Goals - Athleteactivism/Design-doc GitHub Wiki

We have 2 main goals for our project:

  1. Develop an understanding around the perspectives and reasonings behind the athletes actions—bridging the gap between an athlete and a fan
  2. Seek to create a space for conservation, and more importantly, to foster understanding and limit misconceptions about the athletes' choices before they are being criticized

Our controversy is rooted in the misunderstandings or misconceptions that arise from those that are less knowledgeable about the perspectives of the athletes. Therefore, by bringing to light the backgrounds of the athletes themselves, we believe that removing the gap between situations the athletes are in and the assumptions about them that arise is the best way to resolve this conflict. We also understand that we cannot and will not impose any ideas onto the viewers; hence, one of our project’s main goals is exposure—simply spotlighting the athletes and creating an environment for the viewers to think for themselves about a new perspective and hopefully prompting them to engage in more conservations in the future. Achieving these goals will allow us to develop empathy around many African American athletes’ backgrounds and experiences that have shaped them to become the people they are today.

Because our targeted audiences have little to no background knowledge on the motivations behind athlete activism, it motivates us to create an experience that provides them with context to help quell assumptions. Consequently, what our audiences need is to acquire more knowledge and gain a new perspective on the controversy, both of which being our goals of the project. Achieving this will create a solid foundation that may prevent further misconceptions and conflict.

When it comes to sports, American culture views it as an escape from the reality of real world problems; but for the first time, these problems were illuminated by the sports organizations for all viewers to see. Organizations finally allowed their players and coaches to speak out in the manner in which they did. Those who felt more indifferent about the various sports protests often viewed it as a distraction that was hindering the team's performance, however, athletes argue that issues of racial equality can no longer be ignored in America, as the death of George Floyd was the tipping point for many professional athletes. Therefore, our VR experience attempts to highlight the counter-narrative story and a culture that has been suppressed for too long.