While sports are something that both men and women participate in, through the way sport is portrayed in magazines and television we can see what is more valued between men and women sports. For this entry I chose to look at how gender is displayed in sport through sport magazines-especially in who makes it on the cover page. When looking at the Sports Illustrated covers throughout the last year I began to notice a pattern that I don't believe was a coincidence. Throughout the whole year there were only three times that a women was seen on the cover: once was a women police officer standing next to two other male officers, and the other two were of the model Kate Upton posing with baseball players or for their classic swimsuit addition. In none of the covers were female athletes seen in action shots like their male counterparts and instead the only women on the covers were models not athletes. For the rest of the covers, males were shown playing football, basketball, hockey and baseball. Their photos ranged from action shots to masculine poses in their uniforms displaying the classic toughness and intimidation we associate with masculinity. This trend that was noticed with these magazine covers matches the way we view male and female athletes. We place very little importance in female sports and when they are noticed it is through sexualization of these athletes through their uniforms or the pictures of them that do make it in the magazines. Men's sports is what is most important to us in our society and the different ways we choose to idealize them can be seen in these covers. My findings seem to match the findings of other scholars about the way gender is used in our society. Authors Mandie Brandt and Adelia Carstens (2011) say that although we are still striving for gender equality in sport, the media is still dominated by stereotypes of women athletes. Due to this, women continue to be seen as objects and weak athletes as opposed to the strong and competitive athletes they really are. In the same way the men dominate sport culture, they also then dominate in the media.
References:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/magazine/photos/1305/si-covers-2013/96/
BRANDT, M., & CARSTENS, A. (2011). VISUELE STEREOTIPERING VAN SPORTVROUE IN DIE SPORTMEDIA. / Visual stereotyping of sportswomen in the sports media. South African Journal For Research In Sport, Physical Education & Recreation (SAJR SPER), 33(2), 1-15.
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Monday, February 17, 2014
Reflecting on the shame of college sports: Should NCAA Div 1 Basketball and Football players get paid?
For several years there has been a debate about whether or not college athletes should be paid for playing. There are many parts to both sides of the debate and a lack of agreement is what is keeping it from reaching a solution. Those who are for paying these division one athletes say that the institutions that have collegiate sports are making millions of dollars in profits from these athletes and the games being televised. Journalist Taylor Branch wrote in their article "The Shame of College Sports" that "football teams like Texas, Georgia, Florida, Michigan, and Penn State make between $40 million-$80 million in profits a year, even after paying coaches multimillion dollar salaries" (Branch 2011:1). In addition these athletes that play in college are coming here on scholarship and therefore spending their entire time playing sports. This leaves no time to get a job and make an income to cover extra things the university doesn't cover. These athletes give all their time to their sport and in turn makes the university millions of dollars while they receive none. Many of these kids come from low income areas and don't get the kind of money that other students who go to the school receives. Therefore some feel that players receiving a small salary for the work and commitment they give is the appropriate measure to take.
On the flip side is the argument that college athletes should not get paid. To begin with paying college athletes takes it from being a more mature sport to the same as professional sports. In addition many feel that they don't need extra money in order to play sports since the university is already covering their tuition, board, books, and food. Since many are here on scholarship they are already taken care of by the university. Also, there is already so much money being spent on college sports that paying athletes an additional salary on top would cost too much money that the universities doesn't have. Today universities already close early to accommodate games, those who should be ineligible to play still sneak by with low grades and overall academics is not the most important things for these athletes. Therefore, if we added a salary on top of things, overall focus around education would decline even more.
Although I have never really thought about this debate, after thinking about it I don't think that college athletes should be paid. A large part of what makes college sports so enjoyable to watch is that players aren't getting paid to work hard and you can tell the difference in they way they play in comparison to professional sports. Also, college athletes have never been paid before so to now start paying them would take away from the tradition of college sports and completely change the way they are. I don't feel that universities and coaches should profit as much as they do from these athletes but I feel that the solution is restructuring the way universities, coaches, networks, and sponsors work with college athletes instead of throwing out more money to create a salary for these athletes.
On the flip side is the argument that college athletes should not get paid. To begin with paying college athletes takes it from being a more mature sport to the same as professional sports. In addition many feel that they don't need extra money in order to play sports since the university is already covering their tuition, board, books, and food. Since many are here on scholarship they are already taken care of by the university. Also, there is already so much money being spent on college sports that paying athletes an additional salary on top would cost too much money that the universities doesn't have. Today universities already close early to accommodate games, those who should be ineligible to play still sneak by with low grades and overall academics is not the most important things for these athletes. Therefore, if we added a salary on top of things, overall focus around education would decline even more.
Although I have never really thought about this debate, after thinking about it I don't think that college athletes should be paid. A large part of what makes college sports so enjoyable to watch is that players aren't getting paid to work hard and you can tell the difference in they way they play in comparison to professional sports. Also, college athletes have never been paid before so to now start paying them would take away from the tradition of college sports and completely change the way they are. I don't feel that universities and coaches should profit as much as they do from these athletes but I feel that the solution is restructuring the way universities, coaches, networks, and sponsors work with college athletes instead of throwing out more money to create a salary for these athletes.
Friday, February 14, 2014
High School Sport
Sports in high school play a large part in what makes the high school experience what it is. The big football games on friday nights were enough to make everyone excited. High school sport emerged in the early 1900's during a time when there was still extreme racism and sexism. They were modeled after the English public school system and became a way to provide student athletes with opportunities and structure. Today the objectives of high school sport are to bring together the school community as well as prepare athletes for the possibility of college sport and to win against other schools proving yours is the best. Sport in high school can give student athletes a sense of discipline and structure causing many to become a better student than they would have otherwise for fear of not being eligible to play. In some cases these goals are met in the cases of giving opportunities for higher education to those who would not be able to get one without sport. It also teaches student athletes leadership, discipline and determination for a goal. In other instances it can become an added pressure that takes all the fun out of the game. In high school there is no longer the mentality of equal play time and instead it changes to tryout and mean coaches whose only concern is winning. Some high schools value their sports just as much as they would value a professional sport with the cost of winning just as high. Issues arise when these players become all about the game and not at all about school. Coaches, parents and even some teachers care only about their athlete getting to play for a good college and getting noticed by scouts. Teenagers already deal with so much pressure from parents and peers that those who play sports can feel like the pressure is too overwhelming. Another problem is that sometimes the players loose the power to make their own decisions about their future with their colleges, teams and daily schedules being made for them by coaches and parents. One solution to these problems could be to take a step back as a society and treat high school sports they way we treat club sports or even middle school sports. In those days playing used to be fun and not constant stress. If we made sure the game stayed about enjoying the game, the issues that have arisen with high school sports can go away.
Monday, February 10, 2014
Once the Cheering Stops: The life of a retired pro-athlete
When an athlete makes it to the pros their life completely changes. In the video "Broke" the athletes that were interviewed talked about the new lifestyle they enter once they start making large sums of money. Getting so much money so quickly causes these athletes to become careless with their money and by retirement they are in serious debt. During the 90's America had a serious spending problem and this rolled over into the athletes. Instead of saving their newly earned millions athletes spent it on cars, houses, jewelry, clothes and unnecessary things. In the video "Broke" athletes said they could spend $10,000 a week. This lavish spending left no money when their career ended. In the NFL there is no guaranteed contracts so this sudden lack of income leaves athletes with mortgages they can't pay and debt piling up. The EPSN article said how athletes don't realize that they can't touch their pensions and 401K until they are in their late forties or fifties. This leaves many years where those who just retired need to figure out what is next. Some athletes try and get a job and others spiral downward into trouble.
The transition from playing professional sports to living in the day to day world can be tough on many players. Both the NY Times article and the ESPN article discussed how athletes receive so much money when they are signed but they never get any financial education on how to save their money to avoid debt and bankruptcy in the future. Once retried many need to find out what skills they have outside of playing sports that can get them a job so they can continue to have an income. In addition many athletes have experienced serious injuries, which can leave them with memory loss and other serious medical conditions. Having several years of making a lot of money creates terrible and careless spending habits that are hard to break once retired. Some continue to spend lavishly with money they don't have leaving them in financial messes and sometimes leading them to jail. The life after retirement is such a struggle for athletes because they go from living a way that most people never get to experience to them having to make serious adjustments and a new way to make money. In our culture we have such an obsession with spending and making money that we don't think about the consequences that can happen once the money is gone. Since success in sports in our culture is determined by the amount of money one makes, living largely is just another way athletes can show off their success. While it makes a lot of sense why these athletes get into such financial trouble after retirement it is something I have never thought of before. I think that in order to stop the problem we need to teach players how to handle their money and the uncertainties that go along with playing professional sports, including how long a career might be. In addition we as a society needs to stop defining success as who is making the most money and living the most elaborately.
The transition from playing professional sports to living in the day to day world can be tough on many players. Both the NY Times article and the ESPN article discussed how athletes receive so much money when they are signed but they never get any financial education on how to save their money to avoid debt and bankruptcy in the future. Once retried many need to find out what skills they have outside of playing sports that can get them a job so they can continue to have an income. In addition many athletes have experienced serious injuries, which can leave them with memory loss and other serious medical conditions. Having several years of making a lot of money creates terrible and careless spending habits that are hard to break once retired. Some continue to spend lavishly with money they don't have leaving them in financial messes and sometimes leading them to jail. The life after retirement is such a struggle for athletes because they go from living a way that most people never get to experience to them having to make serious adjustments and a new way to make money. In our culture we have such an obsession with spending and making money that we don't think about the consequences that can happen once the money is gone. Since success in sports in our culture is determined by the amount of money one makes, living largely is just another way athletes can show off their success. While it makes a lot of sense why these athletes get into such financial trouble after retirement it is something I have never thought of before. I think that in order to stop the problem we need to teach players how to handle their money and the uncertainties that go along with playing professional sports, including how long a career might be. In addition we as a society needs to stop defining success as who is making the most money and living the most elaborately.
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Sport, Politics, and the Olympics
1972 Munich Germany Olympic Games and the Israeli Hostage Situation
During the 1972 Olympic Games that were held in Munich Germany, a group of 11 Israeli olympic athletes were kidnapped and held hostage by a 9 members of a Palestinian terrorist group called Black September. These terrorist groups broke into the Olympic Village where the athletes were sleeping and took members of the Israel olympic team hostage. They demanded for release of prisoners who were held in Israeli jails along with the release of two German terrorists that were held in German prisons. Two of the hostages were killed within minutes of being captured after trying to injure the attackers and the other nine were killed at the airport during a failed rescue attempt when being transferred by the attackers to a helicopter. In addition, five of the terrorists were also killed. After the events that took place the IOC decided that the games must go on saying that he didn't want the incident to halt the games. There was a memorial service where many countries flew their flags at half staff with the exception of Arab countries who flew their flags high to honor the Palestinian terrorist group. Even though the games continued many athletes left the game saying that the spirit of the games were gone and it was too hard to compete after what had just happened.
Using the five political uses of sport in the reading by Eitzen & Sage, I would say that this event falls under sport as a vehicle of change. In this event members of the Black September used the Olympic games as their opportunity to capture people they saw as enemies and used them to try and fill their demands. After this event security measures and the way the protect these athletes has changed and increased drastically in future games. I don't think that sports is "pure and devoid of political interference" at all. Many sports events have been used to make subtle political statements like when the African American athletes on the US team put up a black power salute during a time when there was severe segregation and violence in America. Also, today football games fly military jets before the games and even though it is important to give thanks and appreciation, the NFL constantly has military appreciation days during the games. In addition, many athletes use their time in the spotlight to show their stance on issues, like Tim Tebow making public his stance on abortion. In the same way we say there should be a separation of church and state but they are usually intertwined, we say there should be a separation of sport and politics but there seldom is one.
References:
Eitzen D.S & Sage G.H. (2009). Sociology of North American Sport. Boulder, Paradigm Publishers: chapter 9:206
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munich_massacre
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1972_Summer_Olympics
During the 1972 Olympic Games that were held in Munich Germany, a group of 11 Israeli olympic athletes were kidnapped and held hostage by a 9 members of a Palestinian terrorist group called Black September. These terrorist groups broke into the Olympic Village where the athletes were sleeping and took members of the Israel olympic team hostage. They demanded for release of prisoners who were held in Israeli jails along with the release of two German terrorists that were held in German prisons. Two of the hostages were killed within minutes of being captured after trying to injure the attackers and the other nine were killed at the airport during a failed rescue attempt when being transferred by the attackers to a helicopter. In addition, five of the terrorists were also killed. After the events that took place the IOC decided that the games must go on saying that he didn't want the incident to halt the games. There was a memorial service where many countries flew their flags at half staff with the exception of Arab countries who flew their flags high to honor the Palestinian terrorist group. Even though the games continued many athletes left the game saying that the spirit of the games were gone and it was too hard to compete after what had just happened.
Using the five political uses of sport in the reading by Eitzen & Sage, I would say that this event falls under sport as a vehicle of change. In this event members of the Black September used the Olympic games as their opportunity to capture people they saw as enemies and used them to try and fill their demands. After this event security measures and the way the protect these athletes has changed and increased drastically in future games. I don't think that sports is "pure and devoid of political interference" at all. Many sports events have been used to make subtle political statements like when the African American athletes on the US team put up a black power salute during a time when there was severe segregation and violence in America. Also, today football games fly military jets before the games and even though it is important to give thanks and appreciation, the NFL constantly has military appreciation days during the games. In addition, many athletes use their time in the spotlight to show their stance on issues, like Tim Tebow making public his stance on abortion. In the same way we say there should be a separation of church and state but they are usually intertwined, we say there should be a separation of sport and politics but there seldom is one.
References:
Eitzen D.S & Sage G.H. (2009). Sociology of North American Sport. Boulder, Paradigm Publishers: chapter 9:206
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munich_massacre
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1972_Summer_Olympics
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