The development of sports in the modern era has an equal share of the history of inclusionary rights, especially with regard to women and minorities. Long branded as a tough sell, these groups have had a long fight for equal access to sports and leisure. Pioneers such as Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, and Billie Jean King, all overcame those challenges and rose to the pinnacle of their sport in this era. This has led to a gradual overhaul in the ideology of Americans towards minorities in sports of today. However, this was a process wrought with difficulty, and these pioneers had to fight relentlessly for not only inclusion, but also recognition of their status in sports. Examining the history of sports with regard to these athletes, we will focus on the challenges that each of these athletes faced in their era, and review some of the inclusionary practices of this time. At the conclusion, the reader will gain a better sense of the plight and accomplishments experienced by minority and female athletes, who were firstly, groundbreakers.
During a racial and segregated Jim Crow era, sports were no different from restaurants, bathrooms, or schools. There were places for whites to play sports, and there were specific and usually less adequate places for minorities to play sports. Americas pastime, baseball, is a great example of how sports enforced the Jim Crow laws and culture of the time. Major league baseball denied access for black baseball players to play, and therefore aided in the creation of the negro leagues, which in essence was the first step towards eventual integration. However, at the time only few saw that goal, most were just excited to play and watch baseball. The start of the negro leagues in America was impo...
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...elated to sports. However, Guttmann expands on the negativity of Title IX; “Although Title IX has forced changes, it has not wrought miracles. P. 222” Title IX was by no means the end to the struggle of women equality in sports, but a great leap towards it. It caused controversy and confusion. How was the legislation supposed to be interpreted? And the fact that there were more male athletes than women athletes led many to believe that title IX would fail. However, as the years went by the number of female athletes in college increased dramatically, meaning that title IX was an important and detrimental part of the feminist movement to gain equality.
Closing point – these three examples set the stage for the current trend in today’s sports. Blacks and whites play alongside each other – Wimbledon paid both male and female winners same prize money, etc.
Sports have served as a platform on which the subject of race has been highlighted. Sports have unfailingly been considered the microcosm of society. This is because the playing fields have revealed the dominant culture’s attitudes and beliefs that people held about race relations throughout history in the United States. Many racial barriers were broken in the world of sports long before they were crossed in the realm of mainstream society as a whole. From Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball during the year of 1947 to Tommie Smith and John Carlos raising their fists clad in black gloves during the 1968 Mexico City Summer Olympics, sports have started conversations about race in the United States that have undeniably changed the course of race relations in the United States.
Shropshire, Kenneth L. 1996. In black and white: race and sports in America. New York: New York University Press.
Title IX is a law that was made by the NCAA in 1972, that states that there can be no discrimination or exclusion of a gender through athletics or education. (Mankiller). Which means that men's sports cannot be favored over women's sports. Many people are very cognizant of this law. For example, if a school has $100,000, the school must spend the money equally between the athletics of each gender, even if there are more men's sports teams. They must get the same treatment. That may sound great, but Title IX has impacted men's athletics significantly. Although Title IX has been a valuable way to establish gender equality, the NCAA loses money, puts men out of scholarships, abolishes smaller men’s sports teams, and it should be
Since the 1972 conception of Title IX of the Education Amendments, the number of women participating in intercollegiate athletics has increased five-fold, from fewer than 30,000, to more 150,000 in 2001. However, more than 400 men’s athletics teams have been dismantled since Title IX, the law forbidding sex discrimination at institutions receiving federal funds, became law. Some would say this is due, in part, to Title IX enforcement standards like proportionality. Proportionality requires that an institution’s athletic population must be of an equal ratio to its general student body. Among some of the 400-plus teams dismantled by Title IX are several former Colorado State University teams including wrestling, baseball, gymnastics, men’s swimming and diving, and men’s tennis. CSU student athletes no longer sport the opportunity of participating in these activities at the NCAA Division I level, and the days of the student body rooting for their ram teams are gone, possibly forever. Now the search is on to find a solution to the problems associated with Title IX if, indeed, a solution is ultimately necessary.
It goes without saying that a person's gender, racial and social origins influence their participation in sports. Particular races and genders often dominate certain sports. African Americans, for example, tend to dominate football and basketball, while Caucasians tend to dominate ice hockey. The same holds true for gender as well. Football is an entirely male dominated sport, while horseback riding, gymnastics and figure skating are much more female oriented. How and why did these divisions come about? Determining the origin of gender goes beyond the scope of this paper, however one can speculate about how gender classifications and stereotypes affect one's role in the sports arena.
Gender inequality affected sporting activities among high school and colleges in America in the 1970s, to an extent that the female gender were marginalized and could not freely participate in games like athletics, basketball and hockey (Houser, 2013). There even existed one sporting body, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, which over saw the sporting activities at this level. This body was reported to be in opposition of the female gender sporting activities. It was not until the year 1972, when the popular title IX, was passed into law. This title read that “no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” The core theme of title IX was to eliminate discrimination in the sporting sector and to promote the status of the female gender in the same field. This title is contained in the Education Amendment Act of the year 1972, and it was meant to fill the gaps present in the title VII, which was included in the Civil Rights applied into law in the year1964 (ibid). It after the emergence of this title that brought the motivation towards the implementation of equality in the sporting sector, an idea that was pushed for by the popular Lonnie Leotus “Lee” Morrison. This essay accounts for the efforts made by Morrison in effort towards achieving gender equality in sports at high school and college level.
The enactment of this Title has significantly changed the playing field for athletic departments through out the nation by altering their funding systems to comply with its rules. As a result, women have benefited greatly. There have been additions of female sports as well as an increase of the number of scholarships awarded to female athletes, and also a lot more funding to provide more “equitable” facilities for them. According to the NCAA Gender Equity Studies , “from 1992 to 1997 NCAA institutions have increased the number of female athletes by 5,800. But tragically during that time these colleges also eliminated 20,900 male athletes.” (Kocher p.1) This dramatic landslide has occurred because athletic departments are under pressure to rapidly increase the proportion of female athletes by whatever means necessary. As the path toward complete “equality” gradually brightens for women in college athletics, a dark path is now becoming evident. Male athletes, in a sense, are now being discriminated against because of Title IX.
All in all, Bill Russell, Jackie Robinson, and Wilma Rudolph rejected the name-calling, refused the death threats, and fought through the discrimination to pave the way for the integration of sports today with their phenomenal resilience. Jim Crow laws, harshly separating our country by race, beginning in 1896 didn’t only segregate restaurants and schools, but segregated the right for equal people to play, compete, and learn from each other’s skills. This further proves that the job of a law was not fulfilled if it was meant to benefit society. Laws will never be changed if people don’t stand up for themselves, fight through what stands in their way, and follow their dreams no matter what an unjust law, limiting their freedom and promoting other says is “right”. In Conclusion, it is with resilience why our world continues to move forward every day.
Gender discrimination is prominent in every industry, but it is as though the sport industry is one of the worst. Women in the work force currently receive only 80 cents to every man’s dollar (Holmes, 2016). However, female athletes both in America and internationally receive a far lesser compensation for their attributes. The only difference of the sports being played is who plays them. There should be no reason why a male athlete receives better pay simply because he had a 50% chance of being born a man. At birth, no one controls the gender, but as they grow and mature, they control their personality and development. Payment should be on personal skills and not gender. As a female STHM student focusing on sport management and a former athlete,
In a society filled with people that strongly believe that sports is an industry that is removed and immune from the ills of the world—racism. Many fans and spectators of sports, such as baseball, basketball, football, and many other sports that include players of different races and ethnicities considers that racism is a thing of the past because of the inclusion and acceptance of all races in different sports. However, the misconception of living in a post-racial (colorblind) world is prevalent. Even though racial discrimination in sports and society in general, are not overt as in the past, racism continues to plague the industry. Regardless of fans and spectators wanting to ignore the racial biases and discrimination in the sports industry,
Sport brings different people together and leads to racial diversification. Nevertheless, this article explains and analyses the situations where sport management has ignored the idea of racial diversity. The research revolves around men who are African American. These men have been contributing effectively to the financial stability of sport. However, they were under-represented though they were successful players. The study uses theories such as race relation theory. Arguments suggest for implementation of systematic processes over race-related practices. This hiring practice will adhere to the clear and concise individuals needed for the jobs throughout sport management. The research states that adaptation and dominant groups may still bring about different outcomes to the ethnicity involvement in sport management. This article focuses mainly on how racism in sports industry can be resolved. It describes some solutions, which includes policies and programs for sports organizations. These will help in promoting racial diversity in sport management. This research concluded with the notion of implicating such policies for minimizing racism in the management of sport
Today, with the dominance of black players in professional sports, it seems unfathomable that a mere 50 years ago, not only were black athletes absent in all mainstream sporting arenas, it was simply not an option and even illegal in some states. His legacy is the inspiration he gives to athletes and people of all color. Robinson is heroic, in part, because of the excellence of his athletic achievement and equally important, for his political commitment to racial equality.
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.
Gender equality in sports is still an issue that will be dealt with many years to come. Great advancement has been made through history and accomplishments did not go unnoticed. There is the fear that Title IX, with time will not be as strong or it might be ignored with time. But it is also a powerful weapon that can be used in the legal system to make sure women have their rights protected and saved. We can say that female athletes have enjoyed the fruits of this law to provide them with confidence and empowerment. Although, some women athletes will still face adversity because of racism and ignorance, but looking back at the past decades the fight for gender equality is well worth the fight and determination.
Throughout history, it is easy to recognize how African Americans have triumphed in sports. It is also enlightening and empowering to see and recognize the challenges that women faced in the past with achieving recognition in sports as compared to that of men.