"AS A RESULT OF MY HISTORY AS AN ATHLETE [...]": DISCOURSE ANALYSIS AND SPORT-HEALTH LINEARITY

Abstract

This investigation resorts to the theoretical framework of Discourse Analysis its French strain in addition to other critical foundations. The analysis proposes to reflect on meaning-making processes in the following statement: "In my particular case, as a result of my history as an athlete, if I were infected by the virus. I would not need to worry, I would feel nothing or would be, at most, affected by a little flu [...]". It was a March 2020 official address to the Brazilian population by President Jair Messias Bolsonaro. In order to understand the discursive mechanisms of this discursive mentality, we use concepts such as stereotypes, pre-built, interdiscourse. We raise and affirm the hypothesis that the materializations of this discourse include an intention to establish a linearity between sport and health.