Male Athletes and Homosexuality

In the history of sport there are few instances where athletes who are gay come out. In male sports there is lots of physical activity. If a male athlete were to come out in a team sport I believe they would be ridiculed by teammates, fans, and the media. I believe there still are people in the world who dislike people who don’t go down the “correct” path. These fans would be ruthless towards a gay athlete. The way fans boo an opposing team’s players could easily be doubled if they had a gay athlete on their team. I don’t believe the media would rip on an athlete for being gay, rather they would talk about the athlete way too much and blow it out of proportion.

While I was playing sports, locker room activity and comments were pretty outlandish. Some of the older kids would do rather cruel things to the freshmen players, which if there were a gay athlete involved these things could have been crazy. The language that is used in a locker room would definitely offend the homosexual community. In my high school there were a few gay males, but none of them played any team sports that I can remember. If there were a gay athlete on my football or baseball team, I feel this guy would have quit before he even got started. The reason I say this is because he would be getting picked on every single day and I don’t know if he would be able to make it.

When it comes to professional athletes there are only one male athlete, John Amaechi, who I can think of who was a homosexual. He came out after his career. I feel the only way males will ever come out while playing their respected sport is if there is a Jackie Robinson type player who comes out. This player would need to be one of the better players as well as well-spoken and someone who would want to get the information out about homosexuality.

Sex Sells

In class we looked at a couple pictures of athletes wearing pretty much the bare minimum. The tag line for both was “only the ball should bounce”. The products displayed were a sports bra for women and a sports jock for men. With the tag line “only the ball should bounce” being used for these products, and the pictures of scantily clothed athletes, it is safe to say they are selling these products using sex appeal.
To me the Anna Kournikova’s picture does help sell sports bras, plus it could attract more men to watch women’s tennis due to its sex appeal. Men seeing this ad only see it as sex appeal, and sex sells in this day and age. Being a male myself, I found the other picture of the male humorous, and it seems like a joke of a product. It seems with that picture they are just trying to get a laugh out of its viewers. This is not a bad thing, because humor also sells.

When it comes to sex appeal and sports I feel the women’s sports need it more than the men’s sports. I say this because the majority of sports fanatics are male rather than female. I know there are plenty of women who watch sports but I’m guessing males dominate the percentages. Male sports are very entertaining to males while some female sports like basketball are too slow and don’t have the “wow” factor that men’s sports have.

Racism in sports

In class we discussed the situation with Serena and Venus Williams. In the 2001 Indian Wells tournament Venus Williams had to withdrawal from her semifinals match with her sister Serena Williams. When Venus Williams and her father showed up to Serena’s Championship match they were accompanied with some boos and probably some other negative comments. They just shrugged them off and went on to watch the match. During the match Serena was booed and also cheered when she double faulted.

Indian Wells is close to where Serena and Venus grew up, I believe. Fans who paid for the semifinals match between Serena and Venus probably paid high dollar for the tickets. Some fans were upset and displayed their frustration with boos during the championship match. Since this incident, the Williams’ sisters have decided not to go to Indian Wells anymore.

To me this is ridiculous, as professional athletes they should be able to get past the boos and other negative comments. Yes, I’m sure there were some racist comments which should never happen, but they should get past it. This can happen to any profession athlete anywhere in the world. Part of the job of a professional athlete, is to act like a professional. Which in this case, the Williams’ sisters did not.

Brown Eyes/ Blue Eyes

In the 1960’s they did a study on a 3rd grade class called brown eyes/ blue eyes. It was where Jane Elliot, the teacher, split up the classes based only on the color of their eyes. On one day the blue eyed kids were ridiculed for having blue eyes and had no privileges like playing with toys. The next day the brown eyed kids got the same treatment.

The purpose of the study was to show how young minds can be manipulated into thinking a certain way just by being told something. This study is like a form of racism. It is like growing up being told that another race is inferior to your own race, which leads to ridicule and mistreating of the other race. Young people learn behaviors from what older people tell them and by examples that they witness.

Sport and Disability

Athletes with physical disabilities should be looked at in the same light as other athletes. Just because they have a disability doesn’t mean they aren’t athletes. I’m sure they train as hard, if not harder than most athletes. For example, a disabled athlete who is confined to a wheelchair is required to have outstanding upper body strength.

Males with a physical disability have to deal with two main pressures placed on them by American culture. Men should be strong, aggressive, courageous, independent, and self reliant, which refers to hegemonic masculinity. If an athlete is disabled, these pressures can be extremely difficult to overcome. Another has to do with weakness. People with a disability are looked at as being weak. Disabled athletes must prove they are not weak by showing what they can do and overcoming the obstacles caused by their disabilities. I am impressed by how mentally tough these individuals are.

Women in Contact Sports

In class we discussed if women should be allowed to play football alongside men. There have been a few instances where females have played football. In college I can think of a kicker for Colorado, but she didn’t play that much. When it comes to being a kicker, there is little actual contact involved. Another example is Holly Mangold, who was a lineman in high school. She actually is a professional weightlifter now. Neither one of these women were able to play football at the highest level.

It just makes sense to me that women should be allowed to do what they want, and should be allowed to play any contact sport if they decide to. Saying this I don’t see a women breaking through and being able to play at a high level in college and contribute. The reason I say this is males are traditionally bigger, stronger, faster, and more athletic. I just couldn’t see a women running down a top athlete and tackling them. I also couldn’t see a woman catching the ball and get hit over and over by larger men. I feel they should be allowed to compete, I just don’t ever see one being a top player at the high school level let alone college, or the pros. Women’s bodies aren’t built like men’s and just can’t handle the intensity of contact sports with men.