Deviance in Sport

Former tight end of the New England Patriots, Aaron Hernandez was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on April 15th.  At his trial in Massachusetts, he was found guilty for first degree murder on his onetime friend Odin Lloyd.  He was also found guilty for having an unlawful possession of a firearm, and an unlawful possession of ammunition. Odin Lloyd was Hernandez's soon to be brother in law, and also a friend of his.  Assistant District Attorney William McCauley described the murder as an extremely cruel and atrocious killing.  Aaron Hernandez will be serving his sentence in Walpole, Massachusetts, which is about 1.5 miles from Gillette Stadium, home of Hernandez's former team, the New England Patriots.

To read more go to Aaron Hernandez guilty of murder in death of Odin Lloyd   

This article connects directly to what we learned in class on April 7th, when we learned about deviance in sport.  We learned specifically in class on April 7th, about examples of deviance in society, which includes:

• Using illegal drugs
• Violent crimes (murder, rape, battery, and abuse)
• Stealing/ robbery of a bank

In class on April 7th, we also learned that violence in sport parallels the reality of violence in society as a whole.  What we learned in class, and what I learned from this article directly relates to deviance problems in sport today.  It comes as no surprise to hear Hernandez's murder was extremely brutal and cruel.  NFL players like Hernandez, are told to hit their opponent as hard as they can, and to do whatever it takes to stop them from winning.  When athletes are trained to essentially be violent on the field, does it surprise anyone to see athletes translating this violence off the field?  Athletes should know not commit violent crimes, but it has commonly became more of an issue, especially in the NFL this past year.  Domestic violence is becoming a major problem in the NFL and other leagues, and it needs to come to a stop.  Young children are looking up to athletes such as Hernandez, and children will think these actions are normal and okay because their favorite player has done it.  I believe the New England Patriots handled the situation well.  As soon has allegations came out about Hernandez, they released him right away. They also allowed fans with Hernandez's jerseys to trade them in for another player currently on the team.  The Patriots, and any other professional team, do not want to be associated with this kind of deviant act.  There is no place in sport for deviant acts, especially murder, which is arguably the worse possible crime a person could commit.  Aaron Hernandez rightfully received what he deserved, with a life sentence in prison for murder.  Even though he is an athlete, he did not get any special treatment, and he was treated just like a regular citizen.  It is a shame to see someone with such great talent, and a great career ahead, to just throw that all away with a deviant act of murder. 

Race and Ethnicity in Sport

The MLBA Executive Director, Tony Clark has said that diversity in sport has come a long way, but there is still more to be done.  The foundation has been set for great opportunities for African American athletes in sport.  NBPA Executive Director, Michele Roberts has spoken out saying that it is great to see black coaches and black general managers, but there needs to be more in ownership.  This is suggesting that their needs to be more African Americans given the chance to hold other positions then as a coach or general manger, but as other positions going up through the entire organization.  Roberts was also extremely proud when athletes spoke out and protested against the shootings in New York and Ferguson.  Roberts went on to say it was one of prouder moments that she had experienced as Executive Director.  Union leaders all across professional sports would like to see a change regarding diversity in the sport industry.

To read more go toNBA, NFL, MLB Union Leaders Discuss Diversity Issues Facing Leagues, Players

This article relates to what we learned in class on April 9th, when we discussed race and ethnicity in sport, and specifically we focused on African Americans in sport.  In class on April 9th, we learned about the consequences of race logic in sports, which include:

• Desegregation of revenue producing sports
• Continued racial exclusion in social sports
• Position stacking in team sports
• Racialized interpretations of achievement
• Skewed distribution of African Americans in U.S colleges and universities
• Management barrier for blacks 

What I learned in class on April 9th, and what I learned from the article directly relates to the issue with there being a management barrier for African Americans and other genders.   I think this is an extremely important issue, and I think professional organizations need to try to fix this.  There is many African American athletes participating, and now we are starting to see more African American coaches and general managers.  I think with Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier, there has steps taken in improving diversity issues.  I think this issue can be improved, and there has been some evidence of it as well.  The NFL has established the Rooney Rule, which means a team must interview at least one candidate who is a minority for a coaching job or operations job.  I think this rule is a huge step with bringing in more minorities to positions in the sport industry, but I think teams should not worry about the color of a candidates skin, and should hire the candidate most qualified for the position.  I believe there is more than just one minority that should be interviewed for a position such as this.  I have no doubt there are many qualified minorities for positions in coaching, and positions from top to bottom of a sport organization.  The sport industry is primarily dominated by white males, and I think there does need to be more diversity throughout sport organizations.  Everyone deserves an equal opportunity to receive these positions, and teams should look for the most qualified candidate regardless of their skin color.  I think with more opportunities for minorities, there will be more minorities starting to hold positions throughout sport organizations.  Also these positions should not be open to just men, but also women.  Women can be just as qualified as men, and deserve the same opportunity as everyone else.  I think in the future we will see more minorities and women holding positions in professional sport organizations.

Sport and Social Media

In the summer of 2014, the World Cup dominated attention from all across the world.  This showed on twitter when six of the top ten most mentioned events were about the World Cup.  With that being it said, it also comes as no surprise that eight of the top ten most mentioned tweets in the United Kingdom were sport related.  The most mentioned event on this list was the 2014 World Cup semi-final game where Germany beat the host country Brazil 7-1.  During the 2014 World Cup a total of 672 million tweets were sent out, and the Germany vs Brazil match had a total of 35.6 million tweets, which set the record for the most discussed live event in Twitter history.  The World Cup did not just receive noticed on Twitter, the World Cup was the most mentioned event on Facebook, and the third most mentioned event on Facebook in the U.K.

To read more information go to How Sport Dominated Social Media in 2014

This article directly connects to what we learned in class on March 26th, when we learned about sport and the mass media, and specifically about social media and sport.  In class on March 26th, we learned about the increasing role of social media in sport which include:

• Athletes have embraced the opportunities to connect with fans via twitter and other social media tools (Twitter, athletes.com).
• Creating social identities that could drive and support future business opportunities called social media marketing. 
• Activate and leverage brands.

Most retweeted tweet during the 2014 World Cup

What I learned in class, and what I learned from this article, is how huge social media is in sport.  Millions of users are on social media sites every single day, and there are other events that can be deemed more important than a sporting event.  It is quite astonishing to see how much the 2014 World Cup was mentioned over social media.  In class on March 26th, we talked about why sport as became so important on social media.  The reason is, it lets fans feel as if they are at the game, or more involved with the event.  Fans receive tweet replies of famous athletes, which makes them feel connected to that player and team.  Whenever that fan is watching a game where that player who tweeted them is playing, they will always remember that connection they felt from the reply on social media.  For fans watching the World Cup on television, they will tweet about the game and their opinions to try to feel like they apart of the game.  Many people are against social media, and think it should be nonexistent.  I disagree with this, I think social media is a great tool for personal use, but more importantly in the business world.  With millions of users, it is one of the best ways a business can use as a tool to promote and market their organization.  Social media marketing is a huge trend that was not around a few years ago.  I think this trend will continue to grow, and I think companies will find new and creative ways to market on various social media sites.  Athletes also receive major attention on social media sites, which can be both positive and negative.  Athletes have lost their scholarships just by the tweet that they sent out.  Universities and teams know how much attention their athletes and team gets on social media, so they do not want to have any negative connotations associated with them.  With as fast as social media is growing, I think it will continue to grow, with new and creative innovations being added to it.  I think social media will continue to have a major role in sport, and their will still be both positive and negative connotations brought with it.

Sport and Econimics

Councilman Scott Sherman has proposed a 166 acre Qualcomm Stadium site, that could generate up to $1.8 billion.  This would allow the city to build this site, and would allow them to avoid a tax increase for a new stadium.  This site would include a new stadium along with thousands of apartments and condos, millions of square feet of office space, a 300-room hotel, and a 20 acre riverfront park that is similar to the River Walk in San Antonio.  Sherman calls this project the River Park Stadium. Sherman stated that if this project is done correctly, it could be catalyze for economic development.  In a best case scenario, Sherman has projected the funds that would come from the Chargers and other sources as listed below:

• $965 million from the Chargers, NFL, naming rights, personal seat licenses, investors, and sponsorships
• $594 million from leases for private development and land sales.
• $266.2 million from county property taxes generated from site development and bonds repaid from the city of San Diego  

For more information go to New Chargers Stadium Site

This article relates directly to what we learned in class on March 19th because learned about sport and economics, specifically about public assistance for team owners building a new stadium.

Public Assistance for team owners:

• Use of public funds to construct and maintain facilities 
• Income deduction on tax returns
• Tax breaks and rebates
• Control of revenue in public facilities  

If the San Diego Chargers and the city of San Diego decided to use this plan, they would be able to eliminate some of the public assistance to build the new stadium.  In class on March 19th we learned that many residents do not want a tax increase to build a new stadium.  I think the proposal for River Park Stadium is a great idea.  With adding businesses, apartments, and other recreations, the price to build the stadium would be completely covered, and the economy in the surrounding area would also increase.  This is great for the city because it will create more jobs, and will increase the number of employees and tourists coming into the city.  This stadium will also be extremely beneficial to all the new businesses that are going to be apart of the site.  In class on March 19th we also learned about the arguments for building new stadiums which include:

• A stadium and team create jobs
• Stadium construction infuses money into local economy
• Team will attract other businesses 
• Team will attract media attention that boosts tourism, product sales, and economic development
• Team will create positive psychic and social benefits 

I think the River Park Stadium plan should be accepted and followed through with the support of the arguments listed above.  With the NFL wanting to add a team to Los Angeles, the Chargers could potentially move there.  There is another proposal for a stadium to be built in Los Angeles that would be home to current Oakland Raiders, and current San Diego Chargers.  The city of San Diego and all the fans of the Chargers would not want to see this happen.  No city wants to see their team relocate, so I think the River Park Stadium proposal can keep this from happening.  One of major upsides of this plan is that it will be able to avoid a tax increase to build.  This is extremely important to residents of San Diego, and I think they will be onboard with this plan because of that.  The plan to build this site will be a huge economic boost to the city.  I think the San Diego Chargers, and the city of San Diego should follow through with this plan, and if it is done correctly, I think it will spark a huge trend for how new stadiums are built in the future. 

Negative Values of Sport and Societal Values

Today, millions of Americans struggle with eating disorders and some college athletes are at a higher risk for developing symptoms.  In a study cited by the National Eating Disorders Association, more than one-third of NCAA Division I female athletes reported attitudes and behaviors that could put them at risk for anorexia nervosa.  Athletes who participate in sports that emphasize size, endurance, weight requirements, and appearance are more likely to develop eating disorders or disordered eating.  Athletes feel the pressure to look like other athletes and will vicariously exercise to become skinner and try to look like another athletes because that athlete may be better than them.  Wrestling is viewed as one of the sports that eating disorders are prevalent in.  However it can not count as an eating disorder  because it is not done continuously.  University of North Carolina's head wrestling coach C.D. Mock said wrestlers only have to lose weight until they reach the weight they need to get to, and then they stop.  He also does not believe this is considered an eating disorder.

Information found from Some Athletes Face Higher Risk for Eating Disorder Symptoms

This article directly connects to what we learned in class on February 10th because we learned about Sport and societal values, and specifically the positive and negative aspects of values in sport.

The values in sport we learned about in class are:

• Character Building
• Competition/ Winning
• Health/ Fitness Promotion
• Nationalism/ Patriotism

In the notes for Health/ Fitness Promotion, we learned that sport can promote unhealthy practices such as eating disorders.  Some of the sports that eating disorders are prevalent in are gymnastics, diving, figure skating, and wrestling.  Athletes at a high level are extremely competitive and will do what ever they can to win.  For sports like wrestling and gymnastics, being at a lower weight can give that athlete a better chance of winning.  A wrestler will try to lose weight so they can wrestle against people that are not as strong as them and are naturally a lighter weight.  Colleen Daly, who is the founder of Embody Carolina, which is an organization dedicated to training people about psychological issues with eating disorders stated that eating disorders is mental and is difficult to reverse without professional treatment.

Eating disorders are a major problem and I believe they can easily be avoided.  Practicing proper dieting with exercise can result in weight lose in a healthier way, rather than an athlete starving themselves.  By dieting properly they will lose weight steadily overtime and will not put there health at risk.  Also athletes who are already experiencing symptoms from eating disorders, need to realize they have a problem and need to seek help.  Schools and universities also need to keep an eye on athletes and make sure they eating properly and are getting the proper nutrition to compete.  Athletes should not be putting their health at risk to compete in a sport.  There are better ways they can avoid eating disorders and still be successful.  Sports are meant to promote good health and fitness.  Eating disorders go against that are there should be no place for them in sport.  It is a major issue, but athletes and coaches need to realize the importance of an athlete's health.  No ones life is worth losing over sport, which are suppose to promote good health and fitness.  Everyone needs to be aware this is going on, and people need to help prevent this from happening.

Sport Used as a Political Tool

Five players on the St. Louis Rams protested against the Ferguson shooting during pre-game of the November 30th game against the Oakland Raiders.  These five players included: Tavon Austin, Stedman Bailey, Kenny Britt, Chris Givens, and Jared Cook.  They demonstrated the 'Hands Up, Don't Shoot' pose when they came out of the tunnel during pre-game.  This gesture has been used by protestors, who were upset over the fatal shooting of Michael Brown.  The five Ram's players had felt victims of racial inequalities and wanted to express awareness for what was happening in Ferguson.  Kenny Britt stated that the gesture was not an indication that were picking sides.  Head coach Jeff Fisher did not see the gesture and was not aware that they were going to do it.  

This information was found from Rams' Players Anger St. Louis Police Group With Pregame "Hands Up" Gesture

On February 26th, we discussed sport and politics.  In class we discussed how sport could be used as a propaganda vehicle and sport can be used to protest against wars inequalities.  The Rams' protest against the Ferguson Shooting directly relates to the protest we discussed in class in on February 26th, of Toni Smith of Manhattanville College against war in 2003.  Toni Smith refused to face the American flag during the national anthem.  The Athletic Director of Manhattanville College supported her decision and could not punish her because of the right to have freedom of speech.  Almost the same result happened with the St. Louis Rams.  The St. Louis police asked for an apology and called this protest tasteless, offensive, and inflammatory.  The National Football League (NFL) did not take action against the players for this act because of freedom of speech.

Protests are constantly used in sport because it is widely viewed by millions of people around the world.  The five Rams' players wanted to express their support to Michael Brown of the Ferguson  shooting, and chose to do it where thousands of people would see it.  The Rams' players showed a perfect example of how sport can be used to protest against inequalities.  The Rams' players believed what happened in Ferguson was wrong.  They felt as African-Americans that they have been mistreated and wanted to show their support on a national scale. What they did angered a lot of people, but also helped to raise support for the African-Americans who feel they receive unfair treatment by police.  I think the protest by the Rams' players took a lot of courage to do, especially because the Ferguson shooting took place right near St. Louis.  This protest was seen all around the United States and I believe it helped to raise awareness for what happened in Ferguson.  I think athletes have the right to do protests like the one the Rams did, but only if there is no violence.  Athletes are people too and have right to have freedom of speech.  Athletes are constantly being watched and when they protest it gets worldwide attention.  The Rams' players did not harm anyone by doing this, all they did was voice there opinion and did go against the NFL or the police.  I think athletes will continue to use sport to protest against war and inequalities.  Sports is a huge industry and can definitely be used to express an opinion to a huge audience.    

Abuses in Intercollegiate Sports

The NCAA has punished Syracuse for ten violations dating back to 2001.  These violations include academic misconduct, extra benefits, the failure to follow its drug testing policy, and impermissible booster activity.

One of the academic misconducts that NCAA found was a Syracuse athlete has submitted a paper in a course that he already completed.  He did this so he could improve his course grade and restore his NCAA eligibility.  This paper was prepared with the help of two employees of the athletic department.  Also the investigation found SU's athletic department was providing inappropriate edits on drafts of papers or take-home tests for three other athletes.

Information found from Summary: What did Syracuse do Wrong? NCAA cites academic fraud, extra benefits, drug policy

The major abuses of intercollegiate sports are:

• Illegal recruiting
• Easy majors and alternating of grades/ transcripts (academic dishonesty)
• Exploitation of athletes
• Pressure to win
• Pressure to make money  

This connects to what we learned in class on February 24th because we talked about the major abused in intercollegiate sports.  Syracuse was caught with academic dishonesty, which is one of the major abuses.  This happens with other universities too, and is a major problem.  College athletes are not taking school work seriously, and universities are trying to keep their athletes eligible, so they violate academic conduct.  Colleges and universities do this because they want to win and make money.  We also learned in class on February 24th that the pressure to win and the pressure to make money are major abuses of intercollegiate sports.  If a star athlete is not playing because they are failing classes, then it will be harder for the team to win and the team will not make as much money.  To stop this from happening colleges and universities alter grades and transcripts.  Universities need to realize that their players are students before athletes.  They are at college to get an education and playing in a sport comes second.  Today this is not happening, athletes are more focused on their sport and not their education.  College athletic departments are more focused on winning and making money and will do anything possible to do this.  I think the NCAA did the right thing when they punished Syracuse for all their misconducts.  I also believe Syracuse made the right decision to self ban themselves from the post season.  They set a good example to other schools and players by showing the importance of an education.