African Basketball in Photographs: Framing an Emerging Continental Sports League via Instagram

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to examine how the BAL utilizes Instagram in presenting the league and promoting its players. The researchers used a content analysis method to examine the posts on the account. They found that the BAL primarily used Instagram to post-game highlights and league news rather than post about sponsors or corporate social responsibility activities. It appeared that the BAL featured athletes based on success, rather than nationality, as leading scorers and game MVPs from top teams were the most heavily featured. Statistical analysis of both seasons indicated that African players were featured less often than expected in Instagram posts, while non-African players were featured more often than expected Therefore, on Instagram, the league was framed more internationally than the roster rules of the league would suggest. Additional implications related to how nationality is framed on Instagram as well as how nationality is evaluated using athletic designation are discussed.