The Social Influence of Athletes

In our society sports are a very important social construction. As sports continue to grow, they are becoming more integrated into the major spheres of social life. Sports have become an entity, due to the fact that they not only create entertainment and jobs; sports have become a huge platform for various causes. Sports are extremely important to our society and have very powerful influences. Though experiences vary from person to person, most people have some sort of experience with sports. I personally have experienced sports more from the spectator and participant stance, and have been impacted from each perspective a great deal. Compared to sophomore safety, Jamal Adams my sports experience has been very different from impact and perspective.

Athletes deserve the money they receive because of their hard work, dedication, and commitment to their passion. They wouldn 't be where they 're at just sitting on the couch all day long doing nothing. They put a lot of time and effort into their futures. Most people don 't even realize the sacrifices that a pro

Although they’re famous, professional athletes should not be using this status as a way to make people protest. You can make a difference too, no matter what your status is. Together, we can make the world a better

Athletes have major social status, and because of this their opinions would be able to make a momentous impact on the people. If they were to voice their opinions then they could attract a large following and change could be made. But the question still stands, is it their responsibility to make a change and voice their opinion? In order to formulate

Athletes are dominated, managed, and controlled. They do not receive a wage compensation for their contribution to economic returns. Athletes are sometimes mistreated physically and mentally; and denied rights and freedoms of other citizens. The debate over whether or not to pay collegiate athletes, specifically Division 1, has increased greatly. Many people believe college athletic associations; such as the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Associations) treat college athletes unfairly. College athletes have been dedicating time, hard work, and much more to their schools' athletic departments. People are making millions of dollars off of these athletes while, they are living in poverty. Things need to change; these players need to

Sports were created for the enjoyment of beings and friendly competition. Today society has shifted the friendly competition to more of a money based system rather than fun and games. The typical athletes’ road to success is starting from a young age, playing in high school, and then receiving a scholarship for College and all athletes overall objective is to constantly get better and play professionally. Universities have really manipulated athletes in the world today giving them “free education” for the exchange of their blood, sweet, and tears, while they receive revenue that athletes bring in yearly. It is very evident that College athletes deserve to be paid, and universities need to find a way to pay them a reasonably amount because

Sports participation is something that is looked at closely in todays society because of the amount of participants there are in sports today. Social classes and participation is heavily influenced by the way people live their lives, where they live, what country they live in , and perhaps most importantly, the socioeconomic class they may fall into. In some understatements, sports may serve as an identifier of what social class a family or individual may fall into, simply by looking at who we are dealing with and what sport this individual may play. As a student in a sport sociology class we find trends in countries worldwide when comparing certain sport involvement and social class. Throughout this essay I will have three arguments that will support my point about social class and participation in sports. My first point will be how economic resources affect the middle-class, second will be how social capital affects middle-class sports, and lastly lower-class and participation in sports.

Sports, admittedly, have had a huge impact on our culture. Some of us even use sports as an excuse to gather our family for some quality time with each other, whether they just hangout for the sake of entertainment or engage in a meaningful conversation full of fervid passion when discussing spectacular plays, athletes, and coaches. However, people talk about the multitude of positive traits that sports are associated with, one must be informed about the abundance of issues that sports face; issues that keep sports from being what we want it to be- free from malicious intent and more along the lines of a peaceful collaboration perpetuated by authentic equality; coming together to proclaim our love for the game. Inequality, for example, is

In today’s society many will argue whether or not professional athletes are overpaid. In the present time athletes are being paid phenomenally large amounts of money for their entertainment. It is my claim that all professional athletes are overpaid because they do not offer society an essential function that improves or enhances our world in comparison to other professionals such as medical doctors, lawyers, and teachers. Society does not value entertainment enough to warrant such high salaries such as those of many professional athletes. There is no reason that these athletes should demand these tremendous amounts of money. This is why you have to put into question their reasoning for demanding

This post is a bit different from what I normally write. I am passionate about basketball, but it’s impossible to ignore recent events. So, I decided to combine the two. All over social media you have seen hashtags, debates and footage of recent tragedies. Lives have been lost; from the incidents of Alton Sterling, Philando Castile and the Dallas event. Protests are taking place across the country. In times like this, one conversation I hear is why don’t athletes/entertainers speak out? All of the money they make and influence they have; why don’t they do more? Last month (yes it’s been a month already) we said goodbye to one of the most outspoken athletes of his time. Muhammad Ali We may never have another Muhammad Ali but, what athletes

Throughout generations, social mobility has become something everyone wants to attain in their lifetime. Through social mobility comes a better and more stable life. There are many ways to achieve maximum mobility, which include getting a higher education and reducing risk in your life. There are also a lot of myths towards this concept that has been portrayed by the media and one of the myths is the social mobility gained by a person playing a sport. Americans in today's world believe that sports are the path we should take to have full financial and social flexibility. Examples leading to this conclusion are obvious as we see kids from poor areas escalate their nobility and capital through their abilities to compete in sports. From the million-dollar contracts and endorsement deals, the ideology behind being an athlete is that your social mobility will rise, but many statistics will prove otherwise. Although it is possible for athletes to gain revenue and fame, the overall ideology of sports of gaining maximum social flexibility from being involved in a sport is a myth.

"Politics has come to be considered not only inappropriate in the arena of sports, but actually antithetical to it," Zirin says. "We want so much to see sports solely as an arena of play, not seriousness. But here's the thing, this can cheapen not only the greatness and relevance of sports to us as a society, but also the courage of the athletes" (The Nation). The pursuit of fame, wealth and status can blind the human conscious, which is why it is important for us to encourage athletes to speak their minds. As a nation, we should not silence the athletes, because it is the truly courageous athletes who have the audacity to stand up when it’s not popular. Sports should be used as a platform for a certain kind of politics: militarism,

Sport sociology examines sports as a part of cultural and social life, and adds a different dimension and perspective to the study of sport and exercise. More specifically, sport sociology examines the relationship between sports and society and seeks answers to many issues and questions regarding sport and culture. Sociology of sport poses critical and controversial issues; additionally, sports are considered a microcosm of society, the same social issues that exist in larger society also exist in sport culture. I have chosen eight peer-reviewed Sociological Journals to expand upon the understanding of this topic that I found to be the most relevant and offer diverse yet complete perspectives on sports.

Sport plays a huge role in today’s society. It contributes to one’s health and fitness, social interaction, social and motor skills, patriotism, fun and entertainment. It also stimulates the economy and tourism leading to interaction between different cultures, for example the Olympics, and sport role models. Sports clearly are an important part of cultures and societies around the world as such events as the Olympics

Regarding the mental side again, the scout could interview each athlete and see what were the driving factors regarding why they were participating in swimming? Maybe the scout would be skilled with good discernment and the ability to detect if the athlete had any aspects of self-determination in the continuum from extrinsic to intrinsic with the host of regulatory styles: external (driving by external reward), introjected (tied to internal reward and punishments), identified (self-determined without enjoyment), and internal (also known as intrinsic motivation as the athlete is self-determined and inspired by the inherent pleasure of the activity) (Duda & Treasure, 2015).