Student Athlete Stereotypes

Competitive and professional sports is a cardinal fixture in the lives of billions all across the globe. Sport is cherished and idolized by many as it gives the viewers loads of entertainment as well as a sense of pride. Sport has the ability to unite entire nations as there is a mutual sentiment attached to the desire of wanting your team to outperform the rest, it is all based on the notion that an athlete or team is representing you as an individual and an entire country. Professional athletes often have a certain stigma attached to them - they make tons of money, drive exotic sports cars, live in fancy houses, travel all over the world, they have achieved this by doing what they love day in and day out – by playing sport.

It is sad to see how movies portray the stereotype of how football players are not as bright as the students around them. Stereotypes are produced by individuals that see people in a way shown by the person belonged to a group. These stereotypes and misconceptions are everywhere because people are easy to judge by the way they appear. People never use the time to get to know the person because of the lack of knowledge of the individual has of the person’s group belonged to. Over the course of decades, stereotypes have been growing much larger and have been used in social media. Shows and cartoons play a role as well in stereotypes and it is shown to kids which give them that idea of the group of people that

I am a girl. I am blonde. I am a college student. I am an athlete. I am a girl, so I am only concerned with my physical appearance. I am blonde, so I am unintelligent and gullible. I am a college student, so I go out and party every weekend. I am an athlete, so I do not do well in school.

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

It’s shaping up to be a trying year for the NCAA as two former athletes have come forward in the past week and filed a class action lawsuit against them for “academic fraud in its members schools’ athletic programs.” While some think this couldn’t get worse, from the numerous unacknowledged complaints from over the last century, a large number of the student athletes on the receiving end of less than stellar educations were African-American student athletes—especially in revenue-producing sports like basketball and football.

For these students, their academic pursuit is warded off by negatives such as being underprepared for college and not ready for the rigor of college academics (Reynolds, Lacey, Dawlah Fisher, and Kenyatta Cavil). A large portion of young black children are not going to be prepared for college life because of the athletic environment that they are placed in at a young age. College is commercialized in every aspect of the experience. Thus, for millions of black youth who aspire to becoming a professional athlete as a major goal, education matters only to the extent that maintaining eligibility to participate in sports in elementary and secondary schools through college is necessary in order to fulfill externally imposed requirements (Marvin, Dawkins). Today’s generation of a good grade is a 70 or higher. A child can carry that type of mind-set throughout their entire school experience until college approaches. The school systems are settling for mediocre and colleges are expecting exceptional. School, media, and surroundings of the young generation create this visual of these hopeful children getting into a college through athletics and mediocre academics.

Unlike African-American athlete-students, the high-achieving African-American student-athletes are more capable of surviving the rigorous demands of college life and academics (Harper pp. 18 cited Martin et al pp. 277-295). As a result, some coaches may use student-athletes as role models for their scholarship athletes who are academically challenged. Moreover, these student-athletes are enrolled and accepted under the same enrollment requirements at the general student population and must maintain the same academic standards. As a result, high-achieving student-athletes tend to graduate within four years and continue their post-college in successful careers and living productive lives (Harper p. 18 cited Martin et al pp. 277-295). Despite all these facts, the stereotypical mindsets of college recruiters continue with the belief that African-American athlete-students from disadvantaged communities and less prestigious high schools are better recruits, and the remaining scholarships are for White athletes from advantaged communities and prestigious high school (Anderson 363-365). As a high-achieving African-American male athlete, I guess the old idiom applies in my case, “Damned if you do,

Vince Lombardi quoted “Football is like life it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication and respect for authority.”. Statistically speaking, the average African-American male going to college makes up just 5.5% of the overall college students. However, a young man by the name of Titus McFarland has found a dream of his, latched onto it and found it led him to prosper in college while doing the sport he loves. Finding a balance in the specifics of college, sports, and social life has empowered him to be able to look forward to the future and all the positive fortunes it holds.

“Okay I’ll sign this paper, but this doesn’t mean you’re excused and you can’t make up the participation points you’ll miss.”

African American males have excelled in many collegiate sports today. The main sports they are funneled in to excel are football, basketball, and track. In the past, African American men could participate in the sports but were not given respect. Now young African American men are being recruited for their hard work and God-given talents to play on a collegiate team. The demographics of African American athletes in sports especially division I has increased over time. In a 2012 report, African American males compromised 22 percent of all of division I athletics, in football 43.2 percent, and in basketball 57.2 percent (Lapchick, Hoff, and Kaiser 2013). Also, when they progress to the next level demographics show that approximately

Moreover, my exposure to an athletic environment for the past 14 years has instilled upon me leadership, discipline, core values, strong work ethics and time management. Accordingly, these components have been instrumental in my academic successes over the course of my educational journey. Furthermore, my strong religious beliefs and strong family support mean everything to me; therefore, I always have the necessary provisions to fight against the many negative challenges athletes encounter in our society. Nevertheless, one challenge still remains in forefront of some people’s mind, the fact that I an African-American man who plays college football, more than likely with mediocre grades. However, on February 1, 2017 at 12:00 p.m., the UTSA Honors College defined me as much more than an athlete. On this day, I was a UTSA Student with a 3.8 G.P.A. and an opportunity for acceptance into the prestigious UTSA Honors College, and by the way, I happened to play football. Over the course of my football career, I continue to encourage and demonstrate leadership and academic excellence as a way

Taking the counselor’s advice, my subject tried out for football, which led him into the educational world of the black athlete. “I became somewhat of an ‘untouchable’ as far as the teachers were concerned. My coaches got tutors for me, but instead of helping me with my homework they sort of did it for me.” The fact that my subject was a good student, an intelligent student, became overshadowed by the idea that the only way he would be able to go to college was through sports.

Sports can date back to prehistoric times and throughout history sports have continued to advance, more sports have been created and the rules and regulations have been fined tuned over the years to better fit our modern perception of them. In America, sports are a huge part of our culture and one of the very popular sports in America in basketball. Basketball was invented by Dr. James Naismith in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1891. After 1891, the popularity of basketball has erupted. In the modern world, basketball has been incorporated into our daily lives.

“Jock” is a term people use in a negative way. People think it’s a person who is athletic that is a bully and really stupid. That is a stereotype! A stereotype could be from your physical traits to how you act and they are based on your ethnicity, sex, etc... Now back to my point about the term “jock” , people have been using it for so long to degrade athletes that they forgot the real meaning of a jock. It is an enthusiast or participant in a specified activity. So how does someone that likes a particular activity become a person that is dumb and bullies?

In US sports, Asian or Asian American athletes are almost nonexistent, particularly in basketball, football, and hockey. When they do appear, “these athletes may be devalued, dismissed, and/or simply go unnoticed and unconsidered.” In a sports world dominated by Black and White, Asian athletes are being denied roles due to their perceived abilities. According to “The Jeremy Lin Effect: Being an Asian Sport Psychology Consultant in a Black and White World”, Alexander Brian Yu, Thomas Nguyen, and Trent Petrie declare that Asian and Asian American athletes are being stereotyped which decreases the opportunities they are given to participate in professional sports in the United States.