Taelen Wilson

Professor Arnold
UWRT 1101
November, 3, 2015
Ethnography Research
Within the Gardner Webb football team their communication is filled with
jargon, non-verbal communication, and slang that many outsiders would not have
the capability of understanding with little to no knowledge. Even though football
players are an exclusive group themselves, inside the group there is minorities that
seem to be even more exclusive. For example, while on the field most of the African
American and Caucasian players are somewhat segregated not by coaches, but by
themselves. In the sport of football players segregate themselves without
consciously knowing which can be based on class, skill level, and/or race. By
continuing to observe and research the sport and the politics that are carried within
football the thesis can be proved. I watched Forgotten Four on Netflix, which
discussed the trials and obstacles that the first four black men in football faced.
Race being one of the biggest obstacles how it became overlooked in Americans
history. Which started the investigation to see if race and other differences lead to
social division inside of the team, or does the amount of time spent together cause
less social division. In 1946 Pro Football was finally integrated with allowing blacks
to have the opportunity to play professionally. In todays professional football
67.98% of the NFL players are African American, with a small portion of 27.66% of
the players being white. Very few know the names of the men who allowed this to
be a possibility for those men. Kenny Washington, Woody Strode, Marion Motley,
and Bill Willis they integrated football a year before Jackie Robinson integrated the
MLB.