The Boys of Riverside: A Deaf Football Team and a Quest for Glory
48 pages • 1-hour read
Thomas FullerThe Boys of Riverside: A Deaf Football Team and a Quest for Glory
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Index of Terms
Deaf Culture
The term Deaf Culture refers to the shared experiences, values, language, and traditions of the Deaf community. It represents a distinct cultural identity that celebrates visual communication and resilience in navigating a world designed primarily for hearing people. It transcends the medical view of deafness as a loss of ability and instead celebrates Deafness as a rich and valuable way of life. At the heart of Deaf Culture is American Sign Language (ASL), a fully developed visual language with its own grammar, syntax, and expressions. ASL is not simply a substitute for spoken language; it is a cornerstone of Deaf identity, providing access to communication and fostering a sense of belonging among Deaf people. Deaf Culture emphasizes the importance of preserving and promoting ASL as a vital component of education, socialization, and cultural heritage.
Advocacy and self-determination are integral to Deaf Culture. Historically, Deaf individuals have faced systemic challenges, including audism (discrimination against Deaf people), language deprivation, and marginalization. Strong activism in the Deaf community has led to significant achievements, such as recognition of sign languages, the development of Deaf schools, and broader awareness of Deaf rights. Deaf Culture is also rooted in inclusivity, welcoming individuals with diverse identities who share an appreciation for its values and history. It celebrates Deafness not as a disability but as a natural human variation, rejecting the notion Deafness is a problem to be fixed. This perspective is emphasized by the Deaf community’s use of the term “Deaf gain” rather than “hearing loss” to describe the unique benefits of Deafness. The Boys of Riverside celebrates the Importance of Sign Language Education and positions Deaf educational institutes like the California School for the Deaf, Riverside as pillars of Deaf Culture.
Social Identity Theory
Social Identity Theory, developed by Henri Tajfel and John Turner in the 1970s, explains how individuals derive a sense of identity and self-esteem from their membership in social groups. The theory explores the psychological and social processes that influence group behavior, intergroup relations, and individual identity. At its core, Social Identity Theory posits that people categorize themselves and others into groups, such as social, cultural, or professional affiliations. This categorization creates a distinction between “in groups” (groups to which individuals belong) and “out-groups” (groups to which they do not belong). This division helps people simplify complex social environments and develop a clearer sense of personal identity.
The theory involves three key processes: social categorization, social identification, and social comparison. Social categorization involves classifying people into groups based on shared characteristics. Social identification occurs when individuals adopt the values, norms, and behaviors of their in-group, contributing to their self-concept. Finally, social comparison involves evaluating the in-group against out-groups, usually favoring the in-group to enhance self-esteem. In sports psychology, the most important of these processes is social identification, which leads individual athletes to adopt the practices and philosophy of the team to which they belong. In The Boys of Riverside, Fuller invokes Social Identity Theory to underscore his thematic engagement with the Value of Team Sports for Identity Formation, arguing that the members of the CSDR football team derived a significant part of their identity from their team membership, influencing cohesion, motivation, and performance.
Oralism
Oralism is an educational approach to teaching Deaf people that emphasizes speech and lip-reading over the use of sign language. The philosophy behind oralism is based on the belief that Deaf individuals should be assimilated into the hearing world and that learning to speak and read lips will allow them to communicate with hearing people more easily. This approach gained prominence in the late 19th century, particularly after the Milan Conference of 1880, which declared spoken speech to be superior to sign language.
Under oralism, Deaf students were discouraged or outright forbidden from using sign language, often in favor of techniques such as speech therapy, auditory training, and lip-reading exercises. The goal was to make Deaf individuals as “hearing-like” as possible, but this approach has been criticized for not addressing the linguistic needs of Deaf people. Oralism often led to significant challenges for Deaf students, including language deprivation and social isolation, as they lacked a fully accessible means of communication. In The Boys of Riverside, Fuller shows that oralism in their previous schools made it difficult for Deaf student-athletes to succeed before coming to California School for the Deaf, Riverside. He argues that the emphasis on sign language at CSDR and other Deaf schools is essential to the development of self-esteem for Deaf students.
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