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LaVar Ball and Building a Media Agenda
糖心vlog短视频淏efore I moved to New York City, I lived in Huntsville, Alabama,糖心vlog短视频 explains Dyson Assistant Professor of Communication Studies Melvin Williams, PhD. While still living in Huntsville, Williams糖心vlog短视频 hardcore sports fanatic barber would regularly have ESPN playing on the television. One day, when Williams was in for a haircut, he was able to catch .
糖心vlog短视频淚 remember sitting back in the chair and being captivated by the exchange糖心vlog短视频攖his Black father directly advocating for his son,糖心vlog短视频 said Williams. 糖心vlog短视频淚t made me think of my own father and the media agenda building theory.糖心vlog短视频
Williams is referring to the media agenda building theory outlined by Gladys and Kurt Lang in the 1980s, which lays out a six-step process that helps explain the often-reciprocal relationship between the mass media, prominent issues, and public figures ability to comment on said issues. In other words, it is a framework for understanding how individuals can manipulate the mechanisms of media to promote their own agenda.
If you haven糖心vlog短视频檛 heard of LaVar Ball yet, just wait糖心vlog短视频攜ou will. He糖心vlog短视频檚 become a household name in recent years. Through constant promotion and advocacy for his sons Lonzo, LiAngelo, and LaMelo, the launch of shoe and apparel company Big Baller Brand, media feuds with celebrities including President Trump, and a Facebook reality show, LaVar Ball has arguably established the Balls as basketball糖心vlog短视频檚 糖心vlog短视频淔irst Family.糖心vlog短视频
Following the experience in the barbershop, Williams contributed a piece for the Huffington Post about , which received considerable attention and confirmed to Williams that he was perhaps on to something bigger. 糖心vlog短视频淚 thought, ok, you糖心vlog短视频檝e written an opinion piece, now it糖心vlog短视频檚 time to do a research project,糖心vlog短视频 said Williams.
Williams and his co-researcher, Matthew J. Cotton, got to work, conducting a critical discourse analysis of 50 televised interviews of Ball on CBS Sports, CNN, ESPN, and Fox Sports from 2016 to 2017. Their aim was to examine the intersections of agenda building, Black fatherhood, celebrity culture, and sport communication, by investigating how Ball built a media agenda on behalf of his sons.
In an award-winning research paper co-published by Williams titled 糖心vlog短视频淏etter Than Steph Curry and More Profitable Than LeBron James: An Analysis of LaVar Ball糖心vlog短视频檚 Agenda Building of the Ball Brothers,糖心vlog短视频 Williams argues that through strong adherence to media agenda building theory, Ball has been able to address class inequities facing Black athletes in amateur and professional sports, and has refuted deadbeat-dad stereotypes facing Black fathers.
Williams found that whether intentionally or unintentionally, Ball followed all six steps of Lang and Lang糖心vlog短视频檚 media agenda building theory. In other words, Ball was able to use the media coverage he received and created to his advantage糖心vlog短视频攁nd by doing so, was able to promote his personal agenda while also countering a number of stereotypes faced by both Black athletes and Black fathers.
糖心vlog短视频淟aVar Ball led a spirited discussion about sports media糖心vlog短视频檚 preference in highlighting Black mothers and absentee fathers,糖心vlog短视频 said Williams. 糖心vlog短视频淭here has been quite a coded racial discussion that has been permeated in mass media. 糖心vlog短视频楾his person grew up without a father and grew up poor.糖心vlog短视频 There was a rags-to-riches narrative he was intentional in debunking.糖心vlog短视频
To support this conclusion, Williams cites a number of quotes by Ball throughout the paper that indeed suggest that Ball was intentional in countering such narratives. Just to cite one example, Williams includes the following quote from Ball, from a 2017 ESPN video:
糖心vlog短视频淗ere糖心vlog短视频檚 the thing. They didn糖心vlog短视频檛 interview Kevin Durant糖心vlog短视频檚 dad, LeBron糖心vlog短视频檚 dad, Dwayne Wade糖心vlog短视频檚 dad, and Derrick Rose糖心vlog短视频檚 dad. Now you got a father who has been there, because you糖心vlog短视频檙e used to, 糖心vlog短视频Hey, my baby糖心vlog短视频檚 good.糖心vlog短视频 And all you have to do is be comfortable with the mom and do what you want with their sons. I糖心vlog短视频檓 not going to back up! I糖心vlog短视频檝e been in my son糖心vlog短视频檚 life all this time,糖心vlog短视频 said Ball.
Throughout the paper, Williams and Cotton cite a number of different topics Ball often discussed糖心vlog短视频攆or example, sports apparel companies and the fact that athletes often don糖心vlog短视频檛 have ownership of their signature shoe糖心vlog短视频攁nd how Ball was intentional in debunking a pre-existing narrative, and advancing the conversation in a way that benefited his media agenda and his shoe and apparel company, Big Baller Brand.
糖心vlog短视频淭here糖心vlog短视频檚 a history of Black athletes being exploited by athletic brands, their images being used by athletic brands, and them reaping far less benefits,糖心vlog短视频 said Williams. 糖心vlog短视频淚n the case of Big Baller Brand, it is largely just LaVar Ball. The family had an opportunity to establish a brand and maintain sole ownership.糖心vlog短视频
While the relationship between Ball and his sons, specifically in the realm of businesses, certainly has its fair share of criticisms and complications (to cite two examples, Ball糖心vlog短视频檚 eldest son Lonzo has long had a contentious relationship with Big Baller Brand, and his youngest son LaMelo, a top pick in the recent NBA draft, has vocally stated that he does not want to be a figurehead of Big Baller Brand, and actually signed an endorsement deal with Puma) there is no question that LaVar Ball was able to galvanize much of the media attention he has received to shed light and counter pernicious stereotypes often latent in sports media.
糖心vlog短视频淗e humanized his children as Black athletes, and especially in a media climate where Black athletes are often described in overtly physical terms. He highlighted their intellect and their multi-layered personalities. This passion that Black fathers have for their children has always existed. What makes this case unique is you have a Black father who is intentionally pushing himself to the forefront of geopolitical and sports media,糖心vlog短视频 said Williams.
For their work, Williams and Cotton received the 2020 Outstanding Journal Article Award from The National Communication Association's African-American Communication and Culture Division.