Every Picture Tells a Story: Racial Representation on Sports Illustrated Covers

Describing participation levels, Al Neuharth notes that when excluding professional, collegiate, and high school and elementary school athletes, there are still thousands of Americans who participate in various community and workplace-based sports leagues, tens of millions attending professional sporting events each year, and many more watching sports on television (A15). [...] some minority athletes can be heralded as icons and heroes to be admired and emulated, such as Roberto Clemente in baseball, Walter Payton in football, and LeBron James in basketball while others may be chastised for behavior very similar to that of their white colleagues (see the sports press coverage of on and off the field antics of football players Randy Moss or Terrell Owens verses Jeremy Shockey or Bill Romanowsky, for instance).