Conclusion 4/30/09

I have never had a blog before this class, and I'm still deciding how I feel about it. I don't think, however that I'm going to keep this blog going after class is over. I could try I supposed but I think I would just forget about it most of the time and end up not responding to anyone's comments (if there were any).
I think a blog could be a good idea for some people who like to read about the opinions of others, which I guess I do to a certain extent. However, I will be honest and say that I don't keep up with sports nearly enough to have any opinions to write a blog about. If I kept a blog, I would definitely have to change the subject.

Anyway.....I can't believe this semester is almost over! It went by so fast!
Before this class started, I wasn't sure how I would like it, but I decided to take it so I could learn a little more about the recreation/sport side of my major. Some parts of this class were difficult for me because I really don't follow sports very much at all. A lot of names or events we talked about in class, I was unfamiliar with. However, I did learn a lot about ethical issues and major times in sport history.

I think my favorite part of the class may have been learning about sport in the old days. I was amazed by the evolution of sport and how rules and the game have changed over time. The Victorian Age and their standards of sport or things like gander-pulling still amaze me. I can't imagine living in a time like that.

Overall, I'm glad I decided to take the class because it changed my perspective on the sports world. I may actually pay a little more attention to games or sporting events I see on TV because I can see if from a different point of view now, rather than just entertainment.

Injured athletes

In yesterday's class we had a presentation about injured athletes and their contracts. I thought this was an interesting topic because I didn't know that they usually lose their salary when they have a "career ending" injury. I understand that paying these players millions of dollars when they are not even playing would be a waste of money. Afterall, they signed the contract to be paid to play, not sit out. However, if the athlete gets injured during practice or a game it is obviously an accident and not done intentionally or out of poor judgement. I think the situation would be different if the athlete was out on their own playing a sport or "goofing off" and were to be injured.
After hearing this presentation, I feel that there should be a clause written into the contracts talking about an injury situation. Maybe if an athlete is injured they should receive 50% of their pay or something similar if they are unable to return to the sport. If for some reason, their injury ends up not being "career-ending" then they should be able to slowly work back up to the original salary, assuming he is still able to play as well as before.
This is definately a difficult subject to decide on, but it seems that it isn't fair to cut pay for athletes who hurt themselves while they are playing a game and making money for the owners.

Violence in Sport

I decided to write about violence in sport even though I presented on it in class. Lauren wrote a blog about it and I thought this would be a good place to give my personal opinion about my presentation.
To be completely honest, I'm still a little torn with my decision about unnecessary violence in sport. I feel like there are times when the violence in a given sport is out of control: in hockey for example. But I can't say that I don't love hockey games and I look forward to a few good fights. Actually coming out and saying that makes it sound like I like to see people get beat up! But it's amazing how people are actually drawn to the violence and watching people get hurt!
In reference to the court case I talked about in class, I'm still in awe over the ruling. A player nearly gets his neck broken by an opponent who is being unnecessarily rough and they tell him it's part of the game and it should be expected. In this case, I belive there was video evidence and it should have been used to prove that this act of violence was intentional and did seroious harm. I guess it's too late now, but luckily I think we've learned from that and we can control the unneccessary acts of aggression during contest.

Role Model Athletes

I really liked the presentation Bradford made to the class on Tuesday about professional athletes as role models. This subject really made me think about all the athletes that get into trouble and don't take into account the fact they thousands of kids or young adults are seeing them not only on the court or the field but also on the news for their arrest.
When someone realizes that he or she is an exceptional athlete and they want to make a career out of participating in a sport, they must know that they will be living their lives in the spotlight; especially if they are a "favorite" who gets alot of media attention. Maybe this isn't fair, but each athlete knows this going into it. Maybe athletes shouldn't have such a huge influence on kids today, but regardless of that they still are.
I think these situations are similar to celebrities who say they don't want their personal lives invaded. I'm sure that having cameras around everytime you go to the grocery store is really annoying and of course there are times when it gets carried away. However, celebrities know what to expect when they start acting, singing, and ect. As unfair as it may be to athletes they are role models to all the little kids out there who watch Monday Night Football and want to grow up to be a professional quarterback.
I also think Bradford made a good point in his presentation the other day when he said the key word is "professional." Regardless of how they wish to live their lives they need to realize that they are "professionals" and need to start acting as such. For the most part you don't see "professional" businessmen or women getting caught for drunk driving or possession of illegal drugs.

Sarah Gronert--Tennis Player

Last week when I was looking around on AOL, I came across an article about Tennis Player Sarah Gronert. There is a big controversy about her because she was born with both male and female parts. She had to make a decision whether she wanted to compete against men and women. Her final decision is to play tennis against women; however people are upset because the speed and strength she plays with is that of a man rather than a woman. This would be a really difficult situation for anyone, even someone who may be transgender. However, to me, she looks more like a woman than a man--it just happens that she has some male parts. The Williams sisters are mentioned in this article because they are quite large and muscular for an average woman--even an athelte.
I have a feeling situations like this one or ones concerning transgender atheltes will become more commonplace in the future. Sports associations should probably make a set of rules or guidelines to follow in certain situations. That way fans and other athletes cannot complain about the gender a particular athelte decides to play on.
The link below is the article and a photo gallery with the Sarah Gronert controversy.



http://www.aolhealth.com/condition-center/womens-sexual-health/gender-controversy-intersex-conditions/