Free Paper Sample: Sociology in Sports

Participation in sports used to be a character builder for the participants, fans, and coaches. Therefore acting as a tool that touched the lives of individuals positively. The latter has changed as the desire to win has increased at the expense of sportsmanship and creativity. The increased interest in sporting activities resulted in the potential exploitation of the event as a potential financial hub leading to the loss of sportsmanship and increased segregation of individuals based on skills rather than sports playing its crucial role of accepting both losers and winners (Cashmore, 2003). Additionally, the use of enhancement drugs, match-fixing plus interference from various social and political factors also played a vital role in reducing the interest individuals had in sports.

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Answer 1

Sports used to be an integral part of individuals and society's culture where fair play, competitiveness, and creativity were the key factors guiding the industry. However, this has changed dramatically with the increased levels of commercialization of sporting events. Sports is seen as a play for the rich with increased investments raising standards of sporting events and creating a scenario where the games are isolated from the traditional fan base. The world cup in Brazil, for example, was faced with protests due to the failure to provide infrastructural upgrades in the nation despite the high charges accrued by fans for attending the event (Briggs, 2014). With the increased desire for making profits and being financially stable clubs have continued to be marginalized based on their financial capability with the best of players getting paid higher incomes and being associated with rich clubs that can afford them. Competitive balance has therefore been substituted with financial stability.

Answer 2

For a long period, sporting activities have been regarded as a way of building a masculine identity (Drummond, 2002). Up to now, sports plays a fundamental role in which the society masculinizes the practice by being a venue where boys are instilled with various values, skills, and attitudes considered vital for their development as adults. Besides teaching "manly" values, the competitive nature of sports is also perceived as an avenue for creating men who are suitable for the dominant masculinity in the society, for example, the strain that men undergo in sports is believed to depict how their bodies can sustain physical stress (Drummond, 2002). Therefore, individuals choosing highly strenuous sporting activities are considered strong men and more athletic compared to those involved in less strenuous sporting activities.

Answer 3

When reporting on sporting events such as football that is predominated y men the media emphasizes that being a male in the society is more of a privilege than being a female. The denial of women to be actual players and limiting them to stereotypical roles such as hostess, cheerleaders, and supportive fan base portrays women as being less physical, qualified and less powerful compared to their male counterparts (Creedon, 1994). The media needs to alter its presentation of sports news and print media altogether for these factors not be interpreted as being stereotypical and discriminatory against women. Women in sports need to be given adequate coverage time in the news as the men. The media also needs to identify factors such as salaries earned by male and female sportscasters and take note of the values justifying why women are assigned less percentage regarding their sports coverage. Moreover, professional women in sports should be addressed more by their first names to emphasize their identity

Answer 4

The ethics of winning does not necessarily take into consideration all factors involved in the game. The phrase all children are winners is aimed at being accommodative to the less disadvantaged and marginalized groups who are not endowed with the resources to compete effectively with others more privileged (Normore, Rodriguez and Wynne, 2007). The super bowl winners are mostly teams with the best players in the league acquired due to their financial capability to sign them and retain their services. Therefore, teams with the highest financial ability to maintain the best talent vital in winning the super bowl are at a comparatively higher competitive advantage compared to other teams branded a loser. The competition could only be fair if the 'losing' teams are given a chance to retain the best talent in the league as a result of changing the super bowl culture from being predominantly money oriented.

Answer 5

The society today has changed sports as people are disadvantaged both financially and socially to be competitive. The lack of money, unfair opportunities for talent and increased need to win at all cost has driven most individuals to dope with steroids to overcome these barriers. However, the moral and most importantly health implications of steroid use are severe to both men and women sportspersons. Both women and men face the possibilities of being sterile due to a decrease in follicle-stimulating hormones and luteinizing hormone resulting in a reduction in tester on the level in men while I women the menstrual cycle is interrupted (Roberts, 2003). Apart from menstrual abnormalities women are also faced with irreversible masculinity effects such as male-pattern baldness, deepening of the voice, hirsutism, clitoral hypertrophy, and acne (Roberts, 2003). For both pubertal and prepubertal male accelerated maturation is witnessed due to prolonged use of steroids resulting in the changes in physic and development of secondary sexual characteristics (Roberts, 2003).

Answer 6

North American Indian reservations segregate the male and female and limit their interaction as part of their observation of their cultural and traditional values (LaFromboise, Hoyt, Oliver and Whitbeck, 2006). These values, however, limit the extent to which women can interact and possibly engage in sports activities considered to be for the male. The reservations are also endowed with challenges such as poverty, higher parent behaviors, increased cases of gender discrimination and sexual violence against women and incidents of illegal activities such as smuggling in the reservations limits the involvement of youth in sports (LaFromboise et al. 2006). Time dedicated to sports is also limited due to the need by members to fend for the family. Additionally, discrimination on sociopolitical, physical environments and cultural grounds the native Indians have been ought to be resilient to other members of the society outside their reservation (LaFromboise et al. 2006). The latter limits interaction and the extent to which the members of the reservations engage with outsiders in sports as they are isolated.

Answer 7

Selection of the name for a sports team reflects on the body image of women in a sexist manner. For example, the use of the word lady before the name of the team can be interpreted as a representation of the women as being physically frail in need of protection (Svokos, 2014). The advertisements related to funding and commercialization of the activities of the team further creates unrealistic images that are presented by the media that continuously generate critic for women in sports by a fixation on the flawed body features when compared to the advertisements and promotions. These effects can result in women seeking means of manipulating their eating habits and calorie intake s as to fit the physical representation considered ideal by society and promoters.

Answer 8

The main reason for realignment is to spread the opportunities in a manner that talent is given priority and universities as endowed are also able to nurture talent due to increased financial power due to playing better teams, having a broader coverage in media and hosting events in better stages. The latter helps in the attraction of better athletes from high schools. Another reason for realignment is the need to attain greater competitive balance due to some teams having a more extensive media coverage and home facilities which limited the talent and economic prosperity of teams that lacked such services. In the future new rivalries are likely to be formed while existing ones will gradually dissolve due to the limited number of outside conference matches allowed (Kogan and Greyser, 2014). The increased size of the conferences by mixing teams with different capabilities the difference between high and low potential between the groups is likely to increase resulting to the restructuring of the conferences (Kogan and Greyser, 2014). Athletes, coaches, content providers of radio and television; and fans alike will be forced to adapt to the change. The transition will eventually result in increased profits and revenue streams for the universities.

References

Briggs, Mark (2014). Is money ruining sport? European University Times. Retrieved on 16th August 2018 from https://times.eui.eu/is-money-ruining-sport.htmlCashmore, E. (2003). Sports culture: an AZ guide. Routledge.

Creedon, P. J. (Ed.). (1994). Women, media, and sport. Sage.

Drummond, M. J. (2002). Sport and images of masculinity: The meaning of relationships in the life course of "elite" male athletes. The Journal of Men's Studies, 10(2), 129-141. Drummond, M. J. (2002). Sport and images of masculinity: The meaning of relationships in the life course of "elite" male athletes. The Journal of Men's Studies, 10(2), 129-141.

Kogan, V., & Greyser, S. A. (2014). Conflicts of College Conference Realignment: Pursuing Revenue, Preserving Tradition, and Assessing the Future. Harvard Business School.

LaFromboise, T. D., Hoyt, D. R., Oliver, L., & Whitbeck, L. B. (2006). Family, community, and school influences on resilience among American Indian adolescents in the upper Midwest. Journal of community psychology, 34(2), 193-209.

Normore, A. H., Rodriguez, L., & Wynne, J. (2007). Making all children winners: confronting social justice issues to redeem America's soul. Journal of Educational Administration, 45(6), 653-671.

Roberts, A. (2003). Side effects of steroids. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol, 84, 369-375.

Svokos, Alexandra (2014). Schools Move to Drop 'Lady' From Women's Team Names, Drawing Mixed Reactions Headshot. HuffPost. Retrieved on 16th August 2018 from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/17/lady-women's-teams-sports-Delaware-tennessee_n_6173456.html