(Part II) Black Labor, White Legacy: Who Really Owns the Game? Examining Whiteness as Property in sports

In this powerful new episode of the SportsCrit™ Lab Podcast, Dr. Gyasmine George-Williams unpacks the Critical Race Theory tenet of Whiteness as Property—a concept that reveals how white identity has historically functioned as a form of legal, social, cultural, and sports property.But we don’t stop at theory. From NCAA contracts to NIL loopholes, from generational wealth gaps to media framing in professional sports, Dr. G connects the dots between who owns, who benefits, and who’s kept out.Whether new to CRT or deeply engaged in equity work, this episode offers real-world examples, provocative insights, and the kind of SportsCrit™ storytelling that challenges comfort zones and invites transformation.🧠 In This Episode, We Explore:* How Cheryl Harris’ foundational work reveals whiteness as a system of exclusive rights* Examples of property logic in sports: ownership, access, and branding* What “ownership” looks like when applied to Black bodies, labor, and culture in the athletic-industrial complex* How understanding property, not just prejudice, helps us understand racism as systemic, not accidental📚 References for Show Notes:Cooper, B. (2018). *Eloquent rage: A Black feminist discovers her superpower*. St. Martin’s Press.Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A Black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory, and antiracist politics. *University of Chicago Legal Forum*, 1989(1), 139–167.Delgado, R., & Stefancic, J. (2017). *Critical race theory: An introduction* (3rd ed.). NYU Press.George, G. (2011, February). The NFL and the Rooney Rule. The NFL and African American coaches: Playing by the rules. *Prominence Magazine*, 2(3), 49–51.George-Williams, G. (2019). *Love is at the root of resistance: A hermeneutic phenomenological inquiry into the lived experiences of Black college athlete activists* (Publication No. 13898234) \[Doctoral dissertation, Azusa Pacific University]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing. [http://bit.ly/GGWBCAAs](http://bit.ly/GGWBCAAs)George-Williams, G. (2021). *Love is at the root of resistance: Strategies of activism, advocacy, and liberation*. Seven Ten Legacy LLC. [http://bit.ly/DrGsBook](http://bit.ly/DrGsBook)George-Williams, G. (2024). Challenging norms: Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf’s national anthem protest and its pedagogical implications. In *Handbook of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Sport: Student Engagement and Critical Pedagogies* (forthcoming).George-Williams, G. (2024). Illuminating the field: The transformative power of SportCrit in sports education. In *Sport, Higher Education, and Critical Pedagogies* (Manuscript submitted for publication). Routledge.George-Williams, G. (2025). Activist Tiered Systems of Support (ATSS) framework: An ecosystem of care and well-being for student and athlete activists. *Sport Social Work Journal, 7*(1). [https://doi.org/10.33043/baqy78da](httHarris, C. I. (1993). Whiteness as property. Harvard Law Review, 106(8), 1707–1791.Jun, A., & Collins, C. S. (2017). White Out: Understanding White Privilege and Dominance in the Modern Age.NCAA. (n.d.). NIL frameworks and athlete equity. Retrieved from https://www.ncaa.org/sports/nil-resourcesVarious authors. (n.d.). Sports equity and branding case studies. ESPN, Sports Illustrated, and other platforms.Follow & Share the SportsCrit™ Movement: