Anthropologist Tracie Canada Examines How College Football Can Harm its Black Players

Canada reveals the ways young athletes strategically resist the exploitative systems that structure their everyday lives.

LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, February 25, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- In her compelling first book, "Tackling the Everyday: Race and Nation in Big-Time College Football," anthropologist and Duke University professor Tracie Canada offers an unflinching exploration of the lived experiences of Black college football players. Published by the University of California Press on February 25, 2025, the book sheds light on the systemic exploitation inherent in America's beloved sport and the strategies these athletes employ to navigate their complex realities.

College football is often celebrated for its prestige, drama, media attention, and financial rewards. However, as Canada meticulously documents, the reality for many athletes—particularly Black men—is starkly different. These unpaid players frequently confront severe injuries, limited prospects for professional careers, undervalued educational opportunities, and looming financial instability. Through immersive ethnographic research, Canada reveals how these young men resist and navigate the exploitative systems that dominate their daily lives.

Central to "Tackling the Everyday" is the exposure of the "football family" narrative perpetuated by coaches and universities. Canada's research challenges this narrative while highlighting the authentic brotherhood that flourishes among Black players and the unwavering support from their mothers, both on and off the field. Employing a Black feminist perspective, Canada delves into how race, gender, kinship, and care profoundly influence the experiences of these athletes.

Respected voices in sports journalism and academia have praised "Tackling the Everyday" for its insightful and intimate portrayal of college football. Dave Zirin, sports editor at "The Nation" and author of "The Kaepernick Effect," remarks, "Both scholarly and intimate, Tracie Canada deftly takes us into the world of college football through the lived experiences of its players. Canada also homes in on how those experiences are affected by an often-cruel world. "Tackling the Everyday" is like no college football book I have read, precisely because it is about so much more than the game itself. Destined to be a classic."

Jennifer C. Nash, author of "How We Write Now: Living with Black Feminist Theory," commends the work, stating, "Much has been written about college football, describing both its ongoing appeal to fans and its exploitation of players. Canada's book offers a brilliant Black feminist contribution to the literature on sports, race, and gender. She centers the everyday experiences of Black college football players, focusing on how they navigate the institutions and structures that organize their lives, from the football field to their classes. Canada uniquely focuses on the networks of care, friendship, love, and intimacy that they forge and rely on for support and sustenance. 'Tackling the Everyday' is essential reading for any scholar—or fan—interested in race and sports."

'Tackling the Everyday' is poised to become an essential text for those seeking to understand the intersection of race, sports, and society. Canada challenges readers to confront the inequities embedded within collegiate sports and recognize the strength and solidarity that emerge in response, all while centering the voices of Black athletes.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tracie Canada is the Andrew W. Mellon Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology at Duke University. Her work has been featured in public venues and outlets such as the Museum of Modern Art, "The Guardian," and "Scientific American."

ABOUT THE BOOK
Written by Dr. Tracie Canada and published by The University of California Press on February 25, 2025, "Tackling the Everyday: Race and Nation in Big-Time College Football" is one of the first ethnographies about Black college football players.

MEDIA CONTACT
To request a copy of "Tackling the Everyday," contact publicist Nanda Dyssou of Coriolis Company.

Nanda Dyssou
Coriolis
+1 424-226-6148
nanda@corioliscompany.com