Not Excusable, But Certainly Forgivable Essay

These aggressive attitudes and tendencies have been shown to have effects on one's judgement and the perception of their environment. An athlete with an over aggressive attitude who's judgement becomes clouded by aggression develops a disregard foe the opponent(s) that their aggression is being aimed at." I think the aggressiveness in sports - just making the play, charging past people or dominating somebody physically - really needs to be separated by athletes from appropriate off field behavior."(Tom Jackson, Univ. Arkansas psychology professor.)

Gender inequality in professional tennis is a real and alarming issue, from the pay gap between mens' and womens' tennis players to the low media coverage of women's professional tennis. This issue even goes as far as how differently tennis commentators discuss and analyze mens tennis as opposed to how they discuss and analyze womens tennis. When commentators discuss men's tennis they solely focus on the skill of the players, but when they discuss women's tennis they place more importance on the appearance of the female players, rather than their skill. This instance of gender inequality in professional tennis is further exacerbated by the differences in advertisements for male tennis players and female tennis players. The advertisements involving male tennis players display their athleticism and tennis abilities, whereas the advertisements including female tennis players are appearance-focused, with the females often wearing little clothing. This is corroborated by the popular belief that focusing on the physical appearance of female athletes is the only way in which generating money from women's professional sports is distinctly possible (Fink, 2015, p. 338). Female professional tennis players train just as hard as the men do, thus the gender inequality that exists in the sport is not necessarily a result of how women perform on the court. It is rather a result of how society perceives women playing in professional sports overall, which the mass media is partially to blame

She calls this ‘the hockey myth”, a premise that dictates males feel pressure to be sexist and misogynistic in hockey. These judges and juries were unable to recognize the sexism and favouritism that took place in these trials; and the gender bias’ that exists in the culture of

Rankine’s essay concentrates on the idea that racism affects the perception of Serena’s excellence as the world’s best female tennis player. Toward the beginning of the essay, Rankine states “…the legendary Chris Evert, who herself has called you a ‘phenomenon that once every one hundred years comes around.’ Imagine that you’re the player John McEnroe recently described as ‘the greatest player, I think, that ever lived.” Rankine goes on to say, “Imagine that you have to contend with critiques of your body that perpetuate racist notions that black women are hyper masculine and unattractive”. These quotes, rooted toward the beginning of the essay, easily suggest the idea that Serena’s excellence cannot be discussed without the addition of the racist notions she so often encounters. This statement clearly reflects the lesson in which Serena’s father, Richard Williams, attempted to teach

Often people have a difficult experience that changes their assessment of a group of people or respected elder. This essay will illustrate the experiences that Laura Robinson relates to when trust is placed in the wrong hands and less powerful people are made to feel vulnerable, I will further analyze how Laura Robinson sexual assault case is still happening in sports news today resembling NFL football, NBA basketball, and gymnastics.

As an example she cites the Nancy Kerrigan-Tonya Harding story. “After the original attack on Kerrigan’s knee, news stories focused on the rivalry between the two skaters instead of portraying Kerrigan as the victim of the attack.”

Domestic violence in sports is threatening to affect the integrity of the sporting world in many different dimensions. True sportsmanship is rare to find in the sporting arenas in the US. Domestic violence is one of the most common crimes committed among male athletes. The statement is worrying considering that the violent crime rate in America has been steadily reducing. The issue is indeed a highly divisive one considering that the opinions are many and varied. One of the arguments is that the sportsmen should be viewed solely for their actions on the ground. Domestic issues should not be an issue for these people. However, there needs to be a careful consideration that players are human beings and with that comes the mandate to take care

The Williams sister’s have had to suffer under the oppression of the lily white sport of tennis. Throughout Serena’s very successful career there have been multiple cases where one of the judges, either a line judge or a head umpire, have cost her a championship based on the calls that they have made. In 2004, Mariana Alves, cost Serena a trip to the championship game after making five bad calls in a row in favor of Serena’s opponent. As

People that have encouraged her to do her best had now seen her at her worst. Her downfall displays how her tragic flaw had unfortunately taken over everything she had worked for her whole life. The case went world wide as prosecutors took upon themselves to investigate Harding in court. First, the hitmen used their platform to explain how Harding had known about the attack and helped them plan it out (Harding’s Ex-Husband Arrested). At first, Harding did everything she could to make her seem innocent, however all of the evidence displayed pointed fingers at her. Even though Harding tried dodging the truth, she came out with sympathy and regret: “‘I’d just like to say I’m really sorry that I interfered” (Harding Makes Deal). Following, Tonya physically and emotionally suffered from her mistakes. First off, she had to give up the sport that she had loved ever since she was three years old. Along with that, came the embarrassment. Just to think that she was so close to having her second appearance at an Olympic tournament, to only throw it away before even performing. People once thought of her as an inspiration, but now when they hear her name they think of her sabotage. Secondly, she physically had to pay for her actions. After the case was finalized, the court ruled that Harding wouldn’t have jail time if she

In a recent documentary it was noted that anyone who proceeded to skate with Tonya would have to resign from the United States Figure Skating Association. The United States Figure Skating Association ostracized Tonya from the rest of the community. Tonya Harding’s relationship with Jeff Gillooly, was an abusive one, but she kept coming back to him. She says in interviews that he “always saying the right things to get me back, and I’d be stupid enough to go back and get beat up again.” Jeff Gillooly was not the only abusive person in her life. Her mother was also abusive. Tonya Harding came from an abusive family that did not have a lot of money. Tonya Harding could not afford to get private ice the same as Nancy Kerrigan did. Even after proceeding to get second place at the 1994 Olympics Kerrigan made many mistakes such as talking rudely about Oksana Baiul who had won first place that year. and the Disneyland Parade float she was on calling it “corny” and “stupid”. To today Kerrigan who was an ideal female figure skater was forgiven for her mistakes that she

Throughout the years, sports have become a major part of society. Sports, a large percentage of the time, are a part of peoples’ lives in one way or another. Whether they participate in them or just enjoy watching them, sports are a big deal to the majority of people. There are also some individuals who have redefined the expectations when it comes to certain sports. For instance, Babe Ruth redefined the way people think about baseball, or Michael Jordan completely changing the game of basketball. But Joe Louis and Venus and Serena Williams have changed their games in a way no one could have imagined. Although “Champion of the World” by Maya Angelou and “Woman Who Hit Very Hard and How They’ve Changed Tennis” by Michael Kimmelman are different, they are similar in the ways they show how the respected athletes, Joe Louis and the Williams sisters, changed the game and were seen using symbolism in racial and sexual progression.

In Remote Control, written by Sarah Marshall it talks about Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding, two well-known figure skaters, and their relationship at the 1994 US Figure Skate Final Championship. Nancy grew up in a warm kind-hearted family around her and felt the love and importance of being in a family. Nancy was admired and praised by being elegant “without being sexual, strong without being intimidating and vulnerable without being weak, and in the end she embodied no quality quite so perfectly as she did the set of draconian contradictions that dictated a female athlete’s success” (Marshall 283).

Women’s equality is an issue that has been around for awhile. While women have been given many rights to increase equality, including the right to vote and go to college, the problem hasn’t completely vanished. One area that still sees this is in sports. Women’s sports do not draw nearly as many fans and are not covered in the media as much as men’s sports, pay differences between male and female athletes are large, and female athletes have to wait longer to start their professional career than men, which risks their professional career before it even starts.

Astonishingly, sexism still exists and in 2002, columnist Stephen Moore expressed, allowing women to play in March Madness is “annoying” and the tournament would be better without them (McDonagh & Pappano, p. 237). He believes women in sports intrude and ruin “precious moments of bonding” (McDonagh & Pappano, p. 237). This all begins with the idea men are better than women. These mindsets believe men have superior talent and therefor deserve to have their own sports. They should not have to share with the lesser sex.

By turning women away from playing certain sports, we are influenced to believe that they are not as qualified to play, compared to men. (Creedon, 1994). Ironically, women on the field seem to have to act tougher than the men. If an