#TheyareUnited and #TheyWantToPlay: A Critical Discourse Analysis of College Football Player Social Media Activism

Abstract

This study examined the way college football players used social media to resist, highlight, and address inequity in college football. Employing a critical discourse analysis guided by poststructuralism as a theoretical framework, three public statements were analyzed to explore how the language used in the statements resisted multiple discourses that shape college football players’ experiences. The ways that college football players used discourse to mobilize as activists and exert control over their college athlete experience were considered. These findings highlight three consistent themes and expand research on college athlete activism through social media and language analysis.