PhD Candidate in Educational Culture, Policy, and Society within the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy at the University at Buffalo, SUNY
Iman Lathan is a former Division I women’s basketball player and a Southern California native. Currently, she is a Doctoral Candidate in Educational Culture, Policy, and Society within the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy at the University at Buffalo, SUNY. Her research revolves around exploring the commodification of Black women’s bodies, neoliberalism, NCAA, sports, and the Diaspora.
This qualitative case study aims to elucidate the internal mechanisms shaping the Division-I educational pathway and its role as a secondary diasporic conduit for Black female Division I basketball student-athletes. In so doing, I aim to unravel how the neoliberal intercollegiate sports model engages, exploits, and disposes individuals descended from the African Diaspora to sustain its operations. The research delves into the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a neoliberal structure, akin to a secondary diasporic vessel, directing Black female student-athletes—descendants of the Black Atlantic Diaspora—to predominantly white institutions (PWIs). Employing Black feminist thought (BFT) and a queer diasporic lens, this study seeks to comprehend how Black female ball players, coaches, and parents perceive their roles, positions, and experiences within the confines of the NCAA’s neoliberal structures.
Moreover, BFT and a queer and diasporic framework inform the research design and data interpretation of this study as this project seeks to contribute to a nuanced understanding of how the NCAA’s systems and capitalist structures perceive, treat, and utilize Black female athletes. The scarcity of work on the intersection of femininity, Blackness, and sport within the realm of a male-dominated sport like basketball necessitates a fresh perspective. The application of a queer diasporic lens becomes paramount in unveiling aspects concealed within dominant epistemologies.