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RACISM IN SPORTS.
Term Paper ID:26775

Essay Subject:
Overview of European racism, racism in Amer. sports, examples, role of culture, stereotypes, quotas, views of fans.... More...

8 Pages / 1800 Words
6 sources, 14 Citations, APA Format
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Paper Abstract:
Overview of European racism, racism in Amer. sports, examples, role of culture, stereotypes, quotas, views of fans.

Paper Introduction:
Racism in sports has its roots in the history of racism in Europe. Kleg writes, for example: The Achaeans and Dorians who invaded Greece beginning in the twelfth century B.C., destroyed the Bronze Age culture of Mycenaean Greece and ushered in a "dark age" from which it took centuries to recover. These invaders . . . were regarded as boorish compared to the civilizations of the Near East and Egypt that were already thousands of years old. When these Greeks finally became civilized and developed a flourishing culture, they looked upon others as inferior and barbaric. . . . (Kleg, 1993, 86-87). It was not until the conquest of nations in Africa that the practice of "chattel slavery" became widespread, and this practice was institutionalized by Europeans in the New World:

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. . You just wanted one of these guys to say, "Look, you're not crazy. While some racism is subtle and may be subconscious, some isblatant and undeniable. . Even many of those advocating the end of slavery, such as AbrahamLincoln himself, did not hold that blacks were equal to whites, or deservedsuch equality. (1994). Sports in America. or throwing a tantrum at a coach's decision, or beating his chest and howling after committing a good play than seeing him do something dumb on the court" (Steinhorn and Diggs-Brown, 1999, 161-162). . Steinhorn and Diggs-Brown write about the different views taken bythe public and sportswriters toward black and white athletes, in thecontext of class and, specifically, the connection between whites and themiddle-class, a connection not often made between blacks and that middle-class: . (1999). The same authors quote respected white newsman Ted Koppel and twoleading white politicians and ex-athletes Jack Kemp and Bill Bradley on howsports, unlike many other fields, is "thoroughly integrated." Then theyadd that "it is all the more dispiriting to see that the same forces atwork in the rest of society are subtly at work in sports as well." Theauthors write that baseball is increasingly non-black, while basketball andfootball players are primarily black. . . . New York: Howard Fertig. FrankFitzpatrick, in his study of college basketball,writes of the racist taunting which the black players had to endure fromfans, with little or no support or defense from even their own whiteteammates: The torment had been nonstop. Racismthat can be attacked by law must be so attacked. All such issues are ultimately human rights issues to be solved collectively by blacks and whites, men and women, Africans and non-Africans (Lapchick, 1984, 256- 257). Toward the Final Solution: A History ofEuropean Racism. [in] what he called their "noble experiment" (Steinhorn and Diggs-Brown, 1999, 164). were regarded as boorish compared to the civilizations of the Near East and Egypt that were already thousands of years old. The associationbetween the inferior status of slaves and dark skin was made and haspersisted to this day" (Kleg, 1993, 88). . . Clearly, racism exists in all areas of American life, includingsports. The problem of racism in sports is not merely a black problem, butrather is a social problem, a problem involving all human beings, black orwhite or of any other race. Also, "Despite all the publicity over theTiger Woods phenomenon in golf, barely three percent of all golfers inAmerica are black." The divisions on the field are reflected in thestands: "The major leagues estimate that blacks purchase only about fivepercent of all game tickets." The authors attempt to analyze these facts: To call baseball a "racist sport" . (1999). . (Kleg, 1993, 86-87). The Christianelement is not only what allowed white Europeans to consider blacks andJews inferior, it also gave them the rationale to see racism almost as aduty, a way to affirm their own superiority and, if possible, civilize andChristianize the heathen Jew or black. Blacks who "control themselves," on the other hand, are highlyesteemed by white America. Steinhorn, Leonard, and Barbara Diggs-Brown. Such a set of circumstances is then used by some, such as Los AngelesDodgers executive Al Campanis who claimed that blacks "may not have some ofthe necessities to be, let's say, a field manger or a general manager," andCampanis "pointed to the lack of black quarterbacks and pitchers as proof"(Steinhorn and Diggs-Brown, 1999, 72). . Slavery was founded for economic reasons in the United States,but it would not have been possible had not the slaveholders been soimbued. Baseball player Jackie Robinson, for example, withstood hatred and taunts to break the color line in our national pastime. Again, in large part because of economicnecessity, owners employ blacks as players, simply because they are amongthe best athletes and therefore draw the most fans and bring in the mostrevenue. The major targets of racism were Blacks, Native Americans, Asians, and immigrants from southern and eastern Europe (Kleg, 1993, 1 4). By then, slavery was beginning to spread and flourish in theUnited States, but, again, it could not have done so had Europeans notalready been racist: Earlier ages had found the non-European ugly and sometimes viewed the Negro as a man-beast. His demeanor in the face of hostility, his patience and self- restraint, became the prototype for the image of civil rights activists. Nothing. This point is supported by Bender and Leone, who first argue thatthere has been progress against racist policies in terms of "the generaldisappearance of unwritten quotas governing the number of black athletes onpro teams," and then add that "blacks are underrepresented in coaching andmanagement," and "Researchers say pay discrimination sometimes arises inpro sports because white fans still want to see whites on teams theysupport" (Bender and Leon, 1994, 135). . When these Greeks finally became civilized and developed a flourishing culture, they looked upon others as inferior and barbaric. In the film Do the Right Thing, an Italian-American racist who usedthe word "nigger," was confronted by a black character. Racism translated easily from Europe to the United States, leading tothe establishment of the institution of slavery, because Americans wereEuropeans, or descendants of Europeans, who had been imbued with racistthought. Hockey and tennis are largely white,while boxing is primarily black. . Broken Promises: Racism in AmericanSports. It makes no matter that almost every player in theNational Basketball Association, certainly including Stockton, is amillionaire several times over. Mosse writes that it was in the 18th century that modern racism firstdeveloped. (1993). European racism translated easily to the United States becauseEuropeans, after all, were the founders on the United States. . . Richard Lapchick writes that: Problems of race relations aren't only the problems of blacks, women=s issues aren't only the problems of women, restrictions on Africans affect people other than Africans. "One could no more imagine John Stockton [a white player] dying his hair green, . . Fans who hurl racistepithets at black players should be thrown out of the arena, and, if theyare students at a university, they should be thrown out of school. In boxing the most famous and beloved figure remains MuhammadAli, but the most reviled is Mike Tyson. . . It was not until the conquest of nations in Africa that the practiceof "chattel slavery" became widespread, and this practice wasinstitutionalized by Europeans in the New World: "The African was differentfrom his European overseer--he or she had dark skin. Campanis'racist comments, which he apparently did not even see as racist, resultedin his immediate firing by the Los Angeles Dodgers. . Some possibly racist trends are subtle and difficult to come toconclusions about. . Both are black. In this context, blacks were seenas having been created inferior by God in order to serve whites. Blacks are put in positions requiring speed, athletic ability and quickness, while whites are slotted according to thinking, leadership, and intelligence (Steinhorn and Diggs-Brown, 1999, 71-72). (1984). . For example, is the fact that there are few blackquarterbacks in football, a sport dominated by blacks, a sign of racistselection: Lapchick cites the "widely held belief" that coaches and managers "either consciously or subconsciously" make selections by race. Albany: StateUniversity of New York Press. . . He names Michael Jordan. Kleg, Milton. . The comparison is between Stockton and Dennis Rodman, a flamboyantand often out-of-control black player. He's . . Only one of the 1 5 major- college football coaches is black; one of the 28 NFL coaches and two of the 26 big league baseball managers are black (Bender and Leon, 1994, 133). [W]hite athletes [are] often portrayed as hard-working, dedicated, blue-collar types, a description rarely applied to blacks. The statistics support the claim that positions of authority aredominated by whites: 9 % of the running backs in the National Football League are black, and 92% of the quarterbacks are white. Crowds at some sportingevents, for example, express their racism at black players. . Racism that is vulnerableto public relations pressure must be pressured in that way. In basketball,the best player is Michael Jordan, but Latrel Spreewell, who tried to chokehis coach, is among the most reviled. And the Walls Came Tumbling Down. Sports in the United States is a paradox, for blacks make up a greatpercentage of the best players in the major sports, but racism stillpersists in those sports. It is up to each of us to fight back againstracism in sports as in all areas of life. Mosse, George L. New York: St. . The ideal-type was white, imbued with Western culture, and Christian. While some possibly racist situations in sports may be subtle andcomplex, some are clearly and fully racist. Racism in sports has its roots in the history of racism in Europe.Kleg writes, for example: The Achaeans and Dorians who invaded Greece beginning in the twelfth century B.C., destroyed the Bronze Age culture of Mycenaean Greece and ushered in a "dark age" from which it took centuries to recover. [T]here is an implied comparison to blacks. The racist says,"Michael's not a nigger. . Blacks were seen as the counter-type to the ideal-type. . . Hate, Prejudice and Racism. . . What may be at work instead is the same racial self- selection process that leads black and whites to different clubs and social environments once the workday is over. Lapchick, Richard. Both are black. Whether motivated by prejudice, a need for comfort, or a desire to be around one's racial peers, the end result is the same. . Martin's. They are merely accommodating their lives to a culture influenced and in many ways determined by race (Steinhorn and Diggs-Brown, 1999, 69-71). . . By the Color ofOur Skin. Theblack character points out that Jordan is black. But there had been no common standard of judgment upon lesser peoples, no common ideal to which the superior race was supposed to conform. . . NewYork: Simon & Schuster. It could be argued that thesuggestion is that Rodman is something of a dangerous animal, whereasStockton is an example of civilized man. And you got to thinking that maybe there was something wrong with you. What might have helped [one black player said], was some sense that his [white] teammates understood. . . . Fitzpatrick, Frank. . In other words, whites may flock to sporting events and pay billionsof dollars to watch blacks play, but in the backs of many of their mindsthey continue to see blacks as "savages" who could lose control at anymoment. I hear these people calling you 'nigger' and threatening your life.' But they didn't say anything. "No one said anything. (1978). . may be a harsh or unwarranted judgment. Fans taunted them [with "racist taunts"], laughed at them, threw coins and cups at them. But Robinson's story was true to the noble Negro image in another way: it involved the paternalistic white man-- Brooklyn Dodgers president Branch Rickey . These invaders . References Bender, David, and Brune Leone, eds. New York: Dutton. SanDiego: Greenhaven. who supported and protected Robinson . . (Fitzpatrick, 1999, 237). From the 18th century onwards, however, the ideal-type and counter-type would not vary much for the next century and a half, now would it matter fundamentally whether the inferior race was black or Jewish (Mosse, 1978, 12). The latter asks theformer about his favorite sports figures. This comparison is significant because the middle-class is seen asthe class to which "real" Americans belong, as opposed to the "lazy" poorand the "elite" rich. . One spectator waved a noose as if threatening them with a lynching. . . . Kleg writesthat During the time European Jewry was being converted into a racial stock and being driven to the precipice of the Holocaust, racism in the United States was achieving a new stranglehold on the morality and social conscience if the Land of Freedom and Equality. Americans as fansand as players continue to express racist views and yet cheer black playersas heartily as they cheer whites. he's Michael." This contradiction isat the heart of racism in American sports. The question then is what to do about it. . Theracist views of Joseph Gobineau in an 1853 work "regarding the inferiorityand superiority of races were welcomed by many Europeans as well as byAmericans who maintained that blacks indeed were inferior and could neverfunction in a civilized society" (Kleg, 1993, 95). . .

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