Why am I Overseas? Oscillating Migration Experiences of Former U.S. Men’s Collegiate Basketball Players

Previous literature examining sport labor migration has explored motivations for professional migration and similarities of black college-athletes and oscillating migrant laborers sociocultural experiences (Elliot, 2016; Hawkins, 1999, 2010; Meisterjahn & Wrisberg, 2013; Southall & Weiler, 2014). It is theorized former United States college basketball players are similar to other skilled workers who migrate between culturally and geographically distinct work and home sites to further their careers (Carter, 2011; Hawkins, 2010). These laborers’ unique experiences are situated around home-sites with familiar sociocultural expressions, and “work-site[s] that [involve] different and unfamiliar social and cultural expressions” (Southall & Weiler, 2014, p. 169). Applying Carter’s (2011, 2013), Hawkins’ (1999, 2010), and Southall and Weiler’s (2014) oscillating migrant-labor (OML) theoretical frameworks, the current study examines the lived experiences of 13 former U.S. men’s collegiate basketball players playing or coaching professionally in the Tahincioğlu Basketbol Süper Ligi (Turkish Basketball Super League). Researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with study participants with the intention of confirming whether players’ lived experiences exhibited a two-stage oscillating migration pattern, identifying their motivations for professional migration, examining personal challenges associated with playing overseas, and evaluating the enculturation and acculturation process during oscillating migration. Presenters will discuss the OML framework, as well as the study’s methodology, results and conclusions. In addition, plans for future research involving former U.S. women’s collegiate basketball players will be outlined.