LeBron's Popularity a Race Issue?

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/06/05/lebron-james-fan-support-has-fluctuated-differently-among-white-and-black-fans/

Posted above, is a link to an article mentioning how LeBron's popularity among black fans is much higher than white fans since the infamous "Decision." The reasoning and statistics are quite interesting. Below is a chart showing this:

Read the rest of the article for more analysis. What are your thoughts?

How Stereotypes Can Hurt: Curtis Malone

I subscribe to the magazine Sports Illustrated, and this week when I opened it up, I was a little surprised to see a story about Curtis Malone. Being from the D.C. area, and knowing a number of people connected to his DC Assault AAU program, including several kids who played on his teams, I was not sure how this type of coverage would look from an outsiders perspective. While it is an interesting piece, and is very similar to many other articles I've read in Sports Illustrated on youth coaches and some of the illegal activities they have pulled off, I think this is one that can hurt the image of African-Americans, especially those from Washington, D.C.
For many outside of the area, the assumption that everyone's involved in the drug game, or gang violence, or other numerous illegal activities, is an assumption made far too often. It's stories like this that the casual reader sees and thinks See, I knew it; that place has always had a drug problem, and it starts right at the top. Malone was a revered local figure, and many couldn't believe it when the allegations against him came out. However, I think it sends a strong message that no matter how good you are doing in life, things can always go wrong. It hurts knowing that some people who read the article came out of it with less respect for African-Americans, especially those involved in basketball, even though that was not the point of the article. Unfortunately, this means that some people still cannot see the individual, and will work to see the proof in stereotypes whenever they get the chance.

Out Of Power: How D.C.'s most prominent AAU leader landed in jail

As an accounting major and future lawyer I am always fascinated by how vast the business of sports is. I recently read an article about Curtis Malone, a prominent AAU basketball figure, who was arrested for selling drugs. What caught my eyes was Coach Mike Krzyzewski' reaction to hearing of Malone's arrest. Peter Thamel writes that Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski was shocked. However, Maryland coach Gary Williams knew what Malone was and refused to deal with him. It seems Coach Krzyzewski  is either lying or ignorant. If coach Krzyzewski is ignorant, it's because he chooses to be. After reading the article, it seems there is another side to the business of basketball and black men are played into it. 

http://www.si.com/college-basketball/2014/08/20/curtis-malone-aau-basketball-drug-arrest?xid=si_topstories

Aaron Hernandez's Fiance Asks Judge to Throw Out Perjury Charges

http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2014/08/22/aaron-hernandez-fiancee-asks-judge-to-throw-out-perjury-charges/

Today, news stations reported that Aaron Hernandez's fiancé, Shayanna Jenkins, asked a judge to dismiss charges alleging that she lied in court when asked over 1630 questions. Aaron Hernandez is a former NFL player who is currently being held without bail because he was indicted on three murder charges. 

My question to the class would be: do we think any of the allegations surrounding Ms. Jenkins perjury are related to the fact that she is a young African American woman engaged to a professional athlete? I could see a jury unfairly stereotyping her as a lying "gold-digging" type, and therefore, automatically expecting her to lie under oath when on the stand. Is she unfairly accused because of her race? Would it be different if her fiancé was not a former professional athlete? Would the media even be covering this if he was not? 

NFL to Punish Players for Racial Slurs

The NFL has always been a place where you "lay it out on the field," people are tackling each other as hard as they can and sometimes situations occur. People get angry and aggressive and say or do things that are in the heat of the moment. A recent issue that is severely taking a toll in the NFL is the use of the N word. Players are calling other players this foul word and some players are getting very upset with this. When football started many players were called the "N word," but this was because racial discrimination in society back then was very high. Now a days, there should be no need to ever say such thing to another player, not even jokingly--because that word is a derogative, degrading word. The NFL believes it can go back into its rule book, Section 3, article 1b and penalize players for saying such thing (15 yard penalty). Do you believe that they should be punished for saying such word? It is believed that many players throw around the word jokingly to other players. How would the referee know what is a joke and what is a serious racial slur? This is going to become a big deal if the game is on the line and the referee calls a penalty for the use of a foul word, when maybe it was a joke all along? This rule has been seen throughout the NFL with many players getting angry and using profanity with referees. I'm very curious to see how this impacts the NFL in years to come.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/24459109/report-nfl-feels-it-can-punish-racial-slurs-on-field-with-existing-rules

Racism of African-Americans, also Asians?

Throughout the NBA you may think to yourself, "how can there be racism in the NBA with all of the African-American players in todays sports leagues?" However, if you look at some of the key numbers you realize that although there are very many African-American athletes, there are very few African-Americans who hold prestigious positions. 9 of the best 12 teams in the NBA are led by White coaches so owners rather hire a white coach than a black one. There are 5 African-American general managers in the league and only 1 black owner, oppose to 28 white owners! And, that black owner happens to be the infamous Michael Jordan. Now, who would have ever thought that there would be stereotypes of Asian athletes? It is believed that Asians are supposed to be good at golf, baseball, tennis, and figure skating, but not at basketball or football. Due to this stereotype, they are often overlooked by college recruiters and professional scouts simply because of their names!
Lets talk about Jeremy Lin. Jeremy Lin was selected as California's high-school player of the year, a prestigious award that only is awarded to one person in the entire state! Jeremy Lin also led Palo Alto High School to a state championship. In regards to college, neither UCLA nor Stanford offered him a scholarship. I recently watched a clip of "60 Minutes," on Jeremy Lin, and he had said "the obvious thing in my mind is that I was Asian-American which, you know, is a whole different issue. I think that was a barrier. I mean, it's just a stereotype." Because Jeremy Lin is one of the few of his kind people tend to think its amazing the things he has achieved, however, if he were to be African-American many people would not think it would be so amazing. This is how society works, and it really is a shame.

Mo'ne Davis

I've watched the Mo'ne Davis story develop as her team's run in the Little League World Series has gone on these past weeks, and it is very interesting. I was watching the first game she pitched, and it was obvious to anyone watching that she not only stood out because of her gender, but because of her performance as well. However, after that performance, I couldn't get away from her. ESPN took her story and ran with it, focusing so much of their coverage on her that it began to look like the same kind of coverage they had with Tim Tebow a few years ago, which was indeed relentless. I was interested to see what they focused on, which was the fact that she was a girl, and obviously in Little League that is an anomaly. However, discussing the fact that she was African-American didn't come up as much as I thought it should, considering the lack of diversity that usually happens in the Little League World Series. Going off of that, there was not as much coverage of the team from Illinois, which was a team from Chicago that competed in the Jackie Robinson Little League. Certainly their story is worth sharing with the world, but we are so focused on one thing that we cannot appreciate what else is going on. Even Davis' own team, from Philadelphia, is one of the most diverse in the tournament, but that is lost in all of the media attention. These teams being where they are is huge for Little League, and it will help the league to grow in the years to come. I just hope other people can see that.

Micheal Sam

I agree with Tony Dungy's position on Michael Sam. I can understand how as a coach you wouldn't want the distraction that comes with a single player that could possibly damage a who team. And I personally would do that for any player regardless of their sexual orientation because bottom line its a production business , if you can produce then we need you , if you hinder production then we don't. But I do also agree that Michael Sam does deserve an opportunity in the NFL. He was the SEC's Defensive player of the year and had a great career at Missouri and at the end of the day its about who can play football so if Michael Sam can prove that nothing else should matter .

Senior Year or 1st Pick : Young would've stayed

Many collegiate athletes especially those who carry the burden of being  one of the best in the nation are often faced with a decision of should they finish their college careers or should they go to the pro's. In basketball it is most prevalent where athletes can leave after just one year , while in football you must  have been in school for at least three years. Often after having good seasons many of these athletes particularly black athletes decide to opt out of their senior season to head for the money and hopes of a prosperous pro career . But in a article I read about one of the greatest Quarterback in college football is Vince Young. The former BCS national championship winner and Heisman trophy runner up , said in an interview if he could go back he would've stayed at Texas if he knew he wasn't going to be taken first by his hometown team the Houston Texans. He eventually would be the 3rd overall pick , but he felt his career would've been much better had he been taken first. SO what I began to think about as a college football player my self , what's more important  finishing my senior year and getting degree , or go and chase the millions of dollars that I could have a chance to earn?




http://deadspin.com/vince-young-wishes-he-had-returned-to-texas-for-his-sen-1624603322

Redskins show support of Ferguson

There were so many headlines to come out of Monday night's exhibition match between the Washington Redskins and Cleveland Browns you would have thought it was a regular season game. The one that caught my eye the most was what the Redskins secondary decided to do as they were introduced, not Johnny flipping the bird or RGIII still not learning how to slide (Seriously! Can somebody teach the guy?).

As the Redskins secondary came out of the tunnel, they all had both arms raised in the air, also known as the international signal of surrendering and being unarmed. This, of course, is in light of the incidents that have been occurring in Ferguson, MO the last two weeks. On August 9th, Michael Brown, an 18 year-old African-American boy was shot dead by a police officer. I'm sure most of you know the story by now but it is an issue that has swept the nation's attention. There has been both positive and negative backlash of the actions of these players. Some people like they are silently protesting while others think that sports and politics should be kept separate. What is your view?

Tony Steward

The Tony Steward situation is one that can be easily associated with race. In this situation a mans temper and competitiveness got the best of him which led to the death of an a person. I feel that Tony Steward got off easy and if he was African American that he would of got banned from the sport and also be facing jail time. An Example of race would be football player Plaxico Burress who served jail time because of a gun charge in which he shot himself. Would he have served time if he wasn't Black?

Mo'ne Davis Throws Like a Girl

NY Times Mo'ne Article

The New York times article on Mo'ne Davis tells the historic performance she has put on in the little league world series.  Never has there been a girl pitcher to win a game at the Little League World Series before Mo'ne stepped on the mound.  Not only has she won two straight games, but she has dominated with two complete game shutouts allowing only a few hits in both games.  For basketball there is the WNBA sister to the NBA.  For other Tennis there is the ATP, and WTA.  For baseball the female equivalent is softball.  Mo'ne is dominating in a sport that is not even an option for girls to play.  There have been record crowds watching her pitch, and as the article's headline states "A Mound Becomes a Summit."  There have been girls that have played in the LLWS before, but for the first time a girl has towered above the competition.  Could we one day see a woman in the MLB?

Tony Stewart

It should come as no surprise to the sports world that Tony Stewart reacted to the race in the way he did. Kevin Ward, Jr. did not deserve to die over what we consider a very competitive sport.  History shows us that Tony has always had  hot headed temper, and  in the past he's gone as far as to throw his helment into someone's race care while passing. Many people myself included believe that if Tony was a football or basketball player that he we not only be banned from the sport, but would face extreme criminal charges. I think it's easy to relate his lack of consequences to race. Look at the Michael Vick case, a black man had dogs that were being trained to fight other dogs, he spent time in jail, lost his endorsements, couldn't play, and had to fight his way back into the NFL... Now we have Tony Stewart who "accidentally"  kills a man that everyone else on the track was able to avoid, not facing criminal charges for vehicular manslaughter. It's a little backwards to me. I think he sould be doing more than sitting out of a few races.


Tony Stewart Article:

http://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/index.ssf/2014/08/nascars_tony_stewart_to_sit_ou.html

Tony Stewart and the Bravado of NASCAR

http://motorsportstalk.nbcsports.com/2014/08/13/driver-who-witnessed-tragedy-tony-stewart-did-everything-in-his-power-to-avoid-kevin-ward-jr/

The link I found above tells dirt track racer Cory Sparks perspective.  His perspective is important to the story because he narrowly avoided hitting Kevin Ward Jr. just before Tony Stewart did.  In his words "Tony did everything he could to turn down away from Kevin."  While this article is a defense of Tony Stewart, most anything else I have read or heard has casted Stewart as a murderer, and attacked the sport of NASCAR.

I have been a fan of NASCAR since I was a little kid.  My dad used to take me to short track NASCAR races such as Dover, Martinsville, and Charlotte motorspeedway to name a few.  Though I haven't been to a Sprint series (highest level of racing) race in over 10 years I still go out to Late Model (think of it as D-league) racing with my dad at least once a year down in the south where racing is very popular.  Unlike what most of the public perceives a NASCAR fan to be, I am not a confederate flag waving, buck tooth, southerner that lives in a camper that travels race track to race track.  Contrary to popular belief, you can like NASCAR, and still be a tennis coach, graduate college, embrace diversity, and have a full set of teeth.

All that being said I have seen Tony Stewart race since he was a rookie with the two yellow stripes on the back of his car to differentiate him from the rest of the veterans.  Tony goes by "smoke" and he embodies the bravado that encapsulates NASCAR's stars.  The biggest star in the sport Dale Earnhardt, who died at Daytona during a race, went by the nickname "the intimidator."  "The King" Richard Petty wears a cowboy hat everyday of his life.  The nicknames speak to the machismo of auto racing.  Imagine James Harrison, Hines Ward, Bruce Bowen, Patrick Beverly, Yasiel Puig, or Brandon Merriweather being the most popular guys in their sport.  There is a large grey area in the sport of NASCAR where payback and bad blood dictate whether or not you put a guy driving 200 MPH into a retaining wall.  The crashes are spectacular and it is part of what draws an audience to the track.

When I was really young one of the first memories I had of racing was when a driver at Martinsville was turned into the wall.  He got out of his car and met the guy who crashed him out in the middle of the track.  He proceeded to reach into the guys car and try to throw some punches at the man behind the wheel.  It was in broad daylight, and no one questioned what was going on.  There was no suspension based on the driver's actions although he put himself and the other driver in harms way.  It was all just part of the sport.  If you cannot leave the bench in a NBA game during a fight without being suspended it would make sense for a driver to at the very least be subject to a penalty for vacating his race car to punch another driver in the face.

What happened with Kevin Ward Jr. on the dirt track was tragic.  The video of Ward dying before our very eyes is disturbing.  There have been deaths, and serious injuries to NASCAR drivers in the past and they all know it's part of the risk when they choose to hop in a race car, but nothing this damming has ever happened to the sport in all its history.  No one knows what was in Tony Stewart's heart before he killed Kevin Ward Jr.  There are no criminal charges, and the video is inconclusive as to whether he was trying to avoid Ward or trying to run over him.  Tony Stewart has a history of having a tempor but that does not immediately classify him of being a murderer when Ward is the one who risked his life by getting out of his car to confront Tony Stewart in the middle of a bunch of speeding cars.  Other drivers stand behind Stewart saying they barely avoided Ward in his black driving suit at nighttime when the race was happening.  The death of Kevin Ward Jr. has put the spotlight on NASCAR, and the response has to be strong.   Rules should be implement to increase the safety of drivers.  Certainly no driver should ever step out of their car to confront another driver ever again.

As for me I stopped following the sport religiously years ago in elementary school when my mom sold my mini diecast NASCAR collection at our yard sale for 25 cents a car.  I still know the familiar drivers names, and when I go to the track with my dad I have a good time.  I will remember cheering for Bill Elliott "Awesome Bill from Dawsonville" in his sweet looking McDonalds #94 car, racing my mini cars down my driveway, and spending father son time at the race track.  Most who are unfamiliar with the sport see it as a bunch of rednecks full of bravado crashing each other out and taking left turns.  The Tony Ward Jr. incident is tragic, but for me it is not the lasting impression of what this sport is.  For those who have not followed anything NASCAR before this only have this horrible accident that they associate with the sport, and that saddens me.

--Eric Horowitz

Bill Elliott's "Mac Tonight" car. AKA coolest car ever!

Ferguson, Journalism, and the NBA

     I found this very interesting read earlier today that comments on the ongoing crisis in Ferguson, Missouri from the standpoint of an NBA sports journalist. Dave Deckard, the author of this article and Portland Trailblazers beat reporter, makes multiple good points on the double standards that often exist between black athletes and otherwise-ordinary black citizens. Like Deckard, I am not an informed sociopolitical journalist, nor am I aware of anything close to the realities of life in Ferguson at the moment.  With such a heated confrontation between the government and the citizens/media, it's hard to believe everything (or anything) that is reported. But in the often white-controlled world of American professional sports, Deckard asks us where to draw the line between African Americans who are talented enough to deserve "special treatment" as so many famous athletes receive and those who are only average enough to not receive protection from circumstances like those occurring in Ferguson?  He writes, "do we believe that guys with a 40-inch vertical leap are somehow special and talented but average African American people, not so much?" And this is a great point - what is it that truly separates the two?  Do such organizations as the NBA and NFL create these double standards simply in an effort to exploit talent from black athletes to make more money, and those who are not talented enough must face the possibility of being subjected to war-like conditions in their own backyards?  Deckard continues, "NBA players are acceptable as long as they don't look or dress 'too black'...Jump for us, play for us, give us something we can live through vicariously and we'll let you live...reward you, even. Your poster will hang on our wall. Otherwise, it's the evening news." In a society that supposedly supports racial equality in all facets of life, it sure seems hard to believe this notion with such contrasting standards that only seem to reinforce the superiority of white interests from all angles.      

Media treatment of white and black suspects

This is a very fascinating article about the media treatment of criminals from different races, especially black and white. I am very intrigued by this article because for the final exam I wrote about media perception of black men and I discussed how the media feeds American people's fear of black men. I am not surprised that the media treats white killers better than black killers because there is such a negative stereotype of black people as a whole. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/14/media-black-victims_n_5673291.html

Domestic Violence

Why is that athletes recently have been arrested for domestic related issues and the league are not punishing them for it. With the recent 2 game suspension of Raven running back Ray Rice and the media outrage of how the league could just give him a two game suspension for a physical assault of a domestic partner. A domestic charge would only lead to more trouble for the athletes. Unknown too many but once you’re connived of a domestic violence charge you can’t own a firearm and if you already have any you have to surrender them.  Beaning a high profile athlete you would need some type of protection. In the end they would be violation a federal charge which in the end would kill there career. So why don’t they think, considering they are considered role model and little kids see them. They would think that they could do that to their partners and in the end its worst for them.  The leagues need to be like police department and send a message to their players that domestic related arrest will not be tolerated. They need to make it a mandatory half a season suspension without pay. So they could feel the pain and trust me they wouldn’t have any problem with domestic related arrest. 

http://www.10tv.com/content/stories/2014/08/07/greg-oden-former-osu-player-arrested.html

 

A Victory for Student Athletes

     In light of our recent studies surrounding the exploitation of student athletes, has anyone else read this article yet?  I found it last night after I was notified of the court decision via ESPN mobile.  For those who haven't seen it yet, a federal judge ruled that the NCAA cannot stop players from selling the rights to their names and other related images - meaning that college athletes are now legally eligible to earn up to $5,000 a year as mandated by the ruling (around $20,000 total over their college careers) in addition to their scholarships and/or tuition reimbursements.  As a result, the NCAA can no longer fully exploit players despite the billions of dollars they have earned for the organization over the course of its history.  As expected, the NCAA disagrees, citing "amateurism" as justification for not paying players.
     Personally, I believe that this is a major victory for student athletes across the nation.  The money they earn for the public sales of their names will be placed into a trust fund after graduation, which I think is a huge step in terms of preparing student athletes for life after college.  As the article details, many athletes testified during the trial that they viewed sports as their main occupation in college, and that the time they dedicated to their training made it nearly impossible to function as a normal student as well.  Former UCLA basketball star Ed O'Bannon, the lead plaintiff in the case, explicitly stated that, "[He] was an athlete masquerading as a student…[and] was there strictly to play basketball. [He] did basically the minimum to make sure [he] kept [his] eligibility academically so [he] could continue to play."  Although the NCAA argued that the often free education that many student athletes receive is more than enough compensation, I think players like O'Bannon exemplify exactly why it is not.  These "student" athletes are expected to perform at such a high level as representatives of their universities that they have very little time to focus on actually obtaining an education, which in turn can potentially create bad situations for them after their collegiate playing days are over.  While I don't necessarily agree with this practice, I can easily understand how it occurs.  Anyone who has ever attempted to do anything outside of school can understand how stressful managing multiple commitments during the semester can be, much less at the level that Division I athletics demands.  It is possible to argue that athletes make these choices for themselves, but the amount of revenue that they generate for the NCAA each year (in addition to that for their respective school's athletic departments) is more than enough to fund some sort of safety net for these athletes.  By creating limited trust funds (we are talking thousands of dollars here, not lucrative figures) that athletes will only receive after graduation, I think that this ruling will significantly aid student athletes in their post-NCAA lives for generations to come.    

Athletes being payed

http://www.usnews.com/debate-club/should-ncaa-athletes-be-paid

The link above is discussing whether or not student athletes should be payed. This is something I find very interesting because I am a new on the soccer team this year. I wanted to know what people thought on the situation? I personally can see both sides of the argument. I think for football and basketball paying players makes sense because of the amount of revenue they produce for their schools. Not just that, but the schools, and the NCAA, use the players in video games, and sell the athletes jerseys without their consent. Although there is no crime against that, it seems very shady and somewhat of an illegal action. On the other side I do respect the idea of professionalism and amateurism. If players were to be payed then the idea of amateurism is completely gone and collegiate players would then become professionals. I think the only sports that deserve to be payed would be football and basketball, even though I would love if soccer players were to be payed. Unfortunately soccer teams don't produce the same amount of money as the two other sports so it seems pretty improbable. I was hoping to see what others thought on the situation.

My position on Michael Sam

I personally feel for Michael Sam but at the same time I think he is partially at fault. He wishes to be treated like every other player in the NFL which is completely acceptable and I believe he should be. I think that if he is good enough to be drafted then he deserves to have the chance to prove himself. Before he came out he was the SEC defensive player of the year and he did that as a gay man. Regardless of his sexual orientation, he should be given equal opportunities and he shouldn't have fallen in the draft. However, when he acts out off the field and does/ receives things that normal players don't receive then I think he is backing up people's belief that he shouldn't be treated the same. The reason I think this is because of the simple question: Why would people treat him the same when even he doesn't act like he is the same? I think that if he truly wanted to be treated as an equal then he would do less off the field. Whether it was his speech during the ESPY's or his almost reality TV show, I think Michael Sam needs to step back from the theatrics and just be himself without having to always mention something about his homosexuality.

Micheal Sam

I think in the sports world, there will always be a group or even a person who is targeted for something. In this case it just so happens to be the first openly gay male to every be drafted into the NFL. When Jackie Robinson was coming into the major leagues he was looked at under a microscope, and it was becuase he was different. Anytime anything new/different is introduced people will have negative feelings and other's will have positive feelings. I do think Dungy's comments were appropriate with regards to the "extra" media coverage being a distraction. When someone joins a team,  they must keep in mind that they aren't the only person on the team. As children we are told " there is no "I" in team. I believe Dungy's comments were more so related to how the media attention will affect the team as a whole and not a negative perspective towards Sam personally.

The Washington Redskins Name Change

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/22/washington-redskins-native-americans_n_5607082.html

I have read the Huffington Post on the Redskins name change controversy. The overall argument was about the name Redskins being offensive to Indian people. In the  article someone said that "when you have kids in schools who are getting harassed, who are feeling a lack of self-worth because they themselves have become a mascot for someone else. My questions about this topic are do they have enough information to change the name of the team? Do you think they should change the name? Is the name really a act of racisms towards Indian people?

Diversity vs. Cultural intelligence

I read an article on Forbes online by Glenn Llopis, which discusses the root of the Donald Sterling controversy. The article “NBA controversy is a lesson in cultural ignorance vs. cultural intelligence” discusses how the term diversity is constantly thrown around to fulfill a need for many companies. However, there is very little cultural intelligence or connection between minorities and companies when promoting their product. For me, this sounds like the “I have a black friend” line that may white people use after they have said something racially ignorant and offensive. Donald Sterling and many companies hire minorities to show how diverse and inclusive they are, however, there is very little understand of minority experiences. While I liked the article I do not think Llopis reached deep enough and said things that needed to be said. First of, Llopis does not clearly define cultural intelligence. Secondly, Llopis merely seeks to promote his company as a means to this cultural ignorance problem. I think a real suggestion, besides Llopis’ company, would have enriched the article.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2014/04/29/nba-controversy-is-a-lesson-in-cultural-ignorance-vs-cultural-intelligence/

Marcus Smart

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/10428708/marcus-smart-oklahoma-state-cowboys-suspended-3-games-shoving-fan


I don't know how many of you remeber this incidient that involved Marcus Smart, an African American basketball player at OSU and Jeff Orr, a fan that was attending a Texas Tech  vs OSU game. there were a lot of stories about what actually happened during this moment of the game when Smart pushes Orr after a play that landed him in the stands. Smart was later suspended for a few games and had to publicly apologize for his actions. it was said that Orr made a racial remark to Smart which lead to Smart pushing the fan. What do you think should have happen to Jeff Orr if he really did make a racial remark to Smart? How should the NCAA handle fans who bring race into a game situation where it is now affecting the athletes? i just felt like this was a situation that wasn't look at more deeply because it only resulted in Marcus Smart being suspended a few games and the fan being removed from the game.                        

NCAA sports and drug use

http://totalfratmove.com/newly-released-ncaa-study-shows-which-sports-have-the-most-stoners/?utm_source=tfm&utm_medium=p&utm_campaign=trend

I saw that Maddie  also had a post about the sports that use the most marijuana in college sports. I do feel like many people would think that sports like football and basketball would have the highest marijuana use because they are predominantly african american sports i would think they they had the highest marijuana use. That just shows that i think within the common  stereotype that more african americans smoke more marijuana than Caucasians would but this NCAA study shows other wise i feel as though this could be different if testing another drug but I also think that marijuana is the most common drug among all races it just isn't shown that way in the media and within society.

Heightened Racism in International Competition?

http://www.purdueexponent.org/sports/article_f3357e58-5190-5118-bc88-b16fff219b58.html


I came across this article a few days ago and was interested in the notion of heightened racism in international sports.  While I missed the specific event between Brazil and Colombia in the World Cup a couple of weeks ago, I did read a number of racially-motivated remarks related to this instance on social media, which made me wonder - is racism more prevalent in international competition today than it was, say, one hundred years ago?  Since we started this class, we have read a number of articles detailing the history of racial integration in sports, with some of the earliest (and most monumental) instances - such as Tom Molineaux's fight against Tom Cribb in England, Jack Johnson's fight with Tommy Burns in Australia to claim the world heavyweight title, and Major Taylor's widespread cycling fame in Europe (particularly in France) - occurring outside of the U.S., which seems to suggest that racial integration in sports was progressing much more quickly abroad than domestically.  Given America's tumultuous history with racism at the time, this is not hard to believe.  But since then, has racism in international competition grown - not necessarily to surpass that in domestic competition within the U.S. (unfortunately, total "integration" in American sports may be a visible reality, but socially, I think we are still some distance from it) - across the world in the last century?  For instance, does anyone remember this from Sochi?  While this may have occurred off of the playing "field," I think that it still highlights racial discrimination as a result of international competition.  Perhaps this is somewhat inevitable given the nature of international sporting events that draw athletes and fans of different races together for tense competition, but I still don't think that justifies blatant racism by anyone.

Soccer and the Racism Problem

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/30/sports/soccer/italian-soccer-official-who-made-racist-comment-still-expected-to-win-top-post.html?_r=0

http://sports.yahoo.com/video/hbo-real-sports-racism-european-050000500.html

Why the most popular sports in the world has the biggest problem racism. Considering that is 2014 FIFA is fighting a fight that it will never win. They Could place them banners in every soccer stadium in the world but it will never fix the problem. They need to go after the teams that allows these fans to attend the games and act crazy calling black player monkey. I was watching a Barcelona game about  4 months ago and while Brazil star Dani Alves  was about to kick a corner kick a fan thew a banana at him, an indirect way of calling him a monkey, Alves just picked up the banana and ate it. FIFA has been campaigning for over 10 year to stop the name calling, throwing of banana and other racism  in the sports. But nothing is getting done.  This article shows how FIFA doesn't really care. After losing in the World Cup Italy top official made  a public reference to "Africans as “banana-eaters.” If FIFA really wanted to stop racism and let these teams know they mean business they need to hit the teams and countries with heavy fines and suspension.

The First link is the article about the Italian official and the second is Real Sports with Brian Gumbel. He did a show about the racism in European soccer. He also did one 10 years ago and he talks to players about what has changed since then.

NCAA Releases Sports Reporting the Most Marijuana Use

http://totalfratmove.com/newly-released-ncaa-study-shows-which-sports-have-the-most-stoners/?utm_source=tfm&utm_medium=p&utm_campaign=trend

I recently saw this link posted on a friend's Facebook wall- the NCAA released studies showing which of their college sports reported the most marijuana use. Lacrosse tops the list, reporting that 46% of players report using the drug, followed by swimming, soccer, and wrestling, respectively. I was wondering if anyone thinks that these findings can be related to race. Everyone always sees lacrosse as a predominately white sport, and swimming is commonly pictured in the same light. Do these racial stereotypes relate to marijuana use among the athletes in these sports? Do you think a different drug would show different results? Just something I found interesting.