Professional Sports In The United States Of America, Most

(Alexander, 1994) notes that Black bodies displayed “for public consumption have been an American spectacle for centuries. This history moves from public rapes, beatings, and lynching’s to the gladiatorial arenas of basketball and boxing” Images of masculinity as powerful and "natural" on televised sporting spectacles offer men of all socioeconomic backgrounds one of the most powerful sites to collectively identify with masculinity and an ideology of male physical and cultural superiority (Messner, 1988; Theberge, 1991).

In the book titled Race, Sports, and the American Dream, it discussed how sports helped change the place of African-American in society. “Sports was well segregated deep into the 20th century” (Smith 9). How college football looked in America in the 1950s was exactly how American society looked in the 1950s, segregated and racist. African-American athletes in college football helped fight and negate stereotypes because it showed that they are equally as good

In recent history it has been evident that some of the most popularize sports in America have been dominated and overran by African American and other minority athletes. In turn when the coaching and management positions in sports are analyzed and broken down, the number of minority coaches and managers in sport are almost non-existent and have been since those sports organization became established.

Like female athletes, African Americans have had a difficult time getting equal treatment and representation for their successes by the media. African Americans were thought to have a feeling of hate towards others, as displayed in the classic feature, Remember the Titans, “Look at them, they hate us, they’ll always hate us.” In today’s sports arena, African American athletes are represented in their sports’ categories in a much larger group than in the past. However, they are still struggling to have the same equalization as their teammates in the media’s representation of their talents and skills. A typical stereotype of the African American by the media is their depiction of them having more brawn than brain. For example, Luke Walton of the Los Angeles Lakers, for example, is a white male whom commentators often commend for his high basketball IQ when he makes plays, but often fault for his insufficient physical ability when he doesn’t. African American teammates of Walton’s, in contrast, find their “skills” praised when they execute well and their “mental errors” blamed for failures to execute. Sports-related socialization of this discriminatory type can perpetuate stereotypes generation after generation.

The role of the family value system in influencing Black male athletes appears to be less important than that of White male athletes. Although the Black community makes up 12% of the collegiate population, only 3% of those have a Ph.D. and only 6.7% have a Bachelors degree, (Hu, 2004:1). The value system in African American families appears to be focused more on immediate gratification, rather than education, which seems to be a bigger value in White families. Basketball players White vs. Black have some goals to meeting in order to become successful in the sport of basketball. There are some influences that make some of the White and Black

The topic of race in sport, particularly African Americans in sport, has long been a controversial yet, widely discussed matter. Human and social issues are never easy subjects to discuss or debate, and racial differences tend to provoke very strong reactions. To begin, we will explore those whom claim that black athletes excel in sports as a result of their biological make up. Of all players in the NBA, more than 75% of them are black; of all players in the WNBA, more than 70% of them are black; of all players in the NFL, more than 65% of them are black (Hoenig, 2014). Evidently, black athletes make up a vast majority of these sports in the United States. Athletes must be of elite caliber to have the ability to play at this level, so this

One interesting view by Douglas Hartmann in his journal article entitled “Rethinking The Relationships Between Sports And Race In American Culture: Golden Ghettos And Contested Terrain” said that racial issues in sport is; borrowing Stuart Hall (1981) words- “a contested racial terrain” (qtd. in Hartmann 241). The “contested racial terrain” is defined as “a social site where racial images, ideologies, and inequalities are constructed, transformed, and constantly struggled over” (Hartmann 230). In other words, sports have become a medium where the definition and limitation of racism created. This also means that the definition of racial issues will constantly change over time. Hartmann view is interesting seeing that he believes that the context of racism in sports are actually broader than we actually think. He did not agree with the simple view of because racial discrimination happens in our society, thus racial discrimination also happens in sports (Hartmann 242). He further delves into two interesting problems in stereotyping and biasing.

Black student-athletes are taught to value sports over academics at a young age because it is seen as the “only way out”. Black student-athletes are heralded for their athletic prowess from middle school up, so they begin to focus less on their education and more on their sport. Unfortunately, so do the teachers. Black student-athletes are more often than not just given passes, as schools value what their athletic abilities could do for them over the academic success of the athlete. Even normal black students can be seen the same way just because of the perception that they might be an athlete. The sad truth is that the athletes that don’t make it to the professional level are left without the education needed to be successful.

In today’s society, there are many ways race shapes perceptions. There is a social significance attached to skin color and race, and among this, they vary greatly. Furthermore, individuals nowadays do not shape their perceptions of athletes by athletic merit alone; instead, fans perception is often racially coded. The Atlantic article by Adam Felder and Seth Amitin presented the hidden bias of broadcaster. In this study, they focused on announcers for televised baseball games in order to detect the terminology used to describe players. They discovered that “while there is no difference between race or nationality when it comes to performance-based descriptions, effort-based and character-based descriptions make a big difference”(1) This instance demonstrates the existence of a subconscious racial bias among individuals. The race of the athlete shapes the viewer’s perception by guaranteeing the success of performance in the eye of the fan. Additionally, white athletes are credited for their training, work ethic, and dedication, whereas blacks are simply credited for their genes and skin color. This study shows how eliminating racial prejudice in sports consumption is difficult, since it is an underlying idea many have. Instead of simply focusing on their race, fans and viewers should instead take into account the effort and talent of the athlete. Media portrayals of races affect how viewers react to them, and therefore it also needs to start with the reporting of black

The history of sports goes back since ancient times. It has been a useful way for people to explore nature and their environment. Sports include different activities and games such as football, soccer, basketball, and etc. to express their skills and talents. Also, sports are a way to relax and have fun; but are sports all our African Americans rely on? The dream to become future sports stars. The reason why Gates begins his essay with an anecdote is to show and compare how many african-american athletes were at work today and how little the chances of African-Americans becoming athletes are compared to being a lawyer, dentist, or even a doctor. African-Americans assume that they are born athletes and it’s because the school system doesn’t

Basketball, football, and hockey are considered the most popular sports in America as of today. However, sports in the early 1950s were not as popular as they are now. According to “An Exercise in Subtleties and the Transmission of Racism: An Analysis of Sports Illustrated Covers” by Eric Primm, Summer DuBois, and Robert M. Regoli, they stated that American love their sport and that “each year they would spend billions of dollars on sports-related items and activities.” The media help promote the popularity of the sports in America. Consequently, sports media “plays a key role in perpetuating the types of racial stereotypes about minority athletes in sports” (Ismond, 115). The thesis of this writing project is with some racial stereotype reinforcement

Rankine’s extensive use of second person point-of-view establishes both directness and vagueness. Throughout the book, the reader experiences racism directly and indirectly, and acts as the author’s medium for expressing ideas and emotions. In one instance, we’re presumably placed in the shoes of a 12-year old Rankine, who allows a fellow student to cheat off of her exam, “You assume she thinks she is thanking you for letting her cheat and feels better cheating from an almost white person” (19). The occurrence is described passingly, as if it was one of many microaggressions young Rankine has experienced in the past. These seemingly normal happenings contrast with the book’s thought-provoking images; a street sign that reads “Jim Crow Road” is pictured after the aforementioned incident (21). Rankine utilizes these contrasts to force the reader to think deeply about

Professional athletes have a platform that many others do not have. While we have seen stereotypes evolve within the sports field there has also been many instances in which sports have been used to create change. In 1966, the Texas Western basketball team won the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) national title. The team started five African American players in the title game. In “Glory Road” this revelation is a big deal.

During the 80’s, the period of which these individuals played, the NBA desperately needed a new spark, and the NBA got just what it needed. Larry Bird’s Celtics during the 1979-80 season made a dramatic improvement “from a 29-53 record the year before to 61-21”(Magic Johnson and). While Bird is making an extraordinary turnaround for his Boston Celtics, Magic Johnson, during his rookie season, won a NBA championship for the Los Angeles Lakers. This was the Los Angeles Lakers seventh NBA championship victory. Their success helped the NBA, but their identities off the court supersedes the game of basketball. The years previous to the Magic-Bird rivalry were ever changing. The NBA changed from a fundamental, half-court game with all-white players, to a quick pace, athletically acrobatic game with mainly black players. Few old-school former white people, such as Jerry West and Pete Maravich, could participate and compete in this new form of basketball. This different style of basketball significantly swayed many viewers, white fans, from attending the NBA games. White fans felt that the game was very egocentric and didn’t involve all the players. Also, the white fans didn’t

Invisibility syndrome, with reference to the sports industry’s commodification of Black male bodies, is the notion that the Black male body is used for entertainment and athletic purposes, but then is disregarded when he attempts to grant himself his own personhood or is unable to play. Black boys may aspire to be professional athletes to escape poverty or a destructive homelife, but one may pick up on the sneaking suspicion that these boys did not have this idea autonomously: white supremacy over Black bodies is tactful. People in power discourage these boys from entering occupations that require too much thinking power or gives them a platform in which they can speak on their own behalf. The commodification arguably extends to the expendable nature of Black male bodies, in the eyes of majority culture and people in power. Colin Kaepernick, one of many athletes of color that has protested systematic racism and police brutality, is facing serious backlash and job loss after attempting to use his