“GET THAT SON OF A BITCH OFF THE FIELD!” SPORT IN UNIVERSITY CLASSROOMS By BRUCE LEE HAZELWOOD A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY Department of Teaching and Learning MAY 2019 © Copyright by BRUCE LEE HAZELWOOD, 2019 All Rights Reserved © Copyright by BRUCE LEE HAZELWOOD, 2019 All Rights Reserved ii To the Faculty of Washington State University: The members of the Committee appointed to examine the dissertation of BRUCE LEE HAZELWOOD find it satisfactory and recommend that it be accepted. ________________________________________ Pamela J. Bettis, Ph.D., Chair ________________________________________ Paula G. Price, Ph.D. ________________________________________ David J. Leonard, Ph.D. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This meandering journey only came to a successful end thanks to numerous people (and luck!). My mother, who no matter what I told her I wanted to do, supported me (even if I didn’t become a pastor like she wanted) and always believed in me. To the numerous educators, mentors, and students I have had the privilege of interacting with in numerous ways, the relationships I have with all of you added further motivation to complete this dissertation. To my committee, Drs. Pamela Bettis, Paula Groves Price, and David Leonard, I cannot thank you all enough. Pam, this has been an adventure, but one that stayed on course only thanks to your wisdom and guidance. I wasn’t ready and you had every justification to force me out, but you saw potential and an ability to change I didn’t know I had. Your patience, humor, and (needed) discipline helped me remain focused even through all the self-doubt. Paula, your creativity, guidance, and compassion are attributes I try to incorporate when I teach to the best of my abilities. It was a struggle for me, but you were the one that helped me make the switch to focus on education and pedagogy, not sociocultural critique. As with seemingly every student, you truly care about us, coming through in how you continually search for opportunities for us. Dave, for over a decade, you have mentored me, pushed me, and provided me more opportunities than I deserved, always believing in the abilities I didn’t see in myself. I would not have found my passion for education and teaching if you had not allowed me to teach select classes as an undergrad, and you trusted me enough (with no teaching experience) to offer me teaching positions. Without the three of you, earning a doctorate would never have been a consideration. To all my friends within and outside of my program: thank you! Those who have graduated to those who will graduate, your friendship and care is something I treasure. There are iv too many of you to name, but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Nicole, Matthew, Miah, Carolina, Courtney, and Manee. I don’t know if any of you know just how much your positive reinforcement and unwavering belief in my research and ability to earn my doctorate means to me; there was never a time you doubted me, and it truly means a lot. Thank you to all my research participants! I could not have accomplished this without your valuable insights. Your willingness to participate, particularly those of you on the east coast, is truly appreciated. I hope that your words and the insights I highlighted in this study are accurate representations, and this study is a suitable way to repay the valuable time you set aside for me. To my wonderful partner, Vanessa, your love, patience, and support leave me speechless. When I told you I wasn’t sure if I could finish, you told me the opposite. When I was out of work, you supported both of us with no complaints. You’ve put up with my cantankerous ass through these last six months of constant exhaustion and distraction. You always believed, and I found strength in your support. I truly am extremely lucky to have you as my partner. Finally, to Amaru, the greatest dog to ever walk the face of the Earth! Even though you have really stinky paws, taking you on walks, rubbing your belly, and lap-sits (for you) helped keep me calm and relaxed while refreshing my mind. Also, your funny faces and dream noises always succeeded in making me laugh no matter my mood; you truly are an amazing pup. v “GET THAT SON OF A BITCH OFF THE FIELD!”: SPORT IN UNIVERSITY CLASSROOMS Abstract by Bruce Lee Hazelwood, Ph.D. Washington State University May 2019 Chair: Pamela J. Bettis Discussions about sports continue to permeate the news and political realms and may prove to be a useful but underutilized tool to teach difficult subjects like race, gender, and sexuality. However, most scholarly work on sport focuses on a specific systemic inequality within a sport and/or how an issue affects sport and thus are sociological in nature, rather than providing educators strategies so that they can utilize sport as a pedagogical vehicle to teach systemic inequalities. Through semi-structured interviews with university educators, this dissertation examines how and why these participants employ sport to educate students on systemic social issues (racism, classism, sexism, homo/transphobia) in their classrooms Theoretical constructs from Critical Race Theory and Critical Masculinity Studies aided in understanding how discussions of race/White supremacy, gender/sex/patriarchy, and heteronormativity/homo/transphobia operated in a curriculum that draws from sports. Findings include the assumptions of participants in utilizing sport as critical pedagogy, particularly around sport being an access point both as content and as a humanizing factor for the educator. An important finding is participants utilized critical sport pedagogies in both sport-centered and non- vi sport-centered courses, highlighting an aspect of accessibility. Further, the study revealed how the identities of participants (which included disciplinary training as well as their race, gender, and sexual orientation) shaped their focus in teaching a critical sport pedagogy. Another finding focused on the varied strategies participants employed when utilizing a critical sport pedagogy, including the use of media and providing student choice for assignments and projects. Findings will prove valuable to educators, both in K-12 schools and higher educations (as well as informal schooling) as they ponder how and why to develop their own critical sport pedagogies. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................ iii ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................ v LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................ x LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................... xi CHAPTERS 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 1 Background of the Problem .......................................................................... 3 Statement of the Research Purpose and Research Questions ....................... 4 Theoretical Framework ................................................................................. 5 Methodology ................................................................................................. 6 Significance of the Study .............................................................................. 7 Overview of Significant Terms and Acronyms ............................................ 7 Overview of Chapters ................................................................................... 9 Conclusion .................................................................................................. 12 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................... 13 Overview of Sport Sociology Literature ..................................................... 13 Overview of Race and Sport Literature ...................................................... 18 Overview of Gender, Sex, and Sport Literature ......................................... 22 Overview of Sexuality and Sport Literature ............................................... 27 Overview of Physical Education/Athletics and Education Literature ........ 29 Conclusion .................................................................................................. 34 viii 3. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ................................................................... 36 Critical Race Theory (CRT) ........................................................................ 37 Critical Masculinity Studies (CMS) ............................................................ 38 CRT and CMS in Sport ............................................................................... 40 Conclusion .................................................................................................. 56 4. METHODOLOGY, POSITIONALITY, AND REFLEXIVITY .................... 58 Positionality ............................................................................................... 58 Methodology .............................................................................................. 61 Qualitative Inquiry: Overview ................................................................... 61 Data Collection Method: Qualitative Interview ......................................... 63 Data Analysis ............................................................................................