In 2018 we continue to live in a divisive society, including divisions across racial and gender boundaries and among those with different sexual orientations. Athletes today, partially as a result of the pervasiveness of social media, are choosing to be more visible, and share more of their personal lives, many times in an effort to use sport as a platform for change. This study investigated whether athletes’ personal lives, particularly their sexual orientation, effects their ability to serve as a brand endorser. Historically, Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender-Queer (LGBTQ) athletes have chosen to refrain from discussing their sexual orientation. LGBTQ athletes from across the spectrum, both out and closeted, have expressed that a main reason for not “coming out” at all, or coming out after gaining a level of celebrity, typically post retirement from their sport, is a fear of losing endorsements and/or sponsorship deals. Data was collected from a group of students (n=217) from a large public university in the Southeastern United States. A 2 (Male/Female) x 2 (Heterosexual/Homosexual Athlete) between-subjects experimental design was used to examine perceptions of endorser fit, attitudes and purchase intentions. The results signaled that public knowledge of an athlete’s sexuality does not have a significant effect on the athlete’s ability to serve as a brand endorser, in the context of attitude towards the endorser, brand, product, and purchase intent. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Sport Management in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Summer Semester 2018. / July 23, 2018. / Cause Related Marketing, Consumer Behavior, Endorsements, LGBTQ Studies, Marketing, Sponsorship / Includes bibliographical references. / Jeffrey James, Professor Directing Thesis; James W. Du, Committee Member; Amy Chan Hyung Kim, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_647278 |
| Contributors | Pereira, Benjamin R. (Benjamin Rudy) (author), James, Jeffrey D. (professor directing thesis), Du, James (committee member), Kim, Amy C. H. (committee member), Florida State University (degree granting institution), College of Education (degree granting college), Department of Sport Management (degree granting departmentdgg) |
| Publisher | Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text, master thesis |
| Format | 1 online resource (98 pages), computer, application/pdf |
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