Why Study Sport?

During the first week of class on January 23rd and 28th, we covered the topic area of what is sport, and why study it? As a class, we came up with eight specific reasons why sport is important and should be studied.

Why study sport?

• Millions of people are invested in sport
• Sport constitutes much of our conversations, reading, and leisure. It is a $73 billion industry
• 1/10th of the world almanac is devoted to sports
• 15% of major network time is devoted to sports
• The USA Today devoted 1/4 of its space to sports
• Sport constitutes the 4th largest industry in the US, and the 11th in the world. Sport has a gross estimate of $350 billion in revenue
• Sport wagering is a huge business - legal ($2.4 billion) illegal - ($380 billion)

As you can see, most of these reasons mentioned have to do with one common theme, and that theme is money. Connected to the text, Jay Coakley states in his book, Sports in Society:  Issues and Controversies, on pages 21 and 22, "People in wealthy postindustrial societies spend billions of dollars each year on game tickets, sports equipment, participation fees, athletic club membership dues, and bets placed to teams and athletes."

This year's Superbowl was held on February 2nd, 2014

An article written in volume 16, issue 39 of Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal written by Terry Lefton discusses this years Superbowl and how sponsors took advantage of this event for their brand. The article gives some statistics on the price to run advertisements during this year's Superbowl. According to the article, this year, a 30-second television advertisement during the Superbowl was valued at $4 million. The reasons we discussed in class on why studying sport is important reinforce why brands are willing to pay $4 million for an advertisement during the Superbowl, because our lives revolve around sports. This year's Superbowl was held in New York, and according to the article, brands tried to deliver messages to fans that had to do with New York. For brands, sporting events are a great place to share a message with fans because of all the reasons listed above.   

Collegiate Sports and Education

On February 20th and 25th in class, we discussed sports and education, focusing on the area of intercollegiate sports. Collegiate sports  are divided into three divisions:  Division I, II, III. Division I sports are the most commercialized, publicized, and receive the most attention from the media. Division I collegiate sport programs have specific characteristics that make them different than Division II and III programs.

Characteristics of big-time Division I Programs

• Usually have a primary emphasis on football or men's basketball and their revenue generating potential
• Less than 1 in 5 programs make money (most lose millions of dollars, 23/228 in Division I FBS operate in the black)
• Full scholarships are available to some athletes in many of the 18-24 sports
• Teams often travel extensively
• Quality of skills and competition is high  

With the high commercialization of Division I collegiate sports came abuses and misuses of athletes, programs, and academics

Abuses in Intercollegiate Sports

• Illegal recruiting
• Easy majors, altering grades, and transcripts (academic corruption)
• Exploitation of athletes
• Pressure to win
• Pressure to make money

An article in volume 16, issue 43 of the Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal, written by Arnie Fielkow and Otis Birdsong, talks about Division I Intercollegiate Basketball and the importance of schools making sure that they are getting the education that they deserve. The article talks a little bit about some of the issues facing intercollegiate sports. For example, according the article, a former UCLA basketball star, Ed O'Bannon is involved in a lawsuit dealing with player licensing. Another example found in the article deals with the Northwestern football players moving to form a labor union to become recognized as working employees. The article goes on to talk about the sacrifices and contributions that college athletes make to help their university gain millions of dollars through things like ticket and merchandise sales and sponsorship. With this being said, according to the article, universities have the responsibility to help their student athletes obtain their degree. Basically the thesis of the article is that attaining a college degree is the key to success in an athlete's life after sports.

Connecting to the text, Jay Coakley discusses in his book, Sports in Society:  Issues and Controversies, on page 94, the process for young people becoming elite athletes. Coakley describes this process in two steps. The first step is a process of introduction and involvement for the athlete. During this step, athletes received support from family, friends, etc. while testing out potential sports. The second step of the process is developing a commitment to participation in sport. This step deals with athletes making relationships, establishing a reputation, and creating an identity for themselves based on their sport participation. The process of becoming an elite athlete and making it to the Division I level of sport undoubtedly takes away from your academics and ability to receive a proper education. This process reiterates the need for athletes to get a good education for when an athlete's playing days end.

Athletes are not Role Models

On February 11th, 2013 in class, we discussed sports and socialization, more specifically we talked about athletes as role models and what makes an athlete a good role model. Regardless if you think athletes are or aren't role models, that isn't going to change the fact that young people will always look up to athletes and try to be like them. In class, we determined that being a role model became a part of an athlete's job at the beginning of the 20th century. Also in class, as a group we discussed the question, if you impact someone's life, don't you have an obligation to be a role model?

As a class, we came up with a list of character qualities that make up a good role model and a list of the best and worst athlete role models.

Important character qualities in role models

Pat Tillman

• Honesty
• Commitment
• Sportsmanship
• Sense of humor
• Fairness 
• Determination 
• Good Self Image
• High Moral Values

Some examples of the best athlete role models include:  Pat Tillman, Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Serena Williams, Dwight Howard, and Cal Ripken Jr. 

Mike Tyson

Some examples of the worst athlete role models include:  Michael Vick, Mike Tyson, Jerry Sandusky, Mark McGuire, Pete Rose, Marion Jones, Terrell Owens, and Anna Kournokovia 

An article in the Yale Daily News written on January 23rd, 2014 by Jimin He, takes the stance on this issue against athletes being role models. The article firmly states that athletes are not, and should not, be considered role models. The article talks about Seattle  Seahawk's player, Richard Sherman, and his post-game comments after the NFC Championship game this year. The article says that we as a society have been trained to expect that Sherman should have been humble and given a cliche-heavy statement giving credit to his teammates and opponents. Athletes should not be role models because their job is to entertain us, and as entertainers, athletes should be able to express themselves how they please. When athletes show too much passion beyond normal, we as a society consider it unacceptable, according to the article. By treating athletes as role models, we have unrealistic expectations on how they should behave. Athletes have a lot on their "plate." Practice, press conferences, travel, games, etc. are just a few things that athletes do on a daily basis. When the primary goal for an athlete is to entertain the public, it is tough for them to also be a positive role model for children all the time.

Connecting to the text, Jay Coakley discusses how athletes learn to become heroes on page 112 of his book, Sports in Society:  Issues and Controversies. Coakley mentions a study in the text done by sociologists Patti and Peter Adler where the findings show that young men that are part of high profile sports teams become deeply engulfed by their role as an athlete. Everybody that they meet reinforced their identities as athletes. In the study, the Adlers found that the young men would set goals, focused on specific tasks, and make sacrifices to succeed in their sport, but there was zero evidence that these athletes applied these lessons to other aspects of their lives. This shows that athletes focus on their sport, not on being a role model for children.  

Problems With Youth Sport

On February 13th, 2013 in class, we discussed youth sport and if youth sport programs are worth the effort. As we discussed in class, there are a total of 47 million children that participate in youth sport, and that number has increased 25% since the year 2000. With this many people participating in youth sports, it is necessary to look at the pros and cons of participating to determine if it is worth it for children.

Pros of Participating in Youth Sport

• Develops and maintains fitness
• Preparation for adulthood
• Opportunity to learn values
• Teaches interactive skills
• Provides opportunities for leadership

Whenever there are that many people participating in something, that number is eventually going to drop, and as we learned in class, it is no different when it comes to youth sport. A large number of children end up dropping out of youth sport. One-third of participants drop out every year and 70% of participants quit by the age of 13. The two main reasons children quit are because of negative parents and coaches. In addition to negative parents and coaches, there are other problems in youth sport today that we discussed in class.

Problems in Youth Sport

• Overemphasis on winning
• Pressures  by significant others to achieve success
• Instilling in unrealistic goals of stardom and professional status
• Overuse injuries, over training, and burnout

An article written in the USA Today, by Michele Healy on August 6th, 2013 brought the problem with injuries in youth sport to light. The article basically goes on to talk about the problem with injuries in youth sport and backs up its claims with statistics. According to the article, 1.35 million children faced an injury while participating in youth sport that was severe enough to require a trip to the hospital. The most common injuries found were sprains/strains, fractures, contusions, abrasions, and concessions in children from the age of 6 to 19, according to the article. The most common injuries were to the ankle, head, finger, knee, and face in that order, according to the article. Statistics like these definitely support the notion that more precautions need to be taken with kids participating in youth sports. Coaches need to know when they are pushing the kids to hard and when they need to rest them. A 14 year old kid should not be throwing 120 pitches in a baseball game. Instances like that happen every day in youth sports and nothing is ever going to change unless we become more educated on how to be safe while participating in sports.

Little League Baseball has instituted a "pitch count"
rule to protect the player's arms.

Connecting to the text, Jay Coakley discusses the problems in youth sport in his book, Sports in Society:  Issues and Controversies on page 139. He states that one of the problems with youth sport is, "Overemphasized early sports specialization that often leads to burnout, overuse injuries, and a hyper-competitive culture and organized atmosphere focused on travel teams." Also in his book, a grade of a C+ was given in the area of Health and Safety in youth sport, which is a lot lower than it should be.