Date of Award

5-2026

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Honors Thesis

Department

Political Science

First Advisor

Rhea Myerscough

Second Advisor

Fabiana Alceste

Abstract

Over the years, the media has seen many instances of athletes using their platforms to speak out on certain issues, one of the most memorable in recent times being Colin Kaepernick kneeling during the national anthem when he was with the San Francisco 49ers. Instances like Kaepernick’s emphasizes how different groups of people respond to these forms of political protest., with some finding his actions as disrespectful to America and ignoring the true purpose of his protest. This study aimed to determine how college students respond to athletes sharing their political stances, and whether these responses from the students change based on the race of the athlete. I investigated this question by conducting an original survey experiment. Participants in the experimental treatment groups were shown vignettes with a fake news story describing an athlete taking a stand on a controversial political issue. The athlete described in each vignette was either Black or white. I then measured the attitudes across all groups towards an athlete’s use of their platform to express these opinions. I found that, among college students, the race of the athlete taking a political stand was not associated with a statistically significant difference in the levels of support for the athletes’ political activity.

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