My educational journey at Pacific has introduced me to the financial aspect of sport, the laws behind which players can play where and how many handicap parking spaces are required for a stadium to host the Super Bowl. I have learned how to market and promote sport, as well as manage it's enterprises and plan special events. However, this class has taught me knowing how to market or manage or plan sport is fairly useless without first understanding how sport is perceived throughout culture and society.
Because of my sport management background, I had previous knowledge of the dark side of sport. I knew players were being exploited by the NCAA, I knew that sport wasn't the most accepting of the LGBT community and I was aware of the issues surrounding PEDs and gender testing. However, this class has challenged me to go beyond the on the surface issues and really dive deep into the culture of sport and it's importance in today's society. These issues do go away with the end of the semester, they are very real issues and very real people are fighting and struggling with these controversies on a day to day basis. As someone who wants to pursue a career in sport, it is my duty as a professional to understand and provide a safe space for conversations like the ones we had in class to happen on a professional level. While that may sound easier than it is to actually execute, the issues discussed throughout this semester are ones that I will most likely have to face as I prepare to enter the sport industry. After this semester, the knowledge and insight of my peers have allowed me to form my own opinions, ones that I stick strongly by and hope will be able to support and execute throughout my professional development.
Regardless of what culture or society one is raised in, sport has a presents. Because of this, I would definitely recommend this class to a friend. Not only does Professor Killick keep the class energetic and engaged, but allows each individual to form his or her own opinion on every topic discussed in class. No matter where you travel in the world, sport holds its spot in culture, making this class something that anyone can relate to and discuss.
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
Is Sport a Safe Space for LGBT athletes?
Robbie Rogers was described as brave for just being who he is. Jason Collins' face was plastered on the cover of Sport Illustrated with the caption " The Gay Athlete", as if that's all he was. Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Acts allows business to deny services to LGBT individuals. Russia banned LGBT athletes from the Olympics. And unfortunately, the culture we live in makes these actions "ok". Due to the culture, and the stigma placed on the LGBT community, many athletes feel the need to closet themselves in order to keep their athletic success and fan base.
Homophobia in sports is everywhere. It happens in the locker rooms, coaches treat LGBT athletes differently than they do straight ones, regardless of how well they can play. Fans and teammates treat players differently simply for their sexuality. And in this case, those doing the exploiting are the only ones that can stop it from happening. Recently, a greater sense of understanding, respect and acceptance has been seen in sport. With more athletes coming out, Rogers and Collins have been joined with other professionals such as the NFL's Michael Sam, WNBA player Brittney Griner, and NBA player John Amaechi. In fact, according to OutSports.com, 108 individuals associated with professional sport game out as gay, lesbian or bisexual in 2014. While 108 does not seem like a huge number, it is a start.
With the media attention drawn to professional athletes who come out as gay, it serves as both a good and bad thing. On one hand, it shows other LGBT athletes that in this day and age, it doesn't matter what your sexuality is, if you can play, you can play. On the other hand, there will always be close minded people who do not feel comfortable with who you love. It's the strength of athletes like those I had previously listed that reinforce the truth that there is nothing wrong with being a competitive, professional athlete and being gay.
OutSports.com was able to list 34 different sports with one member who has come out as LGBT. Swimming saw the most athletes with 13, followed by football with 11, track and field with 10 and basketball with 9. I believe that some sports are more open and acepting to LFBT athlets simply based on traditional culture. Female sports seem to be more accepting, while male dominate aggressive sports, such as football are not as much. Perhaps because, these male dominate sports also receive the most media coverage, leaving more room for criticism.
Growing up in the Silicon Valley, I wasn't surrounded by much diversity growing up. We were a heavily asian community, filled with brilliant minded people, surrounded by powerful companies and overwhelmed with opportunity. Sexuality was never discussed. Not in school, not amongst friends. I grew up in a bubble, and it wasn't until college that I met my friend openly gay person. I am now, so incredibly proud to say that person is one of my best friends. As we've grown through college, it seems that everyone at this school is open minded and accepting of one another. But, I am constantly surprised at the ignorance and disgust in the world. The fact that my best friend struggles for the same opportunities and human rights as me, makes me physically ill. Because of the how accepting and open my group of friends are, and how ignorant I was growing up, I have greatly underestimated the struggles of LGBT men and women around the world.
I have played with teammates, and some of them happen to like both girls and men. I have loved my best friend endlessly and he happens to have the same taste in men as I do. I do not understand the challenge that these individuals have to face, especially in the sport setting, nor will I ever. Do I think that sports will one day be a safe place for all types of athletes? Absolutely. Will that be anytime soon? Maybe not. But athletes are paving the way. And fans are helping. Programs such as " If you can play, you can play" are stepping stones to making sport a safe place. Athletes are so much more than their sexuality, and I only hope someday fans, coaches, officials and players alike will all agree.
Resources:
Collins, Jason. "Why NBA Center Jason Collins Is Coming out Now." SI.com. Sports Illustrated, 29 Apr. 2013. Web. 07 Apr. 2015.
Griffin, Pat. "The Times They Are A-Changin' for LGBTQ People in Sports." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 18 Mar. 2014. Web. 07 Apr. 2015.
Payne, Melissa. " Michael Sam and 107 Other Athletes and Sport Officials Came out As Gay in 2014". The Washing Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/early-lead/wp/2014/12/18/michael-sam-and-107-other-athletes-and-sports-officials-came-out-as-gay-in-2014/
Monday, March 30, 2015
Hoop Dreams: Is sport a viable passport out of the projects?
LeBron James did it. Allen Iverson did it. Gary Payton did it. They proved if you're an athletes, and have the skills, perserverance and dedication, it doesn't matter where you come from, you can succeed. If only that were true. Unfortunately, the American sports dream, to play at the highest level of professional sport is simply that. A dream. Of the 541,054 high school basketball players only 3.4 percent will go onto playing basketball in college, of those 1.2 percent of them will be in the pros. And once they make it there, there can only be one "LeBron James", per say.
Hoop Dreams follows the life of two inner city boys from Chicago, Arthur Agee and William Gates. Beginning at the ripe age of 14 the documentary follows their lives throughout high school as both boys attempt to reach their dream of laying in the NBA. At the age of 14 two things immediately become crystal clear. These boys share a true, genuine love for the sport of basketball, and not only that, but they see it as the only way to get their families out of the projects. The film stresses the differential treatment among colored and white athletes, not even just on the court, but also in the classroom. Both boys test poorly in classes, Arthur struggles to pay for school at St.Josephs and is forced to leave, while William is allowed to stay. This movie highlights the fact that, sports is the only way to open a door to certain opportunities for underprivileged African Americans. Without the aide of an athletic scholarship, college would not be possible for boys like William and Arthur.
As the movie progresses, we see William began to lose joy in playing basketball. It no longer was something he genuinely enjoyed, but it became more of a job. If William couldn't shoot well, he would be considered obsolete to the school and lose his tuition. Ultimately, the viewers and William know, that basketball is not just a way out of the ghetto, but it is a business.
Hoops Dreams demonstrates life for Black Americans in the projects, and the role of sport in US society as a whole. Watching the movie, it is unfortunate that we don't hear more about the sacrifices that athletes make to become to where they are. Furthermore, it is unfortunate that many children see sport as the only way for their families to escape the projects.
Hoop Dreams follows the life of two inner city boys from Chicago, Arthur Agee and William Gates. Beginning at the ripe age of 14 the documentary follows their lives throughout high school as both boys attempt to reach their dream of laying in the NBA. At the age of 14 two things immediately become crystal clear. These boys share a true, genuine love for the sport of basketball, and not only that, but they see it as the only way to get their families out of the projects. The film stresses the differential treatment among colored and white athletes, not even just on the court, but also in the classroom. Both boys test poorly in classes, Arthur struggles to pay for school at St.Josephs and is forced to leave, while William is allowed to stay. This movie highlights the fact that, sports is the only way to open a door to certain opportunities for underprivileged African Americans. Without the aide of an athletic scholarship, college would not be possible for boys like William and Arthur.
As the movie progresses, we see William began to lose joy in playing basketball. It no longer was something he genuinely enjoyed, but it became more of a job. If William couldn't shoot well, he would be considered obsolete to the school and lose his tuition. Ultimately, the viewers and William know, that basketball is not just a way out of the ghetto, but it is a business.
Hoops Dreams demonstrates life for Black Americans in the projects, and the role of sport in US society as a whole. Watching the movie, it is unfortunate that we don't hear more about the sacrifices that athletes make to become to where they are. Furthermore, it is unfortunate that many children see sport as the only way for their families to escape the projects.
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Sport Commercials and Gender Disorder
My following blog will be based off of the " You Can Play Campaign" which can be found by following the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iAmUE3VazY
I chose this commercial, because it shows the light side of sport that is often hidden, ignored and unrecognized by athletes, fans, players, and coaches. This commercial aired as part of the " You Can Play Campaign", a social activism campaign that is dedicated to eliminating homophobia in professional sports. It's slogan " If you can play, you can play, " is used to show support for LGBT athletes in all sports. This commercial specifically highlights the Bay Area's professional sports team, but the campaign spans across the nations and through all levels of professional, and collegiate athletics.
I picked this commercial, specifically because there are no consequences. While many sport commercials show the manliness or aggression of some sports, this commercial highlights, I believe this commercial brings light to a very important, and real issue. Since the " You Can Play Campaign" was started in light of Brendan Burke's untimely death in 2009. Burke was the openly gay son of Hockey icon Brian Burke. Brian's supported his son from the day he came out to the day he died, and started the campaign in his memory shortly after. Burke was the closest person to the NHL to ever come out publicly.
By having the " You Can Play Campaign" backed by some of the nation's top athletes and coaches it sheds light on the issue, as well as brings hope to the current status of openly gay or lesbian athletes in sport. This commercial specifically focuses on top players and coaches on nearly all of the Bay Area's professional sports teams. Sports is a big stage and has a huge audience, so it is refreshing to see individuals use the mass amounts of media attention to shed light on an issue that has been surrounding sport for centuries.
While the commercial can be criticized for not having any female athletes, the Bay Area is not home to a big professional female sporting base, and the campaign does feature females athletes in other commercials.
I chose this commercial, because it shows the light side of sport that is often hidden, ignored and unrecognized by athletes, fans, players, and coaches. This commercial aired as part of the " You Can Play Campaign", a social activism campaign that is dedicated to eliminating homophobia in professional sports. It's slogan " If you can play, you can play, " is used to show support for LGBT athletes in all sports. This commercial specifically highlights the Bay Area's professional sports team, but the campaign spans across the nations and through all levels of professional, and collegiate athletics.
I picked this commercial, specifically because there are no consequences. While many sport commercials show the manliness or aggression of some sports, this commercial highlights, I believe this commercial brings light to a very important, and real issue. Since the " You Can Play Campaign" was started in light of Brendan Burke's untimely death in 2009. Burke was the openly gay son of Hockey icon Brian Burke. Brian's supported his son from the day he came out to the day he died, and started the campaign in his memory shortly after. Burke was the closest person to the NHL to ever come out publicly.
By having the " You Can Play Campaign" backed by some of the nation's top athletes and coaches it sheds light on the issue, as well as brings hope to the current status of openly gay or lesbian athletes in sport. This commercial specifically focuses on top players and coaches on nearly all of the Bay Area's professional sports teams. Sports is a big stage and has a huge audience, so it is refreshing to see individuals use the mass amounts of media attention to shed light on an issue that has been surrounding sport for centuries.
While the commercial can be criticized for not having any female athletes, the Bay Area is not home to a big professional female sporting base, and the campaign does feature females athletes in other commercials.
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Interrogating inequalities in Sports Media: Examining gender/race representation on Sports Business Journal
This week, I chose to analyze Street & Smith's SportBusiness Journal. This weekly publication, has a network of over 80 writers, and provides breaking news, comprehensive reporting and analyzing on the world of sport business. From everything to media, marketing, athletes, facilities and finance, Sport Business Journal provides a weekly input on the fast paced sport world.
What I thought was most ironic about analyzing women in the Sport Business Journal, was that SBJ has numerous articles that talk about the underrepresentation and sexualization of women in sport. However, Sports Business Journal is guilty of the same crime. One article, " Despite progress, diversity hiring in sport media is still poor," in which Sport Business Journal criticizes sport media for the lack of diversity within its staff. This article found that 90 percent of sport columnist writers were male, 90 percent of sport editors were male and 88 percent of sport reporters were male. In spirit of doing my own research I decided to randomly click on articles published between January 1, 2014 and today's date February 26th, 2015 throughout the website, I clicked 25 random articles, and found no female authors. Frustrated with the lack of female representation on the board, I decided to look up a specific list of SBJ authors. On a list of 15 Featured Authors, there was one woman. Her job at Sport Business Journal is to cover horse racing and labor disputes.
On Sport Business Journal's home page, there are 15 main categories that readers are select articles from. These include categories such as Marketing and Sponsorship, Featured, Media, Leagues and Governing Bodies, Labor and Agents and Facilities. Each category shows the 5 most recent articles in that selection for a grand total of 75 articles available on the home page alone. Of those 75 articles there are 0 pictures provided of females by any standard. No reporters, fans or female athletes are visible on Sport Business Journal's homepage. In addition of those 75 articles, ONE article focuses on female sports -- the WNBAPA has a new attorney.
Wanting to cut Sport Business Journal some slack, I clicked a few articles that could have potentially had females involved, such as " Engineers to assist NFL with injury prevention." No luck for woman in that article. I focused my attention on an article titled " Levi's Stadium Number Don't Lie," in which no females were mentioned in the article, however a female did make it into a picture on the article. Naturally, she is a petite blonde young aged girl posing with her smart phone. At least we females kind of made it in there...
As a female who likes sports just as much as any body else, the lack of female representation in the sporting world is extremely disheartening. I chose Sport Business Journal not because it only looks at athletes or fans, but because it covers a wide range of all things sport industry related. By choosing to ignore the issue of gender inequality in sports media, Sport Business Journal is just adding to the problem they criticized.
What I thought was most ironic about analyzing women in the Sport Business Journal, was that SBJ has numerous articles that talk about the underrepresentation and sexualization of women in sport. However, Sports Business Journal is guilty of the same crime. One article, " Despite progress, diversity hiring in sport media is still poor," in which Sport Business Journal criticizes sport media for the lack of diversity within its staff. This article found that 90 percent of sport columnist writers were male, 90 percent of sport editors were male and 88 percent of sport reporters were male. In spirit of doing my own research I decided to randomly click on articles published between January 1, 2014 and today's date February 26th, 2015 throughout the website, I clicked 25 random articles, and found no female authors. Frustrated with the lack of female representation on the board, I decided to look up a specific list of SBJ authors. On a list of 15 Featured Authors, there was one woman. Her job at Sport Business Journal is to cover horse racing and labor disputes.
On Sport Business Journal's home page, there are 15 main categories that readers are select articles from. These include categories such as Marketing and Sponsorship, Featured, Media, Leagues and Governing Bodies, Labor and Agents and Facilities. Each category shows the 5 most recent articles in that selection for a grand total of 75 articles available on the home page alone. Of those 75 articles there are 0 pictures provided of females by any standard. No reporters, fans or female athletes are visible on Sport Business Journal's homepage. In addition of those 75 articles, ONE article focuses on female sports -- the WNBAPA has a new attorney.
Wanting to cut Sport Business Journal some slack, I clicked a few articles that could have potentially had females involved, such as " Engineers to assist NFL with injury prevention." No luck for woman in that article. I focused my attention on an article titled " Levi's Stadium Number Don't Lie," in which no females were mentioned in the article, however a female did make it into a picture on the article. Naturally, she is a petite blonde young aged girl posing with her smart phone. At least we females kind of made it in there...
As a female who likes sports just as much as any body else, the lack of female representation in the sporting world is extremely disheartening. I chose Sport Business Journal not because it only looks at athletes or fans, but because it covers a wide range of all things sport industry related. By choosing to ignore the issue of gender inequality in sports media, Sport Business Journal is just adding to the problem they criticized.
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
The Voice(s) of Sport
For my event, I watched the commentary for the San Jose Sharks vs Los Angeles Kings Stadium Series game. Having attended the event, I was curious to see what the stadium looked like on TV, as well as what the players and commentators were saying about the first outdoor hockey game in Northern California.
The Sharks broadcasting team is made up of San Jose Shark and National Hockey League Alumni. Lead by Jamie Baker, a nine year vet within the organization he is one of the main faces of Comcast SportsNet California. Baker's main role is the television color commander. Stanley Cup winner and 17 year NHL Vetran Bret Hedican joins the team as an analyst and former Shark Curtis Brown also makes up the Sharks Pregame and Postgame Live shows, serving alongside Hedican as an analyst.
Hockey is considered a men's sport, with an emphasis on fighting, speed and force. Being passed NHL players, they are able to offer insight into the game that regular fans may not have picked up on. In addition, their keys to the game are explained in a way that can be understood by any normal viewer, especially one who is not familiar with the Kings or the Sharks. Because of the type of event, there was not too much about gender/racialized sterotypes, other than the fact that nearly every face on television was a generally easy on the eyes mid-aged white male.
The Sharks broadcasting team is made up of San Jose Shark and National Hockey League Alumni. Lead by Jamie Baker, a nine year vet within the organization he is one of the main faces of Comcast SportsNet California. Baker's main role is the television color commander. Stanley Cup winner and 17 year NHL Vetran Bret Hedican joins the team as an analyst and former Shark Curtis Brown also makes up the Sharks Pregame and Postgame Live shows, serving alongside Hedican as an analyst.
Hockey is considered a men's sport, with an emphasis on fighting, speed and force. Being passed NHL players, they are able to offer insight into the game that regular fans may not have picked up on. In addition, their keys to the game are explained in a way that can be understood by any normal viewer, especially one who is not familiar with the Kings or the Sharks. Because of the type of event, there was not too much about gender/racialized sterotypes, other than the fact that nearly every face on television was a generally easy on the eyes mid-aged white male.
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Reflecting on the Shame of College Sports
The NCAA's mission statements puts an equal emphasis on excelling in athletes and academics with a high level of integrity and sportsmanship. In a perfect world, the NCAA would provide a fair and safe playing field for amateur athletes across the United States to both play the sport they love and get an education while doing so. In reaching this goal the NCAA would provide coaches, trainers, facilities, and what not to make this vision possible. Unfortunately, as we have seen throughout the years, this is not always the case. Within collegiate sport, especially the NCAA the large amount of money have added extra pressure on both the organization and its amateur athletes. In doing so, they have strayed form their core values creating a very different reality.
While the NCAA has stayed true to the amateur aspect of their athletes, this is not always in the athletes best interest. Athletics provide schools, especially those in the Big Five conference, with insane sums of cash. While the athletes do benefit from the money in terms of training facilities, equipment and travel, many feel as if they are not seen as exceptional athletes by the NCAA, but more so as cheap labor. In " Schooled : The Price of College Sports" Martin and Finkel bring light to this issue, is it fair to paying the athletes who generate all the revenue for schools? While it is hard to determine a hard dollar amount for how much time and effort the athletes put in to better themselves, and ultimately their university team, athletes are missing out on the billions of dollars they bring into the NCAA on a yearly basis. And, this is not necessarily in the athletes best interests.
At UNC, Athletes were put into specialized majors, to guarantee all top athletes would be academically eligible to compete in the NCAA. Not only is the NCAA going against their mission statement to help their athletes excel academically, they are ultimately hurting them in the long run, by inhibiting their academic growth, and allowing themselves to cheat in order to succeed. In a different aspect, many NCAA athletes do not have enough money to buy themselves the amount of food it takes to nourish the body at that level of an intense workout. However, the NCAA commissioner is sitting on a multi-million dollar salary, made up of the money these hungry athletes have earned for him. The Frontline Documentary " Money in March Madness," further emphasizes this point. And frankly, it is a little embarrassing for the NCAA. While it makes sense for athletes at small school such as Pacific to not get paid, due to the non-existent athletic revenue we generate at an organization, big schools that make millions off of their athletes still manage to short them. Many athletes at these big schools not only do not have enough to eat, but their families are unable to watch them participate in the biggest collegiate basketball event of the year: March Madness. In an event that generates billions for the NCAA, you would think an organization dedicated to the well being of student athletes could pitch in a few thousands dollars to at least allow the players families to join in on the festivities.
While I do think the NCAA provides a lot of opportunity for athletes to grow and develop both in competition and in the classroom, there is clearly a lot of room for improvement. The NCAA makes a lot of claims -- they are a non profit organization, dedicated to bettering the lives of and allowing their student athletes to succeed, and it's about damn time they start acting like it.
References
"NCAA Core Values." NCAA Home Page. N.p., 28 Jan. 2014. Web. 18 Feb. 2015
While the NCAA has stayed true to the amateur aspect of their athletes, this is not always in the athletes best interest. Athletics provide schools, especially those in the Big Five conference, with insane sums of cash. While the athletes do benefit from the money in terms of training facilities, equipment and travel, many feel as if they are not seen as exceptional athletes by the NCAA, but more so as cheap labor. In " Schooled : The Price of College Sports" Martin and Finkel bring light to this issue, is it fair to paying the athletes who generate all the revenue for schools? While it is hard to determine a hard dollar amount for how much time and effort the athletes put in to better themselves, and ultimately their university team, athletes are missing out on the billions of dollars they bring into the NCAA on a yearly basis. And, this is not necessarily in the athletes best interests.
At UNC, Athletes were put into specialized majors, to guarantee all top athletes would be academically eligible to compete in the NCAA. Not only is the NCAA going against their mission statement to help their athletes excel academically, they are ultimately hurting them in the long run, by inhibiting their academic growth, and allowing themselves to cheat in order to succeed. In a different aspect, many NCAA athletes do not have enough money to buy themselves the amount of food it takes to nourish the body at that level of an intense workout. However, the NCAA commissioner is sitting on a multi-million dollar salary, made up of the money these hungry athletes have earned for him. The Frontline Documentary " Money in March Madness," further emphasizes this point. And frankly, it is a little embarrassing for the NCAA. While it makes sense for athletes at small school such as Pacific to not get paid, due to the non-existent athletic revenue we generate at an organization, big schools that make millions off of their athletes still manage to short them. Many athletes at these big schools not only do not have enough to eat, but their families are unable to watch them participate in the biggest collegiate basketball event of the year: March Madness. In an event that generates billions for the NCAA, you would think an organization dedicated to the well being of student athletes could pitch in a few thousands dollars to at least allow the players families to join in on the festivities.
While I do think the NCAA provides a lot of opportunity for athletes to grow and develop both in competition and in the classroom, there is clearly a lot of room for improvement. The NCAA makes a lot of claims -- they are a non profit organization, dedicated to bettering the lives of and allowing their student athletes to succeed, and it's about damn time they start acting like it.
References
"NCAA Core Values." NCAA Home Page. N.p., 28 Jan. 2014. Web. 18 Feb. 2015
Schooled: The Price of College Sports. Dir. Trevor Martin and Ross Finkel. Perf. Taylor Branch and Jay Bilas and Kevin Anderson. 2013
Frontline: Money in March Madness. Frontline. March 29, 2011.
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