Conclusion

After a semester of discussion and analysis with the help of this blog, this will be my final post. I have to say that SM 4250 Sport & Gender was very eye opening. While I was already aware of most of the topics we discussed - I'd say better than half - I definitely learned how to see things in a different way, with the help of the class. Writing blogs allowed me to voice my opinion giving my peers a chance to critique my ideas, and giving me the chance to comment on their opinions as well.

Blogs facilitated open discussion in a friendly way that probably would not occur in a class room. Many classmates stated in their presentation that they probably wouldn't have discussed these topics in class and thought they would better express themselves through a blog than through discussion. Many, myself included, didn't want to hurt someone's feelings with our opinion, so it made it easier to write a blog to write what we really felt and get feedback that way. I found it interesting to see what people really felt that necessarily don't have a voice in class.Most people had a lot to say about touchy subjects that they wouldn't feel comfortable speaking about in the classroom.

If there is something I could change about blogging in class, it would be to set deadlines that everyone needs to meet. I found it very easy to procrastinate because the blogs aren't all due until the end of the semester. Also, sometimes I would even forget about blogging altogether. If there were deadlines, my blogs, and many others, would remain more current and up-to-date. Also, I felt our group presentations could've been better if blog groups were created at the beginning of the semester. This would put more of an emphasis on the group aspect and we could've made our blogs relate more, making the presentations better overall.

I felt that blogs were a great way to learn outside of the classroom. On some subjects I didn't know much about, it really helped me because I did some more research on those topics to help me better understand them. Seeing classmate's opinions also gave me a different perspective on topics that I never would've thought of. I think that I will use blogging in the future. Blogging has become a great way to keep people up-to-date on yourself, sports, news or anything that you want to talk about. As a future sports writer, blogging is a great tool to use and I'm sure that I will use it.

I hope everyone enjoys break! There's only one thing left to say... Let's Go Orange!!!

Cockiness or Motivation?

In sports, many of today's top stars are outspoken and show emotion in games to provide motivation for themselves as well as teammates. While many see these actions as cockiness, I see it as a positive way for players to pump themselves up.

Kevin Garnett is an athlete that stands out the most in this category. Before every game, he fires himself up by headbutting the padding underneath the basket and during games he is continually talking to himself and beating his chest. Outsiders may see his actions as outlandish and unnecessary because it seems as if he is trash talking opponents. I see it as a good way for him to motivate himself without affecting the play of others on purpose. It has the potential to affect the play of others, but this is not why he does it and for that reason, I think it's acceptable for KG to show his emotions as a way to motivate himself.



Recently, athletes have also showed emotion in a different way. In the 90's, it became the norm for NBA players to be "thugs" - or show their "cool pose" as we learned in class. In the 2000's players aren't forced to act tough the way they used to. Carmelo Anthony is an excellent example of this. While watching him play for Syracuse Orange, and now for the Denver Nuggets, you rarely see him frown because he always has a smile on his face. More players have followed suit and are showing a more fun side than players have in the past. I think that this is good for the game of basketball as more players just seem like they are having a good time but are still playing at the highest level possible.

LeBron James and the Cavaliers are a great example of this as they are often seen dancing and laughing after a good play. While this is similar to Carmelo or KG, I see this as being too much at times. It is a cocky way to express yourself and I feel that in some instances it is worse than trash talking. Recently, Joakim Noah took offense to this and let LeBron know that he didn't appreciate it.

Overall, I think there is a fine line between showing emotion, motivating yourself and acting cocky in sports. I think that at times showing these emotions is okay, but players should be careful so that their displays don't negatively affect the play of their opponents or put them down in anyway.

Females in the NBA?

Recently, there has been debate on whether females will ever play in the NBA. David Stern sparked the debate as he was quoted saying that "it's a good possibility" that there could be a woman playing in the league within the decade in a recent interview with Sports Illustrated.

LeBron James and teammate Anthony Parker added to the debate saying that they don't think that would happen. Interestingly, Parker is the brother of WNBA star, Candice Parker. In my opinion, Candice would be the closest player in the WNBA that could make the transition to the NBA because of her dominant skill set in the female's game.

The Syracuse Orange woman's basketball team responded by agreeing with James and Parker saying that they also don't see this happening. While many would love to see it happen, they still see it as a stretch of the imagination.

“A woman playing in the NBA would be great, but if she stayed in the WNBA and was that good, it would bring that much more to the women’s side,” said sophomore point guard Lynnae Lampkins.

I agree with this statement. A female playing in the NBA would take away from the success of the WNBA. While it would bring a lot of attention to the NBA and the team the female would play for, the WNBA would essentially be tossed to the side and forgot about. Imagine how much more publicity the WNBA would receive for a female with abilities that could translate to the NBA.

Many also see that men are much faster and stronger for females to ever successfully compete in the NBA. I also agree with this fact. While there are many females out there that are better in all facets of their game than males, the top males and females of the world could not compete together. Males would completely dominate which would cause the players to not play at their highest level. Overall, I don't see females in the NBA as a good idea and I feel that genders should be separated when it comes to the most elite leagues of the world, including the NBA and WNBA.

Is there a such thing as too much emotion in college football?

Last week during the SEC championship, number 2 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide upset number 1 ranked Florida Gators 32-13. The Gators were picked by many as the projected National Championship and have been ranked the top team in the nation all season after becoming the National Championships last season.

Tim Tebow, senior quarterback of the Gators and captain, showed emotion as he was shown crying on the sideline near the end of the game. Tebow received a lot of negative reactions from commentators as well as college football fans from around the country.

I don’t see Tebow crying as a bad thing at all, it is not showing that he is weak or a “crybaby” like many described him, but it shows the emotion that he puts in to the game of football. He is the emotional leader of the team so I don’t see this as out of the ordinary. Every game, Tebow is out there psyching up the offense and defense and is always the first player to give praise for a good play.

It is obvious how much Tebow puts into the game of football and he should be a model for younger players to mold their game after. Too many players these days don’t put enough emotion into the game. While many would say that Tebow puts too much emotion in to the game, I think players like him are good for the game. While I am not a Florida fan – or Tebow fan for that matter – I see nothing wrong with him crying and showing emotion on the field. Those who look down on him for crying should first ask themselves if they put half of his emotion into one thing that they do. If so, can you really blame him? I don’t.

The Williams Sisters and Indian Wells

In class we discussed the Williams sisters and the Indian Wells issue. During the tournament in 2001, Venus Williams decided to sit out of her match because of an injury. While this is a very common problem in professional tennis, the managers at Indian Wells decided not to announce this until the last minute, leaving fans without the chance to see the Williams sisters play in the semifinals. A couple of days later when Serena was playing in the finals, the angry crowd booed her. When Venus and her father entered the stadium, they were booed and members of the crowd yelled racist comments at the two. Richard, their father, emphatically raised his fist in the air reminiscent of the 1968 Olympics.

I feel that although there may have been racist comments made, the Williams sisters should play the Indian Wells tournament. I don't condone any racist comments whatsoever, but I feel the fans have a right to be upset. Ticket prices are not cheap, and watching the Williams sisters play is not an easy ticket to find. I bet most athletes in all sports hear racist comments on a regular basis. The Williams sisters are basically just feeding the fire and letting the racist fans win. I think it would be more of a statement if the sisters came back and rose above the racism and proved that they were better than it rather than just avoiding it. On top of that, there were way more fans in attendance at Indian Wells that weren't racist that are getting the shaft because the Williams sisters won't play the event. Not only do the racist fans win, the thousands of other fans lose because of that. In my opinion, the Williams sisters should play at Indian Wells and end the boycott.

Athletes with disabilities

Before joining this class, my knowledge of disability in sports was limited. I took a sport history class and an Olympics course at my previous college, Brockport, and these courses briefly covered this topic. With that being said, I could only name a couple of athletes.

One being Jason McElwain (more famously known as J Mac). He is an autistic boy from Greece, New York a suburb of Rochester, which is only minutes from Brockport. J Mac was a manager on the basketball team at his high school, Greece Athena. During the division title game against Spencerport in 2006, Greece Athena developed a large lead and the coach decided to put McElwain in. To everyone's surprise, J Mac hit six three-pointers and a two-pointer finishing the game with 20 points in just four minutes. Once the game was over, the crowd rushed the court and embraced J Mac as they put him on their shoulders and carried him around the gym. Currently, there is a movie being written about J Mac and should be filmed within the next couple years.



The other athlete that I could name was Oscar Pistorious, a South African runner who is a double amputee. Pistorious uses artificial legs, called Cheetah Flex-Foot, from the knee down. Pistorious is known by many as "the fastest man without legs" and dominates in paralympic events. He currently holds world records and is always the runner to beat. During 2007, Pistorious tried his hand in the Olympics qualifiers. Despite breaking his own fastest time and finishing third in the race against able-bodied competitors, Pistorious was about a second behind the qualifying time to make it into the Olympics. Pistorious is changing the way athletes with disabilities are viewed and proved that he could compete against some of the world's best runners against all odds.

Gay Athletes in Sports

Over the years, the idea of a gay person in sports has been a touchy topic. More recently, in high school and college specifically, there have been more cases of athletes coming out to their teammates. There have been positive and negative cases in doing so. Corey Johnson is an example of an athlete - specifically a co-captain of his football team in Massachusetts - that found support from his teammates, parents, and coaches.

We discussed in class that high school and college teams are much different than a professional team. College, especially, it can be seen as more of an acceptable place to come out because people are usually more open to the idea. Professional leagues have been known for being homophobic, in a way. In the video we watched, a professional football player stated that being called gay, fag, or homo is the worst thing a teammate can say about you. He said that he would much rather have teammates talk about him getting arrested with cocaine than them to say he is a homosexual.

Because of this fact, gay athletes in sports feel unsafe - and rightfully so - coming out to teammates. Athletes in the NFL, MLB, and NBA have come out following their retirement, but there has never been an openly gay athlete that has came out during his career. I agree with the idea that there would need to be a Jackie Robinson-esque player to come out for it to be acceptable. First of all, the athlete needs to be elite, and a dominant force in their sport. Secondly, the athlete must be willing to take punishment, abuse and all that comes for a "first generation" person if-you-will. Just like Jackie Robinson being abused for being the first big-name black athlete in the MLB, the athlete must be willing to put up with a lot to be the first gay athlete in a professional league.

Yao Ming

As we discussed in class, Yao Ming changed the face of the NBA when he made his debut in 2000. Before he entered the league, many saw the post-Jordan era as a less professional, and more “gangster” league. Most people viewed NBA players – specifically Allen Iverson, but also included others – as thugs, criminals, or gangsters (which is not an off-the-wall argument looking at the actions of many players in the league.)

The hip-hop fashions and bad attitudes of many players in the late 90’s – which can still be seen even in today’s game on occasion – helped spark the debate that the NBA was full of these so-called thugs and low-lives. Yao Ming brought in a wave of international talent. It seemed after he entered that it became acceptable for more international players to join the league as well including players such as: Andrew Bogut, Yi Jianlian, and Andrea Bargnani for example.

Shaq was the first to call out Yao shortly after his arrival saying “Tell Yao, Ching-chong, yang, wah-ah-so.” This sparked a lot of controversy, and rightly so. It can be argued that this was just “Shaq being Shaq” and that it was a big joke but I think that if this was the other way around and Yao called him out with a derogatory statement towards blacks, it would be a much bigger deal. In the end, it seems to me that Shaq felt threatened by Yao’s arrival to the NBA and has too much of an ego to not say something.

Yao Ming was the first well-known Asian to enter the NBA. This is mostly due to his lanky 7’5” frame and natural talent. Much hype followed Yao into the league but behind the hype was doubt. Despite his talent, many challenged this and saw him as a “soft” player. Essentially, being soft means that he wasn’t tough or strong enough to be a force in the NBA. Yao has proved the doubters wrong and showed that he can be a dominant player in the NBA as he has shown over the past few seasons – when he’s not injured – that he is a force to be reckoned with.

Since entering the league, Yao has become China’s biggest hero. Every game, millions of viewers in China tune in to watch the Houston Rockets, the team that Yao plays for. His celebrity was really shown at the 2008 Beijing Olympics where he was (besides Kobe Bryant) the games’ biggest star.

Michelle Wie

In class, we discussed Michelle Wie and her controversial golf career. Wie has been receiving praise since a very young age; she was discovered at the age of 10. She has been called the female Tiger Woods by some, although she hasn’t won any major tournaments. At 20 years of age now, she is still very young and has a lot of time to grow into the player many think she will become; I think she still needs time to develop.

Wie hopes to become the first female to play in the Masters and compete with men. Before this is even a possibility, she needs to prove herself as a dominant force in the LPGA. Wie recently got her first career win at the Lorena Ochoa Invitational in Guadalajara, Mexico. Before Annika Sorenstam tried her hand at playing in a PGA major, she completely ran the tables in the LPGA winning a majority of the tournaments and made the most money.

Many people get swallowed up in the hype surrounding Wie and automatically argue that she should be able to play in a men’s major. Although she did just recently win, I believe that this praise hasn’t meant much so far because she hasn’t proven herself. It is still too early to call her a flop because she is still very young and has plenty of time to grow as a golfer but so far she hasn’t lived up to her hype.

Boys participating in girl's sports

Recently in class, we discussed whether or not boys should participate in females' sports teams. A lot of times, some high schools have eliminated sports because of Title IX (or simply do not offer the sports to boys) so many boys have turned to competing with girls on their teams.


In class, we watched a video that showed a boy competing on a girl's field hockey team. The boy was a hockey player looking for a sport to work on his skills in the off-season; field hockey seemed to be the perfect choice for him. Too bad field hockey is only offered to females in the United States. Despite this fact, he still joined the team and was one of the star players. Most of his female teammate's parents were extremely upset about this. Some of the arguments against him joining the team were that he would easily injure the girls but at that point of the season, there was not one incident. Many were also upset because he was taking playing time away from their daughters that were now sitting on the bench because he was a starter. Although this may be true, he was good enough to play over them; the coach of the team was quoted saying that she would give her team the best shot to win playing the best players, even if they were a boy.

I agree that boys should be able to compete with girls in high school, as I also agree girls should be able to compete with boys. This should only be if the sport, or equivalent to that sport, is offered at their high school. Therefore, boys should not be able to compete in girl's basketball if boy's basketball is offered. If there Isn't a volleyball team offered for boys but there is a girls team, males interested in the sport should be able to play. It's the only fair way. People argue for girls to compete on boy's teams, why shouldn't boys be able to do the same if they are not offered the sport?

Females playing "rough" sports

In class last week we discussed whether females should play in rougher, contact sports that are usually only played by boys. Some of these sports include football and wrestling. I'm going to be honest, before class I thought that girls should not be allowed to compete against boys in most of these sports. The two girls discussed were: Holley Mangold who plays lineman for Keetering Alter High School in Ohio and a girl wrestler (not sure of her name) who made it to states in her weight class. Both of these girls were very good at their respective sports and could compete. They didn't want to be treated any differently than their teammates because they were girls.

The wrestler was a dominant force in her weight class. Holley Mangold, sister of New York Jets and former Ohio State Buckeye, Nick Mangold, loved hitting and could hold her own on the field.
Although these girls may be different than most female athletes, I think that if a girl wants to play a "rougher" sport, she should be able to. One thing is that they should not be treated differently than the rest of the boys. If they are aware of the consequences in the sport (being tackled and pushed around in football) and the pain that comes with contact sports, they shouldn't be able to receive special attention because of their gender.

These two females are just a couple examples of many girls who can compete and want to play contact sports with boys. Both opened my eyes to girls that can compete with boys in sports. Again, I think if the girls can compete, really want to try to play, are aware of the risks in the sport and won't receive special attention, they should be able to do whatever they want to do.

Thursday September 17th, 2009

In class, we discussed the recent events at the US Open that have shaken up the sports world recently. The athletes that have caused the discussion were Serena Williams and Roger Federer.



Serena Williams' issue took place during the women's final event at the US Open. She was called for a foot fault and the penalty was to take a point away, luckily for her opponent Kim Clijsters it was on match point. When the call was made, Serena furiously walked towards the line judge (with raquet and ball in hand) and continued to threaten her. I can't say that I agree with her actions, but I think calling a foot fault in that situation is a little ridiculous. Not that I would make that call but if I was the line judge that did, I'd probably need a clean pair of underwear after the match. Serena is that intimidating, she's like the Brian Urlacher of women's tennis. Serena's not known for being aggressive towards calls or the type of player to cause an outburst the way she did at Flushing Meadows; this might be the reason for why she has seen so much backlash following the incident. Many people in the class agreed that if she was the type of player to do something like this, she wouldn't be in as much trouble as she is now. I thought Serena's outburst was a little excessive but her anger was warranted. She had the right to be mad but she took her anger out in the worst way possible. I could even understand it if she apologized following the match in the press conference, but that didn't happen. She didn't say she was sorry until the next day through her public relations firm and I thought it felt unsympathetic and forced. I'm sure this will all blow over soon but it would've been out of the news a lot faster if she came out right after and admitted she was wrong.



Roger Federer found himself in trouble during the men's final at the US Open against Juan Martin del Potro for arguing a call with the chair umpire. del Potro called for a review of a shot that Federer thought was over. Player's are usually only given a couple seconds to decide they want a shot reviewed; in this case, del Potro took five to 10 seconds to call it. Some believe that del Potro was given insight to make the call by his coach or another acquaintance. Federer then went to the umpire and let him know he was unhappy with the call. While making his point, Federer used profanity. His language wasn't directed at the umpire or used in a threatening way and wasn't yelled so I see this outburst as not as serious as Serena's. With that being said, both tennis players are being used as examples so this trend doesn't continue. In my opinion, Roger should be fined for breaking his racquet (as should Serena) but I don't think he should be fined for arguing the call. He had a valid point and wasn't threatening toward the umpire. He did use profanity but he was frustrated, that happens. Any athlete can think of a situation where they have been frustrated and used some words that they wouldn't use in front of their grandmother. If his words were directed at the umpire it would be different; he was sitting down, looking the other direction and speaking to the umpire about the call.

Those were the events that have caused some debate over the week and have occupied a majority of our class discussions in Sport and Gender.

Take care!

Tuesday, September 8th

In class this week we continued our discussion on gender. The reading to go along with our discussion was Guns and Dolls. When speaking about gender, Prof. Spencer brought up the point that awareness of gender begins at birth. When a baby is born, the first thing people ask are "is it a boy, or a girl?" Also, there are colors associated with new babies. It is customary for a boy to be associated with the color blue, and girls with pink. These ideas remain constant as the child grows. Boys play with guns (and other toys that are more aggressive), and girls play with dolls. When asked what toys we had it became apparent that most students (including myself) had similar experiences. Some examples of toys that males had were nerf guns, wrestling action figures, and sports equipment. Some of my favorites were Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures (for obvious reasons...they are awesome) and of course wrestling action figures (because who wants to be the only kid at the playground without a Stone Cold Steve Austin figurine?) The girls who shared examples of their childhood toys mostly stayed true to the traditional model. There were a couple exceptions where girls played with more masculine toys.
A question was brought up, what if your child played with toys that weren't gender appropriate, how would you feel? I agree with the class consensus. I think it's more acceptable for a girl to play with more masculine toys than it is for a boy to play with dolls or a more feminine toy. We discussed that our society set the bar for what females should look like, and that is the unrealistic, perfect figure of the Barbie doll. We also watched a short clip titled Tough Guise, I feel that as a male I can relate to this more so I will discuss this rather than the Barbie doll idea. I thought it was completely accurate. Men feel that they have to conform to the masculine ideal set up in our society. As a male, I have felt this pressure, as I feel most other men have as well. My favorite athlete, Michael Jordan is a perfect example of this. He represents what society says a male should be like. Highly competetive, tough, successful, athletic, and so on. I feel that no one should be forced into acting or looking like someone else. Everyone is different, not every male is highly masculine (aka Chuck Norris), and not every female is extremely feminine. There are shades of grey, hopefully our society will recognize this and not continue to force people into roles they don't necessarily fit in to. That's all I have to say about that.

Have a good weekend!

Runner Caster Semenya has heard the gender comments all her life

During class last week we discussed how gender affects sports. The recent case, and reading, that directly pertains to this subject deals with Caster Semenya. The article is "Runner Caster Semenya has heard the gender comments all her life" was written by Robyn Dixon and was published in the August 21st, 2009 issue of the Los Angeles Times. Semenya is an 18-year-old female runner from South Africa.

Recently, controversy has surrounded Semenya and her success because she "looks like a boy." In my opinion, if she wouldn't have won at the World Championships in Berlin this wouldn't be an issue. But she did win; not only did she win, she completely destroyed the competition. In the 800-meter race, her closest rival finished 2.45 seconds behind her. Semenya will be put through a rigorous gender test to prove that she in fact, is a woman. The article goes on to tell the story of how these 'gender comments' are nothing new to Semenya, she has always been teased about looking like a boy and not the stereotypical girl. Semenya's mother, Dorcas, stated her disapproval of these claims, "She's a girl. I'm the mother of that girl. I'm the one that knows about Caster. If they want to know about Caster, tell them to come to me."

The claims are not completely unjustified. Semenya does resemble a male in many aspects. First of all, her appearance and muscle definition stand out the most. Compared to other competitors, she does resemble a man, in my opinion. Now, I believe if Semenya has been teased and ridiculed about looking like a male her entire life, this claim should be nothing new. If she truly is female, and argues this fact, a gender test should be no problem. Although it is a very personal thing to go through, she is a professional athlete and put herself up to this criticism in joining the South African team.

Introduction

Hey everybody, my name is CJ Watson. I am currently a senior at BG. I am majoring in Sport Management with a focus on Communication minoring in Journalism. This is my second year at BG, I transferred here last year from SUNY Brockport near Rochester, NY. Originally, I am from a small town called Hannibal which is about 30 minutes from Syracuse, New York. This blog will be filled with my opinions/thoughts on topics discussed in Sport and Gender 4250.

My love for sports started at a young age. I began playing basketball at the age of 6 and played all the way up through high school until I graduated. I still play but not at the college level; mostly open runs at the rec, intramurals and summer leagues. I also played football from about the age of 10 until 17 when I decided to stop playing so that I could focus on basketball. I started playing tennis in 10th grade at the age of 15 and quickly caught on. Tennis remains a love of mine and I still play for fun with friends and semi-competetively in summer leagues.

During the first day of class (Tuesday, August 25th) we were asked how we define sport. In my opinion, sport is a game that is competetive in nature, has a clear set of rules, a clear set of time and space, has an obstacle (which can be another competetor, or even time), is institutionalized and requires physical and mental excertion. For example, poker cannot be considered a sport because it has no physicality involved. The same can be said for cup staking (which is very cool by the way) and chess. I think understanding the definition of sport is very important for a person like myself, a Sport Communications major. Hopefully, I will be involved with sports on a daily basis when I get a job so knowing the defintion of what I do is extremely important.

During class we were asked to chosen one male and one female athlete we would love to watch. Naturally, as a huge basketball fan I picked one of my all-time favorite players, Kobe Bryant (yes, I would chose Michael any day but I wanted to keep my athletes current.) The reason I would chose to see Kobe is because of his determination and work ethic. You either love him or hate him, but either way you can't deny how good the guy is. He does work, just check out the movie. I mean come on, Lil Wayne even wrote a song about him! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCH-owsrC-A)

The female athlete I chose was Serena Williams. I have to show love to tennis and if you want to watch tennis at the highest level in the women's division, you watch Serena, period. Her and Venus are so dominating it's ridiculous. Not only is she a great player, she has a back story that sounds like it was written for a movie. Coming from Compton, her and Venus being coached by their father (who isn't a great tennis player) and dominating tennis for as long as she has is nothing less than inspiring.

That's about it for now. Until next time, stay classy.