In the extant scholarship, there remains a paucity of research underscoring how Western media frame the identity of Muslim men athletes from diverse backgrounds who challenge the colonial sporting institution (e.g., cricket) with the allegation of racism. There is also a significant lacuna in literature exploring how the identity of a Muslim man athlete is shaped in Eastern media, ensuing his racial accusations against a Western sporting institution. This study aimed to analyze the media’s depiction of Azeem Rafiq after his racism allegations against Yorkshire Cricket Club, contrasting British and South Asian perspectives through neo-Orientalism and postcolonial theory within media framing scholarship. We analyzed data through textual and thematic analysis. The study results unearth that while Rafiq was heralded as a voice against racism by the British media, some media outlets focused on the narratives of exoticism, otherness, and the mysterious “Orient” while discussing Rafiq’s personality. Further, some Pakistani and Indian media outlets portrayed the Western world as a monolithic entity. The study findings also uncovered that numerous times, the Club’s sponsors’ responses were framed within financial and administrative narratives, often overshadowing the underlying issue of structural racism.

中文翻译：

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阿齐姆·拉菲克，客体还是主体？“底层能说话吗？”

在现有的学术研究中，仍然缺乏研究强调西方媒体如何塑造来自不同背景的穆斯林男性运动员的身份，这些运动员以种族主义的指控挑战殖民体育机构（例如板球）。在探索一名穆斯林男子运动员的身份是如何在东方媒体中塑造的、随后他对西方体育机构提出种族指控的文献中也存在重大空白。本研究旨在分析阿齐姆·拉菲克在对约克郡板球俱乐部提出种族主义指控后媒体对他的描述，通过媒体框架学术中的新东方主义和后殖民理论对比英国和南亚的观点。我们通过文本和主题分析来分析数据。研究结果发现，虽然拉菲克被英国媒体誉为反对种族主义的声音，但一些媒体在讨论拉菲克的个性时，却把注意力集中在异国情调、他者性和神秘的“东方”叙事上。此外，一些巴基斯坦和印度媒体将西方世界描绘成一个整体。研究结果还发现，俱乐部赞助商的反应多次受到财务和行政叙述的影响，往往掩盖了结构性种族主义的根本问题。