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.