{Problems in Collegiate Sport}

            Although athletics in college has many beneficial aspects, there are also some shortcomings that need to be brought into the light. From lecture in KIN 347 we learned that student athletes at Texas have very dismal ratings in their Graduate Success Rates (GSR), Federal Gradation Rate (FGR), and their Academic Progress Rate (APR).  While some of this is accounted for because of athletes moving onto the professional level, for the vast majority of student athletes this is not the case. I understand that college athletes have packed schedules and often times have so much pressure being put on them, that adding school on top of that seems like too much, but the poor ratings of athletes graduation rates is a problem.  Something needs to be done about this problem with student-athletes academics.  I believe by maybe creating programs for athletes to work on their academics in the midst of all the chaos of games and practice will help them to have higher graduation rates. Things such as mandatory team study hours, or mid-semester check points on grades will encourage a better academic discipline and will hopefully solve this academic problem.

            I believe that the excess of revenue in the athletic department can also be problematic. While our coaches are doing a fantastic job at what they do, they are being grossly overpaid. I believe that a good solution to this problem would be to require a certain percentage of profits from the academic department to go straight back to the university. 

{Collegiate sport is undervalued by academia}

Myles Brand

From reading Myles Brand’s article, “The Role and Value of Intercollegiate Athletics in Universities,” I believe that while collegiate sport does have its shortcomings, it should not be discredited as not contributing anything to the academics of a University.  Why is ballet considered an art form and valued by people in the academic world, when the skills used in basketball or football are not given nearly as much academic credit? I think the academic society has put a negative connotation on collegiate sports and has therefore, failed to realize that student-athletes in a collegiate athletic program are no different than students in any performing arts program, in terms that they are all performing an art.  Athletes should receive academic credit for their practice in their sport, just like any other student at a university who receives credit for learning to master a skill. The traditional views of what should be considered “academic” and what should not need to be re-examined, because athletes, as well as other students in universities are not receiving the academic credit they deserve.

The sports industry is providing so many jobs for Americans and should not be discredited by those who think it is less "academic." Taking away sports in the college setting would not only hurt the athletes at schools, but would also harm the economy of the college city and even the state. Sports in college do much more good than bad, and should be respected by academia. 

{Athletic Scholarships Must Go?}

So I first read the Rod Gilmore's article, "College Players Deserve Pay for Play," then I read John R. Gerdy's article, "For True Reform Athletic Scholarships Must Go," and now I am completely stumped. I do not know which side of the issue I am on; whether to pay college athletes or not. Both author's made extremely well developed, thought out points that had good justification. In Gerdy's article he argued that by taking away athletic scholarships, much of the academic issues in athletes, and even society's unhealthy competitive nature and view of sports would be changed. He made a very valid argument that by awarded scholarships to athletes, we are basically paying them to play, and "hiring" and "firing" them which all constitute professional sport.

I believe that enacting these changes and only awarding need based scholarships for athletes would take serious negotiating and lots of time but could potentially change the face of the entire athletic world.

{Paying Collegiate Football Players}

I thought that the article, "College football players deserve pay for play," by Rod Gilmore was very interesting, and it changed my views on the idea of paying collegiate players for playing. I first disagreed with paying players with money that belongs to a school program, but does make sense that football players deserve a portion of the tremendous income that is coming in from football programs, because they work really long hours, more than is even required, to prepare for games. Because of their practices, they do not have time to get jobs, which can be problematic because often their scholarships do not factor in the cost of living. This could be problematic, because if you pay football players, you will have to do the same for the rest of your athletic program, which could be very difficult. I really liked Gilmore's idea of putting some of the money earned from football programs toward trust funds for players after they graduate. I think this idea could be very useful, and help the players who do not go onto professional sports careers start their life after college.

{Football and Dogfighting???}

I see where Malcolm Gladwell is coming from in his article, "Offensive Play," but I do think that some of the cases mentioned are very extreme. While football leagues can do a better job of monitoring the health of their players and even urging the players to retire if they have had too much brain damage, every sport has it's risks and these players know what they are getting into when playing football.  I do not think that isolating football only examining one sport is fair, because every sport has potential to harm athletes' health.  Some of the issues of depression among NFL players described in the article are not proven to be caused from football, so I did not think those points were valid arguments.  Football has valuable strategy tactics and is not morally degrading like dog-fighting. Dog fighting is rooted in violence and hatred while football is based on skill and strategy and ultimately, dog fighting and football are not even comparable.

{Violence in sport is a problem... But there are solutions!}

While reading the article "Violence in Sport: Just Part of the Game?," I realized that violence doesn't have to be part of the game! Sports such as hockey and football have their violent components, but they do not have to be inherently violent.  In hockey much of the fighting only occurs out of the players frustration and aim to get an unfair advantage in the game. If the mindsets of these hockey players were changed to value the pursuit of excellence from the belief of winning at all costs, violence in hockey would not be nearly as big of a problem. I really liked the solution that Edmund Vaz proposed to solve the hockey problem, where he stated that referees should deduct points for breaking the rules and take into account the number of infarctions on teams when determining the winner of a game. This rule would force the players to value the rules of the game and strive for excellence in the skill of the game instead of trying to gain unfair advantages by harming their opponents.

In football I think solving the problem of violence is a much more difficult task.  There are already many rules in place that have consequences for unnecessary violence and the equipment in place is probably as safe as the manufacturers can make it. I think that some things in life just come with the territory and everything has it's risks. Driving, stress, fast food, and drinking all have their risks but they do not stop us from engaging in any of these activities.  

Boxing, on the other hand, is plain fighting, and I believe that it is pure violence. The object of the sport is to cause harm to the other person with blows, so I believe that by making it illegal until the age of 18, when a person can give their own consent to do it, we can let people choose whether or not they want to participate at their own discretion. 

{The Impact of Black Athletes Through History}

Jackie Robinson
First African American to play in MLB 

From reading the article, “Black Heroes in Sport: From Jack Johnson to Muhammad Ali”, by Joseph Dorinson, I have learned more than I ever knew about black athletes. These athletes mentioned in the article, all participated in non-team sports, where a black athlete faced less segregation at the time. It seemed very interesting to me how society would put so much pressure on these athletes to be not only professional in their sport but also leaders in the fight for their race. Their images were on display for all of America to see, so if they messed up it was not only against them but also against the whole Black American population.

Even though there was a lot of scrutiny and judgment against these athletes, these athletes were able to make tremendous strides for the black community.  They made it acceptable for black athletes to be household names, and it was one of the first times that African Americans were considered national heroes. Instances such as Jesse Owen’s four gold medals in the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany and Joe Louis’s defeat of German boxer Max Schmeling in their second heavy weight fight in 1938 allowed these athletes to make statements for racial equality by proving themselves as competitive athletes who deserve just as many rights as anyone else. 

{Unfair Pressure on Women in Sports}

Brandy Chastain
             Female Soccer Player

Many young women experience body image problems and women athletes are no exception. Sports are supposed to teach us self-confidence, but that is not always the case. It is crazy that female athletes are more prone to eating disorders than non-athletic women. A Brown University article, "Muscle vs. aesthetics," quotes a study, saying that between 16 and 72 percent of female athletes experience eating disorders, as compared to only five to ten percent in the general population. Why would these girls who so many people look up to not be satisfied with themselves? A big reason is this happens is because these women view their bodies in a very impersonal way that makes them view themselves as tools instead of people.  Some “weight monitoring sports” tend to be harmful for women because they make women focus on the fine details of their body shape.

Women on the other end of the sports spectrum often regret training to their full capacity to avoid becoming “more masculine.” Even though gaining muscle for their sport is very good, it makes these women athletes very uncomfortable with their bodies.

It is not fair that women are scrutinized so much more than men for their body size and shape. Men are applauded when they look more muscular and if they are in a sport that requires them to be more lean, it is not a big problem, but women are thought of differently if they go the distance in the weight room. Women should not feel that they have to hold back in their sport to be accepted in society. 

{Why we hate fat people...}

While many of the points in J. Eric Oliver’s article, “Why We Hate Fat People,” were very constructive and educational, I think he is undermining the importance of a healthy life style.  America has many superficial, stereotypical issues with judging people by their appearance, whether they are heavier, or wearing something that is considered strange, or if they are a certain race, and I think to single out one issue and not consider the fact that we do this in so many other forms is ignorant. People are going to think that different things are attractive as time goes on, that is true, but the health risks of obesity and living a sedentary lifestyle are not. 

I think it is very wrong that we exploit people in the media for having a certain image, but it is not limited to just body size. We think highly of people for their money, prestige, relationships, etc. The consumerist mindset of America is completely distorted and tainted, and we need to be able to make the ethically right decision as individuals to decide what we value in people.

While our perception of body size is a major problem in America, I think the main thing we need to address is the obesity epidemic. Heart disease is the #1 killer of women in America, and the issue of obesity is resulting in so many economic problems to go along with it. I think America should shift its focus to solving this problem first and foremost. 

{Childhood Obesity}

There is no doubt that children are getting heavier and heavier as we are progressing in society, but the question is: how did this happen, and how will this effect the future of our society?  Life has changed a lot for an American over the past decade and these changes do not have the best effects on out health.  Baker Harrell is right in his article, “A Perfect Storm: An Analysis of the American Youth Obesity Epidemic,” that this problem of childhood obesity is not just an epidemic, but is really a cancer.

I worked at a summer camp this past summer and from seeing all the children who came through camp, it was apparent how different things have changed even since I was a kid.  Parents are only getting busier and busier, and often times the easiest thing to give their children to eat is also the unhealthiest option.  It isn’t the norm now for families to have sit down dinners together every night, and they normally end up eating in front of the television which causes them to not think about what they are eating and consume way more calories than they realize.

This is even a bigger problem for low-income families who may have to work two jobs and find time to get dinner for their family.  Fast food is the go to food for these families who don’t have time to make food for their children between their crazy work schedules and their family life. Buying fast food is cheaper than driving to the grocery store and buy all the ingredients to make a healthy meal.

School lunches for children are not helping the problem. Think of the items that you typically see in a cafeteria line: fries, mac and cheese, chicken tenders, burgers, pizza. The food we are feeding children is causing major harm to their health.

Time indoors and not engaging in physical activity is also fueling the obesity epidemic that is occurring. People are watching more and more television every year and children probably watch more than anyone. The tv is an instant babysitter for an overwhelmed parent, but this convenience is causing children to not get the physical activity they need.

Think of all the problems with health care in America. How much of that would be solved if Americans took preventative measures now to make sure they have better health in the long run? If the right preventative measures were taken, many health and economic problems could be solved in our society. Some major priority checks need to happen fast in America to save us from this health catastrophe that will inevitably occur if we don’t change our behaviors and reduce obesity. 

{Super Size Me!}

I will never see fast food in the same light after watching “Super Size Me.” I cannot believe that it is legal to allow restaurants to feed us food that could have that many damaging effects to our body. Morgan Spurlock ate only fast food from McDonald’s for 30 days for every meal, and by the end of his experiment, the changes in his blood chemistry and the stress on his organs approximated the liver failure seen in advanced alcoholics, his cholesterol had risen to dangerous levels, and he had gained 24.5 lbs.  It was also really scary that eating fast food can be addicting, just like using drugs.

We can blame the American people for not making good choices about their food, but the food industry itself has a lot to blame for this happening. The fast food industry spends three billion dollars a year promoting its products. Young children are attracted with special meals, toys, clowns, birthday parties, and playgrounds.  Why would these industries target innocent kids with such dangerous food? To make money. It really upsets me that the government does not step in and monitor the food industry better, and that the food we are giving children is left in the hands of greedy food industry moguls. The obesity epidemic should be at the top of our problems to solve here in America, but how can we solve it when the food industry is only trying to make millions at our expense. 

{The History of Sport}

Even though history is not always my favorite subject, I really enjoyed reading up on the history of sport and hearing the discussion in class. There are sp many parallels between American sports and our values here in the states. For example, I thought it was interesting that the most popular sports here in America are all team sports, (football, basketball, and baseball) which reflects the fact that we value unity and everyone working together for success. Our sports in America also reflect how we value hard physical work.  In many European countries individual sports, such as cycling and tennis, are much more popular than in America.  It is also interesting how in America our different sports reflect the themes of the different time periods in which they were created.

Sports are the center of our conversation, reasons for social gathering and a big part of our time, so it is no wonder that learning the culture and history of sport is so important to understanding society. From ancient times to college football, sport is an integral part of the world today whether people realize it or not, and the history and origin of sport reflect the values of culture. 

{Genetically Engineering Athletes???}

Myostatin deficient cow

 I cannot believe that we are getting to the point in technology where we can alter a person to have the exact traits that we want as described in the article from SportsIllustrated.com titled, “Steroids in America: The Future” by David Epstein.  While I do think that genetic engineering can be very useful for curing diseasing and improving health conditions, I do not think it should be used beyond that. I think by tampering with genetics too much, we are almost “playing God” and it is not ethically right to change the cards we were dealt. We were created the way we are for a reason, and trying to have too much control over that is unhealthy.

If we all got to choose exactly what traits we wanted to possess, what real value would natural ability have anymore? We could not watch a sporting event without questioning the integrity of the genetics of the players. How weird is that?

If sports do ban genetically altered players from participating, they would have to make sure to have no exceptions to make it fair for all players, even if they did not have the genetic changes for athletic reasons. This may seem harsh, but it would be the only way to level the playing field and keep the integrity of sports.

{Thoughts on "Bigger, Faster, Stronger"}

Today in KIN 347 we watched a documentary called, "Bigger, Faster, Stronger" that was about steroid use and other forms of performance enhancement.  The movie examined the American population's views on anabolic steroids and underlined that there is a lot of inconsistency in beliefs when it comes to cheating in sports with steroids. I thought that is was very interesting that there was not much scientific evidence to prove that steroid use was permanently harmful to an individual's health. Growing up in public schools, we were always taught how dangerous drugs were to our bodies and that we should completely avoid them all together. I think the bigger problem with performance enhancing steroid use is that it is altering the body more than just training hard and eating the correct diet can do, and therefore is giving the users an unfair advantage on the playing field.  Steroid use among professional athletes is teaching the children of America that it's okay to compromise your integrity to get ahead in whatever you are passionate about. I think that the entire sporting community needs to rethink their values in sport and decide if the false pride of winning is really more important than honorable good work.

{Steroids in America...}

After reading articles including, “Steroids in America: The Real Dope,” and listening to discussions in class, some of my views on steroids have been challenged and even altered. Before this class I believed that steroids caused the body to be unnatural in the way it altered muscles and hormone levels, but after some consideration, I realized that there are many other substances that could fall into this category.  Many athletes drink protein drinks, and most people take some sort of supplement or drug throughout some point in the day, and all these things also alter the way our body works.

Even though the “unnatural” argument is not very substantial, I still believe that steroids should not be used in sports and they are hurting they way we view success in America.  The use of steroids in professional athletes not only encourages kids to use drugs to get ahead just like their favorite sports heroes, but it encourages Americans to value winning over honesty, integrity, and good sportsmanship. 

Stopping this problem would not only benefit the physical health of Americans, but would also help get America back on track to getting its priorities in line and valuing lasting truths rather than superficial achievements.