Methods
For the quantitative approach of this study, I will be doing basic coding, which will be focusing on word counts of specific words used to describe Black and white quarterbacks, such as the uses of the words that would be negative connotations towards the Black quarterback and positive connotations of the white quarterback. I will look at how many times the white and Black quarterbacks are described with words as “athlete,” “distracting,” “smart,” “sore loser,” etc. I will be using these words and phrases to begin to establish themes. For the qualitative part of this approach, I will do interpretive coding by making sense of these word usages and portrayals of these quarterbacks. This will lead to me finding certain patterns and trends that would lead me towards our themes that I developed from my literature, such as stereotypes and bias being expressed, the common brute versus brains analogy being shown, as well as Black voices being oppressed. This could also lead to me to finding new trends and patterns that differ from my literature and what I may think I might see see based upon my hypothesis of the study, which is that there will be a biased representation by ESPN based upon racial identity of the quarterbacks.
Sampling
For my sampling, I will be completing a non-probability sample, specifically purposive sampling. I will be starting with the themes from my literature as my beginning perspectives. I will then be looking to build upon these themes and perspectives by looking for data that will resemble them.
The sampling frame that I will be working with will be eight quarterbacks, with an even split of Black and white quarterbacks. The white quarterbacks I chose are Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger, and Kirk Cousins. The Black Quarterbacks I chose are Colin Kaepernick, Cam Newton, Lamar Jackson, and Deshaun Watson. The reason I chose these quarterbacks is because they all have had their own bits of success, as well as controversy associated with their names, such as the sexual assault accusations associated with Roethlisberger and Watson, the sportsmanship of Cam Newton and Tom Brady, the political controversies of Rodgers and cousins, as well as the political controversy around Colin Kaepernick, and the treatment Lamar Jackson as only an athlete rather than a quarterback. The quarterbacks also have a metric for their selection based upon having a playing career that been active within the last ten years, which I chose because of the social climate that has been changing over this period, such as the effect of cancel culture and political movements such as Black Lives Matter. I will be looking at how these quarterbacks have been portrayed on EPSN segments by different analysts to look for patterns of the themes and perspectives that I have previously spoken about, or for differing perspectives than these themes. The segments are from four years ago to now, as this is what ESPN has available for use on their database.
