Examining Productive Conceptions of Masculinities: Lessons Learned from Academically Driven African American Male Student-Athletes

Conceptions of masculinities among African American male student athletes are considered in this article. Grounded in the social constructivist perspective and guided by the phenomenological qualitative research tradition, individual interviews were conducted with 27 academically driven African American male student-athletes attending four Division I universities. Findings suggest that the participants embrace a wide range of productive gender-related attitudes and behaviors that are uncommon among male college student-athletes. Implications and recommendations are offered for coaches and university administrators charged with working with African American male student-athletes.