Sport and Gender

With the numerous class discussions about gender in sports and the stories of Caster Semenya all over the media, this is a perfect time to talk about gender in sport. The issue with Caster Semenya is that people feel she has both female and male traits. The issue that arises from this is gender testing. Many people have different opinions on this, as we have experienced in class. Some people say test everyone. The problem with this opinion is the money issue. Some say just test the people that look like they have both male and female traits. The problem with this is you are singling people out by doing this, which is discriminatory.

In my own opinion I feel that all females in competitive sports should be tested. I also feel there is no reason to test men. Some people will probably criticize me for saying this. My reasons for this are pretty simple. The first is the money issue, you can’t test everyone since this would be entirely too costly. The second is, why test males? If they already have shown they can hang with other professional male athletes, then what would be the reason behind testing them? The third reason is all females should be tested because it’s unfair to females if a male is competing against a female, as in most cases males are stronger, faster, and quicker than females. I just feel it is a competitive advantage for a male against a female, but not a female against a male.

The Pros the Pros would pay to see

After reading the 2004 Sports Illustrated article “The Pros the Pros would pay to see” Sports Illustrated asked around 600 professional athletes in baseball, football, and basketball which professional athletes they would pay to see. The top 5 athletes chosen were: Tiger Woods, Barry Bonds, Shaquille O’Neal, Michael Vick, and Serena Williams. Since this article is 5 years old, the results now would be obviously be a little different, especially with what has been going on and off the field of play lately. Barry Bonds has all the steroid allegations. Michael Vick was sentenced to federal prison for dog fighting. These two athletes would most likely be left off this list, if the list were done this year. Shaquille O’Neal probably wouldn’t be on the list anymore with the emergence of all the talented young stars in the NBA such as: Lebron, Kobe, D-Wade, and the new “superman” Dwight Howard.

If there were a new list this year I believe the competition for the top 5 would be pretty interesting. When it comes to the NFL players like Adrian Peterson, Tom Brady, or Payton Manning would definitely be in the mix. In MLB there is Albert Puljols, who would have to be on the list. Tiger Woods would still be up there along with Serena Williams. Saying all this I will let you know what my own personal top 5 would be.
1. Omar Vizquel- My Childhood Idol. The most fun thing I could do would be either hitting ground balls to Omar or turning a double play with him, both of those are dreams of mine.
2. LeBron James- I have seen him plenty of times in High School. It would be an honor to watch him as a pro.
3. Albert Puljols- Hands down the BEST baseball player on the planet.
4. Kobe Bryant- I would love to watch him as he has more of a killer instinct than anyone in sports in my mind.
5. Tiger Woods- I’m not a huge golf fan, but I can appreciate someone wanting to win as much as Tiger Woods does.

Introduction

My name is Dylan Hefflinger. I am from Defiance, Ohio attended and graduated from Defiance High School in 2004. I decided to attend Ashland University on a baseball scholarship. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out there so I ended up attending Owens Community College. After a couple of years at Owens I decided to transfer to Bowling Green State University. Here at BGSU I am pursuing a degree in Sport Management. I believe sport management is the perfect degree for me, as sports are my passion.

I have been in sports in some way my entire life. My favorite sports include: baseball, football, and basketball, which I’ve played my whole life. The reason I love these particular sports is because of how I was brought up by my parents, especially my father. Mostly everything I know about sports I learned from my father.

The top male and female athletes I would pay to watch would be Omar Vizquel and Dominique Moceanu. As an eleven year old boy I remember watching the Olympics and was amazed by everything Moceanu could do. It also probably didn’t hurt that it was easy on my eyes to watch her. When it comes to a male athlete, I chose Omar Vizquel for many reasons. I played shortstop, and idolized him growing up. He is my favorite player of all time. The last reason is that he played for my favorite team, the Cleveland Indians. To me the greatest thing I could do right now in sports would be something that most people wouldn't even consider. I wouldn't consider anything else, and that is to hit ground balls to Omar for as long as I could. I would love to just watch him field the ball with the ease he has his whole life. I just hope when he retires the Indians call him up and make him our manager. I’m just not a huge fan of Eric Wedge.