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Different Perspectives on Ethics in Sports
Blacks in sports
Jackie Robinson and civil rights movements
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Today was a huge milestone for sports history. Jackie Robinson just signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers. He is the first African American to play in major league baseball breaking the color barrier within baseball. Jackie is really opening the door here for many African American athletes all around. Robinson was was an aggressive man, outraged at injustice, and quick to stand up for his rights. He learned how to exercise self control when answering insults, violence and injustice with silence. He modeled unselfish team play, earning the respect of his teammates.He was an aggressive man, outraged at injustice and quick to stand up for his rights but had to exercise that self control which got him more respect. His family felt the prejudices throughout
Jackie Robinson stands at front plate, with the bat gripped firmly in his hands. The crowd, rather than cheering, was booing and shouting at him. Racial slurs were throw before the baseball ever was, but Jackie kept calm. He couldn't let them win. The pitcher finally threw the ball. Crack! The ball sails over the stadium and the crowd is full of convoluted cries and shouts. Jackie jogged home. He had won that round.
Jack Roosevelt Johnson was born in the very segregated south in Cairo, Georgia around 1919. Jackie grew up loving baseball and knew that is what he wanted to do. About two decades before Jackie was born the MLB was split between white and Negro leagues. Jackie being an African-American, of course played for the Negro Leagues. He strived in this sport. He lead the Negro League with most stolen bases and had a great batting average. Both his statistics and love for the game brought the name Jackie Robinson to the attention of the Brooklyn Dodger's manager Branch Rickey.
America’s pastime has been complicated in the last couple centuries, and integration has been a really big key in the game of baseball. Like most of America in the 1940’s, baseball was segregated, whites playing in the Major League system and African-Americans playing in the Negro Leagues. There were many factors that made whites and blacks come together including World War II. Integration caused many downs in the time period but as baseball grew and grew it was one of the greatest accomplishments in the history. It was hard to find the right black man do start this, they needed a man with baseball abilities and a man who didn’t need to fight back.
Jackie Robinson decided to fight to be the first African American to integrate the Major League Baseball (MLB). His autobiography states he “was forced to live with snubs rebuffs and rejections” ( Robinson). This quote shows that he was treated unfairly and disrespectfully. In Robinson’s autobiography it also states that Jackie Robinson broke the racial barrier and created equal oppurtunity proving that a “sport can’t be called national if blacks are barred from it”
Jackie Robinson changed the way baseball is looked at by Americans. Also, he broke a huge barrier in American History. Robinson helped get rid of segregation. He also, is down as one on of the most respected men in baseball history. Not only a wonderful ball player, but also a wonderful man who went through so much and helped create a path for current and future African American baseball players.
“I’m not concerned with your liking or disliking me, All I ask is that you respect me as a human being”(JackieRobinson.com).This was once said by a man named Jackie Robinson, Jackie was a very great and multi-talented man that changed baseball history forever.
Jackie Robinson’s ability to successfully integrate his sport set the stage for many others to advocate for an end to segregation in their respective environments. His period of trials and triumphs were significant to changing American perception of the Civil Rights revolution. By becoming the first African-American baseball player to play in the major leagues, he brought down an old misconception that black athletes were inferior to white athletes. Successively, his example would inspire those advocating for their civil rights, he lived out a message of nonviolence similar to the one Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. lived out. Despite the constant prejudice he faced in his sport, he was able to keep himself composed and never retaliate.
...u're going to spend your whole life in the grandstand just watching what goes on, in my opinion you're wasting your life." "I don't think that I or any other Negro, as an American citizen, should have to ask for anything that is rightfully his. We are demanding that we just be given the things that are rightfully ours and we're not looking for anything else." In 1972 Jackie Robinson died but his legacy would always live forever. The effects of Robinson can be seen in any place that you come across like the covers of Sports Illustrated, ESPN, and even the Wall Street Journal. Since Jackie Robinson integrated baseball in 1947 black society in America has truly broken infinite number of barriers. More important than the improvements in the black race, are the improvements in the entire nation that from his accomplishments was now one step closer to equality. (Quotes)
April fifteenth 1947, Jackie Robinson was the first African American player to step foot in the MLB. This broke the color barrier and opened the door for all ethnicities in the MLB. If it was not for Jackie many people of all races would have never been given a chance. Today the MLB is filled with many different races. This would not have been possible without Jackie Robinson. Fifty years later, Jackie's amazing career was honored by the MLB by retiring the number "42". No other number has ever been retired in the MLB. Jackie's number now symbolizes equality for everyone in America. No matter what skin color, Jackie showed anyone can achieve their dream. Although he faced constant racial discrimination, he continued to show what it means to be part of a team (History.com Staff). Jackie could not stay in the same hotels, or eat at the same places as his teammates. He did not let this interfere with baseball. He still showed up to practices and games, and he did not let his race be a factor. He never made excuses and found a way to have a successful career. Jackie made many great accomplishments and helped turned the MLB to a multi-racial
The life-changing experiences and decisions Jackie Robinson faced were a result of him being asked to become the first black player in Major League Baseball. In the face of many challenges, Robinson made the decision to keep playing to prove to others that he was just as good as the white players on the team. In paragraph 3 it states, “The hate mail piled up. There were threats against me and my family and even out-and-out attempts at physical harm to me.” In the same paragraph he continues by describing the rejection he felt from his own teammates when he says, “Some of my teammates refused to accept me.” These events challenged Robinson by forcing him to face racial slurs, snubs, and physical threats from fans, teammates, and opponents who did not want a black man to play in the major leagues. In paragraph 3 he explains how these comments affected him emotionally by saying, “It hadn’t been that easy to fight the resentment expressed by players on other teams, by the team owners, or by bigoted fans screaming “n---.” He continues by saying, “I had been forced to live with snubs and rebuffs and rejections.” In light of these painful and difficult events Robinson continued to grow and develop. Robinson decided to focus on his accomplishments, which helped him to appreciate the courage and love that the team owner and his wife
Crack! Back, back, back the ball goes. Home run! Who hit it? It was Jackie Robinson, the first black baseball player in the major league. Many people would agree Jackie was one of the best players to ever swing a bat. However, he faced many difficulties on his journey to becoming a professional baseball player. Without Jackie playing in the pros, baseball and civil rights wouldn’t be the way it is today. Baseball may have taken a long time to not be made up of mainly white players. Jackie was a beacon of hope to black people in the fact that they could compete and succeed in a white man’s sport.
To start off, for Jackie Robinsons bravery to stop the color barrier Jackie Robinson had the courage for two years no one else had. In the article “Skin Games” Gregg Guss states, “For two full years he ‘turned the other cheek’, his brain keeping his mouth shut while his heart burned with rage at the insults he knew he must tolerate”(2). Robinson managed to do a lot even with all the abuse he suffered. He had to walk away from name calling, death threats even as a child he faced abused being the only black family who lived in a white neighborhood. In the article “Skin Games” Gregg Guss states, “The world Jackie Robinson grew up in was separate and unequal” (3). All Jackie Robinson wanted to do was make the game he loved equal for all. He wanted to show that African Americans could play any sport just as good as anyone else that there skin color did not define their talents. Although Jackie Robinson faced a lot making the path for African Americans he did it bravely, diligently...
Although Jackie Robinson was not the best African-American baseball player of his time, his attitude and ability to handle racist harassment led the way for the rest of his race to play Major League Baseball, amongst other sports. Being accepted into professional sports also helped African-Americans become more easily accepted into other aspects of life. Jackie's impact in the world for the black population is enormous.
To the average person, in the average American community, Jackie Robinson was just what the sports pages said he was, no more, no less. He was the first Negro to play baseball in the major leagues. Everybody knew that, but to see the real Jackie Robinson, you must de-emphasize him as a ball player and emphasize him as a civil rights leader. That part drops out, that which people forget. From his early army days, until well after his baseball days, Robinson had fought to achieve equality among whites and blacks. "Jackie acted out the philosophy of nonviolence of Martin Luther King Jr., before the future civil rights leader had thought of applying it to the problem of segregation in America"(Weidhorn 93). Robinson was an avid member of the NAACP and helped recruit members because of his fame from baseball. Jackie had leadership qualities and the courage to fight for his beliefs. Unwilling to accept the racism he had run into all his life, he had a strong need to be accepted at his true worth as a first-class citizen. Robinson was someone who would work for a cause - that of blacks and of America - as well as for himself and his team.
Hank Aaron was a famous baseball player who was respectful to his teammates and his fans. His nickname was “Hammerin’ Hank”. At one time he led the league in the most home runs. He was born in a poor family and then grew up to be a great professional baseball player. He became one of the most admired baseball players in Major League history.