Football as it is know outside North America (Soccer) is among the most ubiquitous and beloved sport in the world. The worldwide audience for the FIFA World Cup typically exceeds 1 billion, and hundreds of thousands of spectators flock to watch their countries team participate. One of the fundamental concerns surrounding the game today revolves around the prolonged occurrence of racism, especially racial abuse to players by fans. Omi and Winant (1994) have identified, elements of racism with a strong correlation relating to sport, such as ‘temperament, athletic ability and sexuality.
Given its recent history of anti-racist activity, English football is often cited as a figurehead example of challenging racism through popular culture and encouraging ethnic minority participation. (Garland, and Rowe, 2001) Although the growing example of black players in the professional game in England has greatly risen over the last decade, there is still increasing concern. With 568 players competing in the English Premier League (EPL) 183 black, 379 white and eight Asian, of all the players 32.22 percent are black. Of the 232 English players in the EPL 80 are black, a small 34.47 percent considering the EPL is the largest and wealthiest league in the world (Omi & Winant, 1994). Players from ethnic minority backgrounds are rarely represented in the English game and yet the biggest target for racial descent. In the other parts of the football industry, particularly in coaching and managerial positions or roles with real power and authority we don’t see genuine ethnical diversity.
Nowadays clashes between elite powerhouse teams are subject to extensive media coverage: footage of events replayed frame by frame, in context of a constant media envir...
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1. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/16186556, accessed 16th April 2014
2. See: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19842795, accessed 16th April 2014.
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.
Spencer, B. (2011). International Sporting Events in South Africa, Identity Re-Alignment, and Schneider's EVENT X. African Identities, 9(3), 267-278. doi:10.1080/14725843.2011.591225
Early, Gerald. "Performance and Reality: Race, Sports and the Modern World." Nation. Aug. 10-17 1998: 11-20. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 03 May. 2014.
In Odessa, an oil-rich town in West Texas, there is a line that separates the two races of blacks and whites. They called it “the American version of the Berlin Wall – the railroad tracks that inevitably ran through the heart of town” (Bissinger 91). The tracks are the symbol of the barrier, tension, and attitude that stand between the two races. To the Odessan whites, African Americans are often considered extraneous, with few hopes and dreams to follow. It is also a common part of everyday language to blurt out the word “nigger,” without ever categorizing it in a racist context. To escape the predisposed perception, the football stadium, where the night lights shine, is the solitary premises where blacks accepted as an identity, as well as athletes. In the non-fiction book, Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger explores this phenomenon of racial tension and the low expectation that are imposed upon black athletes. Through the use of descriptive imagery, revealing dialogue, and anaphora, Bissinger describes the underlying message of Odessan’s racial division, coupled with the meager education that the general population receives while obsessed with high school football.
Research guided by conflict theory generally falls into the following categories: 1) studies of how athletes become alienated from their own bodies; 2) studies of how sports can be used to coerce and control people; 3) studies of sports and the development of commercialism in society; 4) studies of sports and various forms of nationalism and militarism; and 5) studies of sports and racism and sexism. (Coakley, 1998) In the book, Meggyesy provided examples of each of these categories which occurred during his footba...
Have you ever heard about racial discrimination and what is it? Racial discrimination is defined as the action of a persons who treat differently or who excludes another person just for his or her racial or ethnic origin. Racial discrimination continues to exist in the world and may never end with it. For example, in the documentary "Linsanity" Lin mentions that he was a victim of racial discrimination and that despite everything that happened, he was able to reach the American dream. Finally, from watching this documentary, I can strongly be argued that Discrimination is also present in sports, and that depends on what privileges you enjoy will be easier the way to reach what you want.
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
Known as the world’s most popular sport, professional soccer has helped create and define different groups of people around the world for longer than a century. The hoopla surrounding teams, geographic areas fans dwell in, and political ideals associated with individual clubs have carved an identity for millions of supporters whose heart and soul becomes dedicated to their favorite players, stadiums, and coaches. Soccer teams and their fans can give us a window into how people can be divided and defined by their allegiances and ideals, and why those with similar views band together to create a familiar environment for themselves.
In the meantime that Edwards and other researcher activists were composing in popular sources and freely debating issues related with race and sports, researchers in various disciplines started research that factually reported examples of racial isolation and separation in sports a...
Football or Soccer is a sport which is played worldwide and is very popular in all ages of people and everyone regardless of their cultural backgrounds. It is controlled by an International body known as FIFA. My topic is Racism in football which is a very popular and important cause in today's date. All of the associations around the world which control football and everything related to it are introducing the best strategies that they can to get rid of racism from this beautiful game. My research is going to address about the level, effects, reasons and information and incidents which the victims had to face due to this discrimination that they had to deal with. Racism is not something new in football, it has been there in the sport since a really long time and initiatives taken to resolve this problem have
Jarvie, G. (2012). Sport, Social Division and Social Inequality. Sport Science Review. 20 (1-2), 95–109.
The growing debate about the mascots, logos, and team names used in sports has been an issue since the 1960’s-1970’s. The argument that is at hand is depicting if these symbols are a representation of pride or if they can be classified as racist. There are many supporters to both sides of this debate. Many on one side are arguing that the symbols are clearly racist while others on the opposing side are making claims that the symbols are an honor to whom they are portraying and are negatively connected to racism. There also the individuals who do not identify with either side, obtaining the belief that these symbols are a representation of the organization itself rather that creating a backstory or an image associated to anything other than the organization represented by an image. With many debates and issues regarding the topic happening annually, the question remains, what should be done about the racism issue in the sports industries?
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.