Unit 4 Research Questions

When looking at the topic of academic success of African American student athletes you need to look at all the factors involved. The problems that African American student athletes face are much the same that all African American students at higher education institutions face but the student athletes have other stressors that the normal students do not have. Such as In addition to the daily student routine (attending classes, going to the cafeteria, and participating in social events), student athletes also have their sport-related activities (practicing every day, visiting the athletic trainer for injury treatment, traveling for away games, studying team plays) (Watt, Moore 2001).

Lebron James and Freddy Adu are both young athletes and with millions in their pockets with a countless number of endorsement contracts. Whether it is high school athletes skipping college and discontinuing the development of their education for millions of dollars, or teenagers signing contracts with businesses for massive amounts of money, youth sports programs are changing rapidly. However, American high school athletes are not financially, physically, or mentally prepared to tackle and endure the pressures of professional sports.

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.

The NCAA has relied heavily on the age-old characterization of college athletes as “amateurs” who are first and foremost “student-athletes” (Sanderson and Siegfried). Because they are considered students and

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.

Being able to see an African American athlete on T.V sounds unbelievable. A high percentage of the youth go through their entire childhood hoping and dreaming of becoming a legacy just like the people on T.V. Unfortunately, not everything they see on T.V is true and becoming like those people on T.V is nearly impossible. Therefore, the representation of African Americans in professional sports has had a positive impact in the trajectories of black adolescent’s academic readiness and pursuits. This is due to professional athletes serve as an example to young African American men. In addition, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) requires players to maintain a certain grade point average (GPA). Furthermore, African American athletes

There are these ongoing stereotypes that student athletes are “dumb,” “lazy,” and “privileged.” It’s understandable that people believe these stereotypes, news magazines and reports are always talking about how athletes are “coddled” and “cheat” their way to success. Though it is nowhere near true for the majority of student athletes, a select few situations encourage this negative categorization of us, thus putting student athletes under even more pressure to perform. Student athletes are constantly misjudged and the assumptions are affecting us.

A fairly large percentage of today’s youth participate in at least one sport. Some of these kids will learn that their interest in athletics is low, and either quit or give very little effort. However, many of these young ballers dream of one day donning the uniform of their local high school and making their community proud. This transition is not an easy one, and is not completed without dedication and hard work. Even though the sports themselves are the same, youth athletics differs from high school athletics in rule enforcement, opponent skill level, and commitment required.

Evaluating the difficulty of being an athlete and in good academic standing, it is understandable that some people will agree with Mr. Vroon’s claim that smart students cannot be athletes. According to Beron, J. Kurt and Alex R. Piquero, Student athletes (SAs), however, must focus on GPA during their collegiate career. . . [h]owever, they are required to “be in good academic standing and make satisfactory progress toward a degree as determined by the institution,” which invariably includes campus-level GPA requirements” (Determinants) (143). SAs or student athletes are required to be in good academic standing in order to have a collegiate career which contradicts with Mr. Vroon’s claim that smart students cannot be athletes; furthermore, athletes have an advantage over ordinary students because if their career in sports fails they have their degree or degrees to fall back on. According to the authors, both male and female student athletes had higher grade point averages due to encouragement from their coaches towards their majors and if their parent or parents had a college degree (147). If these conditions are met a

Despite the many stereotypes that are connected with being a student athlete, student athletes in general are held to much higher standards by their institutions. Before a prospective student athlete even enters college, they are made fully aware of the academic standings and requirements of the college they choose. Although the academic requirements vary from college to college, the standards are still held high for all student athletes. The transition into college can be exceptionally difficult especially for the

Snyder, E., & Spreitzer, E. (1990). Does participation in interscholastic athletics affect adult development? A longitudinal analysis of an 18-24 age cohort. Youth & Society, 25(3),

Most people can argue that sports have been a big part of the lives of young americans for a long time. Whether it was basketball, soccer, football, or dance, three out of four of today’s adults played at least one sport when they were in grade school (Datz). However, despite the fact that millions of people play sports, it has been predicted that by 2020, 27% of American high schools will no longer have athletics. Budget cuts are making it harder and harder to afford school sports, leaving the schools no choice but to take them away. The biggest issue is, though, that without sports, students are losing the many benefits that come with being an athlete. From the fact that students who play sports gain qualities that will help them succeed

EXS 496 Final Project Participation in youth sports can be extremely beneficial to children – the ability to form lasting friendships, be an active member of a team, and development of physical skills and abilities. However, youth sports can be controversial, and often political. Many coaches of youth sports participate in favoritism of their players or use dictator-like coaching methods to yield the result they desire. Additionally, the risk of injury, especially due to specialization at a young age, is a major concern for child athletes. After observing a youth basketball game, watching several sports-related movies, and learning a vast amount of information regarding sports in American culture, I have come to the conclusion that participation

In the article “Teens involved in physical activity”. The author conducted a study where he examined students that weren't involved in physical activity and kids that were. He found out that 80% of students he studied that were involved in physical activity had 4 points or higher gpa than kids who weren't involved in physical activity. This means the kids who play sports seem to do better academically than students who don't

-What age should schools start teaching about racism in order to prevent having racist environments in the older grades?