Dawkins, M. P., Braddock, J. H., & Celaya, A. (2008). Academic engagement among african american males who hold aspirations for athletic careers in professional sports. Challenge: A Journal of Research on African American Men, 14(2), 51-65.

The article investigates the correlation between participation in sports, academic achievement and socio-economic mobility for African American male adolescents. The authors explore three frameworks that characterize the motivational relationship between sports and academics, including the maintenance, incentive and integrative models. The authors test these models against a case study which traces the academic and sports-career path of football player Eddie B. The article concludes that neither model can exclusively explain the behavior and experience of Eddie B. The authors warn that early disengagement from school while overemphasizing sports can lead to young people never developing the foundational skills that are needed in such areas as reading, composition and math to be even minimally successful at the high school level. Adapted from the source document.

Full article can be found here:

http://digitalcommons.auctr.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1018&context=challenge