CULTURE, STRUCUTRE, AND RACE IN PICK-UP BASKETBALL: EVERYDAY HOOPS INSIDE A PREDOMINANTLY WHITE UNIVERSITY STUDENT RECREATION CENTER A Dissertation by KENNETH SEAN CHAPLIN Submitted to the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Chair of Committee, Reuben May Committee Members, Joe Feagin Sarah Gatson John Singer Head of Department, Jane Sell May 2015 Major Subject: Sociology Copyright 2015 Kenneth Sean Chaplin ABSTRACT When an observer looks at pick-up basketball in an integrated space it appears like groups of players are playing based simply on racial difference, but a deeper look reveals other factors that influence how these apparent racial dynamics play out. In this dissertation, I break down the types of norms and rules of pick-up basketball culture, analyze how those norms and rules are tied to structure, and demonstrate the influence of these factors on racial dynamics. I go beyond a simple understanding of race as it plays out in this particular space for pick-up basketball to show, using sociological concepts, the nuanced ways in which everyday people involve themselves in routine kinds of informal recreational activities. I found that players used norms as a way to make and enforce social rules and cultural customs, and that players used these rules and customs to informally organize large and small groups in ways significantly related to race. I also found that players used race in overt and covert ways, and as interactive strategies to structure particular games and to manipulate micro pick-up basketball cultures on particular courts and sidelines. ii DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my wife (Sunaina), parents (Kenneth and Diana), sisters and brother-in-law (Charmaine, Erica, and Andrew), and my nieces and nephews (Jake, Ariel, Alexis, Joshua, and Caleb). Thank you for enduring my impatience, distance, and neuroses, while still continuing to love me. I also dedicate this dissertation to my grandmother Doris Granny-Chin, and my Uncle Lincoln and Aunt Pat; without you I could not have endure this process. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my mentor, chair, and friend Reuben May and his wife Lyndell May who helped me in every possible way to finish this dissertation. I also couldn’t have completed my dissertation without my grind-out partner, Frank Ortega and his wife Cindy for their drive, patience, and persistent in pushing through the midnight hours to complete this project. I would like to thank my committee members Joe Feagin, Sarah Gatson, and John Singer for pushing me to recognize that the only way good research and clear thinking can be achieved is through hard work and dedication to getting to know and understanding the research, literature, and the people that comprise research participants. Finally, I want to acknowledge Mark Fossett (the previous Department Chair of Sociology) and Jane Sell (the current Department Chair of Sociology) for helping me to endure and persevere. Specifically, I would like to thank Christi Ramirez (the Assistant to the Department Head) for her quick responses in my times of academic crisis. Without Christi, I could not have handled most of the official university matters in a timely manner. To everyone else associated with the Texas A&M University Department of Sociology, I appreciate all the social support I was given during my time as a graduate student. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................. ii DEDICATION .............................................................................................................. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................... iv TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................................. v CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ................................................................................... 1 About this Study ............................................................................................ 1 About the Literature and Research ................................................................ 3 About the Text ............................................................................................... 6 CHAPTER II A SOCIOLOGY OF PICK-UP BASKETBALL .................................... 9 What a Sociology of Sport Is ......................................................................... 9 Why Study Sports – What Is so Important about Sports ............................... 11 Why Study Particular Sports and Sports Players like Pick-up Basketball and Pick-up Basketball Players ..................................................................... 13 What Pick-up Basketball Is, and What it Is Not ............................................ 16 Some Significant Similarities and Differences between Pick-up Basketball And Organized Basketball ............................................................................. 19 Who Some Pick-up Basketball Players are .................................................. 21 Pick-up Basketball as a Contested Social Activity that occurs in Contested Social Space ................................................................................................... 24 CHAPTER III PLACE, SPACE, AND PICK-UP BASKETBALL .............................. 26 College Station, Texas ................................................................................... 27 TAMU in College Station: Student Life and Campus Culture ...................... 31 The TAMU SRC ........................................................................................... 36 Pick-up Basketball Players Inside of the TAMU SRC ................................. 37 CHAPTER IV PLAYERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF PLACE AND SPACE ..................... 40 Players’ Perceptions and Interpretations of Emotional, Physical and Social Fulfillment ..................................................................................................... 40 Players’ Perceptions and Interpretations of Safety ........................................ 44 Players’ Perceptions and Interpretations of Competition .............................. 48 Players’ Perceptions and Interpretations of Privilege.................................... 52 v Discussion ...................................................................................................... 57 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 58 CHAPTER V CULTURES AND SUBCULTURES OF PICK-UP BASKETBALL PLAYERS INSIDE OF TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY STUDENT RECREATION CENTER ........................................................................................................................ 60 About Pick-up Basketball Cultures and Subcultures .................................... 62 TAMU SRC Cultures and Subcultures of Pick-up Basketball Players ......... 63 Pick-up Basketball Players’ Use of Material Culture .................................... 65 Competition and Cooperation as Large Group Cultures and Subcultures..... 74 Competition and Cooperation as Small Group Cultures and Subcultures .... 79 Players’ Use of Speech, Language, and Demeanor as Small Group Relations and Social Bonds ........................................................................... 88 Social Bonds from Everyday Spontaneous Pick-up Basketball Practices ..... 93 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 103 CHAPTER VI MICRO-LEVEL STRUCTURES OF PICK-UP BASKETBALL PLAYERS AND GROUPS ........................................................................................... 106 Players and Group’s Relationships and Social Relations as Micro-level Structures ....................................................................................................... 107 What is What, and Who is Who: Players and Group’s Relationships and Social Relations ............................................................................................. 109 Networks as Micro-level Pick-up Basketball Structures ............................... 122 Players and Groups’ Networks: Games within Games ................................. 126 Imputing Status and Roles as Informal Leadership and Norms .................... 139 Creating Informal Leadership: Deference and Conformity ........................... 142 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 152 CHAPTER VII RACE AND RACE RELATIONS AS MICRO-LEVEL SOCIAL FORCES OF PICK-UP BASKETBALL PLAYERS .................................... 154 Black and White American Socio-historical Experiences in Basketball ....... 156 Race and Natural Athleticism: Players’ Aptitude.......................................... 171 Black and White Players’ Attitudes............................................................... 178 TAMU and non-TAMU Student Players: Race and Social Class ................. 194 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 211 CHAPTER VIII COMPREHENSIVE SUMMARY ..................................................... 217 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................. 220 vi CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION When an observer looks