When Terrorists Play Ball

Public discourse often forwards Muslim athletes as examples of “exceptional” Muslims who are “moderate.” This signals that engaging in discourse about sports can allow U.S. Muslims to tap into the nationalism and respectability necessary for demonstrating citizenship, and combat increased scrutiny and charges of radicalization. This article examines the discursive ripples that result when this connection between sports, nationalism and respectability, and “moderate Muslims” is disrupted. I take up the case study of the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing mastermind, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who was also an accomplished boxer. First, I describe how discourse about sports emerges in conversations about “moderate Muslims,” and second, I examine how Tsarnaev’s athletic accomplishments mediate his terrorist persona in the news coverage. I draw on respectability politics and Jasbir Puar’s concept of the hypertrophied heterosexual in my analysis. In doing so, I establish how discourse about sports mediates conversations about U.S. Muslim identity and furthers U.S. exceptionalism.