This proposal aims to highlight three major concerns for African-American athletes who are preparing to transition out of sports or have done so already. These major highlights will shine on how the Black athlete identifies within his culture and sport, second, how academic expectations can reflect ‘preparation’ for transitioning out of sport, and lastly, understanding the athlete’s readiness to transition out of their athletic identity. Also, the research will highlight social and educational implications that need solutions.
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
Do student athletes make the most of their opportunity to obtain a post-secondary education? Do they have the same academic success as those students that are not athletes? Are student athletes just “dumb jocks?” The answers to these questions might surprise you. Much research has been done to dispel the myth that athletes going to college are only there to play sports with little regard to their education. Programs have been created to assure that colleges and universities hold athletes to the same standards as the everyday student. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has decided that the “magic number” to put the “student” back into “student-athlete” is 925 (Hamilton).
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.
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
Many people have written articles about their experience with athletics, especially with high school and college-level athletics. Because athletics are so often intertwined with these formative moments in one’s life, as well as with normative ideals of masculinity, they are ideal contexts in which to write about gender identity. Thomas Rogers’ essay “The College Hazing that Changed My Life,” originally published on Salon.com in 2011, and Joe Mackall’s essay “Words of my Youth” both deal with athletics as a way into discussing gender identity. Although the essays are very different, they both deal with a very similar theme: how difficult it is to develop a masculine identity, particularly within a sporting context, in a world that is increasingly accepting of different gender identities.
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
When the group of male students are first introduced to their summer training camp, students are roomed with someone of the opposite race, it begins a long and hard road for them to move past some of their preconceptions. At first players are instructed to learn more about every player of both race. But there are major turning points such as when black and white players finally see past differences that are imposed, and they begin to connect and become better athletes and people. I see the camp as an ideal for a movement for the team to get away from the bias of their community and grow together as a team. Most of the young men start to see the bigger picture and that they all want to win. Although this is a gradual process, most of them gain each other’s respect and friendship by the end of the trip.
Throughout American history, sports has always been a big topic. Many Americans view sports as a part of their culture and an influence in their lives. There are many opportunities to play sports such as basketball, football, golf, baseball, ect. However, not everybody had equal opportunities to play sports before there were major changes in sports history. One of these major changes included other ethnicity groups and skin colored people to be allowed to play sports. African American athletes were one of the main groups of people that changed this view. They were not allowed or qualified to play sports because of their skin color and background. Since the 1800’s, African Americans the views of the people in the United States of blacks in sports
Shaun Powell's book, “Souled Out? How Blacks Are Winning and Losing in Sports” scrutinizes the paradoxes of African-American success in sports. Perturbed predominantly with the erroneous perceived accomplishment of equality through sports across the world, Powell offers his work as a portrayal of the evolution of African-american athletes over time and compares past struggles with modern day issues. Powell discusses how African American’s are both winning and losing in sports, but ultimately emphasizes the negative aspects of the on-going crisis. Powell, a well-known journalist, reviews and discusses how education, professional activism, media, and community relate and affect African-Americans in sports, therefore persuasively conveying his argument.
In today’s modern society, it’s quite hard to imagine watching professional sports without black athletes. Imagine NBA without Michael Jordan or LeBron James. However, in the older days, black athletes were not given an opportunity to compete in professional sports and were often segregated from the white athletes.
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
I would like to discuss the issue of race and ethnicity in sports. We will also explore the bigger questions. How much does race and ethnicity matter in the sports world? Are certain races dominant in certain sports? Is there a difference in how we treat players based on race and ethnicity? Does it matter? I would like to answer some of these questions and gain a better understanding of how much of a part they play.
basketball, soccer, and tennis. I loved each and every one of these sports in a
The transition out of sport can be problematic for professional, elite, collegiate, and high school athletes. In addition, Warriner and Lavallee (2008) stated that the retirement process is specific to the individual. It is imperative to also evaluate athletes’ transition out of sport on an individual level. Before evaluating the literature, it is important to understand the majority of research that has documented individual perspectives is predominantly qualitative. Most studies utilized small sample sizes with semi-structured interviews. However, some authors utilized various quantitative measures as well, i.e., the Athlete Retirement Questionnaire (AIQ), the Life After Sports Scale (LASS), the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS), and the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS). Therefore, validation of the findings will be determined by the level of consistency among the different studies.