As a lifelong fan of sports (and a brief athletic career due to injury) I’ve been exposed to the reception received by athletes, and what their contemporaries thought of them in and outside of their respective sport. In this national climate, not only do sports fans use athletes for their own benefit (social media likes/follows, fantasy football, gambling) but their team “owners” do as well. Most people have begun to see them as strictly entertainers or lucrative entities as opposed to civilians like the rest of us non-professional athletes.
My art explores the meanings behind the decisions and occurrences of those within sports organizations and how societies responses (then and now) reflect their view on African Americans as a whole, in and out of sports. Rendered in oil paint, these paintings collectively focus on the stories of African Americans throughout the history of sports that have gone overlooked and underreported over time. These compositions illustrate topics that convey messages as powerful as they are revealing and challenges the progress society has made in terms of equality and prejudice. I intend to display these truths in an effort to create empathy towards the modern day (predominantly minority) athlete. Highlighting the African American beliefs, feelings and their personal journeys is my way of bridging the gap between the perception of a physical specimen that can withstand any criticism, insult or pre-conceived notion and them just being civilians with physical talents.
Some people distance themselves from sports because they feel the players are too pretentious or unworthy of the fame they receive. These works attempt to cultivate a sense of empathy that even non-sports fans will find them intriguing. Ultimately these news worthy occurrences that surround the world of sports and effect how society perceives African Americans as a whole, which impacts our daily lives outside of the sports most of us enjoy. Since we all have to co-exist in society with one another, these topics are polarizing enough to garner thoughts and opinions from everyone, whether they’re sports fans or not.