Final Blog

     Prior to taking this course, I had always looked at sport in terms of the actual game rather than examining what really goes on "behind the scenes." From my own personal experience, sport was an outlet. It gave me confidence and taught me a lot about what I am capable of doing. But after taking the course, it has really opened my eyes to the "dark side" of sports and the issues that arise from participating in it, whether it be as a spectator or an athlete.
     I would not say that the course has changed my views of sport, but I now have more knowledge about sports. What I found really helpful was that this course took a major issue involved with sport and argued both sides, which helped uncover everything that was good or bad with that specific issue. For example, during our discussion on Steroid use in sports, the class was told to pick whether or not they believed that PEDs or steroids should be used. Prior to taking this class, I had a pretty strong stance against steroid use because I always believed it gave that athlete an advantage over those who weren't taking them. But after examining the arguments from both sides and realizing that PED usage is a much broader topic than I had thought, I would now say that under a controlled atmosphere, PED usage should be accepted amongst sports.
     In terms of my writing and critical thinking skills, this class really forced me to think outside of the box and examine the topics from an unbiased standpoint. Since this class discusses in great detail the dark side of sports, there are times when the dark side can go against what your viewpoint is on certain topics and can be hard to comprehend. So trying to understand both sides of the argument is something that I have learned is extremely important in order to effectively convince your audience.
     Overall I really enjoyed the course. Though it was pretty time-consuming at times, in terms of the amount of work, I thoroughly enjoyed the topics and discussions amongst my classmates. Since sport has always been such a big part of my life, it was exciting to share the things that I have experienced through sport and how my experience compared with others. I would definitely recommend this class to another student.

Sporting Criminal Bodies

     When it comes to big-time athletes, a lot of crimes they are associated with tend to be ones of destruction and personal harm, whether it be drunk driving, domestic violence, murder, robbery, or doping. This disturbing trend amongst athletes has shone a negative light on the sport and the clubs they play for, which raises the question: why do athletes feel that they need to do such acts? Most of them making hundreds of thousands, even millions, of dollars every year, yet they still feel the need to live a lifestyle that leads them nowhere except in a prison cell or a cemetery.
     I believe a lot of this has to do with the fact that most athletes feel invincible. Here in the U.S., at least, we, the spectators, tend to put athletes on a higher rank in society, and I think that tends to go to the athletes' heads a little too far. Also, because many of the criminal-minded athletes grew up in an area that supports this type of behavior, many of them aren't taught that this type of behavior is unacceptable, and many of them aren't conditioned to live in a civil society. While this isn't the case for all athletes, I believe you could make a valid argument that to a certain extent, this is very true. Take OJ Simpson, for example. One of the best college running backs to have ever played football, couldn't seem to stay out of trouble. After being accused, and acquitted of murder, I honestly believe that he thought he could get away with anything, which lead him to continue down the path of crime. Today, he now sits in a jail cell, probably for the rest of his life because of his continued misbehavior.
     The social problems presented in the evaluation of a sport-crime nexus are that many of these athletes aren't taught at the appropriate age that these actions will lead them nowhere fast. Many of these athletes don't care to learn these lessons at their respective institutions because they seem to be so focused on their sport and making it on the pro stage. Athletes seem to be given a free pass on their way to the professional stage, and aren't properly guided to be able to set themselves up after they retire, which is why we here of many athletes going bankrupt, because they weren't taught the tools necessary to sustain the lifestyle they were living while they were playing.

References

http://www.cnbc.com/id/100942614
http://jss.sagepub.com/content/30/2/180.abstract

Is Sport a Safe Place for LGBT Athletes?

     Off the top of my head, I can name a few out athletes: Robbie Rogers, Jason Collins, Michael Sam, Megan Rapine, Abby Wambach, Martina Navritalova, Johnny Weir, Billie Jean King, Greg Louganis,  and Amelie Mauresmo. There are definitely more athletes who have yet to come out, and I think the reason this is is because of the fear of non-acceptance. We live in a society today where we put certain characteristics with certain sports. For example, with football, the athletes are typically big, strong, and fast, and I think that an athlete coming out as gay in football would go against what the audience views as a football player, thinking that they might be soft and can't keep up with the "straight" football player.

     We experience homophobia all over the sporting world, whether it's in the locker rooms, on the playing field, or even in the audience as we watch. Although I do believe that steps are being made to fix this problem, there are those whose view points of the topic are set, and therefore, are harder to convince. It manifests in the form of slurs and berating those athletes. There are straight athletes who make it known through the media and other means that they are not comfortable with playing with a gay athlete, which is also another reason as to why so many players stay "in the closet" for so long, or never come out at all.

     I think that in sports, such as ice skating or tennis, LGBT athletes are much safer than in sports such as football or basketball because of the fact that it is an individual sport where they do not have to deal with teammates, and because of the fact that those sports are seen as "less intense." I feel it might be easier to come out when you are not playing with other teammates because it's the acceptance from the other athletes is why i believe it's so hard for some of them to come out. 

     In order to change the way we perceive LGBT athletes, more education on the topic needs to be spread not only to the athletes playing with them, but also to the audience watching them. Because LGBT athletes coming out does not happen as often as it should, it's harder for the coaches, athletes, the organizations which they play for, and the audience to understand what the LGBT athletes might be going through and what we can do to support them. If we have a better understanding of the topic, I think it would be much easier for those athletes who are having difficulty with it themselves. 

References

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/mar/29/robbie-rogers-coming-out-gay

http://www.si.com/more-sports/2013/04/29/jason-collins-gay-nba-player

http://www.edgeofsports.com/2015-03-31-1016/index.html

Interrogating inequalities in Sports Media: Examining gender/race representation in ESPN

I watch ESPN every single day. SportsCenter, which is an hour-long segment on ESPN that showcases the main sporting highlights of that day, is one of the more popular segments on their program. The majority of that hour is spent covering male athletes and male sports, while coverage of female athletes seem to be minuscule. Though ESPN has made steps towards attracting the female sports fans, such as with the introduction of ESPNW, gender inequality still thrives within sports media.

In the past year alone, ESPN Magazine featured only four women on the front covers of their magazines. Out of the four women, two of them were not athletes, and the two athletes who were featured posed in the nude for ESPN's "Body Issue." Many of the covers showcase the male athletes posing in their uniforms or in an action shot, while many of the female athletes seem to just be posing and showcasing their figure rather than their athletic abilities. Within the pages of the magazine, it's much of the same; plenty of pictures of male athletes showing off their athletic talents, while pages dedicated to female athletes focus more on their physique, with the occasional action shot of a female athlete. When visiting ESPN's website, it is much of the same. Their top tabs to click on do not feature one female sport. You have to go into the "More Sports" Section if you wanted to find anything that had to do with female sports. Most of their top stories feature male athletes.

While I feel gender inequality in sports media is an issue, I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that their is not a large amount of women sports fans who care to watch ESPN anyway. I feel that if there was a greater female audience that regularly viewed ESPN and its contents, the issue would be much easier to solve. But because ESPN is so dominant amongst the male population, many male viewers don't really care for updates on female sports, therefore, ESPN does not show it. As stated earlier, ESPN has taken steps towards reaching the female audience by creating ESPNW, which is specifically dedicated to female sports and athletes, and hiring more female sportscasters for their SportsCenter segments. While these may be good attempts at attracting more female sports fans, a better attempt needs to be made at showcasing the athletes abilities and their performance rather than on their physique.

References

"ESPN: The Worldwide Leader in Sports." ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures, n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.

"ESPN Cover Store." ESPN Cover Store. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2015

Reflecting on the Shame of College Sports

     The NCAA, through its member institutions, conferences, and national office staff share a belief in and commitment to the collegiate model of athletics in which students participate as an avocation, balancing their academic, social, and athletic experiences; the highest level of integrity and sportsmanship; the pursuit of excellence in both academics and athletics; the supporting role that intercollegiate athletics play in the higher education mission and in enhancing the sense of community and strengthening the identity of member institutions; an inclusive culture that fosters equitable participation for student-athletes and career opportunities for coaches and administrators from different backgrounds; respect for institutional autonomy and philosophical differences; presidential leadership of intercollegiate athletics at the campus, conference, and national levels.
     For the most part, the NCAA does an exceptional job of controlling the system. New rules and regulations are constantly implemented that keeps the student-athletes from being compensated for the time put in and gives those in charge more power. These institutions are profiting off of the athletes by putting the athletes on display to boost the school's image. The athletes are compensated through scholarships, but even then, the scholarships do not cover everyday expenses, only tuition, education, and housing, and also, not every athlete receives a scholarship. Playing a college sport is a full-time job; I would assume that it would be extremely difficult for a student-athlete to find a job in the offseason, due to the fact that playing a college sport is a year-round commitment.
     Because of this, I believe that the NCAA needs to find a way to support their players financially since these players have committed full-time to improving the image of their respective institutions. There are ways to where the institutions can still make a profit AND pay their players, whether it be through individual sponsorships, or a cut of the money through TV contracts.


References:

"NCAA Core Values." NCAA Home Page. N.p., 28 Jan. 2014. Web. 18 Feb. 2015.

Schooled: The Price of College Sports. Dir. Trevor Martin and Ross Finkel. Perf. Taylor Branch and Jay Bilas and Kevin Anderson. 2013.

Tending the Growth of Achievement Sport: High School Sport & Me

     From a very young age, the bar was set very high for Demetrius Walker. He had much to live up to, being compared to big time NBA names such as Tyson Chandler, at such a young age. Because of this, if Demetrius didn't meet the expectations, he would be deemed a failure. That would be a lot for any 12 year-old to handle. At 12 years old, I was also playing on a traveling basketball team, but it never got to the point where we were being followed or watched by analysts. It was just a bunch of kids playing basketball. But for Demetrius Walker, it was much more than just a game. Because basketball was such a big part of his life, he had to prove himself worthy.
     In high school, it was much of the same, but unlike he was as an eighth grader, he became less dominant. While he was in eighth grade, he was able to get the ball over everyone because he was so much taller than the other kids. He would play down in the post and look to work the block. But when he reached high school, he wasn't as tall as the other players, so instead of playing in the post, which is what he was most comfortable with, he was forced to play the wing, completely changing the way he was used to playing.
     From elementary school through high school, Demetrius Walker seemed to live his younger life constantly trying to prove himself; proving that he was ranked the best player in the country for a reason. His sport was put before anything else because he always had people talking about him and how he played his sport. Other people made basketball a priority for him. This model of sport can be very harmful to the typical high school athlete. I don't think that many high school athletes would be able to deal with the pressure that Demetrius has had to endure throughout his youth, and by putting basketball as a top priority before anything else, it doesn't help set him up for his future after basketball. In my high school years, basketball was always a second priority behind school. Basketball didn't mean anything unless I was doing well in school, and I think the focus should be more on helping these athletes set themselves up for their futures rather than having them try to live up to a certain expectation.
     Probably the greatest consequence that can come from prioritizing basketball over academics would be not setting yourself properly for your next step in life. Let's just say that Demetrius Walker ended up making it to the NBA, chances are he would only be able to play into his mid-late 30's, he would still have another 50-60+ years to try and do something else. So the strategy for high school athletes shouldn't be focused on trying to get these athletes to the next big stage in basketball, but more on setting them up for life after basketball.

References

Dohrmann, G. (2010). The Education of Demetrius Walker. Sports Illustrated. pp. 62-74.

Cherrr-Ching: Super Bowl XLIX Financial Report

     The amount of money that goes into the Super Bowl is staggering. With well over 100+ million viewers watching the amount of money generated during the game is mind-boggling. To give somewhat of a picture as to what I mean, there are more people who watch the super bowl in the US than those who voted for their president. With the following figures, we will be able to see where the money is generated from and what the money is used for.

• $600,000,000 - the estimated financial impact on the host city's local economy
• $4,500,000 - the amount necessary for a 30 second commercial spot during Super bowl airing
• $8,000,000,000 - the amount of money LEGALLY wagered during the Super Bowl (that's not even counting the illegal gambling)
• $3,950 - the average amount it would cost for one super bowl ticket (some tickets cost as much as $25,000
• $165,000 - the amount paid to each player on the winning team. This amount does not include incentives the players may have in their contracts.  

     Over time, these numbers have continued to rise, and with the potential spread to an international market, I can only see these numbers getting bigger as the NFL continues to expand to other markets. 

For the host city, it would seem that the amount necessary for one game would put many cities into a financial bind. It almost reminds me of how the World Cup is set up: once the host city is chosen, it is up to the city/country in which the city is located to come up with the money necessary to build venues for the players and the fans. In Brazil during the last World Cup, there was much controversy over the amount of money being used to build these huge stadiums that were only going to be used once.  The people living in the areas where the stadiums were being built felt short changed, leading to danger and violence. Granted, the super bowl is much different in the fact that the stadiums are already built and are used on a daily basis, but similar in the amount of money necessary to provide such a big sporting event.  

References

Erb, Kelly P. "Salaries, Ads & Security: What's The Real Cost Of Super Bowl XLIX?" Forbes. Forbes Magazine, n.d. Web. 01 Feb. 2015.