Constructing ‘the athlete’: Representations of male high school athletes in U.S. teen drama series

This article examines representations of high school athletes on sports teen drama television series by focusing on One Tree Hill, Friday Night Lights, and All American. Recognizing that these shows emphasize male athletes, the analysis identifies four identity scripts that feature prominently in representations of athlete identity: (1) social prestige of being a male athlete, (2) salience of athletic identity, (3) social identities intrinsically intertwined with athletic identities, and (4) negotiations of emotional distance and familial closeness to male peers. Based on these findings, we argue that sports teen drama series represent athlete identity through enactment of masculinity embodied in these four identity scripts. We also call for the development and examination of texts that offer depictions of athlete identity that challenge these identity scripts.