The Olympics as an Agent for Social Change

         On the surface, the purpose of the Olympic Games appears to be to bring together youth from around the world in athletic competition.  Those who perform the best are awarded medals and the rest go home and begin training for the next set of games. Meanwhile, those of us at home get together to root for the USA and our favorite athletes. This seems like a simple concept; people compete for a chance to earn the highest award in athletics.  However, with billions of viewers and millions of dollars being invested in each set of Games this worldwide competition is about much more than athletics. 

            Originally, it was thought that the Olympics acted as a “war without weapons” in which conflicting nations could battle out their disputes without causing any real damage.  Such battles would release tensions that nations harbored and therefore reduce violence between them.  However, it has been found that the Olympic Games actually lead to disorder and conflict between nations (Hargreaves 1992). 

            That being said, the Olympics are much more than an athletic competition.  They provide an opportunity for change.  In fact, it has been argued that the Olympics are more about politics than athletics ( http://olympics.pthimon.co.uk/politics.htm).

  

          One of the most memorable political statements made at the Olympics was that of American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos.  The African American runners who placed first and third stood on the victory podiums as each raised a fist covered by a black glove (Hartmann 1996).  The gesture was meant to represent the unity of the black community, but it was taken to mean very different things.  Many people saw it as a sign of hatred toward whites and felt that it stood as a threat.  Whatever the interpretation, it did one thing that would not have been possible without the Olympics; it got the attention of people all over the world. 

            While the Olympics clearly serve as a stage for political movements, sociology only recently began investigating this phenomenon (Foldesi 1992).  As a sociology student, this surprised me.  Sociologists seek to understand society, and nothing brings different societies together as well as the Olympics.  The Games not only influence individual athletes but also issues such as the media, social stratification, and policy. 

            Sociologists have also examined how the Olympics are related to the economy.  It has been argued that while the Olympics may have previously been heavily impacted by politics, they are now primarily based on making money (http://espn.go.com/olympics/summer/2012/basketball/story/_/id/8226218/olympic-emphasis-shifted-1968).  With funding from multi-billion corporations such as Budweiser, Coca Cola, McDonald’s, Proctor and Gamble, and Home Depot there is no way that the funding for the Olympics will run dry anytime soon.  In addition, thousands of anxious fans are often willing to pay just about anything to witness the feats of the world’s most talented athletes. 

            Although the Olympics may be an incredibly lucrative organization, I believe they still have a function in politics and social change.  As shown by gold medalist speed skater Joey Cheek the Olympics provide an opportunity to give help to those in need.  Cheek not only donated the money he received for his win to children in need but he also uses his status as an Olympian to raise awareness about gruesome acts that have taken place is Darfur, Sudan (http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/summer08/columns/story?id=3505425).  Without his involvement in the Olympics, Cheek would not have had the money to donate or the platform in which he presents his cause.  Therefore, while the Olympics may appear to be simply about competition in sports, the reality is that the Olympics provide a place for social change and are in no way immune to the politics of the world.

Foldesi, Gyongyi Szabo. "Introduction to Olympism in Sport Sociology." International Review for the Sociology of Sport 27.2 (1992): 103-105.

Hargreaves, John. "Olympism and Nationalism: Some Preliminary Considerations." International Review for the Sociology of Sport 27.1 (1992): 119-135.

Hartmann, Douglas. "The Politics of Race and Sport: Resistance and Domination in the 1968 African American Olympic Protest Movement." Ethnic and Racial Studies 19.3 (1996): 548-566.

 

 

The Race is On

March is the month where fans of basketball, sports and just straight up gambling can come together to a Buffalo Wild Wings and watch hours of college basketball. It may not be a time most enjoyable to the gamblers, but us basketball fans couldn't find anything better. Every year, gamblers (and every other guy) fill out the NCAA tournament bracket picking the teams that they think will take the cake or make a Cinderella run. Gamblers can pick their winning teams from an array of strategies. Some may choose from ranking to location of the game. Others may even choose from size of school to race of the teams? The racial diversity in college basketball has been present for the past half century, and continues to change today.

Fifty years ago last Friday was a special day in college basketball. Mississippi State played a game of basketball versus Loyola of Chicago. That game was the first time an all-white collegiate basketball team faced an integrated squad. This happened during a time of racial segregation where some teams, including Mississippi State, were not allowed to leave their state to play a game. This game set forth the principle that all teams, no matter of race, could play each other in a collegiate basketball game. As we know, the NBA is dominantly African-American now and that may possibly always remain that way. However, college basketball is different. Although there are usually more African-American players on successful teams in the NCAA Men's Division-1, there are still white players that play key and even dominating roles for teams. Gonzaga, Wisconsin and Duke are three excellent teams in which their star players have been mostly white. According to ESPN.com this year, Gonzaga finished the season ranked number 1, Duke, number 6, and Wisconsin, 18. There may be two reasons for why teams have stayed mostly white over the years. One could be the coaches. The Coaches recruit players that they want to play in their system. The players then decide where they want to play. Being a West Point graduate, Coach K of Duke has a need for discipline and team chemistry to go along with talent. He seems to find this trait more often in white men. I can remember a game this year when Wisconsin had five white men on the court at the same time. Although this is a rare sighting, the sight is not so rare for a school like Wisconsin. However, coaches have preferences and always will. It may be safe to say that the race of a head coach would be more likely to recruit players of the same race. All three successful teams I have mentioned earlier have white head coaches. According to the New York Times and The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport, in 2010, 21 percent of head coaches in NCAA Division 1 Men's Basketball were African-American. This is down from 25.2 percent just five years before. The article also states that 61 percent of players were black. These statistics show that the number of black head coaches is slowly declining, which could also mean a decrease in the number of black players.
Whichever strategy you may use to fill out your brackets this March, whether it be a Dolphin, Dick Vitale or Paul the Octopus, race will always play a factor whether you recognize it as so or not. The sport of basketball today is dominated by black athletes. However, the demographics of Division 1 Men's College basketball could change that in the near future.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/20/sports/ncaabasketball/revisiting-a-decline-in-minority-college-basketball-coaches.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
http://the60sat50.blogspot.com/2013/03/friday-march-15-1963-loyola-vs.html

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/rankings

Baseball in the Big City

The sport of baseball has become one of the longest standing traditions in this country. Its claim as the national pastime has derived from the sport’s longevity and the romanticized association it has developed with American heritage. Football has undoubtedly taken the reigns as the most watched and the most lucrative of the major sports in this country, but nonetheless baseball has remained consistent and is not lacking in attendance in its own right. One area of concern baseball has had in its ongoing competition for popularity has been the lack of appeal it has for people in the African American population. Baseball has become a global game in many ways. Thanks to places like Japan as well as the better part of Central America, baseball has become a major sport of choice in all corners of the globe. However the game is still having trouble within segments of the country’s very own borders. The black community has been increasingly underrepresented in the sport’s professional ranks. African Americans has decreased annually over the past decade and as of 2011 made up only 8.5% of the total major league population. Out of the total 38.3% of people of color in the league, the majority comes from the Latino population. It does not seem appropriate for the sport most associated with the black civil rights movement to have such an apparent low appeal for the black community; but even so that is the case. One of the biggest reasons for the statistics being this way can be seen in the geographical placement of all these ballplayers. Central America for example, provides ample amount of physical resources which support the availability of the game. A warm climate and the large amount of undeveloped space naturally persuades people in these areas to participate in a game like baseball more than it would for a child living in the city; where the world of pavement they live in makes a sport such as basketball more appealing. The same point can be made with suburban life in the United States. This primarily white population has more access and monetary resources to focus on baseball than either of the aforementioned cultures. The inner city population is at a disadvantage both economically and geographically. This alone is enough for the predominantly black community that makes up urban America to not get the exposure necessary to gain interest. In the grand landscape of sports, the “contested racial terrain” (Hartmann 2000) that it produces tilts the allure of opportunity for blacks towards the high profile worlds of basketball and football. To attempt to counter the declining trend in such a valuable fan market, major league baseball has created the RBI (Reviving baseball in inner cities) program. Focusing on the youth of the inner city is the type of public relations move which benefits not only the league’s image, but most importantly it gives hope to reverse the trend for the future. Although this is a commendable effort, they face an uphill battle against the established black generation’s lack of interest as well as the expanding dominance of the other two major sports on the black community.
  RBI program details http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/official_info/community/rbi_facts.jsp
Other resources- http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=6401971
Hartmann, Douglass. "Rethinking the Relationships Between Sport and Race in American Culture: Golden Ghettos and Contested Terrain." Sociology of Sport Journal 17.3 (2000): 229-253

Michael Jordan; A Black American Icon that the Business World was waiting for

       

Last month, the sports world celebrated the 50th birthday of one of the most influential athletes of all time, Michael Jordan. To this day, Michael Jordan can be still be considered one of the most (if not the most) known athletes across the globe. A man who during his career changed the way we view sports in society. On his way to accomplish such a feat, Michael broke multiple records, but more importantly broke down racial barriers outside the sport world. Michael Jordan came into the league in the late 1980's. A time where black NBA players were already quite prevalent. The NBA had produced popular black stars such as Magic Johnson and Julius Erving that set a stage for up and coming black athletes such as Jordan. Yes, Jordan became a young Star player quickly with his breathtaking displays of skill and the love for the game, but Michael Jordan also did what no black athlete had done before him. Michael Jordan connected the black culture of America with the dominantly white American business world. his ventures proved to be extremely successful as well, which launched his name all around the world. Michael Jordan truly became a modern black hero. an American athlete and businessman, redefining the public view on race, athletes and success. Michael Jordan was what the business world was waiting for.

           

Today, NBA superstars regularly have multiple endorsements, signature shoes and other appeal to the public. With their name and face on advertisements even in a foreign language, sports marketing are now essential in a superstar's package. Jordan was the man who opened the doors to sports marketing in big business. Michael was a business man at heart and took great concernment and interest into all of his beginning sponsor deals, and that was a different approach when he first entered the spotlight, especially for a black athlete. In Jordan’s time, it wasn't rare that a sports star would land a sponsor, but athletes then wouldn't have much say in the business affairs.  In an article in CNN money, according to Roy Johnson, Jordan “was not another passive jock waiting for free shoes and a check." No, Jordan displayed his interest quite openly in public, and he being a black star athlete brought more attention. Michael pioneered his unique image of himself and black culture into his business ideas. To me he was responsible for bringing race and culture into sports appeal and sports business. Jordan became “corporate America’s most valuable endorser ever.”(Johnson). Past and present, the image of a company reflects the type of consumers is attracted to their products. Jordan became the embodiment of Nike’s image. “Jordan’s impact on Nike’s overall image- and thus how consumers feel about the stuff they produce- is almost incalculable” (Johnson). Following the trend, new marketing strategies appeared to target certain types of ethnic groups. Now, Nike with Jordan, the company became a leader in sports apparel worldwide with a black superstar as an image of success. To me, his success in advertising was an encouraging portrayal to black and other minorities alike, reinvented what the American dream could mean for them. As Pat Walters states, Michael Jordan was, “the black American hero that the nation need to unify its divided population.”(Walters)

Johnson, Roy. “The Jordan Effect-The World’s Greatest basketball player is also one of its great brands. What is his impact on the economy?”.CNNmoney. June 22, 1998.

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1998/06/22/244166/index.htm

Walters, Pat. “Michael Jordan: The New American Hero”. Web.< http://xroads.virginia.edu/~class/am483_97/projects/walters/jordan.html

The Gambit in Atlanta

Hockey has long been considered a white sport. The fact is: it costs thousands to fund a child who has even a budding interest to play this sport. Then kids start growing, and they need to buy another round of protective gear. With the new carbon fiber sticks, priced around $200, they’ll be able to shoot harder only at the risk of breaking easier. So there’s another couple hundred.

Few families in any social class or any race can afford to buy the required gear. So the predominantly white, middle to high class tend to have the best chance of playing professionally. The NHL likes to compare Willie O’Ree, the first black hockey player, to Jackie Robinson. They tend to skip over the fact that O’Ree only played 6 games professionally, and scored even fewer points. Since then, only a handful of non-white players have had extended runs in the NHL.

Enter the 2010-2011 Atlanta Thrashers. With only one playoff appearance and only filling only a portion of their stadium’s seats, the team was in peril.  So with this glaring gap in their market, how could the Thrashers, playing in a city where 54% of the population was black, raise their abysmal attendance? They didn’t sign any marquee players. They didn’t even try to win more games.

They just traded for as many of the black players in the league as they could.

Free agent prospects Nigel Dawes and Anthony Stewart were signed during the offseason.  Ilya Kovalchuk, their Lebron James if you will, was traded for Johnny Oduya, a couple of picks, and a utility player.  Dustin Byfuglien and Akim Aliu were involved in large trade with the Chicago Blackhawks.  Already playing for the Thrashers were draft picks Evander Kane and Sebastian Owuya. When all was said and done, the Atlanta Thrashers now possessed 20% of all black players in the NHL, all of them acquired within one season.

            

           The players, coaches, and GM all downplayed the situation. GM Rick Dudley maintained that “it wasn’t like we went out and tried to pick up black players.” But it didn’t take a statistician to learn that the Thrashers were ranked 28^th of 30 teams in terms of attendance. This was a poor performing franchise, and nobody wants to pay to watch their team lose every game.

           

            And so we come to the titular gambit. Whether or not you believe that GM Rick Dudley was telling the truth, the fact was he made a bunch of moves to pick up a bunch of players who just so happen to be black. The problem was that most of these players just so happened to not be very good. Aliu, Owuya, and Dawes were almost immediately sent back down to their farm team after poor performances, and Oduya’s playing time was kept to a minimum. The Thrashers finished fourth out of five in their division, and sold even less of their stadium’s seats than the prior year.

            

           The gambit failed so miserably that the team was promptly sold at the end of the season, and  so the franchise moved to Winnipeg, Canada. GM Rick Dudley, as well as the entire coaching staff, were all fired. Only two of the black players returned the next season; the rest were traded or lost to free agency. That season may soon be lost in hockey lore. Maybe it actually was all just a weird coincidence or maybe Rick Dudley was just really bad at his job. One thing is undoubtedly true: whatever was tried just didn't work.  

Sources:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Thrashers-not-trying-to-exploit-black-players-?urn=nhl-280435

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/28/sports/hockey/28nyrangers.html

Breaking the Barriers While Enduring Racism and Making a Stance

Black, young and talented, this is a very full, honorable description to introduce a baseball icon from many, many decades ago... Jackie Robinson! 

Jackie Robinson was the first African-American to play in the Major Leagues for the Brooklyn Dodgers back in 1947. Robinson was also the first to brake all the barriers when it came to sports players and sports playing. After leaving his Negro League the Kansas City Monarchs, Robinson took his chances when he decided he wanted to play for the Major League. This was a tremendous step, but Robinson still went through. 

It is a complete shame that African-Americans were not allowed to mix themselves and play sports with  all the professional white players. Playing a sport should not require of a specific skin color, but rather a specific skill and ability to play. African-Americans are not different than the rest of Americans. Racism within sports was an ugly thing back in the day and more so in the 40's when they were allowed to fight but not play. 

The 1940's was a time of war and most of all a time where racism was a huge issue, this was also a time where World War II was going on and African-Americans were able to sign up, go fight and some, even die for their country, but they were not allowed to come back and play with their country. This was such a hateful act of unkindness for the people that took their chances to do something good for their country and not get anything back in return from serving. 

Jackie Robinson left a legacy, he was able to break all the barriers that came to him, from hatred to racism. Robinson was able to put it all aside and fight through the madness of mankind, but how is his legacy being lived today? What impact did Robinson leave on the African-American and other race players in the major league? Everything possible. Robinson made it easier for people today, he work for what everyone else enjoys today, but he did it with hard work and integrity, believing in his success and the success of other people. 

People are very fortunate to grow up with everything that they need to survive in such a cruel world, then there are people that need everything they can possibly get to fight through it in order to survive it. Robinson was a fighter, nothing was handed down to him, he fought for what he believed in and made it worth while. That is why he's a legend today and that is why African-Americans play the game today. 

"I'm not concerned with your liking or disliking me... all I ask is that you respect me as a human being." -Jackie Robinson  

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1146330-jackie-robinson-racial-inequality-still-hampers-americas-favorite-pastime

http://www.jackierobinson.com/index.php

White Men Can't Jump and Black Men Can't Skate

            Before 1958, the complexion of all hockey players in the National Hockey League was as white as the ice on which they skated.  Known for his speed and stick handling, Willie O’Ree shattered the racial barrier in professional hockey.  Since his debut with the Boston Bruins, however, only 38 other black players and even fewer Hispanics have hit the ice, according to NHL.com.  Other major sports have seen drastic increases in the number of non-white athletes, but hockey remains a sport comprised of mostly whites.  In order to diversify and broaden hockey’s market, youth hockey leagues need to be made more available in the inner-cities while combating preconceived notions about hockey.

            Throughout North America, youth hockey leagues are typically located in white suburbs.    In an effort to diversify the sport, the NHL has started various programs such as Hockey is for Everyone (HIFE) seeking to inspire hockey growth while making rinks and equipment available.  Hockey is a relatively expensive sport, so these programs receive funding from the NHL to ease the financial burden in places that are commonly poverty-stricken.  I live in a diverse, mixed-income neighborhood that recently constructed a hockey rink. Since its construction, I noticed an increase in the number of young black and Latino children expressing interest in the Blackhawks, the Wolves (an AHL team that practices there), and hockey in general.

            Also, many blacks simply cannot relate to hockey.  In a 2010 Chicago Tribune article during the Blackhawks playoff run, the black citizens of the West and South sides of Chicago expressed their immunity from “Hawks fever” despite being blocks away from the United Center.  One citizen said that blacks widely consider it a “white man’s sport”.  Gene Kitt of Seagram’s Upward Fund told the eventual founder of Ice Hockey in Harlem (IHIH), “Our people don’t play hockey.”  African-American skaters like Winnipeg’s Dustin Byfuglien and Latinos like ex-New Jersey Devil Bill Guerin try to spend time with the inner-city youth to change this preconceived notion.  Guerin reports being proud of his Mexican roots, which adheres to Pooley’s work on assimilation theory who found that sport allows athletes to maintain ethnic identity (Birrell 1989:217).  As discussed in class about MacLeod’s differentiation between aspirations and expectations, many inner-city blacks have high aspirations but tend to not know how to attain their goals.  Programs like HIFE and IHIH not only teach hockey, but also encourage education as well so the aspirations can be met.

            Perhaps the most threatening obstacle to diversification is combating racism.  After netting a game-winner against Boston, Washington’s Joel Ward was met with hateful comments on Twitter, Philadelphia’s Wayne Simmonds had a banana thrown at him during a game in Ontario, and Montreal’s PK Subban is constantly receiving hatred (probably due to being the grinder on the league’s most hated team).  However, hockey and all the other major sports must still struggle with racism.  The NHL, like other sports leagues, makes it clear that prejudice will not be tolerated.  O’Ree, now the director of youth development for the NHL’s diversity program, hopes that youth players, urban or otherwise, will rise above the hate and learn that hockey is for everyone.

Birrell, Susan. "Racial Relations Theories and Sport: Suggestions for a More Critical Analysis."

     Sociology of Sport Journal 6(1989):212-227.

Hockey is for Everyone http://www.nhl.com/ice/page.htm?id=48311

http://www.icehockeyinharlem.org/

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-06-03/news/ct-met-inner-city-hockey-0604-20100603_1_hockey-program-blackhawks-hockey-universe

Reaction to Joel Ward's goal http://www.boston.com/sports/hockey/bruins/articles/2012/04/27/racist_reaction_to_finale_tarnishes_bruins_run/

Missing!: The Disappearance of the American Bred White Player in the NBA

Magic Johnson & Larry Bird

The NBA is an incredibly diverse league.  So diverse actually, that the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at UCF did a racial and gender report card for the NBA, giving them an A+ in racial hiring practices, and an A for an overall grade.  The association has always been a pioneer for racial diversity, employing coaches, players, and team personnel of all different races.  The league went from being a primarily white league in the 50's-60's, to the most diverse league in the world.  In the most recent racial and gender report card, they report that 78% of the players in the NBA were African-American, while only 18% are white, 3% latino, 17% international, and less than 1% asian (Jeremy Lin) and others.  What was once a league littered with American born white men, is now a predominantly African American sport, with people of all types sprinkled in around the league.  The question is, with the influx of these all different races, what has happened to all of the white people?  Is the stereotype that white kids aren't athletic enough to play in the pros true?  Is it an absence of dedication to the game?  Or is it a combination of factors, psychological and social, that have led to the demise of the American Bred white NBA player.

 There was Larry Bird, AKA Larry Legend, AKA "The Great White Hope", the American bred white kid that could play better than almost anyone, regardless of race, size, or athleticism; he just knew how to play.  Once you were on the court with him, you didn't even notice his race, because before you knew it he was burning you someway or another.  It was him and his rival from college, Magic Johnson, lighting up the NBA.  They brought the league back to life when it was at a low point, and their rivalry was something that could get the media and publics attention.  They played for rival teams on opposite sides of the country; Bird with the Celtics, and Magic with the Lakers.  They were also the two best players in the league and the best part about it, was that one was white and one black.  Both were figures kids could look up to.  Once they both retired, the face of the NBA was passed on to Michael Jordan, and then Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, and after them Lebron James.  There are notable white players such as Steve Nash, or Paul Gasol, that were superstars or borderline superstars, but both of them are international players; Gasol from Spain and Nash from Canada.  For some reason, it seems like the days of the American bred white superstar are gone.  The fact that they are gone is not the debate, the debate is why.

After Larry Bird, people have waited for the draft every year, trying to pick who will be the next white superstar player, and every year, they continue to be let down.  Every few years you will find a fairly good player, that excelled in college, but when they make it to the association, they rarely get minutes, and will typically have a short shelf life.  As a white player today, if you aren't a supreme jump shooter, then you probably wont last long.  This is a stereotype that has potentially damaged the psyches of young basketball players.  Because of the long list of underachievers and flops in the NBA, white kids feel like if they aren't an incredible 3 point shooter, there is no hope for them, and it's time to just give up the sport.  This stereotype is one that may actually be a product of the most common stereotype, which is that white people are just not athletic enough to contend with everyone else.

A lot of the time, this is true. I believe that is a product of the system though, because the only white players that make it in the league are typically taller, athletically challenged, spot up shooting role players. But as evident in the video above, it is not always the case.  Although Jacob Tucker, the player in the video above, most likely wont make it to the NBA, he is evidence, that just because you are white, doesn't automatically translate to athletically challenged.

The decline of the American bred white athlete in the NBA is a curious case.  It's impossible to point to one factor, and say that is the exact reason why.  Maybe a combination of social norms, compounded with racial stereotypes, or maybe it's just pure chance that the NBA stands how it is today.

http://www.nba.com/celtics/history/Championship_65_66.html

http://www.nba.com/celtics/history/Championship_07_08.html

http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4033/4547054326f_ca89bebd9_z.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEgcml1Wx1w

http://www.tidesport.org/RGRC/2012/2012_NBA_RGRC[1].pdf

Racing To Equality

Have you ever watched a NASCAR race and realized there was less diversity compared to other sports? Sports play an important role in our society, billions of dollars have been invested in them and they become highly paid careers for individuals with discovered talent. The National Association For Stock Car Racing, (NASCAR) has been one of the top viewed sports for over 50 years. Discovered by Bill France Sr., in 1947 the sport began to receive media coverage in over 100 different countries as well as generating billions of dollars. With this sport being one of the most popular in America, it raises my eyebrow to see the drivers are majority white males.

Being an African American female, I have experienced my share of inequality. Living in a predominantly black area then moving to DeKalb to further my education, became a major culture shock to me. Being out of my comfort zone I realized that I came second to whites, as well as men. Even though inequality has improved tremendously over the years, there are still barriers that prevent minorities to make it to our highest peak. Considering that NASCAR is over 50 years old, with mostly white male racers I view this as an profession that would be a challenging hurtle for me, if I wanted to pursue it. I am aware that laws were enforced, such as Title XI to allow equal opportunities for women and men to participate in sports, regardless of their gender. On the other hand, for me being a Black African American female, I may be subjected to stereotypes and biases from NASCAR fans, since seeing a Black female on the track is extremely rare.

Although NASCAR consists of majority white males, there have been a few African American males that pursued the sport as well. Wendell Scott   being the first to take on the track in 1961 paved the way for Willie T Ribbs and Bill Lester. Even though there were three black male drivers in NASCAR, I could imagine what type of exploitations they were subjected to based on sociologist, Karl Marx theory. I am pretty sure they were faced with many stereotypes and emotional tolls that were masked with a game face for the sport. I applaud Danica Patrick for being the first female to lead lap in Daytona 500. She made history and showed young girls that they can be successful in a sport consisting of mostly males. I am now eager to see the first licensed NASCAR driver Nia Norfleet make history and race towards being the first African American Female in NASCAR.  

Even though inequality is improving in NASCAR I would love to see the sport becoming more diverse. America is the land of freedom and we were taught at a young age to follow our dreams and desires. There are still racial barriers that we need to break in order to be more diverse. We are no longer finished with our race to inequality!

There will be a new look in NASCAR!

             

Pressure on Black Quarterbacks in the National Football League

Are quarterbacks that are black, facing constant criticism for their playing style in the National Football League? Lets not even mention the list of black quarterbacks that have won a Super Bowl and received a ring. During the 2009 season, six-time Pro Bowler Donovan McNabb lost his starting job to Rex Grossman in a tough lost in Detroit to the Lions. Former Chicago Bears starting Quarterback took his starting job in the team's two minute offense. Head Coach Mike Shanahan from the Washington Redskins questioned McNabb's "cardiovascular endurance."

    During the 2010 season, Tennessee Titans Head Coach Jeff Fisher, benched the 5th overall draft pick Vince Young. He was benched due to throwing a number of interceptions to a 19 - 16 lost to the Washington Redskins. Coach Fisher told the media after the game that he was trying to protect the severity of Young's injury that his 27 year old quarterback of the time was being removed as the starter. Jason Campbell who was fighting for his job for the Oakland Raiders in 2010, lost his starting job for the second time throughout the year against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. Throughout the years you see many starting black quarterbacks finding a rough time keeping their starting job for their team. When is the last time you have heard a black quarterback win a Superbowl? The last quarterback to do so was Doug Williams. It's been 27 years since Doug Williams a Superbowl with the Washington Redskins. That was the first and only time ever a black quarterback has won. That is not a good thing. We should have had another one by now. Obviously the NFL is not racism because majority of the players are black but how come it seems black quarterbacks seem to have a difficult time grasping the position.
     6 years ago, Donovan McNabb told HBO's Real Sports that back quarterbacks in the NFL face more pressure and tougher criticism than white quarterbacks do. The responses came back to be pretty predictable. Now you had Michael Vick on covers and he was once the highest paid player in the league overall. He was the cover of many Sport's Illustrated magazines and comeback player of the year in 2010. Former quarterback Shaun King said. "Any franchise Caucasian quarterback will get unlimited opportunities to realize their potential." 
    McNabb even complained for the fact that Peyton Manning and Carson Palmer don't get heavily criticized if they have bad games. Doug Williams said, " When you're an African - American - President, you have to be mentally tough. If you're an African - American heading American Express, you have to be mentally tough." Many black quarterbacks who were benched in their prime, agreed that race was not a factor in how they were perceived by their Head Coaches. It is tough to argue the NFL is racist towards players because majority of the players that get rewarded with million dollar contracts are black. The question is though are black quarterbacks put under more pressure to succeed for their teams than any other race of quarterbacks?




Source

Hill, Jemele. "Is Race Still an Issue for NFL QBs?" ESPN.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2013. <http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/commentary/news/story?page=hill/101123>.

Magary, Drew. "Save The Black Quarterback." Deadspin. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2013. <http://deadspin.com/5974789/save-the-black-quarterback>.

Pictures
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/commentary/news/story?page=hill/101123
http://turnonthejets.com/2012/05/why-do-you-hate-the-jets-nfc-east-edition-part-i/

Skin shouldn’t cause pain so stop this foolish game!

     London, England was home to the 2012 Summer Olympics. United Stated was the grand winner in medals, taking home 104 total. Second place went to People’s Republic of China, with 88 total medals. Third, went to the host Great Britain with 65 medals. It’s apparent that the U.S.A. can compete with the best, and at large succeed.

     Much of the USA accomplishments in sports competition can be traced to its power house leagues. For many of the worlds youth, their dreams are "the major leagues of the USA". Whether it is a young child from Dominican Republic wanting to be the next starting pitcher for the New York Yankees in Major League Baseball (MLB), or a young boy from Canada reaching out to be the next starting quarterback for the Chicago Bears in the National Football League (NFL), we have been blessed to have the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL as arguably the beast leagues in the world.
    Another reason we have been blessed is that in all these sports we have fair play and freedom from racism. See what you have to understand is, even though the USA for the most part controls those four major sports and it’s the place a player wants to make it to, the worlds’ sport, which is SOCCER, has not been conquered by the USA. Soccer is fairly brand new in our country. Major League Soccer was founded December 13, 1993, which makes it only twenty years old. The power house for soccer, the dream every little kid has is to make it to a European team. Preferably the English Premier League (EPL) in England, or the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional (LFP) in Spain.
     This article will tackle how the governing body of all professional soccer leagues around the world, FIFA (International Federation of Association Football), still deals with racism in our century.
     January 30, 2013-  Jozy Altidore scored one goal in AZ's Alkamaar (Netherlands professional soccer league) 5-0 victory over Den Bosch, advancing past the quarter finals of the Dutch Cup. However, the match will be remembered for the racist chants the fans from Den Bosch shouted at American star forward Jozy Altidore. FIFA has a zero tolerance for racism and the referee had no choice but to stop play and suspend the game. Nevertheless, the same Altidore insisted to the referee that the show must go on. With help from the home team they were able to stop some of the fans from shouting racist comments. The Dutch Football Association took charge and sanctioned all of those who were part of the racist scheme against Altidore.
     In the same month in Italy's professional soccer league, Kevin Prince-Boateng a Ghanaian, and Mario Balotelli an African-Italian, players for AC Milan were also the victim of racist chants during a friendly match against club Inter Milan. Across town the same day another player for the club Cagliari, Victor Ibarbo, an Afro Colombian received racist chants in a match against club Lazio. February 24, 2013, the Inter Club was sentenced to pay 15,000 euros for the racist chants uttered by some of their fans during the encounter against AC Milan, which heard the expression “there is no black Italian”, in reference to Balotelli. 

     Recent incidents show that racism still exists in football despite the current multiculturalism. Most importantly I believe it is best to remember that in soccer, with all the nonsense going on with racism, the moment a goal is scored, I can be as black as the ACE of Spades or as white as a snowflake…in the minute that player scores, everyone hugs each other and celebrates as if there’s no tomorrow.  The most important thing is remembering that the ball doesn't see color, but talent and passion. 

"2012 London Olympics - Stats and Info." Weblog post. N.p., n.d. Web.

"Jozy Altidore Target of Racist Chants in Dutch Soccer." USA Today. Gannett, n.d. Web. 06 Mar. 2013.

"Italian Side Forced to Play One Match behind Closed Doors after Boateng Racism Row." Mail Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Mar. 2013.

The Whiteout in Minnesota

Let's face it. We live in a world with many prejudices and biases. We like to think that things like racism and bigotry are a thing of the old world. Well they're not, in fact one could argue that we are still very racist and we let things like skin color give us our first impression of people. Whether it be a good impression or bad it still happens.

It is no different in sports there are still prejudices that drive a lot of people's opinions on different types of athletes. The fact that some people believe that since you were born black that you are endowed with athletic abilities from birth. This of course not taking into a count the countless amount of hours that some of these professional athletes have put in over the course of their careers. There is a certain instance in the NBA that happened recently that I think that I need to address. There was a group in Minnesota that is called the St. Paul's African American Leadership Council and what they were claiming was that the Minnesota Timberwolves starting roster consisted of too many white players. The Timberwolves are Minnesota's NBA franchise. And if anyone knows or even watches the NBA they would know that it is a black athlete dominated sport. So for a franchise to be called too white sounds a little strange. 

The claim by this organization was that since the Timberwolves had a predominate white fan base that they only signed white players for their team. They figured that since the majority of the people watching are white they could sell more seats to see white people play. This is an absurd statement because any sports fan knows that you put the best possible players on the floor ,and if they happen to be majority white or majority black so be it. This year the Timberwolves have a roster consisting of 15 players of those 10 are white and five are black. However last season their roster consisted of 8 black players and seven white players and they still sold 90.4% of their tickets. making them one of the two teams that ranked in the top 15 in attendance and not make the playoffs. This in fact disproving the notion that the people of Minnesota only would come out to see a white dominated team. 

Race when it comes to basketball is something that I have always found to be very interesting. I came from a high school that was about 90% white if not more. So you would always expect the majority of our sports teams were majority white. So whenever our basketball team or our football team would go out and play  a school with a heavy black population we would always hear things like " you will never be able to keep up with those kids" or " they are just to big and athletic for you guys." There were so many people that just immediately assumed that since the apposing team was majority black they were going to automatically be good. 

 I see now that racism in sports is at all levels from high school all the way up to the pros. However I know that racism has been around in sports and I believe it is here to stay. 

Cherner, Reid. "Civil Rights Leaders Question Timberwolves Racial Makeup." USA Today. Gannett, 29 Oct. 2012. Web. 27 Feb. 2013.

Goff, Brian. "Racism Behind Lack of NBA Interest?" The Sports Economist RSS. N.p., 24 Feb. 2011. Web. 27 Feb. 2013.

Manfred, Tony. "There's A Conspiracy Theory That The Minnesota Timberwolves Are Hoarding White Players To Boost Ticket Sales." Business Insider. N.p., 30 Oct. 2012. Web. 27 Feb. 2013.

Getting Beat by a Woman

Women's UFC Champion Ronda Rousey (Source: http://www.cagereligion.com/2012/12/rousey-vs-carmouche-henderson-vs.html)

There’s nothing more damaging to a man’s ego than to be beaten by a woman in anything, especially in feats of strength or skill.  With society playing its part in implementing gender roles, it’s no wonder that men today are more concerned about their masculinity than chivalry.  This is not to say that all men are raucous wild men who have to flip a table and a few chairs over every time they walk into a classroom, just generally speaking that most men are focused on keeping their manly image as the alphas in society.  So how does this apply to sports?  In any sport that is played in the world, the men’s division gets much more attention than the women’s division, and in my particular topic, the world of martial arts is a male dominated sport.  Any time you hear about a martial artist, the first thing you think of is probably Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, or some other famous Asian martial artists.  Apart from the fact that 99% of people will think of the martial artists as stereotypically Asian, they also will stereotypically classify the martial artist as a male.  Why is that?  Why is it that we cannot picture a woman as a martial artist and a damned good one at that?  Society has painted males and females to fit a certain category of traits, personalities, and physical abilities and anything that goes against these socially constructed norms are considered foreign, out of place, and unacceptable.  This is a non-inclusive blanket mentality that completely idealizes what a man and what a woman should be.  On one hand we have the dominating male who is physically superior and obviously more skilled while on the other hand we have the submissive, significantly more fragile woman who must have a man take care of most things.  If you thought that idea of what a man and a woman is was ridiculous, don’t worry I was with you on that as well.  I for one know firsthand that a woman can be just as vicious as a man is in martial arts, possibly even more so.  Martial arts’ philosophy was to understand the human physical capabilities as well as gain physical prowess and defense against all worldly obstacles (full article on the history and philosophy of martial arts can be seen here: http://www.philosophos.com/philosophy_article_80.html).  Through this idea, humans can learn about themselves and about the world around them.  So who had the idea that men were the only ones capable of performing such a feat?  Women are just as capable of breaking wood as men.  Women are just as capable of pushing their physical limits and understanding their own bodies as men.  Women are fully capable of exercising, staying in shape, and conditioning in the same ways just as men (questions and answers to the physicality, roughness, and attractiveness of women can be seen here: http://futuriztik.com/sports-and-recreation/fragile-no-more-women-taking-martial-arts-training/).  So why do we automatically assume that women are not able to handle the physicality and discipline of martial arts?  Some strides have been made to publicize the women of martial arts, but the bulk of society view these women as entertainment value and not to be taken seriously.  I feel this can be a mistake, especially if I was on the wrong end of a beating by say, UFC Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey from the bantamweight class.  UFC 157 will be showcasing their first ever women’s fight on pay-per-view and if you’ve watched any of the preview footage leading up to this fight, these women can fight just as viciously as men!  Being a martial artist myself, I’ve been on the receiving end of a beating by a female martial artist and they hit just as hard as men.  Do I have hurt pride?  Of course I don’t.  Do others think I’m weak for being beat in a sparring match against a woman?  They most likely do.  In the end it doesn’t matter about gender, especially when it comes to sports.  That’s the beauty of sports: gender roles were never written into the rules.  So the fact that women in martial arts are finally getting some spotlight is a step in the right direction, but it took long enough don’t you think? Below are some links to some videos that might put into perspective what I mean.