • Galily, Yair, 2019. "“Shut up and dribble!”?Athletes activism in the age of twittersphere: The case of LeBron James," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:teinso:v:58:y:2019:i:c:s0160791x1830229x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techsoc.2019.01.002
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Mutz, Diana C., 2001. "Facilitating Communication across Lines of Political Difference: The Role of Mass Media," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 95(1), pages 97-114, March.
    2. Halberstam, Yosh & Knight, Brian, 2016. "Homophily, group size, and the diffusion of political information in social networks: Evidence from Twitter," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 73-88.
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    1. Assaf Lev & Gershon Tenenbaum & Omer Eldadi & Topaz Broitman & Jonathan Friedland & Maor Sharabany & Yair Galily, 2022. "“In your face”: The transition from physical to symbolic violence among NBA players," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(5), pages 1-14, May.
    2. Einav, Gali & Allen, Ofir & Gur, Tamar & Maaravi, Yossi & Ravner, Daniel, 2022. "Bursting filter bubbles in a digital age: Opening minds and reducing opinion polarization through digital platforms," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).

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