NBA (National Basketball Association) is not just competition. Racial ideology has been present in the NBA. In NBA games, African Americans are on display to entertain primarily white Americans. Remind people of an inappropriate example, in the Colosseum, slaves bloody fought with each other or with animals to the death, while the public saw it as some kind of entertainment. Today, however, American society does not tolerate any real prejudice, and the NBA contributes to building this racial ideology in a more modern and subtle way. Both commercials and commentators contribute to the construction of this racial ideology that has culturally shaped the values of sport. By examining historical events and social changes, people can better understand this racial ideology in the NBA. After the founding of the NBA in 1946, there was “a shift from rigid to fluid competitive group relations, changes in the distribution of power, a decline in the level of overt prejudice, and new ideas about assimilation and pluralism” resulting from a movement to the civil rights of the 1950s and 1960s, the urban riots and the Black Power movement of the 1960s, in short, “the changes in black-white relations in the 20th century” (Healey, 115-116). “Agricultural work became less labor intensive, and the need to maintain a large, powerless workforce diminished,” so black workers went to urban areas, seeking opportunity (qtd. in Healey, 116). Meanwhile, sports, as one of the many unlimited fields open to African Americans, has gained more attention in all countries, especially from black workers. Sage noted, “in the early 1960s only about 20% of NBA players were black, but by 1989 black athletes comprised...... half the paper ......9). Some African Americans compromise with whites who dominate economically and this phenomenon also describes the supreme white culture, placing the status of African Americans below white culture. Under the trading system and the influence of commentary, racial ideology in the NBA is hidden. No one built it on purpose, but several unavoidable reasons made it possible. Both historical reasons and traditional stereotypes cause African Americans to constantly suffer from a racial hierarchy. Practically speaking, what is the best response to this racial problem? There could be no effective, short-term solution. However, with the growing awareness of racial problems and the evolution of the humanities, this racial ideology can be permanently erased. Just as before, slavery, deeply rooted in people's minds, has been abolished forever.
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