Justin Combs has received a full athletic scholarship to play football at UCLA.  This should not be terribly alarming for most people, an 18-year old senior in high school has worked hard enough both on the field and in the class room to full fill a dream of playing high level college football.  It is his last name that has people fairly outraged about his athletic scholarship.

That last name is the same last name as Sean "Diddy" Combs.  Yes, Justin Combs is Diddy's son.  Diddy is a rap mogul worth over 500 million dollars.  So, needless to say, it would seem that Justin's father could easily pay for the expensive UCLA education on his own.

Because of the wealth he comes from, people and critics are calling for Justin to give up his scholarship in order to possibly help another student-athlete that may not be as financially privileged.  The $54,000 education could be free for someone that could not afford it.

Both UCLA and Justin Combs have expressed the disappointment in the critics opinion of passing off the scholarship.  Combs believes he is just like every other teenager in the country that has worked hard for his scholarship, that it has been fairly earned.  UCLA has made it clear that student-athlete scholarships, especially for football, do not come from state funded scholarships, so the argument is mute.

As of now Combs is keeping the scholarship and UCLA is supporting the decision of their new addition to the football team this fall.

Shauna Johnson
Kin 577

Violence and Sport - UFC

In our recent discussions in class we talked about how we are more and more entertained by violence in sports. The media portrays and emphasizes violence and uses many metaphors to war language. One result of this that I can think of is the revolution of Mixed Martial Arts, such as UFC. Joe Rogan talked on CNN about the debate over UFC vs traditional boxing. As per our class discussions, he mentioned how we as society are more and more inclined to watch UFC because we appreciate the violent aspect and the "sport of fighting" that is not as adequately portrayed in boxing. Do you think that the media's portrayal of violence and sport lends a direct hand to the gradual shaping of interests for UFC over traditional boxing?

Eunice Park
KIN 577

MLS vs Europe: Striving for Fandom

The sport of soccer is one of, if not the, fastest growing sports in the United States today. Numbers of youth players are still one of the highest in the world; competitions such as the World Cup draw millions of American television viewers and thousands of American spectators; and more and more Americans are associating themselves with professional teams. However, most of these most popular teams play their games in foreign lands, not on American soil.

Numbers and figures don’t lie, Americans love soccer. The only problem is that a lot of these American soccer fans are not supporters of teams in Major League Soccer, the US domestic league. Speaking to many fans of the sport in different parts of the country, it is striking to hear their responses of who their favorite team is. Some like myself will have a favorite foreign team in addition to a favorite MLS team. However, even with David Beckham and Thierry Henry in its ranks, MLS is seen as a lowly and boring league to many American soccer fans. Some will not attend a single match even if the stadium is right in their own backyard. 

That being said, Major League Soccer is by no means struggling. More and more quality players are deciding to ply their trade in the US, American players are getting more touches on the ball resulting in more skill, and even with large amounts of the population writing the league off, attendance and television ratings were up last season. These positives leave this soccer fan wondering: what if Major League Soccer could make headway with the naysayers? 

I once asked an American Liverpool FC supporter if he enjoyed watching the MLS. To this question he answered, “No, its crap.” I then asked him if he would like to see the league reach the same heights as England’s Barclay’s Premiership to which he answered favorably. The problem in American soccer culture right now is this: American fans want the best league in the world but don’t want to work for it and don’t want to wait; they want it now. England has had a professional league since 1863; the United States has had a professional league since 1996. History is against Major League Soccer but, with the help of an already huge fan base, it can make up ground quickly. But it takes work, something American soccer fans have had problems with. 


C. Moore
KIN 577

Even the Mighty College Football Coach Can't Always Get Away With It

Its been a few months since Razorback nation first learned of Arkansas Head Football Coach Bobby Petrino’s motorcycle accident. At the time of the accident, most were relieved to hear that the coach survived with only some broken ribs. But little did they know that this simple motorcycle accident would break more than just a few ribs. With a women whom Petrino had been having an affair with and whom he had just hired to his football department, the motorcycle accident exposed the coach for what he truly was. 

Prior to the accident and news of the affair, Bobby Petrino was the King of Natural State. He had just taken Arkansas to a 10-2 season including a bowl win over Kansas State. In many people’s eyes, he could do absolutely no wrong. After the accident, however, people began to think much differently of the man they once loved so much. Gone were the t-shirts that read Bobby MotherF****** Petrino. Gone was the talk of a possible National Championship. And gone was Bobby Petrino’s job.

The incident involving Bobby Petrino at Arkansas isn’t the first of its caliber and certainly wont be the last. But Petrino’s firing should be a warning to all college coaches. If you win football games, society will love you. If you engage in extramarital affairs, hire your mistress, and lie to your boss about it, you will lose your job and thus, society will have nothing to love you about. 

C. Moore

KIN 577

Native American Mascot Ban in Oregon

Oregon recently passed a ban on all Native American mascots in schools. This has been a very controversial topic and a long-standing battle. On one hand, the mascots are seen as racist and offensive. The other side of the argument believes that it shows pride in the Native American roots of our country. The only other state to enact this sort of ban is Wisconsin. It will affect all levels of education and each school will have five years to change their mascots and names before school funding will be pulled.

                After discussing this topic in our class debate, it was hard to decide which side to choose. Maybe it is hard to understand this debate truly without being born into Native American culture. I do believe the team name “Redskins” should be changed due to its own dictionary definition of being derogatory. But on the other side, I feel that the school representation can be a sign for pride and education. More needs to be understood of the Native American culture that holds our country’s roots. More physical and emotional ties can be made with the culture instead of it being seen as a singling out of the culture and its people. What are your thoughts on the use of Native American mascot and school names?

- Erin Morey
KIN 577

Title IX under Investigation

            A recent investigation into sexual assault allegations made against several of the University of Missouri’s football players has also brought on an investigation of the university’s compliance with Title IX. It had been brought to light that multiple allegations had been made but yet the school did nothing or too little to seek justice for the victims and actively attempted to cover it up. Title IX compliance as well as Title IV under the Civil Rights Act, is under investigation for the handling of the sexual allegations. The university Vice President, Jim Foley, is a main focus of the investigation as well. He found back-ways, under the student-conduct code, to punish one female student for publicly discussing the sexual assault she suffered from four of the team’s players. What is really accomplished by covering up these young men’s crimes? Negative attention was bound to come out.

                The entire ruckus brought on by these investigations is big talk in the area, but seen as a force for change. Talking about the issue ends the silence that the school and its faculty continued for too long. So many have tried to fight for Title IX rights and for change and too many are just forcibly pushed off the topic. This recent deep analysis of the University of Missouri shows hope is on the horizon. There is a force out there to be reckoned with; a force that can bring more good than harm. Let’s keep this positive change coming. 

-Erin Morey
KIN 577

Olympic year!!!

This year marks another year for the Olympics. This is a great year for those athletes who are not involved with the major sports in US culture. The athletes who play water polo, track and field, archery, gymnastics, and swimming (just to name a few) are the ones who get to gain exposure. But, is this fair that every four years they get this chance?

I am interning at USA Water Polo and it is a very busy time for the sport; obviously because it is Olympic year. Otherwise, they would not be as busy. I was training for the previous Olympics and was less than .5 seconds to punching my ticket with the Philippines to represent my heritage for the Olympics. Also, I would be able to achieve a dream I had when I was a kid.

These lesser exposed sports get to display their talents to the world this summer. But, is it fair for these athletes to get to display their talents in four year increments? How can we change the overexposure of the major sports in the US and shift some focus on the sports that athletes train for to display their talents every 4 years?

As stated, Olympic year is a very exciting time for smaller sports, but for the major sports, it is a summer where they are not able to rest. On one hand, you have athletes who decline to represent their country just to get a rest in their offseason; and on the other hand, you have athletes who train hard for four years and who would jump at the chance to display their talent and represent their country. I do not know if it is just me, but something needs to change and somehow we need to bridge this gap.


Jeffrey Paneda
Kins 577

Title IX and College Football - a Battle with Long History

I know that here is a conflict between big-time college sports and the compliance of Title IX after participating our class debate and reading some materials, especially in Football. Accidently, I read a related article and it will help us having a deeper understanding of the history of this issue.

 

In May 1974 a couple of powerful Texans who feared Title IX's impact on revenue-producing sports-Republican senator John Tower and Texas football coach and athletic director Darrell Royal, soon-to-be president of the American Football Coaches Association-planned an assault on the two-year-old law. Royal and Longhorns NCAA faculty representative J. Neils Thompson helped draft the Tower Amendment, which would exempt football and men's basketball from Title IX compliance determinations. Royal feared the law would "eliminate, kill or seriously weaken the programs we have in existence." Its mandates, Tower said, would throw "the baby"-costly but profitable football-"out with the bathwater." For good measure, NCAA executive director Walter Byers added a formulation as alarmist as it was redundant: "Impending doom is around the corner.

 

What accounts for Title IX's invincibility? Gender-equity advocate Donna Lopiano, who had testified against exempting revenue sports while serving as the Longhorns' women's athletic director, credits those federal regulations, now enforced by the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights. It's no small irony that Texas hombres hoping to torpedo legislation unwittingly helped bulletproof it. "I've been an expert witness in 30 lawsuits and rarely had to offer a debatable opinion," Lopiano says. "I'd depend on my knowledge of the OCR regulations and the courts' inclination to defer to agency regs if they exist. By an accident of history, the Bible was written when Christ was born."

 

Source: A. Wolff, (2012). Winning at Political Football: The legislation’s staying power is the direct result of an attempt to dismantle it. Sports Illustrated, 116 (19), 59-60.

 

 

Liguang ‘Larry’ Ding

Kin 577

Women and Coaching: Breaking Down the Barriers of Inequality

I wanted to briefly share with everyone the story of my cousin Natalie Nakase.

At age 30 she is the closest in age to my brother and I out of all our cousins and has always been someone we could look up to and aspire to be like. As we each garnered our own success and accolades through our athletic careers, many were astonished to hear that the person in our family with the most basketball awards and accomplishments was our 5'2" female cousin.

After a standout career playing high school basketball in Orange County, Natalie was faced with little interest from major schools, primarily due to her size. She surprised everyone by being accepted to fill the last walk-on position for the women's UCLA basketball team. At UCLA she became the starting point guard and after a stellar 5 year career eventually made her way on to professional women's basketball teams in both San Jose and San Diego.

Recently, Natalie's focus has been on coaching. After stints in Los Angeles and Germany coaching college and professional level women teams, she eventually found her way to Japan's men's professional league. Her most recent position came after the team she was assistant coaching on in Japan went bankrupt. After the team folded, she was offered the head coaching position for another team in the league. She is currently the first female head coach of any professional basketball team in Japan. One day she hopes to coach in the NBA.

Her story has always been of great inspiration to me and proves that while our society has often discouraged or prevented women from being involved with sports. there are those individuals who defy the norms and tirelessly strive to achieve that which many said was unattainable.

Here is the article about her on CNN:
http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/sports/2012/04/27/lah-japan-1st-womens-basketball-coach.cnn#/video/sports/2012/04/27/lah-japan-1st-womens-basketball-coach.cnn

-Ken Nakase KIN 577

Sports Media Complex

This morning I was listening to the Dan Patrick radio show and caught the sports media complex at work in regards to masculinity. Dan Patrick was able to incorporate an on-air plug for Dodge Ram without skipping a beat.  He started out talking about his Memorial Day weekend, when he "remembered" something that happened on his drive home from the market. He said he was a target of "truck envy".  He was driving his truck

when he realized that a fellow driver was sizing his truck up.  He reached a stop light and the truck next to him begins revving its engine.  So Mr. Patrick looks over at the truck and sees that its "just a Ford or something", and tells us listeners that it is no match for his 2012 Dodge Ram 1500.  He has a Hemi.  He then smokes the other truck

and leaves it behind and says, "Gotta have guts to have the glory.  Guts. Glory. Ram."  I couldnt help but laugh.  Dodge reaching out to sports talk radio listeners and relaying its message that driving one of their big powerful trucks and will bring a man glory.  It is a prime example of not just selling a consumer on a product, but

selling them an image as well.  Real mean drive big trucks, real men have guts and real men want glory.  

Jesus Rosales, KIN 577

The other Dream Team, that no one knows about

Media coverage of women's sport is minimal in comparison to the coverage of men's sport. It was interesting to find out in our readings actual percentages and statistics that relate to the above fact. Anyone that watches Sportscenter on ESPN gets a big dose of men's sports highlights and little information about what is going on with women's sport except a quick blurb that Serena Williams was upset in the opening round of the French Open. The other day I was scrolling the ESPN.com homepage and saw an article on Grantland about the "other" Dream Team. For those who do not know, the Dream Team was the nickname given to the 1992 US Men's Olympic Basketball team. The roster was full of active (at the time) NBA players including: Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and David Robinson. The Dream Team has been talked about as the greatest team ever assembled. To be labeled as the other Dream Team, the current Women's Olympic Basketball team should be good, right? Well, they are. In fact the Women's Olympic Basketball team have won 4 consecutive gold medals and are riding a 33 game win streak. But because there is little media coverage, most people don't even know these facts or even who is on the roster. I'll be honest, I did not know more than two players on the roster. These women have helped position the US as the favorite going in to the Olympics. I hope this team gets the increased media coverage they deserve.

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7968868/geno-auriemma-diana-taurasi-weekend-seattle-usa-women-basketball-team


David Palomares
KIN 577

Going for the Gold!: The Actual Goal of the Olympic Games

With the 2012 Summer Olympic games in London right around the corner, I thought it would be appropriate to discuss a certain aspect of the global event. Being that the United States of America is the only country in the Olympic games that does not use government funds to assist their athletes, corporate sponsorship plays a huge role in the competition. This is why we see so many various logos and trademarks when we watch the Olympics on television. These companies sponsor many of the athletes themselves and we see them on commercials and billboards right around the time the games are scheduled to begin. The Olympic games are completely different from when they first began in ancient Greece in a number of ways. This not necessarily a negative but it is critical that those that help produce the event remember that people are only watching because of their love for competition, not their passion for a McDonald's cheeseburger. With the overabundance of commercials and sponsorships, we often have a to sit through an hour and a half of "pre-game shows" to view thirty minutes of actual competition. At the end of the day companies will do whatever they can to promote and advertise their products, let’s just hope that they remember why people are watching in the first place.

Athletes as Politicians

Athletes do not make good politicians plain and simple. Robert really goes after the athletes of the past who have tried to become politicians in his article. There are man reasons why his argument is true. The biggest reason though is that athletes have become so disconnected from real life that they do not make choices that represent what the people would want. In the early years of professional athletics athletes were not making huge sums of money like they do today so they were still leading relatively similar lifestyles to many people. Professional sports has become such an intense lifestyle though that very few actually lead that life. Some get an idea after a while that they can use their new found pulpit to become these 'saviors of society' and start making laws. Unfortunately most come falling back down to Earth pretty hard. Athletes do not make good politicians given the current structure and operation of the American sport complex. Having a visible platform to use like athletes do can be good but only under the right circumstances. http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-215_162-6972280.html?pageNum=2&tag=contentMain;contentBody - Rachel Wantuch. KIN 577

What is the Purpose of Sport?

Randy uses this article to repurpose sport. As many of our readings pointed out in class sport has many flaws that need to be worked out. Randy lays out his solution to the issue of over zealous adults and you sport. He wants to change the purpose of sport to learn life lessons first and then physical achievement as a secondary side effect. To an extent I agree with him. We need to start at an early age teaching life lessons through sport. Sport has the ability to bring together people for all walks of life. That is the beauty of sport. Rarely in society do so many cultures to celebrate one single aspect of society. Once all these groups are together for the same purpose imagine teaching them the same core life values. I don't think we can even begin to imagine the effect that would have on society. If we can get everyone on the same page at an early age I think it will be a lot easier to address the other issues within e sports industry. http://sportsleaderusa.blogspot.com/2010/04/purpose-of-sport.html -Rachel Wantuch KIN 577

Here is the article I forgot to provide a link to: http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7968343/tressel-departure-ohio-state-started-memorable-year-scandals-college-football

-Max Piner

Reform Needed in College Football

             This article from ESPN recounts how difficult a year it was in regards to morality and ethics for major division 1 college football programs. Memorial Day marked the one year anniversary of Jim Tressel, the legendary Ohio State coach, having to resign because he failed to provide information about Buckeyes players receiving improper benefits from a local tattoo parlor owner. This was just the start of a year that had tons of scandal, including drug problems at LSU and TCU, the Penn State scandal with Jerry Sandusky and Joe Paterno, and the issues at University of Miami with booster Nevin Shapiro providing many illegal benefits to players in the program. What I take from this is that the NCAA has essentially no chance at being the governing body of all these universities, and that something needs to be done to delegate its powers further. Perhaps something such as creating a more strict governing body in each conference at the division one level would be something that the NCAA could consider. This past year was about as ugly as it could possibly get in college football, and there is a need for reform immediately. 

-Max Piner 

Kin 577 

Serena Williams Crying?!

Reading this article about Serena reminded me of a few topics we discussed in class. First and foremost, women athletes have to be strong, powerful, and fierce in order to be considered good athletes. However, as we have discussed in class, this has to happen without women athletes losing sight of their femininity. The article I read on foxsports gives Serena credit for being fierce, but also puts her down for “bullying,” because she does not give credit to her opponents when they beat her or because she threatens judges. If Serena were a male athlete, bullying would not be considered a bad thing; it would simply be expected as a male athlete and probably praised and shown as a huge strength. Secondly, we expect women athletes to have a feminine side that keeps them from being labeled lesbian. This article speaks of Serena crying over the loss of the French Open and the author states “Williams returned to Wimbledon from injury, won a match and then broke down in tears afterward. That was actually a beautiful thing to see, a soft side. Williams is complex and human, and it all works together for her beautifully.” However the author ends the article by stating that Serena’s tears were not because of anger or joy, but a sign of weakness. If it were a male athlete, he would probably be praised for crying because of his passion for the sport. It seems like women athletes are stuck, if they are powerful and strong they are labeled lesbians and if they cry and show emotion they are labeled weak. It is impossible for women athletes to satisfy the public and it is unfair that they are put through so much scrutiny and compared to men on a day-to-day basis. We need to accept that all athletes are humans and that their behavior is not necessarily a definition of what they represent. Just like we stated in class, it might be best if we start seeing women sports as women sports and male sports as male sports, it might be the best thing to allow women athletes to be who they really are instead of having to pose as strong all the time in order to be valued as athletes. Diana Gonzalez KIN 577 LT22 http://msn.foxsports.com/tennis/story/Serena-Williams-shows-different-side-in-French-Open-loss-to-Virginie-Razzano-052912

NBA Power Struggle

The shortened NBA season has reached its 2012 Playoffs. After the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers were both eliminated in the second round many Southern California fans have moved on to other forms of entertainment. I am a fan of basketball in general so I will definitely be watching the remainder of the playoffs this year. While watching so many games an avid fan like myself began to notice certain trends going on this year in the NBA. One major theme that came up was the referees being too heavily involved in the game. Fans watch the NBA for the players and their abilities, not to see the refs over officiate the contest. Specifically after watching the last Miami Heat and Boston Celtics game, where the referees called five technical fouls on the Celtics, I was pretty dissatisfied with what I saw. This game made me consider two things: NBA referees should let the players decide the outcome of the contest by not letting their own emotions get involved in this very emotionally-involved game. The second is the league office obviously has an agenda on how they want the games to be played. The league office often has referees watch video clips of plays they would like them to keep a close eye on and this sometimes leads to the refs over officiating and can affect the outcome of games. I am not going to go as far as saying that some of the results of games in the NBA are fixed but if the league continues this, the fun and exciting game of basketball will soon be so altered that the NBA will lose its most important aspect and foundation of the league itself, its fans.

Charles Barkley: In Sports, Ability to Play Should Outweigh Sexual Orientation

After reading this article about Charles Barkley and listening to Colin Cowherd from ESPN on the radio talk about gay athletes in sports, it has come to my attention that most professional athletes are OK with gay men on their teams and feel no threat from them. But if that’s the case, then why aren’t more gay athletes coming out? Fear? Anxiety? Distrust? Any of those make sense and are all part of the reasons why they haven’t come out of the closet, but in my opinion those are not the biggest reasons. Professional sports are big business now and players make a lot of money. General Managers and owners are responsible for the camaraderie on the team and must put the best cohesive unit on the playing field. If a professional athlete was to come out openly and say he was gay, it would put his job in jeopardy. General Managers would shy away from signing a gay player because they would be scared it would disrupt the chemistry on a team. If gay players do not want to impact the size of their wallets, then it is probably best to remain silent until society becomes more accepting. Justin Dawson KIN 577

Powers: Just White and Read All Over

With sport being so dominant in our society, I find it interesting that the majority of professional athletes are African American and the majority of the reporters covering the African Americans are white. I was shocked to find the statistic that only 13.26 percent of reporters and editors at newspapers around the country were racial minorities of any kind. That means almost 87 percent of the reports we read have a white male perspective. I find that disturbing because reader's miss out on some of the most interesting stories that African Americans have to say and report on. The article brought up the question on why African Americans do not want to enter the journalism industry. Their answer was that they would have to conform to fit in with the rest of the whites. This makes sense because in such a competitive capitalistic country, we must survive in anyway possible and conformity is one way of survival. The tragedy of that though is viewers never get to see a different side of sports and how it affects a completely different culture. Justin Dawson KIN 577

Scientific and individual Proof of why Transgender Athletes are equal to us

Today there are many transparent athletics fighting for their right to compete with other athletes in mega-event. Transparent is a relatively strange concept for me and then I decide to share some background information after reading a related article on Sport illustrated with LT 22.

For the first month of gestation, everyone is female. After six weeks embryos with a particular male gene, always found on the Y chromosome, develop testicles, activating the cells responsible for testosterone production and the accompanying athletic disparity between men and women. Testosterone, which surges during male puberty, is the engine powering an array of a man’s competitive advantages: greater height and weight, higher bone density, increased muscle mass and greater proportion of oxygen-carrying red cells in the blood. Contrast this with estrogen’s effects, and it is sensible enough to segregate athletes by sex.

Even though there is no published medical data on precisely how long it takes to negate the athletic advantages of a lifetime of testosterone exposure. But one athlete has tackled the question in personal way. Medical Physicist Joanna Harper, 55, who was born male, began hormone therapy in order to transition to female in August’ 04, Harper have been competing as a male age-group distance runner for years, and she carefully documented the impact that suppressing testosterone and taking estrogen had on her running. ‘I though I would get slower gradually.’ Harper says. ‘I felt the same when I ran.’ She says. ‘I just couldn’t go as fast, it’s a certainly strong evidence that my performance in both genders are approximately equal.’

Source: P.S.Torre & D. Epstein, (2012). The Transgender Athlete. Sports Illustrated, 116 (22), 66-73

Liguang ‘Larry’ Ding

Kin 577

Female Athletes in the Media

After doing our debate in class and reading so much about the objectification of women in the media, I always find it very interesting when I see things that reinforce what we've covered. Take for example, one of the ultimate objectifications of women around, the Maxim Hot 100, which, I cannot deny, I am a big fan of. However, even I was put off by the descriptions it had of the very beautiful, but very accomplished women in their issue, mostly reniforcing societal stereotypes of women being nothing more than girlfriends, wives, and daughters. Number one on the list was Bar Refaeli. She is a swimsuit model, her "tie to sports?" She was on the cover of Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Edition. It also mentioned fellow SI cover girls Kate Upton, who is a huge sports fan, who rode horses in her youth, and played in MLB's Celebrity game this past year in Phoenix during All-Star weekend. Brooklyn Decker is also a very accomplished model, and has starred in major motion pictures including Adam Sandler's Just Go With It, and the big-budget summer adaptation of Battleship. However, what is highlighted, is the fact that she's married to tennis star Andy Roddick, who is arguably America's top male tennis player, but hasn't won a major title since 2003, and has appeared in only major final since 2006. Tennis star Caroline Wozniacki, who has held a number-one ranking, but has been disappointing with her inability to win majors, was reinforced as being the girlfriend of rising golf star Rory McIlroy. Wozniacki comes off as a very nice girl, and is known for her colorful yellow outfits, however, in the major tennis events she has come up short against the likes of tougher, less- dainty players such as Li Na, Francesca Schivaone, and Serena Williams. Even multi-platinum selling singer Rihanna, who is arguably the biggest female music artist on the planet right now, was cited for being in a brief relationship with LA Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp. Kemp, who struggled mightily during the year he was dating Rihanna, despite being widely reknowned for his high ceiling and incredible athleticism and ability, would be ridiculed on SportsCenter being referred to as "Rude Boy," a la, the Rihanna song. Interstingly enough, after splitting with her, Kemp bounced back, with arguably the greatest offensive season in the 100-year plus history of the Dodgers, and was a close runner-up in the MVP race. Kemp was rewarded for his stellar play with a long-term contract extension. Interesting, how female athletes are often highlighted for their roles as wives or girlfriends, but a male athelete can be dragged down by a celebrity wife or girlfriend. Same goes for the San Antonio Spurs' Tony Parker, who after a 3-year marriage to actress Eva Longoria, experienced his best professional season, with a career high in assists, after 9 years in the league, no less, after splitting with Longoria. How can female athletes achieve the respect that they deserve? It appears that the media will continue to highlight women as subservient to men so long as it generates media interest and ratings. The market is out there to see attractive, athletic women in submissive positions. I'd love to see Caroline Wozniacki win a major and be the best player in tennis, as opposed to simply being the cute girl who can't win a major and is better know for going out with Rory. 

Mark Fabrick
KIN 577

The Fight You Will Never Win

I recently read in a Yahoo Sports article, that boxing champion Johnny Tapia was found dead in his New Mexico home on Sunday May 28. The first thing the article mentioned was that people were not surprised to find him dead, but rather that he had lived for so long. 

Tapia, who in his prior lifetime had been declared dead four times before but managed to survive. To say that Johnny Tapia had a rough childhood and lifetime is a tremendous understatement, His dad was murdered before he was born, his mom was raped, stabbed to death and was chained up and dragged by a truck. In his infamous "Mi Vida Loca" letter, he explains that he was raised a pit bull and trained to fight to the death. He experienced the murders of multiple friends and spent his life dodging bullets. Drugs were always in his life and he resorted to them when he was not boxing to relieve his stress. 

We have previously read, that in order to attain self worth, pride and "manhood", athletes must have success in their sport field. As long as they are producing results, nothing else matters. Fame, glory and attention is what our readings claim that we crave and seek in order to say we are "successful. Tapia's life is a clear example in which success in the boxing ring never translated to success and triumph in his personal life. The constant battles in the ring, the constant fights with opponents kept his mind occupied from what mattered the most in life, his own life. To some, especially those who have adopted as Elijah Anderson states "The Code of the Street", the only escape from reality and the harsh living conditions is when they are in action, whether its on the boxing ring, baseball field or the octagon. To some individuals, being happy and care free can be found in the most violent places, for Tapia, it was in the ring. 

We spoke about how people have midlife crisis and that the meaning of success changes with age, what once mattered no longer seems relevant. Family becomes more important, the people around you become a greater part of your life. To a certain degree, you become less concerned about your reputation and more concerned about your loved ones. But when you have to deal with the realization that you no longer value what you once did, but you dont have the support system which people in their "midlife crisis" go to, then what? How are you expected to cope with your pain when you no longer have that means of escape from reality, the ring. 

The thing that somewhat bothered me the most, was that the article mentioned that his death was something everyone expected. Whether or not he used drugs until the day of his death, it emphasizes how society only values entertainment and violence. If you are unable to provide it, you serve no purpose in life. Ultimately, individuals have to give it up because you are not providing what the people need, but society does not provide you with a safety blanket, if you dont have it, you are screwed. 

Raul Duran

Kin 577

Reeves Nelson v. SI v. Journalistic Ethics

Former UCLA men’s basketball player Reeves Nelson filed a lawsuit against Sports Illustrated Wednesday, adding another layer to a story that has painted amateur sports in a bad light.

The $10-million defamation suit comes in response to a George Dohrmann article that provided numerous alleged instances that contributed to the perceived derailment of the historic program. At the center of Dohrmann’s piece is Nelson, who is portrayed as a malcontent with a tendency to bully his own teammates. While Nelson acknowledges some past transgressions, his lawsuit is rooted in the sworn declarations of 18 of his former Bruin teammates that the accounts are inaccurate.

Whether or not the stories prove to be true, the win-at-all-costs mentality instilled in athletes at an early age is almost definitely at work here. UCLA had recently made trips to three consecutive Final Fours and expectations were high.  When things did not go as planned, the culture previously implemented by head coach Ben Howland was challenged and these celebrities (particularly Nelson) were exposed for what they truly were—young adults who, for the most part, were unprepared for the rigors of that status.

Ultimately this problem comes down to the media’s treatment of sports figures at younger and younger ages. It is widely accepted that athletes are placed under a magnifying glass and their every move is overanalyzed. With commercialization in full effect on the collegiate level, the media is constantly looking to expose these money-makers with no regard for the fact that they are young adults.

Dohrmann’s alleged failure to gather accounts from those directly involved exhibits irresponsibility. This is made worse by the fact that the worst of the claims can be seen on college campuses everyday and none of which were NCAA violations. This story leaves a worse taste in my mouth about the state of sports journalism than that of the UCLA men’s basketball program. 

Andrew Sinatra

KIN 577

Strike a Pose

Over the past decade or so, professional sports, mainly the NBA and NFL, has drastically changed its image, in the fashion sense. Gone are the days of baggy jeans and button up, collared shirts that are two sizes too big and not tucked in. These days you are seeing a new breed of style. Clean, crisp and fitted clothing and with some players, a very fashion forward and brave approach to new styles. 

For the super star athletes, you may see them modeling in certain magazines now, that used to only put no-name models from Italy in. GQ and Esquire are two big fashion magazines that continuously use athletes for covers and photo shoots. I think it is a good thing that these athletes enjoy being put into these magazines because it takes you into their off-the-court world and let’s you find out more about them as a person and not just an athlete in a jersey. 

When the NBA first implemented their dress code, it was all but enjoyed by the athletes. However, athletes have taken that rule and used it to their advantage, not only to possibly change their image and broaden their fashion sense, but also to show that they can adapt to certain situations and use it to their advantage.

I personally think it has been great for the sports world to see a change in fashion. It has taken away a little bit of the stereo type of some athletes being thugs and they have flipped it on there critics and have done so, in style.


Sean William Hogoboom
KIN 577

A Family Affair

A couple weeks ago during the NBA Western Conference Semi-Finals, the San Antonio Spurs were taking on the Los Angeles Clippers. Before the game, a camera man caught some great footage of Tony Parker, Coach Greg Popovich, and Tim Duncan sitting on the bench before the game, looking like they were all best friends and did not have a care in the world. This footage was cool to see and also made me wonder of what other sport, or even another team in the NBA where you see the sort of ‘best-friend’ relationship that you see Popovich have with his players as well as each player has with their teammates, on the Spurs? I bet it takes you awhile to possibly come up with any comparisons, because there might not be many. 

In college and professional sports these days, there is an increasingly lack of genuine relationships between coaches and players and players with teammates. I brought this subject up because of the one exception to this question that I have witnessed over the past few months. I worked with the Long Beach State Dirtbag baseball team this season. Throughout the season, I worked closely with players and coaches and witnessed a different type of family-style relationship that not only this team has, but baseball in general. Every professional team in any sport, has egos, and some say that baseball has the biggest. However, I find that the camaraderie between players and coaches on a baseball team, puts a lot of those egos on the back burner and it is great to see.  

What sealed the deal for me, in terms of how I perceive baseball clubs and it’s athletes is when the LBSU Dirtbags lost their Big West Conference Championship yesterday on the final game of the season and the last game that 6 Seniors will ever play for their school and possibly baseball. altogether. As I sat in the clubhouse after the game, I witnessed the emotions pouring out in that locker room, some anger and some sadness. Tears were flowing, mostly for the Seniors and no teammates hesitated to come over to each Seniors locker and hug and comfort there elder teammate because they truly love these guys like brothers and know that they will, at some point, be in that same position. As the locker room cleared and all the hugs and ‘i love you brothers’ to the players and coaches, you walk out of the club house to a crowd of family members and friends all laughing and talking with each other as their sons come out to see them. That’s when I got the feeling that this truly is, a family affair. 


Sean William Hogoboom
KIN 577

Disadvantages Youth Sports

Competition in youth sports is a topic of debate in the sports world. Youth participation in organized sports can have its advantages and disadvantages. Advantages include teamwork and physical fitness while common disadvantages include injury, unequal access and an overemphasis placed on winning. Two additional disadvantages that Livestrong.com detailed in an article posted by Aaron Matthew in 2011are burnout and sport specialization. Burnout occurs when athletes lose interest in a specific sport. This usually happens before athletes reach the peak of their performance ability. Burnout prevents athletes from benefitting from the time dedicated to their sport while growing up. In comparison, sports specialization occurs when athletes drop multiple sports in order to focus on training for one. Danger occurs in sport specialization as this trend is occurring with younger athletes at earlier ages preventing them from developing different motor skills and facing different challenges. I believe that in discussing this topic we need to take a step back and focus on how athletes are affected emotionally and developmentally instead of how their game is hindered or how they lose the benefit from training for their said sport. 

Original Text

Karlie Carlson 

LT 22

Kin 577

*VIRGIN*VIRGIN*VIRGIN* ... (oh ya, she's a pretty good athlete too)

My inspiration for this post was sparked by a source that requires me to admit a slightly embarrassing fact:  I will often watch Good Morning America with my morning cup of coffee.  I’m not sure if I watch it because my morning grogginess can only comprehend mindless TV first thing in the morning, or if I just crave that jolt of frustration that GMA provides through feeding viewers with unhealthy messages, continually perpetuating our society’s destructive norms.  Either way, I was tuned in Thursday morning when to my delight a story came on about a female track runner who is training for the Olympics.  Having run track in college and maintaining an enthusiasm for running, I was pleased to see some media coverage for a sport that is rarely in the news.  I was excited to learn that this athlete ran sprints, as did I, and I became intrigued to see what kind of workout regimen she was on, how she came to be so successful, and what details of her running career the story would reveal.  However, I quickly learned that the aspects I was looking forward to learning about were apparently deemed uninteresting and irrelevant by media standards, because the story included none of them and instead highlighted one feature:  her virginity.

I was so disappointed to see the entire segment was dedicated solely to the sexual status of an incredibly impressive female athlete, Lolo Jones.  Did the story mention how she was homeless growing up, and lived in the basement of a church? No, but it did inform us that keeping a boyfriend has been hard.  Did the story cover that when she graduated college she still worked part time in a bagel shop because she wanted to pursue her dreams of running track professionally?  No, but we learned that she uses twitter to find dates.  How about the fact that since clipping the 9th hurdle in the 2008 Olympics and having spine surgery she has fought her way back to breaking records and being the 2012 Olympic gold medal hopeful for the 100 hurdles?  Negative.  When I googled her name to search for actual information, it took digging deep past all of the articles focused on her virginity or her recent HBO interview claiming that maintaining her abstinence has been “harder than training for the Olympics,” to find actual facts on her athletic accomplishments.    

Part of me was so bothered by this segment because of the way the media constructed the perception of Jones as just a sexy girl who is unusual to society, because clearly being a virgin at her age is  worthy of “breaking news.”  Another part of me was disappointed in her, for flaunting around this useless information to gain publicity, sacrificing her image as a bad-ass female track star for the media’s nickname “Virgin Runner.”  This caused me to wonder, how much of the media’s portrayal of Jones is reality?  We as an audience view the images shown to us and use the information given to create what we believe to be our own interpretation.  But what proportion of this interpretation is anywhere near truthful of who that person really is?

Then I had an epiphany:  What if I really don’t hate Tim Tebow?

All this time that I have disliked the way he parades his religion around past the point of respect to making it a mockery, when perhaps the root to my dislike has purely been the constructed image the media has created.  It’s obvious ESPN has a major crush on the guy since he is in nearly every other segment, and I get angry at Tebow for it.  But why?

Athletes choose to do interviews, and they can choose what information to divulge, but after that, the media has the power to blow up any aspect of an athlete that they deem interesting.  Then they will concentrate on that single aspect over and over again until it’s so ingrained in our heads it’s the only thing we associate with the athlete.
Lolo Jones... Virgin
Tim Tebow... Religion.

I guess at least those of us keen to media’s fabrication can be more wary to making snap judgements, and be a little kinder to those in the spotlight.

Nicole Rothert

KIN 577

It Gets Better

            One’s sexual orientation should not matter in any aspect, but unfortunately in contemporary society it does matter to a lot of people.  Individuals are afraid to admit who they really are because of the backlash and harassment they may endure. Individuals may fear they do not have the support group to help them get through what can be a tough time in their lives.  But there are support groups out there and people who care.  The name Dan Savage may not strike everyone as relevant, neither may the It Gets Better Project.  But what this collection of videos does is show the massive amount of support from celebrities and the general public alike.  Major League Baseball has joined forces to help promote the message that “It Gets Better.”  Life gets better when you do not have to live in fear of being yourself.  Teams such as the San Francisco Giants, Boston Red Sox, and Chicago Cubs have all shown their support for this project.  It’s ok to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.  Unfortunately, but understandably, nobody wants to take that risk in the sports world.  Only three athletes in the major professional sports have admitted to being homosexual, but none of which did so while they were playing.  Much progress can be made when an individual on a major sports platform admits to being homosexual.  That is what the It Gets Better Project does, but not simply for athletes alone.  It shows that there is support from high profile individuals along with your everyday citizen.  People love you and care for you without even knowing you.  For more information, you can visit the website at Itgetsbetter.org or visit You Tube and search It Gets Better Project.  Below is the commercial put out by Google promoting this message.

On a side note unrelated to sport, Tom Gabel, the lead singer of the band Against Me! has recently come out as being transgender.  This is the first major rock star to do so, and Gabel wanted to be open about it for the reason that nobody has done so before.  So it will be interesting to see if this has any effect on the music world.  It will also be interesting to see what effect it has on the band's music career, if they choose to continue pursuing it. 

Kyle DeCasas

KIN 577

Jerry Sandusky's name is in the news....again

According to the Associated Press, the Second Mile, a nonprofit organization founded in 1977 by Jerry Sandusky will be shutting down and transferring its programs to a Texas based ministry. Jerry Sandusky was part of the Penn State University's football program for years and worked with Joe Paterno, who as we have discussed in class had way too much power at the University. When reports of suspected abuse by Sandusky surfaced outside of Penn State it rocked the local Pennsylvania community as well as the rest of the nation. The subsequent arrest of Jerry Sandusky in November of 2011 had a strong effect on the Second Mile and now the organization has filed a petition to close its doors. Donors stopped donating and volunteers stopped volunteering. Would you blame them? Who would want to be associated with an organization that was affiliated with a person like Sandusky.
  
I was curious what the Second Mile was all about so I went to their website. As soon as I clicked on the link various words flashed on the screen: responsibility, opportunity, character, potential, positive. Jerry Sandusky, the former face of the organization, does not represent any of these qualities. The Second Mile has helped thousands of youth and parents become better people. It is unfortunate and sad that the one person who helped start this beneficial organization was the same person to close it permanently.
Thankfully there will still be positive places for children and adults to go to in State College.


David Palomares
Kin 577

Mark Canner Post 2 Chronicle of Higher Ed

Mark Canner

The Chronicle of Higher Education


Date: December 2, 1992

Donna A. Lopiano, Colleges Can Achieve Equity in Sports

Article URL: http://lilt.ilstu.edu/gmklass/foi/read2/TitleIXpro.htm

        

The article entitled, “The Chronicle of Higher Education” is an interesting peace that hinges on the idea of an imperfect budget system of college sports. The article references to many key ideas in college sports.

The first key idea is that college football is not that fat cow of production that most people believe it to be.

Rather than believe such inflammatory rhetoric, let's take a clear and rational look at the facts:

•                Fact: At about 93 per cent of all institutions that belong to the National Collegiate Athletic Association, football does not pay for women's sports. It does not even pay for itself.

•                Fact: Among the supposedly lucrative big-time football programs in the NCAA's Division I-A, 45 per cent are running deficits averaging around $638,000 annually.

•                Fact: Ninety-four per cent of Division I-A football programs are running deficits averaging $535,000 per year.

•                Fact: Thirty-four per cent of all Division I-A men's basketball programs run annual deficits averaging $250,000.

•                Fact: Seventy-four per cent of all other Division I men's basketball programs run annual deficits of close to $200,000.

From this we can see that college football will not save all so we can’t continue you to fill so many billions of dollars into football stadium renovations and coaching salaries. The truth is that college football programs for the most part clearly don’t deserve all the money they get but instead it is a factor of competition. The athletic directors don’t feel good about paying the football coach a salary that is five times the size of his own but they need to do this to fulfill the status quo.

         The next key idea referenced in this issue is women’s rights in sports. Although women have gained the power to fight for their rights in the courts system, their voice is still not being heard. The Supreme Court has backed the majority of female athletes who have asked for equal playing fields; unfortunately the schools don’t have the finances to back them up.

         To get the key point of the article it’s that we spent so much on college football programs that the entire system is out of control. Although there is a huge hole in college sports that may not be able to fully alleviate the problem in women’s sports and lower budget teams like water polo. We can start to make a change, which is create a luxury tax on college programs to limit how much they can spend on any team. Although this is not a quick fix it will even things out in the future.