While browsing WIWMTK, you may have wondered how exactly the “dumb jock” stereotype is related to disabilities. In a series of blog posts, I will answer that exact question in detail, but for a brief explanation:
There is a prominent narrative surrounding student-athletes in which they are viewed as less capable academically (or better known as the "dumb jock"). However, playing sports puts student-athletes at risk of sustaining concussions. Despite their prevalence, concussions are difficult to diagnose and it is not uncommon for them to go undiagnosed. Sustaining traumatic brain injuries can lead to various disabilities such as with cognition or communication. However, due to the dumb jock stereotype (i.e., the belief that student-athletes are less capable in terms of intellect and motivation) teachers may ignore the signs of concussion-related disabilities. Rather than recognizing that a student may be having difficulty in class for outside reasons, confirmation bias could cause teachers to see a cognitively impaired student-athlete struggling to concentrate and, without knowing there is an undiagnosed concussion, reinforce their own stereotypical notion of the dumb jock. This is because, if instructors continue to subscribe to the idea that student-athletes are disinterested or less capable than their peers, they will ignore the signs of concussion-related disabilities such as difficulty with memory and concentration and instead use such instances as reinforcement of their existing belief in the dumb jock.
This post is the first in a three-part series detailing the implications of the dumb jock stereotype, the elusive nature of concussions, and how confirmation bias can prevent student-athletes from receiving the proper treatment they need.
Throughout your education, whether you participated in sports or not, you have probably been exposed to the “dumb jock” stereotype. This stereotype has existed for centuries and still impacts how student-athletes are perceived by their peers and teachers. In Jay. J Coakley’s Sports in Society: Issues and Controversies, it is discussed that this narrative surrounding athletes has existed as early as the Ancient Olympic Games.3 Greek athletes who spent their time training rather than growing their intellect drew criticism from philosophers who characterized them as “useless and ignorant citizens”.3
The dumb jock stereotype prevails today with student-athletes being viewed as less academically capable due to both inadequate intelligence and motivation.6 It is not uncommon for people to believe that student-athletes receive undeserved special treatment and even further that they expect it.5 A study of 538 collegiate athletes revealed just how prevalent the dumb jock stereotype is today. In short, one-third of all participants felt their professors perceived them negatively and nearly 60% felt their peers negatively perceived them. However, this same study provides a much more in-depth analysis of the dumb jock stereotype by breaking its underlying elements including the aforementioned lack of intellect and motivation as well as special treatment. While the methods listed in the study didn’t provide a detailed description of the questions used in the survey given to student-athletes, their results provided me with enough information to conduct interviews of my own of student-athletes at the University of Maryland (UMD) to see if I could draw a parallel between the results of the study conducted by Simons et al. and student-athletes at UMD. (Note: To ensure the interviewees felt comfortable sharing their experiences without fear of repercussion, the interviews were conducted under the condition of anonymity.)
LACK OF INTELLECTUAL ABILITY
Roughly one-third of all negative comments noted by respondents in Simons et al.’s study were related to teachers doubting the intellect and academic capabilities of student-athletes and 40.7% of student comments were related to the same topic.5 Some of the comments made by faculty highlighted in the study included professors outright stating athletes weren’t as smart as non-athlete students or teaching assistants suggesting an athlete take an easier class because they assumed due to their status as a student-athlete, the student wouldn’t do well in the class.5 Among their peers, comments include other students blatantly calling athletes dumb jocks or stating that student-athletes shouldn’t be at their (undisclosed) institution.5
“Professors have insinuated that they suspect I cheated on an assignment or exam when I get a good grade which I can only think would be because they know I play football. No professor has ever come out and said anything bad about athletes but sometimes you can tell they have low expectations of you.”1 When asked about other students the interviewee said, “...it’s more obvious with them. Like in group projects it’s as if they just assume you won’t do anything or don’t know what you’re talking about so they either won’t ask for my input or just disregard any suggestion I make.”1
“Yeah, it’s hard to think of specific instances where they’ve said things that would make me think they believe I’m dumb just because I’m an athlete but you can definitely tell when that’s the case. There have been times when professors or other students have made “jokes” about not expecting me to get a good grade. They don’t usually say why but when I have come out and asked other students before, ‘Well, what would make you think that?’ and rather than saying it's because I’m an athlete they may just say ‘It was just a joke,’ or change the subject but it’s obvious what they meant.”2
LACK OF ACADEMIC MOTIVATION
29.9% of the comments reflecting the dumb jock stereotype in the study made by faculty were related to the idea that student-athletes aren’t motivated.5 This was 13.4% for student comments.5 Some faculty comments involve claims that all student-athletes have poor attendance or are never to show up to class on time, even going so far as to examples of professors threatening failure for all football players should they arrive to class late or miss it entirely.5 Student remarks also downplayed the work ethic of student-athletes, with one example being that a student said that because athletes were taking a certain class, it must be extremely easy.5
“My professors and other people in my classes have implied that athletes have other people do their work for them. They say it like we're the only people at UMD that need to get good grades and so that gives us a reason to cheat. But tons of people have scholarships requiring them to keep up their GPA or even if you just want to get good grades. Why is it that because I’m an athlete I’m automatically too lazy to do my own work and have to cheat to keep up my grades?”1
"There have been some teachers who are really accommodating and will like reserve seats close to the door for people having to come in late or leave early. Then there are others who are sort of aggressive in how much they stress that they won’t tolerate lateness or act like missing class for an away game is a personal attack when in reality I think I work extra hard because I can’t fall behind and there’s already this expectation that I will.”2
SPECIAL TREATMENT
Over one-third of all faculty comments were related to athletes receiving or expecting special treatment and this was the case for 45.9% of comments from students.5 Faculty comments involved blatant statements that accommodations would not be made, especially for athletes if students were going to miss exams. Additionally, when students needed to leave early or had to miss class due to games, they were met with rude remarks implying athletes weren’t worthy of their spots in class as they didn’t prioritize education or they expected the world to accommodate their needs. Many of the comments made by students involved priority enrollment which granted student-athletes the ability to sign up early for classes with limited seats.5 I found this to be particularly interesting as similar accommodations are made at UMD. In the A. James Clark School of Engineering, student-athletes are offered priority registration which “allows students more flexibility to work around practice times and participation in their given sport”.4 Other remarks involved student-athletes receiving special attention or being spoiled.5
“I don’t hear much about special treatment from other students. My professors have made it hard to make up exams that I miss when I can’t be in class.”1 I asked if they had ever been given the impression other students held animosity toward them or felt they received special treatment because they could register for classes earlier to which they replied, “Not really. I don’t know if people even know about that. I have overheard people saying athletes get the best or easiest schedules, though.”1
“This is probably what any athlete hears the most about. Everyone thinks we just get stuff handed to us . . . The tutoring program is a big one. It doesn’t make sense because if people assume [student-athletes] are all dumb and just cheat to get by, shouldn’t it be a good thing that there are tutors available to us? Every student at UMD can get free tutoring so I don’t see why there’s an issue that we have a tutoring program.”2
In many instances, what the UMD student-athletes I interviewed had to say were extremely similar to the comments respondents in the study had received. Even when they had differing experiences, both my interviewees had experienced negative perceptions about them from their instructors and peers due to the dumb-jock stereotype and each of its underlying components. In the next part of this series, the implications of undiagnosed concussions will be discussed in order to elucidate in part 3, how exactly this stereotype and concussions relate to What I Wish My Teacher Knew About My Disability. (You can access part 2 here).
If you are a student-athlete who relates to any of the events described above and would be willing to share your own experience, use the contact form found here to do so or, leave a comment below.
Works Cited
1 Anonymous Interviewee 1, Personal Interview. 15 October, 2020.
2 Anonymous Interviewee 2, Personal Interview. 13 October, 2020.
3 Coakley, Jay J. Sports in Society: Issues and Controversies. 8th ed., McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2004.
4 “Engineering Student Athletes.” Engineering Student Athletes | A. James Clark School of Engineering, University of Maryland, eng.umd.edu/engineering-student-athletes.
5 Simons, Herbert D., et al. “The Athlete Stigma in Higher Education.” College Student Journal, vol. 41, no. 2, June 2007, pp. 251–273. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=psyh&AN=2007-07102-001&site=ehost-live.
6 Wininger, S. R., & White, T. A. (2015). An Examination of the Dumb Jock Stereotype in Collegiate Student-Athletes: A Comparison of Student versus Student-Athlete Perceptions. Journal for the Study of Sports and Athletes in Education, 9(2), 75-85. doi:10.1179/1935739715z.00000000036