Abstract
The purpose of this study is to analyze how professional athletes, most specifically LeBron James, have broken through the stereotypical athlete barrier in order to shed light and encourage justice for social activism issues such as educational opportunities for low-income youth and the Black Lives Matter Movement. Furthermore, this study focuses on the ability these athletes have in our social media enhanced society, with the use of platforms such as Instagram and Twitter, to more easily participate and influence a broader audience. This study utilizes a cyber ethnographic qualitative content analysis to compare two subjects — Stephen Curry and LeBron James. To drive my analysis, I used two research questions regarding how athletes (specifically James) use their social media profiles to fight injustice within our society with strategies such as hashtag activism and language that serves as a “call to action” to followers and viewers.
Advisor
Razzante, Rob
Department
Communication Studies; Global Media and Digital Studies
Recommended Citation
Burdette, Chloe Lynn, "The "Shut Up and Dribble" Conundrum: A Qualitative Cyber Ethnographic Analysis of LeBron James’ and Stephen Curry’s Social Media Activism on The Black Lives Matter Movement and Low-Income Education" (2021). Senior Independent Study Theses. Paper 9230.
https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy/9230
Disciplines
Arts and Humanities
Keywords
Black Lives Matter, hashtag activism, LeBron James, athletes
Publication Date
2021
Degree Granted
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type
Senior Independent Study Thesis
© Copyright 2021 Chloe Lynn Burdette