An Ethnographic Study on the John Mosley Program 1

An Ethnographic Study on the John Mosley Program

Nolan Peralta
Colorado State University
An Ethnographic Study on the John Mosley Program 2

For this assignment, I attended the John Mosley Student-Athlete Mentoring Program on

Colorado State’s campus one Sunday night. It was held from seven to nine p.m. in the Bob Davis hall,

located in Moby arena at CSU. After making my presence known to the attendees that I was doing

ethnographic research project for a class, I was included in the activities of the group as if I belonged

there myself. The John Mosley program was created through the Black African-American Culture Center

as an outlet for minority student-athletes from every varsity sport on campus to come together and

form community through relationships. There were 19 attendees from both men’s and women’s sports,

and they were led by Bridget Johnson as the Director of the John Mosley program.

As the meeting began, Bridget explained how she typically liked to start by using an icebreaker

in order to get the athletes comfortable interacting and being vulnerable with one another. We all stood

in a circle facing inwards and were instructed to take a step forward every time a statement that was

read applied to us. The statements started with a lighter tone such as- take a step forward if you are not

from Colorado, which to my surprise all but one athlete ended up taking a step. As the game progressed,

more meaningful and personal statements were said regarding the athletes’ upbringing, financial

stability, and relationships to name a few. This icebreaker started out as a fun way to figure out surface

level facts about each other, but quickly became an avenue for the athletes to reveal deeper, more

personal information to the group. I was a little uncomfortable revealing personal information like that

to the group, but I felt a sense of inclusion and comfort within the group of strangers as they were all

engaging in the same way.

This icebreaker went hand in hand with the social identity wheel that we used in class as the

student-athletes revealed pieces of their character to one another (Trevino, 2001). After we finished the

initial icebreaker, we broke up to eat dinner which was provided, and it included what was described as

“soul food” or chicken, macaroni and cheese, and ribs. This food served as a cultural artifact for many of

the individuals in the group as it gave them the southern comfort that they were accustomed to growing
An Ethnographic Study on the John Mosley Program 3

up. Clyburn made it clear to me how the food was not just a meal to share, but it was chosen specifically

for the athletes to connect with their culture through a meal. The icebreaker allowed us the chance to

make connections with each other, and then approach one another to talk over a meal. We were given

the opportunity to discuss the pieces of our identities that define us as individuals to others who were in

attendance (Trevino, 2001). These topics included our religion, race, socio-economic status, and

numerous others in order for us to truly get to know one another (Trevino, 2001). I spoke with Deonte

Clyburn, who actually invited me to this cultural event due to the fact that we are both former student-

athletes at CSU. He had been working with the program since he initially came to CSU, and after two

years of participation, he was regarded as a mentor to the younger athletes. He took great pride in this

title, and felt the responsibility of helping guide the new athletes on their path through their college

career.

As we came back together for discussion after the meal, we discussed numerous topics

regarding relationships, finances, and current events that were going on in the world. One of the topics

that we discussed was Donald Trump’s comments on the “less than desirable countries” that the United

States is accepting immigrants from. The athletes went around the room describing their initial reactions

from when they first heard the comments, and then elaborated on their emotions about how the leader

of the free world spoke so poorly of nations that some of the athletes drew their origin from. Discussion

of the problems with society as a whole erupted between the athletes, and many began to describe how

they were feeling marginalized within their own country. After making an assumption as a researcher, it

seemed to me that the general consensus of the feelings in the room was of institutional racism within

the government as a whole, and thoughts of wonder and disgust were expressed about how a man like

that could be elected to represent the athletes as individuals. It was interesting for me to hear the

outrage in their voices as they talked about how their people and country as a whole could be regarded

in such a way by the President of the United States. I also decided to add into the conversation
An Ethnographic Study on the John Mosley Program 4

regarding comments Trump made during his campaign about Mexicans. Coming from Hispanic descent, I

felt their outrage when the President described Mexicans as rapists who bring crime and drugs into the

country. The welcoming environment that Bridget was able to create among the athletes was so organic

and pure, that I, being a first time attendee and observer, was able to be vulnerable and discuss issues

that I felt needed addressing.

The night continued on with more discussion which felt like could have lasted for any number of

hours. Bridget then decided to move on from discussion and bring up a speaker named Dallas Davis who

was a minority graduate from CSU, and had gone on to be a successful business man and employee of

the Colorado Rockies. His message to the athletes consisted of planning a future after the conclusion of

their playing careers. He drove home the point that not everyone will have the opportunity to play their

sport at a professional level, and how important it was that they each earn a degree with a future career

in mind. He wanted the athletes to plan for their future lives and set up step by step goals on how to

achieve the life they want to live. The athletes seemed almost shocked by the reality that Dallas

provided them by saying the chances of them playing professionally is not exceedingly large, and that

the best chance they have for a successful future revolved around the earning of a college degree.

He went on to describe his experience in the “real world” where he had to fight and claw for

everything he has earned in his life. He talked about how it was a struggle as a minority to secure a high

paying job, and that he consistently lost out in interviews to people he was more qualified than. I relate

his experience in the workforce to the cycle of socialization where certain companies that were looking

for new employees showed bias with regards to hiring him due to the color of his skin (Harro, 2000).

These institutions and businesses that he sought employment from engaged in discrimination,

dehumanizing Dallas as a man because of his African American heritage (Harro, 2000). However, Dallas

refused to accept the status quo and continually sought after work until he was given his chance to

succeed (Harro, 2000). It was never an easy road, but he was able to overcome the cycle of socialization
An Ethnographic Study on the John Mosley Program 5

within the workforce and he serves as an example for all of the athletes, encouraging them to be the

change they want to see in any aspect of their lives (Harro, 2000).

He then gave the athletes an opportunity to respond and ask questions, and one comment an

athlete made stuck out with me above all others. He was a black male who described his feelings of

living in Fort Collins as a single piece of pepper mixed in with a full glass of salt. Growing up in the

Southern United States, he had always been around people of color, and he was shocked when he came

to Colorado to find that he was the only black male in all of his classes. This was a common feeling

shared within the room, and Bridget commented on those emotions as being one of the reasons why

the John Mosley program was created in the first place. This program was there to create a sense of

community for the minority student-athletes on campus at CSU, and to maintain features of their own

personal culture in this “glass full of salt.” Dallas concluded his sharing by saying that if he was able to

find success as a minority in Northern Colorado, than anyone in that room could do the same.

The program concluded with a tournament of competitive rock paper scissors between

everyone in the class. Each person played against someone else, and the loser was tasked to cheer on

the victor in the next bout with a new opponent. The game continued on until there were only two

contestants left and the cheering section was large and loud. Only one person was the winner of the

tournament, but a sense of camaraderie was formed between all the athletes as they cheered on their

champion. This was a very fun way to entice the competitive nature within each athlete while also

bringing everyone together to conclude the program. During my experience, I learned a lot about the

nature of the minority student-athlete on CSU’s campus, and I was glad to have been able to share in

the experience of the John Mosley Program.

After reflecting on my experience with the student-athletes, I began to recall the rules of

operation within the social context. The one main rule that I would say defined the functionality of the
An Ethnographic Study on the John Mosley Program 6

entire group was that of respect. So quickly into the beginning of the program, we were sharing

commonalities regarding very personal topics such as our home lives and financial situations. It would

have been easy to look around the room with a judgmental mindset if I were strictly an observer, but

the fact that I was able to participate in the icebreaker and discussion enforced the topic of respect

between everyone in the room. On a broader scale, this program looked to combat feelings of isolation

for the athletes when they first come to Colorado and are surrounded by a vast majority of white

students. It could easily be intimidating for those who came from very ethnically diverse areas growing

up, and now live in a city where the majority of the interactions they have are with white people. This

relates to the continuum of stages of personal growth within each athlete as they come to realize that

they are in fact different from those around them (Bennet, 2000). The athletes are guided through the

ethnocentric stages where they are in denial, defend, and minimize their differences to the new culture

as a whole (Bennet, 2000). Bridget wanted the inclusion of these athletes within the community of

minority students at the John Mosley program to encourage their movement through the ethnorelative

stages to develop intercultural sensitivity. If the athletes were able to accept, adapt, and integrate into

the new culture of Fort Collins while still remaining strong to their own personal culture, the program

would have been a success (Bennet, 2000). The program does not want the athletes to resist integration

into the culture at CSU, but they want them to develop their own social identity while considering what

the Fort Collins culture has to offer.

This clash of cultures relates to Weaver’s Iceberg analogy (Weaver, 1999). When two very

different cultures collide, it exposes the differences in the cultural values that each individual holds, and

presents a choice to those involved (Weaver, 1999). The individual can either give up their own beliefs

to fit in with the dominant cultural mainstream, or stay strong to who they are and how they were

raised as an individual (Weaver, 1999). This was one of the goals of the John Mosley program, to

encourage the maintenance of each minority athlete’s own personal culture instead of merely giving in
An Ethnographic Study on the John Mosley Program 7

to the mainstream dominant culture (Weaver, 1999). The athletes are celebrated for who they are

individually within their culture in order to promote the maintenance of their own personal identity. As

a minority myself, I felt a connection to these athletes and their experiences as my cultural identity was

challenged when I moved to Colorado from Southern California. This helped in my understanding of the

athletes’ experiences during their college career, and the numerous challenges they have faced due to

the color of their skin.

One of the topics that was discussed was the difference in treatment between light-skinned and

dark-skinned black men. There are certain stereotypes surrounding both groups of black men, and

Bridget wanted to combat these stereotypes and discontinue their perpetuation. These stereotypes, or

societal rules, made darker skinned black men out to be rugged, tough, and masculine, while the light

skinned black men were more sensitive or feminine. These rules have been a part of the African culture

for an extended period of time, and the culture as a whole has encouraged this division in order to keep

the minority group at odds with one another. She described how participating in these stereotypes only

caused strife and division within the black culture, and that a change needed to be made in order to find

respect for all black men. This was an interesting topic as she described this division as a means of

control by the ruling class in America. If the minorities were focused on fighting amongst themselves,

they would not seek any change in the established culture, leaving the cycle of socialization intact. This

power struggle was made clear to me as the internal quarreling within the black culture was a means of

control for the dominant white class in order to distract the black community from seeking change. As

we discussed this issue, I kept recalling the cycle of liberation that was discussed in class. Without

actually citing the cycle herself, Bridget touched on how education was the first step in combating this

issue in order to empower one’s self identity and view each other as equals (Adams, 2000). She

described how the only way change is going to occur is if individuals develop in community with one

another, and look past certain stereotypes that degrade the black culture as a whole (Adams, 2000).
An Ethnographic Study on the John Mosley Program 8

Heading into my observation, I looked up the program online and assumed that it was simply a

support group for minority student-athletes on campus. I could not have been more wrong with this

assumption, and found that the athletes were being taught how to navigate the culture of Northern

Colorado while embracing their own social identity. I originally figured that the athletes would be shy

and resistant to the deeper questioning that would occur during the session, but in fact I was surprised

to see how open they were with their personal lives and problems. Many of the athletes had worked

through the stages of personal growth regarding their cultural differences with their surroundings, and

they came to develop a sense of pride with regards to what makes them unique as individuals (Bennet,

2000). This project has reinforced so many of the topics that we have discussed so far in this course, and

I am glad that I was able to research the John Mosley program in order to solidify the information we

are working with as students in my own mind. Getting a real world look into the cycle of socialization

that is present in the United States today informed me on the topic more than I was able to

comprehend through simply reading about it for class. Yes we were able to discuss it in class, but getting

real life examples of how it is perpetuated, and how difficult the challenge to escape it actually is

solidified it in my brain. It was a challenging yet informing meeting as a group, and the concepts that

were discussed in class all of a sudden became real through the eyes of these athletes. As an individual,

this program has helped me reflect on my own upbringing, and the culture that I developed through my

close friends and families. I was initially wary of the discussion of so many issues regarding the black

culture, but quickly found out that it pertained to all minority groups. I was able to apply what was

discussed to my own life and learned strategies and causes to fight for when it came to racial equality.

As a coach, this project has helped me gain an understanding of many of my players and the

struggles that they go through as individuals at CSU. In coaching, we are always looking to develop every

aspect of our players. This includes their abilities on the field and in the weight room while making sure

they do well in school. This project has given me insight to an entirely new aspect of the development of
An Ethnographic Study on the John Mosley Program 9

my players and what they go through on a daily basis. Many of our athletes are not from the state of

Colorado and come in contact with a culture shock during their tenure at the university. There struggles

beyond athletics never was a thought that crossed my mind, but now I understand the importance of

developing the athlete as a whole person. The challenges they face may be different than the normal

student on campus, and they need to be provided with the support to succeed in an environment that

they are not accustomed to. I need to be aware of the cultural clashes and development that they are

undergoing every day on campus at CSU, and need to be a resource to my athletes who may need help

navigating this new environment. I want my players to have the best college experience that they

possibly can, and in order to help them accomplish this goal, I need to support their development of

their social identity and personal culture.

An Ethnographic Study on the John Mosley Program 10

References

Adams, M. (Ed.). (2000). Readings for diversity and social justice. Psychology Press.

Bennett, M. J. (1986). A developmental approach to training for intercultural sensitivity. International

journal of intercultural relations, 10(2), 179-196.

Harro, B. (2000). The cycle of socialization. Readings for diversity and social justice, 15, 21.

Trevino, J. (2001). Voices of discovery: Intergroup dialogues at Arizona State University. Intergroup

dialogue: Deliberative democracy in school, college, community and workplace, 87-98.

Weaver, G. (1999). American cultural values. Kokusai bunka kenshu (intercultural training), 9-15.