The Wayward Child: an ideological analysis of sports contract holdout coverage

Abstract

Journalists write and talk frequently about the escalating salaries earned by professional athletes. Special scorn is reserved for those athletes who hold out—for more money, or to renegotiate their contracts. In this ideological analysis, I explore the ideology that emerges from beat coverage by Seattle sportswriters of the 1999 holdout by Joey Galloway, a star receiver for the Seattle Seahawks. From July to November 1999, Galloway and the Seahawks were embroiled in a very public dispute over a contract extension sought by Galloway. My analysis is built on the idea that certain ideologies become dominant, to the exclusion of ideologies that present alternative perspectives. These perspectives are marginalized or suppressed. Thus, one way of “seeing the world” holds sway—it achieves hegemony. For sports fans in Seattle, it becomes the preferred reading of Galloway's conduct. Articles for the analysis were taken from Seattle's two daily newspapers and cover the entire holdout. The ideology that emerges from these articles revolves around several key ideas: the team is sacred—it is bigger, and has more value, than any of its individual members; the coach is the ultimate authority figure, one whose judgment should never be questioned; a holdout by its very nature threatens the team; and players who do hold out are seen as greedy, selfish, and disloyal, or at the very least, driven solely by pragmatism. It was a news frame created and advanced by team officials. Seattle beat writers painted a picture of Galloway as a spoiled, petulant child who had to be stripped of his individuality and spend some time alone before coming back to the team. Findings from the analysis can be used to help reporters improve their coverage of contract negotiations.

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