It Doesn’t Matter if You’re Black or White. Unless You Want a Job in Sports.

Maybe it’s just me, but you’d  think that the sports industry would be one of the most diverse industries in the world. That might be true for the players – but it’s certainly not true for people in management.

NC State’s Heidi Grappendorf recently presented a study showing that race trumps experience in the sports industry.

Heidi and her colleagues created one-page resumes for fictitious job applicants applying for entry-level sports management positions. The resumes included identical work and education experience.  They gave the fake applicants traditional white names – like John or Julie – and traditional black names – like Tyreese or Taisha. The resumes also varied on whether the fake applicants were previously  athletes. Researchers then asked the resumes to be reviewed and ranked in terms of overall likability, competency and likelihood of being hired.

The results were shocking.

The study showed white males and females were ranked considerably higher in terms of  likability, competency and likelihood of being hired then their black counterparts – even when the resumes showed identical experience and education. And having an athletic background only proved to benefit white males – while not affecting white females, or black males or females.

“Our findings indicated that for black males and females, athletic participation provided no advantage in hiring recommendations,” Grappendorf says. “Clearly, athletic participation is not ‘superseding’ race. This contradicts previous findings indicating that the athletic role could be beneficial in the hiring process.”

The study, “Examining the Influence of Race, Gender, and Athletic Participation on Hiring Preferences in Sport Management,” was presented last month at the North American Society of Sport Management Conference.