Full Description
At their basic level, sporting events are about numbers: wins and losses, percentages and points, shots and saves, clocks and countdowns. However, sports narratives quickly leave the realm of statistics. The stories we tell and retell, sometimes for decades, make sports dramatic and compelling. Just like any great drama, sports imply conflict, not just battles on the field of play, but clashes of personalities, goals, and strategies. In telling these stories, we create heroes, but we also create villains. This book is about the latter, those players who transgress norms and expectations and who we label the "bad boys" of sports.
Using a variety of approaches, these 13 new essays examine the cultural, social, and rhetorical implications of sports villainy. Each chapter focuses on a different athlete and sport, questioning issues such as how notorious sports figures are defined to be "bad" within particular sports and within the larger culture, the role media play in creating antiheroes, fan reactions when players cross boundaries, and how those boundaries shift depending on the athlete's gender, sexuality, and race.
Contents
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Coding and Decoding "Badness" (Donna J. Barbie and John C. Lamothe)
"Not Good for the Sport"? Fabulous Figure Skater and Controversial Critic Johnny Weir (Lynnette Porter)
John Daly: Golf's Enfant Terrible (Donna J. Barbie)
Nothing but the Truth: The Rise and Fall of Marion Jones (Brock T. Adams)
Lessons from #LochMess: Ryan Lochte in Our Rush-to-Judgment Culture (Steve Master)
Diego Maradona: The Hand of God (Ismael Lopez Medel)
Barry Bonds v. Alex Rodriguez: Don't Hate the Player; Hate the Steroid-Manufactured Game (Brock T. Adams)
No Coward: Hope Solo Battles Against the Status Quo,
Injustices and, Sometimes, Her Own Poor Decisions (Joe Gisondi)
The Book of Dale Earnhardt: Beyond the Intimidator's Last Lap (Teresa Marie Kelly)
"Often an Eyeful, Sometimes an Earful, but Always a Handful":
Dennis Rodman, Quintessential NBA Bad Boy (Sarah D. Fogle)
Reframing Jameis Winston: Fan Response When Players
Go "Bad" (John C. Lamothe)
When "Bad Boys" Resist, "Good Ol' Boys" Revolt: Colin Kaepernick's NFL Protest (Taylor Joy Mitchell and Jessica McKee)
Ronda Rousey from Badgirl to "Femininely Badass" (Joseph M.M. Aldinger)
The Rise, Fall and Rebirth of "The Baddest Man on the Planet": Bad Boy Mike Tyson (Brandy Mmbaga and Nick Mmbaga)
About the Contributors
Index
