Rhetoric(s) and Sport(s): Ali, Louganis, and Mathieu
By only moving two bottles of Coca-Cola when having a press conference in UEFA EURO 2021, Cristiano Rolando made the world’s largest beverage company’s stock drop almost $5 billion. Before the match against Denmark, England soccer players took a knee in support of racial justice. In another match, England captain Harry Kane wore a rainbow armband as a symbol of supporting LGBTQ communities; his action brought attention to Pride Month. These are several examples of connection between sport and other aspects of life. I believe if we dive more deeply, we will have other examples because athlete’s endeavors always have a tremendous impact on economic, political, and culture in our society. Though it may seem strange, a study about the incredible effect of sport can be done through the lens of rhetoric. Thus, this essay will summarize several key points that we gain from discussion about sport through a rhetorical perspective: rhetorical intimacy, memory and affect, and articulation and re-articulation.
Giving the example of Muhammad Ali’s friendship with Malcolm X, Lisa Corrigan (85) introduces the term “rhetorical intimacy” to understand how X and Ali’s friendship created an opportunity to show black masculinity through religion and sport. At that time, Muhammad Ali was a professional boxer while Malcolm X was a human rights activist. Although their friendship did not last long, both men had pivotal roles in challenging white supremacy in the Civil Rights Movement.
Corrigan defines rhetorical intimacy as a “kind of political and social closeness that builds the architecture of iconicity” (88). Corrigan argues closeness and role of a person define their rhetorical intimacy. In discussion about closeness, Corrigan sees Ali and X as one, especially when she mentions body and brain in her piece (96). Ali and X’s closeness is different from other friendships like David Beckham and Prince William’s because their friendship symbolizes black men who can be united although they are from different social backgrounds. One important thing when we talked about the closeness between Ali and X is the moment when it happened. As black Americans were struggling with social justice, Ali and X’s friendship gave them a perspective that there was something that they could achieve if they united. Audiences perceive them as a hope for the future of black people.
Moreover, the closeness of Ali and X can be seen through “photography, recollection, and memorialization” (88). Photography is vital for society because it tells a story for people at that time and in the future. For example, a photograph of Ali and X brings us back to the moment when it was captured, gives us information of how close Ali and X were at that time. For some people who see that moment and live 40 years later, Ali and X’s photographs bring memory recollection. Even for Ali himself, a photo of him and X recalled his memories with X before their friendship ended.
Aside from closeness, Corrigan also define that role of person, or iconicity as a part of their rhetorical intimacy. In conversations about Ali, we focus on his race or religion apart from his sports achievements, making him an icon of both. In many interviews, Ali did not only talk about his achievements but also about his experiences with racism. He used his role as an athlete to raise awareness about racial inequalities that black people experienced. Understanding rhetorical intimacy is quite challenging because it is hard to find another literature review mentioning rhetorical intimacy besides Corrigan’s piece.
On the other hand, the discussion about memory as a part of closeness in rhetorical intimacy ties to Bennett’s explanation about how memory work and its connection with affect (70). Usually, in psychology, affect is related to feeling or emotion (Macey, 5). However, in rhetoric, this term affect means the impression that is being left after a repetition of events. Greg Louganis was a diver athlete who won gold medals in the 1984 and 1988 Olympics. Although he had outstanding achievements in Olympics, he only got few endorsements compared to other great athletes, and people only remember him as an HIV-positive gay. Years after the incident where he hits his head on the diving board and blood appeared in the pool, Louganis came out as HIV-positive facing people who questioned whether it was good to keep this secret as he was bleeding on the pool. As Bennet said, “collective memory is enacted through everyday performative repertoires and encounters with the past,” Louganis’s life as an HIV-positive gay can be an example of “performative repertoires” that came across with memory of LGBTQ and HIV-positive communities from the past (73).
After discussing rhetorical intimacy between Ali and X, I want to draw attention to the idea of articulation theory based on Tyrann Mathieu’s case. According to Slack, articulation is a method of characterizing social formation without “falling into the twin traps of reductionism and essentialism” (112). On the other hand, articulation is a concept of meaning-making without reducing the meaning, which involves power relations. However, DeLuca argues that articulation involves two elements: speaking forth and linking elements (335). The aim of articulation itself is to understand social and historical struggle happens in a postmodern world. The fascinating fact about articulation is people are involved in that process through communication unconsciously. On pages 123 and 124, Slack explains that Laswell’s communication process components, which are sender, receiver, message, meaning, etc. is an articulation itself. An example of the articulation process comes from Brouwer and Hanna (114), where they investigate Tyrann Mathieu with the nickname Honey Badger while the nickname is part of (re)articulation of the athlete’s race, sexuality, and gender.
Before Honey Badger revolved around Mathieu, this nickname already had meaning. Honey badger is a mammal based in Africa and also known as ratel. In 2011, a video documentary of honey badger became a masterpiece in media because of Randall’s voice as its narration. John Chavis, the LSU Tiger’s defensive coordinator, is the first person who started calling Mathieu by that nickname. From several news sources, Mathieu apparently did not like the nickname at the beginning. In several interviews, which is also shown by Brouwer and Hanna in their chapter, Mathieu tried to reject and redefine the meaning of his nickname. After all his college football career problems, Mathieu did not want to be remembered as a honey badger anymore. However, instead of rejecting total disconnection, he rebranded the nickname. The process of the audience perceives honey badger from Randall’s documentary video to Mathieu’s acceptance of that nickname and make it his own identity is what I understand as (re)articulation process. So, when someone mentions honey badger, the meaning relates to Tyrann Mathieu and not to the documentary video anymore.
Understanding the key points of cultural/critical theory, I realize the importance of mass media as a powerful storyteller in society. If there is no photograph of Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X’s rhetorical intimacy, no creating memories through Wheaties Box, or no rearticulation through interviews of Tyrann Mathieu in media, the audience would not be able to see the crucial points of cultural/critical theory in sport. However, although the key points of critical/cultural theory appear in the discussion about sport, I do believe we can apply it in another field.
Giving the example of Muhammad Ali’s friendship with Malcolm X, Lisa Corrigan (85) introduces the term “rhetorical intimacy” to understand how X and Ali’s friendship created an opportunity to show black masculinity through religion and sport. At that time, Muhammad Ali was a professional boxer while Malcolm X was a human rights activist. Although their friendship did not last long, both men had pivotal roles in challenging white supremacy in the Civil Rights Movement.
Corrigan defines rhetorical intimacy as a “kind of political and social closeness that builds the architecture of iconicity” (88). Corrigan argues closeness and role of a person define their rhetorical intimacy. In discussion about closeness, Corrigan sees Ali and X as one, especially when she mentions body and brain in her piece (96). Ali and X’s closeness is different from other friendships like David Beckham and Prince William’s because their friendship symbolizes black men who can be united although they are from different social backgrounds. One important thing when we talked about the closeness between Ali and X is the moment when it happened. As black Americans were struggling with social justice, Ali and X’s friendship gave them a perspective that there was something that they could achieve if they united. Audiences perceive them as a hope for the future of black people.
Moreover, the closeness of Ali and X can be seen through “photography, recollection, and memorialization” (88). Photography is vital for society because it tells a story for people at that time and in the future. For example, a photograph of Ali and X brings us back to the moment when it was captured, gives us information of how close Ali and X were at that time. For some people who see that moment and live 40 years later, Ali and X’s photographs bring memory recollection. Even for Ali himself, a photo of him and X recalled his memories with X before their friendship ended.
Aside from closeness, Corrigan also define that role of person, or iconicity as a part of their rhetorical intimacy. In conversations about Ali, we focus on his race or religion apart from his sports achievements, making him an icon of both. In many interviews, Ali did not only talk about his achievements but also about his experiences with racism. He used his role as an athlete to raise awareness about racial inequalities that black people experienced. Understanding rhetorical intimacy is quite challenging because it is hard to find another literature review mentioning rhetorical intimacy besides Corrigan’s piece.
On the other hand, the discussion about memory as a part of closeness in rhetorical intimacy ties to Bennett’s explanation about how memory work and its connection with affect (70). Usually, in psychology, affect is related to feeling or emotion (Macey, 5). However, in rhetoric, this term affect means the impression that is being left after a repetition of events. Greg Louganis was a diver athlete who won gold medals in the 1984 and 1988 Olympics. Although he had outstanding achievements in Olympics, he only got few endorsements compared to other great athletes, and people only remember him as an HIV-positive gay. Years after the incident where he hits his head on the diving board and blood appeared in the pool, Louganis came out as HIV-positive facing people who questioned whether it was good to keep this secret as he was bleeding on the pool. As Bennet said, “collective memory is enacted through everyday performative repertoires and encounters with the past,” Louganis’s life as an HIV-positive gay can be an example of “performative repertoires” that came across with memory of LGBTQ and HIV-positive communities from the past (73).
After discussing rhetorical intimacy between Ali and X, I want to draw attention to the idea of articulation theory based on Tyrann Mathieu’s case. According to Slack, articulation is a method of characterizing social formation without “falling into the twin traps of reductionism and essentialism” (112). On the other hand, articulation is a concept of meaning-making without reducing the meaning, which involves power relations. However, DeLuca argues that articulation involves two elements: speaking forth and linking elements (335). The aim of articulation itself is to understand social and historical struggle happens in a postmodern world. The fascinating fact about articulation is people are involved in that process through communication unconsciously. On pages 123 and 124, Slack explains that Laswell’s communication process components, which are sender, receiver, message, meaning, etc. is an articulation itself. An example of the articulation process comes from Brouwer and Hanna (114), where they investigate Tyrann Mathieu with the nickname Honey Badger while the nickname is part of (re)articulation of the athlete’s race, sexuality, and gender.
Before Honey Badger revolved around Mathieu, this nickname already had meaning. Honey badger is a mammal based in Africa and also known as ratel. In 2011, a video documentary of honey badger became a masterpiece in media because of Randall’s voice as its narration. John Chavis, the LSU Tiger’s defensive coordinator, is the first person who started calling Mathieu by that nickname. From several news sources, Mathieu apparently did not like the nickname at the beginning. In several interviews, which is also shown by Brouwer and Hanna in their chapter, Mathieu tried to reject and redefine the meaning of his nickname. After all his college football career problems, Mathieu did not want to be remembered as a honey badger anymore. However, instead of rejecting total disconnection, he rebranded the nickname. The process of the audience perceives honey badger from Randall’s documentary video to Mathieu’s acceptance of that nickname and make it his own identity is what I understand as (re)articulation process. So, when someone mentions honey badger, the meaning relates to Tyrann Mathieu and not to the documentary video anymore.
Understanding the key points of cultural/critical theory, I realize the importance of mass media as a powerful storyteller in society. If there is no photograph of Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X’s rhetorical intimacy, no creating memories through Wheaties Box, or no rearticulation through interviews of Tyrann Mathieu in media, the audience would not be able to see the crucial points of cultural/critical theory in sport. However, although the key points of critical/cultural theory appear in the discussion about sport, I do believe we can apply it in another field.
References:
Bennett, Jeffrey A. “Diving into the Past: Greg Louganis, Queer Memory, and the Politics of HIV Management.” Sport, Rhetoric, and Political Struggle, by Daniel A. Grano and Michael L. Butterworth, Peter Lang, 2019, pp. 70–84.
Brouwer, Daniel C, and Katrina N. Hanna. “(Re)Articulations of Race, Sexuality, and Gender in U.S. Football: Investigating Tyrann Mathieu as Honey Badger” Sport, Rhetoric, and Political Struggle, by Daniel A. Grano and Michael L. Butterworth, Peter Lang, 2019, pp. 114-128.
Corrigan, Lisa M. “Touching Ali: Rhetorical Intimacy and Black Masculinity.” Sport, Rhetoric, and Political Struggle, by Daniel A. Grano and Michael L. Butterworth, Peter Lang, 2019, pp. 85-99.
DeLuca, Kevin. "Articulation theory: A discursive grounding for rhetorical practice." Philosophy & Rhetoric, vol. 32, no. 4, 1999, 334-348.
Macey, David. The Penguin Dictionary of Critical Theory. London, Penguin Books, 2000.
Slack, J. D. “The Theory and Method of Articulation in Cultural Studies” Critical Dialogues in Cultural Studies, by David Morley and Kuan-Hsing Chen, Routledge, 1996, pp. 112-127.
Yin, Jing. “Constructing the Other: A Critical Reading of The Joy Luck Club.” Howard Journal of Communications, vol. 16, no. 3, 2005, pp. 149–175., doi:10.1080/10646170500207899.
Brouwer, Daniel C, and Katrina N. Hanna. “(Re)Articulations of Race, Sexuality, and Gender in U.S. Football: Investigating Tyrann Mathieu as Honey Badger” Sport, Rhetoric, and Political Struggle, by Daniel A. Grano and Michael L. Butterworth, Peter Lang, 2019, pp. 114-128.
Corrigan, Lisa M. “Touching Ali: Rhetorical Intimacy and Black Masculinity.” Sport, Rhetoric, and Political Struggle, by Daniel A. Grano and Michael L. Butterworth, Peter Lang, 2019, pp. 85-99.
DeLuca, Kevin. "Articulation theory: A discursive grounding for rhetorical practice." Philosophy & Rhetoric, vol. 32, no. 4, 1999, 334-348.
Macey, David. The Penguin Dictionary of Critical Theory. London, Penguin Books, 2000.
Slack, J. D. “The Theory and Method of Articulation in Cultural Studies” Critical Dialogues in Cultural Studies, by David Morley and Kuan-Hsing Chen, Routledge, 1996, pp. 112-127.
Yin, Jing. “Constructing the Other: A Critical Reading of The Joy Luck Club.” Howard Journal of Communications, vol. 16, no. 3, 2005, pp. 149–175., doi:10.1080/10646170500207899.