The career trajectory of a Black male high school basketball player: A social reproduction perspective

Interscholastic sport in the United States is a social institution within which the social relationships and attitudes needed to sustain the existing dominant economic and class relations of the larger society could be perpetuated or reproduced. This single case study allowed us to explore the question of social reproduction by examining the nuances of how a young Black male high school basketball player helped to reproduce his social class position in society by aspiring to a career as a professional athlete. Our findings reveal that not only does this young man exclude himself from alternative opportunities for social mobility, but also in the context of pursuing hoop dreams, he lacked the cultural and social capital for navigating his way to his desired goal. Practical and research implications are discussed.