Jock (stereotype)

[1][2] It is generally applied mostly to high school and college athletics participants who form a distinct youth subculture.

[3] Jocks are usually presented as male practitioners of team sports such as American football, basketball, baseball, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, and ice hockey.

[2] It is believed to be derived from the word "jockstrap", which is an undergarment worn to support/protect the male genitals while playing sports.

Other notable portrayals of the stereotype include the popular athlete and love interest Tommy Ross in Carrie, the spoiled bullying antagonist Luke Ward in the first season of The O.C., Johnny Lawrence the ex-boyfriend of Ali Mills in The Karate Kid, and Kim's wealthy and athletic boyfriend Jim in Edward Scissorhands.

Mass media commonly use stereotypical characteristics of athletes to portray a character who is relatively unintelligent and unenlightened, but nonetheless socially and physically well-endowed.

This change often leads to a cessation of athletics or some other equivalent social sacrifice, and the character is then no longer being considered a jock.

Examples in movies include Randall "Pink" Floyd in Dazed and Confused and Andrew Clark in The Breakfast Club.

Examples in television shows include Nathan Scott in the teen drama series One Tree Hill, Whitney Fordman in Smallville and Luke Ward in The O.C.. As antagonists, jocks can be stock characters, shown as lacking compassion for the protagonist, and are generally flat and static.

Heathers' "Kurt" and "Ram" roles, the Spider-Man character Flash Thompson, high school football jocks and Connie D'Amico's cronies Scott and Doug in Family Guy, high school football captain Oliver Wilkerson in The Cleveland Show, Jean Grey's first boyfriend Duncan Matthews in X-Men: Evolution, middle school bully and "Crush Ball" quarterback Rodney Glaxer from Lloyd in Space, and Massimo Lenzetti (Justin Chambers) in the film The Wedding Planner are examples.

The most recent standards passed by the NCAA, which will apply to all incoming college freshmen beginning with the class of 2016, requires that 16 core high school courses be completed by the student-athlete, 7 of which must be either math, science, or English, and 10 of those 16 classes must be completed prior to their senior year of high school.