Sports in Society:Issues &

Controversies

Race and Ethnicity:Are They Important in Sports?

Defining Race & Ethnicity

Race refers to a category of people regarded as socially distinct because they share genetic traits believed to be important by people with power and influence in society

An ethnic group is a category of people regarded as socially distinct because they share a way of life and a commitment to the ideas, norms, and material things that constitute that way of life

Minority Group

Refers to a socially identified collection of people who

Experience discrimination Suffer social disadvantages

because of discrimination Possess a strong self-consciousness

based on their shared experiences of discriminatory treatment

The Concept of Race

Racial categories are social creations based on meanings given to selected physical traits

Race is not a valid biological concept Verified by data from Human Genome

Project

Racial classifications are fuzzy because they are based on continuous traits with arbitrary lines drawn to create categories Racial classifications vary from culture to

culture

Snow white Midnight black

Continuous Traits = skin color, height, brain size, nose width, leg length, leg length ratio, # of fast twitch muscle fibers, etc.

Discrete Traits = blood type, sickle cell trait, etc.

Racial category lines can be drawn anywhere and everywhere on this continuum! We could draw 2 or 2000 lines; our decisions are social decisions, not decisions based on biology. Some people draw many; others draw few; some reject lines.

Racial Categories: Drawing Color Lines in Society

Skin color continuum

“Race” in the United States

“Race” is a primitive but powerful classification system that has been used around the world

“Race” is based on a two-category classification system premised on the rule of hypo-descent or the “one-drop rule”

The “one-drop rule” was developed by white men to insure the “purity” of the “white race” and property control by white men

Mixed-race people challenge the validity of this socially influential way of defining race

Tiger Woods: Disrupting Dominant Race

Logic

CABLINASIAN

CA = CaucasianBL = BlackIN = Indian

ASIAN = Asian

Racial Ideology in History

Racial classification systems were developed as white Europeans explored and colonized

the globe and found that there were physical differences between people

These systems were used to justify colonization, conversion, and even slavery and genocide

According to these systems, white skin was the standard, and dark skin was associated with intellectual inferiority and slowed development

Racial Ideology in Sports Today

Racial ideology encourages people to “See” sport performances in

“racialized” terms, i.e., in terms of skin color

Use whiteness as the taken-for-granted standard

Explain the success or failure of people with dark skin in racial terms

Do research designed to “discover” racial difference

Figure 9.2

Racial ideologies often influence how athletes are assessed in society and in science.

Traditional Racial Ideology Used in Sports

Achievements of White Athletes are due to: Character Culture Organization

Achievements of Black Athletes are due to: Biology Natural

physical abilities

A Sociological Hypothesis

Racial ideology + discrimination + sport opportunities

Beliefs about biological & cultural destiny+

Motivation to develop skills

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENTS IN SPORTS

Searching For ”Jumping Genes” in Black Bodies

Why is the search misleading? It is based on oversimplified ideas

about genes and how they work It mistakenly assumes that jumping is a

simple physical activity related to a single gene or interrelated set of genes

It often begins with ideas about skin color and with social definitions of race

The Power of Racial Ideology

Black male students often have a difficult time shaking “athlete” labels based on racial ideology

Young people from all racial backgrounds may make choices influenced by racial ideology

In everyday life, racial ideology is integrally linked to ideas about gender and social class

Figure 9.4

Athletes often bring cultural traditions to the playing field

Sport Participation amongAfrican Americans

The facts show that

Prior to the 1950s, African Americans faced a segregated sport system

African Americans participate in a very limited range of sports

African American men and women are underrepresented in most sports

Sport Participation amongNative Americans

Native Americans comprise dozens of diverse cultural groups

Traditional Native American sports combine physical activities with ritual and ceremony

Native Americans often fear losing their culture when they play Euro-American sports

Stereotypes used in sports discourage Native American participation

Images of Native Americans in Sports

Using stereotypes of Native Americans as a basis for team names, logos, and mascots is a form of bigotry, regardless of the intentions of those who do it

Are there conditions under which a group or organizations could use the cultural and religious images of others for their own purposes?

What would happen if a school named their teams the Olympians and used the Olympic logo (5-Rings) as their logo?

Figure 9.5

The racial and ethnic attitudes of team officials are sometimes hypocritical

What happens when stereotypes are built into sport culture?

Why have stereotypes about Native Americans persisted in U.S. sports?

Why have other ethnic stereotypes been rejected in U.S. sports?

Using Native American team names has often led to offensive media coverage

Sport Participation amongLatinos & Hispanics

The experiences of Latino and Latina athletes have been ignored until recently

Stereotypes about physical abilities have influenced perceptions of Latino athletes

Latinos now make up over 25% of Major League Baseball players

Latinos often confront discrimination in school sports

Latinas have been overlooked due to faulty generalizations about gender and culture

Sport Participation amongAsian Americans

The cultural heritage and histories of Asian Americans are very diverse

The sport participation patterns of Asian Americans vary with their immigration histories

Little is known about how the images of Asian American athletes are represented in the media and minds of people in the US

The Dynamics of Racial & Ethnic Relations in Sports

Race and ethnicity remain significant in sports today

Today’s challenges are not the ones faced in the past

It is a mistake to think that racial and ethnic issues disappear when desegregation occurs

The challenge of dealing with inter-group relations never disappears – it changes in terms of the issues that must be confronted

Eliminating Racial & Ethnic Exclusion in Sports (I)

Changes are most likely when

1. People with power and control benefit from inclusion

2. Individual performances can be measured precisely and objectively

3. Members of an entire team benefit from the achievements of teammates

(continued)

Eliminating Racial & Ethnic Exclusion in Sports (II)

Changes are most likely when

4. Superior performances do not lead to automatic promotions on teams

5. Team success does not depend on off-the-field socializing and friendships

6. Athletes have little power or authority in the organizational structure of a sport organization or team

After Inclusion: Managing Racial & Ethnic Diversity

Racial and Ethnic Diversity creates management challenges related to

The social dynamics on teams The social dynamics among

spectators The marketing of athletes, teams, and

leagues

NOTE: The global recruitment of players insures that diversity issues will always exist in sports

The Biggest Challenge: Integrating Positions of

Power

Even when sport participation is racially and ethnically mixed, power in sports is not readily shared

The movement of minorities into coaching and administrative positions has been very slow

Social and legal pressures are still needed before power is fully shared

Needed Changes:

Regular and direct confrontation of racial and ethnic issues by people in positions of power

A new vocabulary for dealing with new forms of racial and ethnic diversity in our lives

Training sessions dealing with practical problems and issues, not just feelings

Other Topics

The following slides are for those who deal with “race and performance” issues in depth

Using Critical Theory to Ask Questions About Racial Classification Systems

Which classification systems are used?

Who uses them? Why are some people so dedicated to

using certain classification systems? What are the consequences of usage? Can negative consequences be

minimized? Can the systems be challenged? What occurs when systems change?

The Racially “Natural Athlete”?

There is no evidence showing that skin color is related to physical traits that are essential for athletic excellence across sports or in any particular sport.

Socially Constructing the Black Male Body: Racial Ideology in

Action

In Euro-American history there has been Strong fears of the physical power and

prowess of (oppressed) black men Powerful anxieties about the sexual

appetites and capabilities of (angry) black men

Deep fascination with the movement of the black body

THEREFORE, the black male body = valuable entertainment commodity

Research Summary(Genetic Factors & Athletic

Performance)

Are there genetic differences between individuals? YESYES

Are genetic characteristics related to athletic excellence? YESYES

Could one gene account for success across a range of different sports? PROBABLY NOTPROBABLY NOT

Might skin color genes & physical performance genes be connected? NO EVIDENCENO EVIDENCE

Research Summary (Continued)

Are physical development & the expression of skills in sports related to cultural definitions of skin color and race? DEFINITELY YESDEFINITELY YES

Do cultural ideas about skin color & race influence the interpretation of and meaning given to the movement and achievements of athletes? DEFINITELY DEFINITELY YESYES

Social Origins of Athletic Excellence

A cultural emphasis on achievement in activities that have special cultural meaning

Resources to support widespread participation among young people

Opportunities to gain rewards through success

Access to those who can teach tactics and strategies

Consequences of Racial Ideology in

Sports

Desegregation of revenue producing sports Continued racial exclusion in “social” sports Position stacking in team sports Racialized interpretations of achievements Management barriers for blacks Skewed distribution of African Americans in

US colleges and universities