"Darwin's Athletes": Sports and Ethnicity

Sport has become an integral part of African American culture. Sports provide an opportunity for poor children to go to school and get out of low income areas. Many inner city African American children wouldn't be able to afford to go to school without scholarship funds. Sports are also a way to make copious amounts of money so they can support themselves and give back to their families. Without the structure of sports, many African American children turn to less productive activities due to the confines of poverty.

Hollywood films like The Blind Side, Coach Carter, and Glory Road tell uplifting stories of unprivileged African American young overcoming diversity to be successful in sports. While these movies might be based around true stories, they do not really accurately epitomize the role of sports in African American culture. Hoop Dreams depicts the daily struggle of living in less affluent locations while trying to achieve the ultimate dream of going to the NBA. In reality, the majority of children aren't good enough in their given sport to use it as an outlet. The athletes that are good enough often face pressures from their community and family that are too overwhelming to handle. Pressure of that magnitude can be damaging to a young, fragile mind.

While I believe sport is a great way for unprivileged children to succeed in life, I think too many kids rely on sport. I understand many low income areas don't have the funding for school, but I think their needs to be a bigger emphasis put on education as a means of overcoming adversity. If African American children think the only way out is through sport or music, they have no reason to make education important.

Sports, women, and gender order

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhkFcuZcsk0

This Go Daddy commercial begins with an attractive blonde female getting out of a car holding a beaver. Paparazzi are rapidly taking pictures of her saying, "Is that her beaver?" Then Danica Patrick gets out of a car dressed in a long sleeved outfit, showing no skin. The paparazzi quickly stop taking pictures of her because she is not showing her "beaver."

This commercial pretty much sums up how women athletes are sexualized and exploited primarily for their marketability as sex symbols. The fact that the paparazzi didn't think it was worth it to take pictures of Danica Patrick because she wasn't showing skin or being "sexy" epitomizes how female athletes' actual skill or ability hold little esteem in the media. Danica Patrick is an extremely accomplished nascar driver and the only female in her sport, yet photographers don't care because she isn't following the traditional gender role of female athletes as sex symbols. While Danica displays strength in the commercial by not conforming to expected gender roles, the message in the commercial is actually quite dangerous for young female athletes. It suggests that no matter how hard you work or how successful you are in your given sport, the media will not pay attention to you unless you are willing to comply to their sexualized perspectives. That kind of message can not only prevent young people from participating in sports, but it can also cause them to approach sports the wrong way. It saddens me that women don't get the attention or respect they deserve for their abilities and successes in sports.