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Martyrs of Masculinity: Narratives about Health Risks and Head Trauma in the NFL

Petric, Joseph E
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1367941203

Abstract Details

2013, MA, University of Cincinnati, Arts and Sciences: Communication.
On May 2, 2012, former NFL player Junior Seau took his own life through a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his torso. In the past two years (December 2010 - December 2012) seven current and former NFL players have committed suicide, some leaving instructions behind for their brains to be studied for debilitating head trauma injuries such as CTE (Sports Illustrated, 2012). These suicides rupture dominant depictions of masculinity in sports because they create social awareness and visibility into the topic of player safety. The graphic imagery of their suicides and subsequent publicity spurs collective inquiry for the issue of help-seeking in players' health as a dilemma of masculine identity that is reinforced by the NFL's conflict of interests. Whether intentional or not, the act of suicide may be a potential launching point for critical dialogue and social change because it disrupts the dominant understanding of football, health risks, player safety, and even masculinity. This thesis will investigate the significance of Junior Seau's suicide as the launching point for critical and alternative dialogues that disrupt meanings and narratives that challenge power relations between the NFL and players. The analysis of the memorial service, news articles, NFL statements and a radio interview suggests that these epideictic narratives reinforce or resist the "status quo" in terms of dominant constructions of masculinity and health, as well as the hegemonic power relations associated with NFL, highlighting the how the reinforcement of the warrior narrative or masculine norms can also serve as a launching point for critical dialogue about health issues. The conclusion closes by exploring the counter-warrior narrative that has emerged as an alternative view in which masculinity is not mutually exclusive from healthcare and players are conscious of the health risks associated with football.
Heather Zoller, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Stephen Depoe, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Eric Jenkins, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
John Lynch, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
128 p.
Communication
masculinity; epideictic; narrative; health risks; head trauma CTE; dialogue;

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Petric, J. E. (2013). Martyrs of Masculinity: Narratives about Health Risks and Head Trauma in the NFL [Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1367941203

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Petric, Joseph. Martyrs of Masculinity: Narratives about Health Risks and Head Trauma in the NFL. 2013. University of Cincinnati, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1367941203.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Petric, Joseph. "Martyrs of Masculinity: Narratives about Health Risks and Head Trauma in the NFL." Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1367941203

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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© 2013, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.
Release 3.2.12