The Racist Language at the World Cups: The Brazilian Case

Abstract

Purpose. We analyzed and interpreted media manifestations within Brazilian sports, regarding white and non-white players, in the context of different events in the history of soccer.

Basic procedures. We focus our study on using metaphors by the sports media to describe performance failure, based on Critical Discourse Analysis principles. Main findings. Racism, an ideology is forbidden by law in Brazil, continues to impact the lives, careers, and status of non-white soccer players, often in very subtle ways, by comparing the media's treatment to poor performances by white and non-white players. Conclusions. Our analysis shows that white players are consistently evaluated based on their professional performance, whereas non-white players use racially-loaded, often offensive, categories that directly attack their character.