The Student Athlete documentary brought up mixed emotions for me. Although I am not a college athlete, I was a high school athlete and I was trying to commit to play tennis at a division 3 school. I also have multiple friends who are college athletes, on this campus and off this campus. Personally knowing these college athletes, I felt that the documentary did a good job in showing the billion dollar industry and how it exploits these teenagers.
One of the scenes that stuck out to me was when Nick Richards, a high school senior in the documentary, but now a sophomore at the University of Kentucky, attended a Nike-sponsored youth league game in Brooklyn, New York. Richards told his high school coach, Chris Chavannes, that he didn’t have any Nike shoes to play in. Chavannes goes on to whisper to Richards, “You’re wearing an Under Armour shirt on camera? Are you kidding me?” The coach has a contract with Nike, meaning that his players have to wear Nike. Showing up in an Under Armour shirt was not acceptable according to Chavannes.
This scene reminded me of the concept of branding and how Nick is just representing a brand, rather than being valued for his abilities. In a way, Nick had to disidentify with being an Under Armour consumer and assimilate to what his coach wanted. In this scene, Nick seems to be bothered by his coach, but the power structures that allow the coach to seem dominant, make Nick suppress his emotions. This suppression can be seen as submission to power dynamics.