The Thematic Evolution of Sports Journalism's Narrative of Mental Illness

Abstract

In The Thematic Evolution of Sports Journalism’s Narrative of Mental Illness: A Little Less Conversation, Ronald Bishop contends that the conversation developed and sustained by sports journalists about professional athletes’ experience with mental illness has evolved through three slightly overlapping stages, each marked by a primary theme. During the first stage, from the end of the 19th Century to the middle of the 20th century, sports journalists sensationalized the experience and portrayed the athletes—breathlessly labeled insane—as tragic figures. During the roughly two-decade second stage, an athlete’s experience with mental illness was portrayed as an inconvenience that flummoxed and infuriated team officials who had neither the ability nor the inclination to address the issue. The final stage, leading up to present day and beyond, is most notable for the development and widespread adoption of a coverage template that centers around an athlete’s brave decision to reveal and discuss their experiences. Combining historical research and narrative analysis, Bishop interrogates whether sports journalists have finally begun to cover the experience of mental illness with sufficient depth. Scholars of media studies, journalism, celebrity studies, and sports psychology will find this book of particular interest.