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Examples of racial and ethnic discrimination in sports
Racism in the sports industry
Racism in the sports industry
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World Series game three was completed on Oct. 27, 2017 at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas. Within the game there wasn’t only baseball but racist remarks towards a specific pla yer on the Dodgers.
Game three would determine who would take a lead in the fall classic. Not only did this game bring about a World Series leader, but it also brought about a new issue in baseball: racial discrimination.
During the bottom of the second inning, Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel hit a homerun to left field. This was the first run of the game for the Astros and would lead to another significant moment that resulted in some fire from the media.
After hitting his homerun, Gurriel returned to the dugout and made a slanted eyes gesture. This remark was
America’s pastime has been complicated in the last couple centuries, and integration has been a big key in the game of baseball. Like most of America in the 1940’s, baseball was segregated, with 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 to start this, they needed a man with baseball abilities and a man who didn’t need to fight back.
Miles: Yes, at first I thought it was a little knock but it turned out I needed surgery.
In terms of racial inequality in baseball there have been many eras of integration. Baseball originally is seen as America’s national game belonging to the white men of America. However, throughout history there have been steps taken in recognizing and integrating those groups deemed “less favorable” by the American community. These groups include German immigrants, Irish immigrants, African Americans, Latinos, Native Hawaiians, Native Americans, and Asians. America used the game of baseball as a tool to indoctrinate the American ideals and values of teamwork, working hard, and collaborating for the greater good into the cultures of the “uncivilized world.” These groups used baseball as a medium to gain acceptance into the American community as racially equal counterparts.
"Over the decades, African American teams played 445-recorded games against white teams, winning sixty-one percent of them." (Conrads, pg.8) The Negro Leagues were an alternative baseball group for African American baseball player that were denied the right to play with the white baseball payers in the Major League Baseball Association. In 1920, the first African American League was formed, and that paved the way for numerous African American innovation and movements. Fences, and Jackie Robinson: The Biography, raises consciousness about the baseball players that have been overlooked, and the struggle they had to endure simply because of their color.
For the better part of the 20th century, African American baseball players played under unequal opportunity. On one side of the field, European descendants were given a license to play this children's game for money and national fame. While on the other side of the field, African slave descendants were also given a license to play - as long as they didn't encroach upon the leagues of the Caucasians. What was left over for African American player in terms of riches was meager at best. Though the fortune wasn't there, the love and fame within the African American communities made the players of the Negro Baseball League legends.
Giants in the World Series. Babe was not a factor at all in this pitiful series
The Civil Rights Era impacted the realm of sports in a great and powerful way. Throughout the mid 1900s, many minority athletes emerged through all odds and began to integrate themselves in the white dominated athletic business. These athletes endured constant hardships in order to achieve their goals and dreams; facing much racism, segregation, and violence. Minorities across the country began to look up to these sportsmen and realized that anybody could attain greatness despite the social troubles of the time. Stories depicting the struggles of minority athletes soon arose and grew popular among different cultures. These true accounts passed from generation to generation, each admiring the courage and bravery of athletes and how important they became in obtaining an equal society. Producers and directors soon found a way to revolutionize the film industry by retelling the racial discrimination that minority athletes faced. Remember the Titans, The Perfect Game, 42, and The Express are all examples of how minority athletes overcame racial adversities in order to obtain the championship. These Hollywood movies contain many inaccuracies that draw away from the true impact minority athletes had during the Civil Right Era. Although these films do depict the racial components of the time, they do not depict the accurate occurrences of the stories they try to recreate.
The story of Curt Flood is one of tragic sacrifice and poignant courage. It is the story of a ball player giving up the game he loved for nothing more than a principle. Flood’s famous “I am a Man,” statement illustrated his belief that baseball was treating him unfairly (Burns, The Eighth Inning). Flood also penned these thoughts in a letter he sent to Kuhn on Christmas Eve of 1969, writing, “I do not feel that I am a piece of property to be bought and sold irrespective of my wishes” (Burns, The Eighth Inning). Craving the freedom to choose what team he played for, Flood would not accept the notion that he had no control over his own destiny as a baseball player. Flood however, stood alone in his fight. At his court hearing no active baseball player would testify on his behalf.
Today in America the word Racism is taken to a whole new level. Even in sports, such as the NFL racism prospers. For instance the Washington Redskins of the National Football League. Native Americans are trying to say the NFL is being rude for naming a Team Redskins. The Redskins have had that name since 1933 (Staff). The team had the name of Braves before they adopted the name Redskins. It was changed due to racism purposes. Some people would agree that the whole situation with Redskins is ridiculous because The Major League Baseball series has two teams related to Native Americans, The Atlanta Braves and The Cleveland Indians. The NFL also has more than just Redskins. They have the Kansas City Chiefs. So if they are really worried about total racism why isn’t the Chiefs in on this conversation?
The Negro League was similar to the majors because they had an all-star game, league winners, a minor league structure, and a World Series. However, the conditions of players’ lives in the Negro League were very different than those from the white leagues. The players spent all day, every day to...
Jiobu, Robert M., “Racial Inequality in a Public Arena: The Case of Professional Baseball”. Social Forces , Vol. 67, No. 2 (Dec., 1988), pp. 524-534 Oxford University Press
Over time, the importance of the All Star game has shifted greatly. It used to be played for the sole reason that fans could watch the best players in the league compete against each other on the same field. The outcome did not matter because the final score did not affect any team’s season. In 2003 there was a change to a rule in the All Star game. It was decided that the winning team, either the American League or the National League, would be granted home field advantage for the World Series.1 The new rule triggered a lot of controversy and it is still being debated to this day. There are some people that agree with the change and there are some people that disagree. The Major League Baseball season is 162 games long and I believe
This game of a stick and ball has captivated the United States during good and bad times. In either time most of us today can remember stories of players from the late 1800’s to early 1900’s. These are legendary figures in the sport of baseball that have are celebrated as hero’s and in scandal, i...
Lanctot, Neil. 2004. Negro league baseball :The rise and ruin of a black institution. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Dealing with the issue of sport and ethnology, three major factors come to mind; prejudice, racism, and discrimination. These factors span across gender, ethnic, racial, religious, and cultural groups. In the following paragraphs, I will discuss how these factors have played a part in the evolution of sport in our society. The first issue tackled in this paper will be racism in sports, followed by prejudice and discrimination.