Michael L. Butterworth

Ritual in the “Church of Baseball”: Suppressing the Discourse of Democracy after 9/11

Baseball was among the most prominent American institutions to respond to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Tributes at ballparks across the country promised comfort to millions in shock but soon developed into rituals of victimization that affirmed the Bush administrations politics of war, discouraged the expression of dissenting opinions, and burdened the nation with yet another disincentive to reflect constructively on its response to terrorism. This essay views the aftermath of 9/11 as a quasi-religious social drama in which ballpark tributes became a ritualized vehicle for a belligerent patriotism that sought unity at the expense of democratic discourse.

“Katie was Not Only a Girl, She was Terrible”: Katie Hnida, Body Rhetoric, and Football at the University of Colorado

Rhetorical scholars have given increasing attention to the body as a site for producing arguments. This essay examines possible limits to body rhetoric through the analysis of a controversy involving Katie Hnida, football, and the University of Colorado. In the midst of allegations of sexual misconduct and recruiting improprieties within the football program, Hnidas body was the central trope in a rhetorical contest over gendered norms and boundaries. Given the hostility that was directed at Hnida, this essay suggests that rhetorical critics should be cautious about overestimating the bodys capacity for resistance. It also invites a closer consideration of how discourses within sport continue to marginalize women.

Militarism and Memorializing at the Pro Football Hall of Fame

More than ever, entertainment industries work in concert with the US armed forces in the rhetorical production of militarism. This is especially the case in sport, where leagues such as the National Football League routinely make war imagery and military personnel a focal point of football culture. One such iteration of this relationship is the “Pro Football and the American Spirit” exhibit that is part of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Understood as an example of public memory, this exhibit reveals sports capacity to normalize war and reduce the available models of citizenship in the United States.

The Politics of the Pitch: Claiming and Contesting Democracy Through the Iraqi National Soccer Team

Sport was among the many cultural resources that George W. Bush used to justify rhetorically the need for war in Iraq. Specifically, he sought to capitalize on the unexpected success of the Iraqi national soccer team during the 2004 Summer Olympics. The Bush campaign produced a commercial that aired during the two weeks of Olympic coverage, in which Bush was credited with spreading freedom and democracy throughout the world. Simultaneously, the president claimed that Iraqs participation in the Games was possible only because of American-led action that had toppled Saddam Hussein. Rather than accept this narrative, many Iraqi athletes and citizens responded with anger and resentment towards the United States. This analysis demonstrates the extent to which sport metaphors are implicated in the contests over democracy. Moreover, it suggests that critics must engage the discourses of sport as they articulate with politics in an effort to recover the democratic potential of each.

Purifying the Body Politic: Steroids, Rafael Palmeiro, and the Rhetorical Cleansing of Major League Baseball

When President George W. Bush used his 2004 State of the Union address to condemn the use of performance-enhancing drugs in professional sports, many reacted with confusion or frustration that a seemingly trivial matter was placed in context with the “war on terror” and a struggling economy. However, these reactions overlook the consistency between the rhetoric that seeks to ban steroids and the broader rhetoric about national community after 9/11. In this essay, I argue that the attempt to purify and inoculate the “body politic” against foreign threats is metaphorically replicated by the attempt to purify the bodies within the national pastime by banning performance-enhancing drugs. Using baseball as a metaphor for the nation, Bushs attention to steroids was later dramatized through the suspension of Rafael Palmeiro. Thus, through the subsequent scapegoating of Palmeiro, the community of sport reproduced the politics of fear and division that have characterized post-9/11 America.

Muhammad Ali's Fighting Words: The Paradox of Violence in Nonviolent Rhetoric

While Muhammad Ali has been the subject of countless articles and books written by sports historians and journalists, rhetorical scholars have largely ignored him. This oversight is surprising given both the tradition of social movement scholarship within rhetorical studies and Alis influential eloquence as a world renowned celebrity espousing nonviolence. Alis rhetorical performances played a pivotal role in radicalizing the civil rights movement as it (d)evolved into twin forces: Black Power and anti-Vietnam war movements. Alis rhetoric conjoins messages of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, enabling critics to re-envision civil rights texts. Alis enduring rhetoric provides a model for analyzing texts and social movements invoking the paradox of the violence in nonviolent civil disobedience.

Saved at Home: Christian Branding and Faith Nights in the “Church of Baseball”

Baseball has enjoyed its status as the “national pastime” in part because it has been associated with democracy. To the extent that baseball, as an institution of civil religion, fosters pluralism and inclusion, it can indeed be viewed in democratic terms. In recent years, the advent of conservative Christian events called “Faith Nights” threatens the democratic health of the “church of baseball.” In particular, Faith Nights depend on a logic of branding that masks the political commitments that support the events. Thus, although many baseball fans and followers may not be aware of all aspects of Faith Nights, they are constituted in a hegemonic relationship with Christianity in ways that demand critical attention.

Public Memorializing in the Stadium: Mediated Sport, the 10th Anniversary of 9/11, and the Illusion of Democracy

Among the purported virtues of sport, whether through participation or viewership, is its capacity to foster community. In the years since September 11, 2001, the institutions associated with the production of mediated sport have constituted community rhetorically through nationalistic and militaristic rituals and ceremonies. Such ceremonies played a prominent role in the public memorialization of 9/11 on its 10th anniversary in 2011. Although it is surely the case that some communal healing is possible through mediated sport and its ceremonies, this essay argues that the centrality of this theme constitutes an illusion of democracy. As a consequence, these mediated sport productions shaped a public memory of 9/11 that diminishes active citizenship and deflects attention away from the consequences of American actions since the terrorist attacks.

Cross-cultural comparisons of religion as “character”: Football and soccer in the United States and Germany

This study compares sports media coverage of American football (“football”) in the United States and association football (“soccer”) in Germany, with a specific focus on the portrayal of Christian athletes. Specifically, we contend that media coverage of Christian football players in the United States presupposes that religiosity necessarily equates with good character. Thus, American athletes are encouraged to make public declarations of faith and are accordingly viewed as better leaders on the field and better citizens off it. Meanwhile, media coverage of soccer players in Germany presupposes that religiosity is incidental to good character. Thus, German athletes are encouraged to keep their faith to themselves; for those who do make public declarations of faith, media coverage is skeptical, tending to view athletic success to be in spite of, rather than because of, Christian identification. This cross-cultural examination, then, has implications for public expressions of faith in sport, as well as media coverage of sport and religion.

Adrian Peterson and the “Wussification of America”: Football and Myths of Masculinity

Twitter has become a unique site for making sense of public discussions about authority and morality in the United States. This article addresses these discussions by analyzing the elements of conservative discourse that claim the health of the nation is in decline because of a diminished emphasis on masculine leadership. There is a long tradition of conservative politicians in the United States warning against “soft” or “weak” figures of authority. Such conversations take place within a range of contexts, including the sport of football. As a means to engage hegemonic masculine authority from a critical perspective, this article investigates Twitter users’ various reactions to Adrian Peterson’s suspension due to his disciplining his child with a “switch.”