“Sorry If I Offended”: The Art of Nonapology, Racism, and White Supremacy in Sport

Abstract

Despite perceived postracial ideologies of American sport, players, coaches, fans, and media have been complicit in reaffirming racial hierarchies through racist microaggressions and remarks. Such racist violations are commonly exposed in the current moment of widespread social media engagement and social justice activism. Subsequently, many violators issue apologies—often employing the conjunction “if”—which hinges the apology on the condition of the targeted group taking offense. We call these conditional apologies nonapology apologies and argue that they fall within a racializing apologia framework, devaluing and questioning the place of those offended in American society and sport, and reinforcing White supremacy. In this paper, we examine apology statements by sports figures and explore the implications of nonapology apologies.