The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Sports Act. Living
Sec. The History, Culture and Sociology of Sports
Volume 6 - 2024 |
doi: 10.3389/fspor.2024.1228440
Fab Five: Pioneering sociocultural influence within the culture of basketball and American society
Provisionally accepted
Marcis Fennell
1*
C. Keith Harrison
2
Oris Stuart
3
Donte Scott
4
R. Douglas Manning
5
Brandon Martin
6
Kelly Dwyer
2
Larry Proctor
7
Scott Bukstein
2- 1 University of Louisville, Louisville, United States
- 2 University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida, United States
- 3 Independent researcher, New York, United States
- 4 Independent researcher, Detroit, United States
- 5 University of San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States
- 6 University of Missouri Extension, Kansas City, Kansas, United States
- 7 Grambling State University, Grambling, Louisiana, United States
Basketball culture in America has consistently evolved, intersecting race, culture, and class.Dating back to when the inventor of the game, James Naismith, developed a mentoring relationship with John McClendon one of the African American pioneers in basketball (founder of the "fast-break"), there are countless examples of these intersections. Entering the college basketball culture as the most decorated recruiting class in National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball history, the University of Michigan Fab Five's legacy catalyzes a new era of American basketball culture. Gracefully talented, the Fab Five abruptly disrupted the institution of basketball, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, and the identity of basketball athletes globally. This paper presents a sociocultural exploration of the residual impact of the Fab Five's legacy. As authentic, confident, and culturally competent, the five young men intentionally resisted and acknowledged the intersections within the college basketball culture. We critically assess the evolution of basketball culture, grounded by the sociocultural experiences of the Fab Five, imprinting upon contemporary generations of college basketball programs and their player. Through these experiences, the Fab Five's success through conflict, during their short stint in college basketball and beyond their professional careers trailblazed a path for the modern-day basketball athlete. Known for their style of play, their expression of fashion on and off the court, and eagerness to talk smack, the Fab Five backed up their talk with performance. Their performance on and off the court, revolutionized the culture of basketball; Even more, American society. The Fab Five's legacy is the cultural catalyst for basketball culture on all levels.
Keywords: Basketball1, culture2, Hip Hop3, Smack Talk4, Disruption5
Received: 24 May 2023; Accepted: 18 Jul 2024.
Copyright: © 2024 Fennell, Harrison, Stuart, Scott, Manning, Martin, Dwyer, Proctor and Bukstein. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Marcis Fennell, University of Louisville, Louisville, United States
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.