Marcus Johnson Finds Privileged Kids More Likely to Play Sports

In 2022, Marcus Johnson paused his Duke education after the Miami Marlins drafted him to play professional baseball. In August 2025, Johnson returned to Durham for a semester to complete his remaining graduation requirements, including a senior research project. Driven by curiosity about his own experiences as an athlete, Johnson chose to study how and why children’s socioeconomic status shapes their ability to participate and succeed in organized sports.

Johnson contributed to decades of scholarship showing that parental education and household income are two of the strongest predictors of youth participation in organized sports.  In fact, socioeconomic disparities in youth sports have increased over time, with the health and social benefits of playing sports increasingly concentrated among those who can afford them.

To examine recent disparities in youth sports participation, Johnson analyzed data from more than 55,000 respondents to the 2023 National Survey of Children’s Health. He reported descriptive statistics showing that youth sports participants were more likely to be white, male, from higher-income households, and have parents with college and graduate degrees. Logistic regression results indicated that SES remains one of the strongest predictors of participation even after controlling for other demographic and neighborhood characteristics. 

Johnson’s research contests the idea of sports as a true meritocracy, where athletic ability determines who will become elite athletes. Instead, unequal opportunity structures, gender norms, and cultural expectations make it easier for youth from well-resourced families to participate and succeed in sports.