Williams Sister Article

I disagreed with a lot that the article, “Sister Act VI: Venus and Serena Williams at Indian Wells: “Sincere Fictions” and White Racism.  Although I think racism is still evident in today’s world and in sports, I think that articles just like this one only encourage for racism to still exist.  I think that people tend to make something out of nothing a lot of times.  Athletes are looked at under a microscope constantly and everything that is said and is done that revolves around them is leaked to the media instantly.  I believe that if people and the media keep talking about how racism is still a major issue of sports and society it will always be an issue in society.  This article talks about how Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, and the Williams sisters got an enormous amount of endorsement deals and media publicity because they were black. However I think they got the attention that they received because they are the best athletes in the sport.  Not only were they the best, they were the best by a landslide.  They have earned the most attention and endorsement deals.  I did find it interesting that people were making racial comments at Indian Wells in 2001.  However, the article describes toward the end that the fans were most likely frustrated with the match between Venus and Serena not happening and the idea that their father fixed the outcome.  This scenario seems to happen a lot more than it needs to happen.  A comment that is made is not necessarily racist is blown up through the media when in actuality the fans were just expressing their content about not getting their money’s worth for the game.  In today’s sport news, Jeremy Lin has blown up the media as an Asian American point guard for the New York Knicks.  His story is a really great story about how he had to work very hard to finally earn playing time.  However, his hard work is often looked over and the excuse is made up that he simply just got overlooked talent wise because of his skin color.  SportsCenter and other ESPN shows such as First Take talked a great deal about the racial issues when that may not have even have been the real factor that even mattered.

-Tim McLellan

Michael Jordan

Today in class we discussed the impact of Michael Jordan not only on the sport of basketball but also with his brand and other items he is associated with.  It brought up a great question to think about; will there ever be another athlete that will have the same impact as him?  In my opinion not only was Michael Jordan the best to ever play the game of basketball but because of his fame and positive image his popularity still exists years after his retirement.  I’ve never thought too much until we talked about it in class, but lots of the top athletes today are associated with something negative, (ex. Kobe’s rape, Lebron’s “decision”) something that I don’t associated when I think of Michael Jordan (until maybe today when we talked about some of this flaws).

Maybe it was because I was so young when Michael Jordan played and I just see him as such a positive figure because of the great athlete he was.  Someone in our class mentioned today that athletes get paid to compete in their particular sport and not to speak on their political/religious views.  I think it’s a great point; Michael Jordan was smart to stay out of the political spotlight because you can’t please everyone and no matter what you’re going to upset someone.  

Regarding the article, ‘The Jordan Effect’ (Johnson, 1998) Michael Jordan brought in so much revenue not only in basketball but with his brand, sports videos, books, cologne, underwear, shoes, and sports apparel.  His items are still a very popular fad today as well.  In my opinion I think his popularity might have a lot to do with the time period he played in.  It’s hard to tell whether the players at that time are better than today’s players and maybe because I didn’t live at that time I’m not a valid source (just my opinion).  But I’m sure the popularity in the last 20 years in the NBA has changed one way or another.  It would be interesting to see whether the NBA was more popular back then or now.  With the recent lockout situation that cancelled the first few months of the NBA season I think a lot of people weren’t too heartbroken, but when it came back on Christmas Day it seemed to be more popular in my opinion.

-         - Alyssa Robinson

Playing with Disabilities in Sports

The purpose of this study in the article Anderson (2008) was to see if girls with disabilities who competed in sport received more social support than those who were involved in a physical activity. The purpose of this was to show how important organized sport is to disabled people, most particularly girls because they have the proposed “double whammy,” as Anderson (2008) phrased it on page 1 which means that they are both women and have a disability. So for these women it is important to have a good level of social support from family, friends and coaches.

The study found that women who competed in the organized sports like the wheelchair basketball games had a stronger level of support than those who were just involved in the regular activity. Particularly Anderson (2008) points out Morgan who was one of the girls in the basketball program and when it came to the question about role models she referred to her basketball coach who was in a wheelchair herself and it inspired her to join the team. This differed from the control group in that they struggled to identify a strong role model in their life. What I take out of this is that it is important for disabled people, particularly girls, to be involved in some type of organized sport program if they so choose. Organized sport promotes physical activity, enhances social support in that parents and coaches back their children in a way that makes them part of a team and not so much focused on the disability. This means that girls who compete in these types of programs feel as if they belong and are equal to other athletes who play their sport because they are competing against the best of the disabled type. Girls who were in the informal group had an opposite reaction according to Anderson (2008); they felt that those closest to them were only supporting them because they felt sorry for them. In fact one girl in the study who was part of the informal group was told by her friend that it’s not her fault that she has cerebral palsy. Thus it is important for there to be as many opportunities for disabled women to compete in organized sport and that we give them the necessary support they may be lacking.

Budget Allocation:

151,350= -11,350 add in fundraisers, +$3950

                                                              2950

                                                            Shot Puts&Discus both teams

                                                                    -$1,000

~Max Householder

Why we play the sports we play...

I coach 7th and 8th grade girls’ basketball and during yesterdays practice one of the players and I were talking during practice because she was injured and unable to practice. It was interesting getting to know a little bit about the other sports she plays. She mentioned the reason why she is so involved in sports is because of her two older brothers, especially her brother who is only a few years older, and how they always have been physical with each other and are best friends. She even brought up the point that how she wonders how much different she would be if she didn't have older brothers involved in sports. I thought it raised a good question, it was an interesting conversation and had relevance to our class.

I think it’s interesting where anyone in general gets their passion for sports, as I previously mentioned I got my athletic abilities and passion from my mother. I have an older brother as well; he never played the more skilled sports such as football or basketball, but was more of a runner. As I grew older I followed in his footsteps and ran Cross Country and Track in Middle School and on into High School. I definitely credit him as the reason I ever became interested in both sports, and he was also partially the driving force for me to better myself in those sports. We went to the same High School, he graduated from High School my 8th grade year, so coming into a new school where the only reason people knew me was because of my brother I felt in some ways I had something to live up to. In Track we competed in the same events and it was always my goal to beat his personal records in the 5k, 2 mile, mile, 800m, and 800m split. I think if it wasn’t for my brother I would have stuck with football longer and concentrated more on basketball, rather than running Cross Country, Basketball, and Track.

When it was all said and done I did end up beating all of his records, by a lot!

I’m curious as to what role older siblings, parents, friends, or aunts and uncles played on others participation and passion of sports…

-Tony Fritsch

More Title IX - Alyssa Robinson

The article Title IX in Social and Legislative Context (2005) by Carpenter and Acosta gave a really in depth looks at all the ins and outs of how Title IX came about.  Although Title IX wasn’t created till 1972 it didn’t stop girls and women from participating. 

My mom was born in 1958 and she remembers a lot about this time because Title IX was created when she was in high school.  She went through her younger years not having sports.  Her freshman and sophomore year of high school her high school had few women’s sports and this is when she got her first taste of competition.  In her junior year of high school she moved to a school without women’s sports.  This was in 1974 which was obviously not in compliance with Title IX.  Her junior year she was the only female on the boys track team and because she was a girl couldn’t compete at meets.  She did push a number of the boys in practices because who wants to get beat by a girl?  In 1974 as a junior in high school she wrote a letter to the local newspaper explaining that there were ‘no girl’s sports in her high school’.  She also met with members of the school administration discussing how furious she was that she couldn’t compete.  The next year (her senior year) the school offered women’s basketball and track for the first time ever (1975). 

I just think this is great.  It really shows how passionate some women are for sports, and I’m sure my mom wasn’t the only one that had this passion.  I thought it was very interesting that although Title IX was formed not all schools were in compliance with it even years after its creation.

7. A few positives among the negatives (short seasons and restricted funding for equipment, coaching, uniforms, and travel).
A. Students (academics) before Athletes, they actually had competition opposed to none previously.  More women coaching volunteers (unpaid)

Side note: In 1975 my mom went on the win the AAU state championship in the 100 yd dash, and third in the 200.  Then after high school she attended The Bowling Green State University with a Gymnastics scholarship.