Background/Purpose Research suggests that even though African Americans constitute a sizeable portion of college athletes, they routinely face prejudice and discrimination (Hawkins, 2002; Sailes, 2000; Singer, 2005). However, this literature has predominantly focused on (a) male athletes and (b) the outcomes of unequal treatment rather than specific nature of it. Thus, in this work, we examine the degree to which coach-player racial dissimilarity is associated with head coach incivility among NCAA female basketball players. Following Andersson and Pearson (1999), we define incivility as low-level interpersonal behaviors that are characteristically rude, discourteous, and violate norms for mutual respect. We also examine the degree to which incivility is associated with players' team commitment.
Method Data were collected from 229 NCAA Division I women's basketball players (124 Whites, 105 racial minorities). Participants completed a questionnaire measuring their race, head coach race, incivility experienced from the head coach (Caza & Cortina, 2008; Glomb & Miner, 2002; Harrell, 1997; Martin & Hine, 2005), and commitment to the team (Meyer & Allen, 1984).
Analysis/Results Structural equation modeling was used to examine the association among the study variables. Results indicate that racial minorities experienced more incivility from White coaches than racial minority coaches. The race of the coach did not impact the incivility Whites experienced. Additionally, incivility was negatively associated with players' commitment to the team.
Conclusions This study illustrates that racial minority women experience poorer treatment than do Whites, particularly from White head coaches. This is damaging to them in many ways, including lessening their team commitment.
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