A Descriptive Analysis of Race/Ethnicity and Sex of Individuals Appearing on the Covers of Sports Illustrated in the 1990s

The purpose of this study was to examine whether the number of individuals pictured on the covers of Sports Illustrated during the 1990s was reflective of their levels of participation by sport, race/ethnicity, and sex. These descriptors of the individuals pictured on each cover between 1990 and 1999 were identified and analyzed. African Americans were pictured on more covers and more often in the sports of basketball, boxing, and track and field than were European Americans. The highest number of females on the covers in any year was five, with females in tennis pictured the most overall. That the percentage of covers of African Americans and females was less than their participation numbers in sports reaffirmed that European American males continued to be preferentially treated by being pictured on the covers of Sports Illustrated at a higher level than their participation numbers warranted.