Sport Issues: Sports
as a Reflection of
Society
Definitions

Modern sport is a reflection of our
society
– e.g., winning at all costs

Sociology is the study of the functioning
of human society in various
environments (e.g., workplace, church,
school)

Sport sociology is the study of the
functioning of society within the modern
sport environment
2
Important Issues in Sport Sociology

Specifically, we could discuss:
– Aggression and Violence in
Sport
– Cheating in Sport
– Gender and Sport
– Race and Ethnicity in Sport
– Racism in Sport
– Other Victims of Discrimination
Is there a pattern of behavior
that shows that sports reflect
societal values?
Athletes Learn at an Early Age

The importance of doing whatever it takes
to help win, as they
– Cheat to gain competitive advantages
– Taunt their opponents and use other
gamesmanship ploys
– Engage in harmful behaviors personally and
against opponents
– Display poor sportsmanship
Are athletes who engage in such actions simply
displaying the values that characterize families,
peers, businesses, and society in general?
Did These Really Happen?
A T-ball coach
offered a player $25
if he would hit an
autistic teammate in
the face so that child
would not have to be
played in a play-off
game.
A father provided
steroids and human
growth hormones to
his 13-year old son
who was a worldranked inline speed
skater.
A mother
abandoned
her
daughter
alongside an
interstate
highway
after the
daughter did
not perform
to the
mother’s
expectations
in a soccer
game.
Justify Actions by Saying




Everyone else does it.
This is the way the
game is played.
Do anything you can
get by with until the
official calls it.
If you are not
cheating, then you are
not trying hard enough
to win.
Aggression and Violence in Sport

Violence in sports parallels the reality of
violence in society as a whole
– We see examples of societal violence in
the news
– Sports news isn’t much better
Examples of Violence
in Sport

Hockey
– 2000: Marty McSorley knocks out Donald
Brashear by slashing him in the head with his stick

Basketball
– 1995: Vernon Maxwell hits an abusive fan in the
stands

Baseball
– Roger Clemens throws the jagged piece of a
broken bat at Mike Piazza

Examples can be found in almost every sport
 Can you think of any other examples?
Definitions


Violence = extreme aggression
There are three distinct
components of aggressive
behaviour:
1. Hostile Aggression
2. Instrumental Aggression
3. Assertive Behaviour
Hostile Aggression
Instrumental
Aggression
Hostile Aggression
The
harm
intent is to cause
Instrumental
Aggression
Hostile Aggression
Instrumental
Aggression
The intent is to cause The intent is to cause
harm
harm
Hostile Aggression
Instrumental
Aggression
The intent is to cause The intent is to cause
harm
harm
The goal is to cause
suffering
Hostile Aggression
Instrumental
Aggression
The intent is to cause The intent is to cause
harm
harm
The goal is to cause
The goal is to achieve
suffering
some external award
Hostile Aggression
Instrumental
Aggression
The intent is to cause The intent is to cause
harm
harm
The goal is to cause
The goal is to achieve
suffering
some external award
Anger is usually
involved
Hostile Aggression
Instrumental
Aggression
The intent is to cause The intent is to cause
harm
harm
The goal is to cause
The goal is to achieve
suffering
some external award
Anger is usually
No anger is involved
involved
Hostile Aggression
Instrumental
Aggression
The intent is to cause The intent is to cause
harm
harm
The goal is to cause
The goal is to achieve
suffering
some external award
Anger is usually
No anger is involved
involved
Performed outside
the rules of the game
Hostile Aggression
Instrumental
Aggression
The intent is to cause The intent is to cause
harm
harm
The goal is to cause
The goal is to achieve
suffering
some external reward
Anger is usually
No anger is involved
involved
Performed outside
Performed within the
the rules of the game
rules of the game
Hostile Aggression
Instrumental
Aggression
The intent is to cause The intent is to cause
harm
harm
The goal is to cause
The goal is to achieve
suffering
some external award
Anger is usually
No anger is involved
involved
Performed outside
Performed within the
the rules of the game
rules of the game
e.g., fist-fighting in hockey
Hostile Aggression
Instrumental
Aggression
The intent is to cause The intent is to cause
harm
harm
The goal is to cause
The goal is to achieve
suffering
some external award
Anger is usually
No anger is involved
involved
Performed outside
Performed within the
the rules of the game
rules of the game
e.g., fist-fighting in hockey
e.g., aggressive checking
meant to hurt the opponent
Assertive Behaviour






Often confused with aggression
Increased effort and energy
expenditure
No intent to harm
No anger involved
May result in harm, but any resultant
harm is incidental to the game
e.g., Assertive checking meant to slow
down the opponent
What Causes Aggressive
Behavior in Sport?

The following causes most likely interact to
cause aggressive behavior
1. Parents and coaches



Through comments, e.g., “Bob can
really take care of himself.”
By demonstrating interest in
televised sporting event fights
Recommendations:
1. Good role models need to convey a
negative reaction to aggression
2. Other?
2. Outcome of the contest and
league standing

More aggression occurs after losing contest
–

Lower league standing teams demonstrate
more aggression
–

Frustration
Frustration and a little to lose
Recommendations:
1. Refocus the teams efforts into more productive
channels, e.g., a new game plan
2. Others?
3. Point spread

The larger the point spread, the more
aggression occurs
– Nothing to lose because game is
perceived to be out of reach

Recommendations
1. Refocus attention, e.g., try out a new
play
2. Others?
4. Physical contact

Sports with a lot of physical contact result in
more aggression
–

If player believes that the opponent is trying to
hurt him/her there is an increased likelihood that
aggression will occur
Recommendations:
1. Encouraging athletes to increase effort vs.
aggressive acts
2. Victory (vs. harm) = the ultimate way to get back
at an opponent
3. Others?
5. Fan Reaction

More aggression occurs when a team
plays away from home
– Linked to fan reaction, i.e., unfriendly
crowd is likely to anger the visiting team

Recommendations:
1. Players must learn to “tune out” this fan
reaction and focus on the game
2. Others?
Cheating in Sport


Cheating = behavior aimed at getting
around the rules or simply breaking
them
Why do athletes engage in cheating?
1. The win-at-all-costs mentality
2. Cheating results from the sport ethic
Ben Johnson’s world record in the 100-metre dash in the
1988 Summer Olympics before he was stripped of his
win for using anabolic steroids.
The Sport Ethic
A cluster of norms that describe what it
means to be a successful athlete
 Four specific norms make up the sport
ethic

1. An athlete makes
sacrifices for the game
Athlete must love the game
above all else, i.e., give it
total priority
 This involves:

– Meeting the competition
demands without question
– Making sacrifices (e.g.,
family)
2. An athlete strives for
distinction
Constantly seeking
improvement
 Continuously getting
closer to perfection

– “swifter, higher, stronger”
Tatiana Grigorieva
3. An athlete accepts
risks and plays
through pain
Athlete does not give in to pressure,
pain, or fear
 Success comes with:

– Overcoming the fear and challenge of
competition
– Accepting the increased risk of failure and
injury
4. An athlete accepts no limit in
the pursuit of possibilities
Obligation to pursue one’s dream to
succeed without question
 Anything is possible if a person is
dedicated enough


Cheating occurs when the norms of
the sport ethic are accepted without
question
The Most
Popular Form of
Deviance
Athlete Recruitment
Rules are bent in order to sign
promising talent
 e.g., “getting around” the rules
regarding athletic scholarships
 “Ignoring” the required admission
average standards
 Others?

Academic Cheating

Athletes have their course work written by
“academic support” staff
 Little evidence that athletes engage in more
academic cheating than other students
 However, cheating is cheating!
– Pressure to maintain a certain GPA has the
potential to cause athletes to consider cheating
Cheating in Games

Modification of equipment
– Fencing: rewiring athletes
– Baseball: using cork-filled bats, applying Vaseline
on the ball

Modification of play
– Basketball: using physical contact to throw-off an
opponent’s jump shot when out of the referee’s
sight lines

Others?
PerformanceEnhancing Drugs
1.
2.


To gain a winning edge
Just to stay competitive
e.g., Ben Johnson tragedy
IOC considers certain performanceenhancing drugs illegal because:
1. They give one an unfair advantage
2. They have serious health side-effects

Athletes must be counselled to stay drugfree
Drug
Physiological Effect
Performance Effect
Anabolic
steroids
↑ muscle mass
↑ muscle strength and
power
Amphetamines
↑ muscle tension, HR,
BP
Prepare body for
competition
Cocaine
Physiological
stimulant
Help overcome fear
Rectal Air
Injections
↓ body density
↑ swimmer’s buoyancy
Alkalines
Neutralize
accumulation of acids
in the blood
Postpone fatigue
Blood Boosting
↑ oxygen carrying
capacity
Postpone fatigue
Beta-adrenergic
receptors
Physiological sedative To steady the hands
Gender and Sport
Sport Books Publisher
44
What Prevented Women From
Participating in Physical Activity
in the Past?
1. Lack of rights
Women were not allowed to vote, get
education, make own decisions, etc.
 This prevented them from making
decisions with respect to their
participation in physical activity

1948 Olympics
– 400m relay
2. Emphasis on reproduction
Women were described almost
exclusively by their biology as
reproducing organisms
 Physical exertion was thought to
destroy a woman’s potential to have
children

3. Societal expectations

Women were expected to act “lady-like”
– Female athletes were negatively labelled because
they did not act in accordance with these norms

Many sports were discouraged because they
prevented women from acting “lady-like”
– e.g., bicycling

Female athletes were expected to emphasize
their femininity
– e.g., by wearing feminine clothes, which impaired
performance
Access to Sport for Women


Single most important
change in the world of sport
over the past generation
was – INCREASED
PARTICIPATION OF
FEMALES
Women can now freely
participate in sports that
were not available to them a
few decades ago
Fig. 8.2 Number of Summer Olympic Events open to women and men.
*Includes 12 mixed events in 2000
What Led to the Increased
Participation of Females in
Sport?
New Opportunities

Development of new teams and programs
since the late 1970’s is linked with increased
participation
– Unfortunately, women still don’t receive an equal
share of opportunities in today’s society - e.g.?

These new opportunities have resulted from
political changes
The Global Women’s
Rights Movement
Over the past 30 years:

Emphasized that females excel as human beings when
they are given the opportunity to develop their physical
abilities
 Played role in redefining occupational and family roles for
women
In 1996, U.N.’s Fourth World Conference on
Women called for:


Increased efforts to provide sports opportunities
New efforts to promote education, health, and human
rights for females all over the world
The Expanding Health and
Fitness Movement

Since the mid-1970’s health
research highlighted the many
benefits of regular participation in
physical activity for females

Today, well-toned muscles and CV
fitness are no longer seen as
desirable only in the male population

Some traditional standards still
remain in terms of clothing fashion
and marketing strategies
– Examples?
Increased Media Coverage of
Women In Sport

Today, there are increased opportunities for
girls and women to follow female athletes in
media
 This provides them with role models and
encourages them to be active athletes
themselves
 Unfortunately, women’s sports are still not
covered as often or with the same detail as
men’s sports
– Examples?
In Summary

The preceding factors have:
– Collectively fostered increased interest in sport
participation for females
– Emphasized that gender equity in sports is an
important goal

In today’s society,
– Gender equity is far from being achieved
• Example?
– But the movement is underway and there is no
turning back
Figure 8.5 Gender ideology is changing but it continues to
create constraints on sport participation for some people.
Gender-based Double Standards:
Do They Exist in Sports?
What would happen if:
Mia Hamm beat up a man or a couple of
women in a bar fight?
 A rugby team “mooned” tourists in
Washington, DC?
 A basketball player had four children with
four different men?
 Anna Kournikova was photographed with
near naked men ogling and hanging on her?

Race and
Ethnicity in Sport
Definitions

Race
– Involves reference to physical traits
– BUT is based on meanings that people have
given to those particular physical traits

Ethnicity
– Not based on physical traits
– Based on characteristics associated with
cultural traditions and background

Minority group
– A socially identified group that experiences
discrimination and suffers social
disadvantages
Racism in
Sport
The Black Athlete – View of the Past
Only white athletes were
allowed to play on major
league baseball teams
 Black athletes played in
Negro Leagues
 Jackie Robinson – first
black baseball player to
play in the major leagues

Racial Discrimination against African
Americans in Sports


Were subjected to racial taunts, discriminatory treatment,
exclusion, and bigotry
Exceptional athletically and academically, a few males were the
first to integrate sports.
Moses Walker, who
played catcher for
Oberlin College and
the University of
Michigan in 18811883, was the first to
play at a Caucasian
institution.
William Lewis,
who played centerrush for Harvard
University, was the
first named an AllAmerican in 1892
and 1893.
Continued Racial
Discrimination

John McClendon
Historically Black colleges and universities
and segregated leagues
 Subjected to: withheld from games;
violence; exclusion with “gentleman’s
agreements;” stacking; and quotas
Oklahoma State’s Wilbanks Smith viciously hit
Drake’s Johnny Bright in the face with his fist.
All-American
Paul Robeson
Confronting Racial Discrimination
Succeeding against
unbelievable odds
 The watershed event
of the 1966 NCAA
men’s basketball
championship game
 Athletes fighting for
their rights, such as
through boycotts and
demanding equitable
treatment

Jesse Owens
Alice Coachman
Bill Garrett
Academic Exploitation of
African Americans in Sports
Post-World War II, they were
recruited mostly for their athletic
skills.
 Segregated schools, non-collegepreparatory curricula, and socioeconomic factors led to poor
academic preparation for college.
 Many majored in eligibility rather
than obtained college degrees.

Dexter Manley
The Black Athlete - Progress
Progress has been made leading to a significant
increase in black athlete representation
Percentage (%)

90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Black Athlete Representation Trends in
Three Professional Sports
Baseball
Football
Basketball
1950

1960
1970
Year
1980
1990
2000
However, the majority of people in power (e.g., team
owners) are white, so the possibility of unequal
access still exists
Tiger Woods:
Disrupting Dominant Race Logic
CABLINASIAN
CA = Caucasian
BL = Black
IN = Indian
ASIAN = Asian
Race Ideology in Sports Today
Race logic encourages people to
 “See” sport performances in racial terms,
i.e., in terms of skin color
 Use whiteness as the taken-for-granted
standard
 Explain the success or failure of people
with dark skin in racial terms
 Do studies to “discover” racial difference
Traditional Race Logic
Used in Sports
Achievements of
White Athletes are
due to:
– Character
– Culture
– Organization
Achievements of
Black Athletes are
due to:
– Biology
– Natural physical
abilities
Other Victims of Discrimination
Disabilities and Sport

Traditionally people with disabilities have been segregated in
our society and sports

Determination shown by Terry Fox, Rick Hansen, and others
has led to highlighted attention of achievements of disabled
athletes

Changes that allowed disabled individuals to become less
segregated members of our society:
– Crippled, handicapped, retarded  disabled
– More sporting events are being offered
– Bill C-62
– More ramps and accessibility
– Others?
Gay Athletes

Professional sport is highly
male, heterosexual, and
homophobic

“Coming out” in a sporting
environment puts
individual’s social status,
family and fan affection,
and even success at risk

Dave Kopay (1976) - First
North American athlete to
“come out”
Martina
Navratilova
Greg Louganis

Gay Games
– Formed in 1982
– Since then their popularity has
increased tremendously
– People of all sexual orientations are
welcomed
– Key philosophy: PARTICIPATION,
SUPPORT, INCLUSIVENESS AND
ENJOYMENT
– This philosophy is opposite to
conventional international
competitions, which stress
exclusion and ranking
Homophobia in Sports
Popular discourse erases the existence of
gay men and lesbians in sports
 Gay men and lesbians challenge the twocategory gender classification system
 Being “out” in sports creates challenges

– Women risk acceptance
– Men risk acceptance and physical safety

Most people in sports hold a “Don’t ask,
don’t tell” policy concerning homosexuality
What Is the Likelihood of Becoming an Olympic,
Professional, Intercollegiate, or Interscholastic
Athlete?
 US population —
over 306 million
 Just over 7 million
high school
athletes
 Less than 500,000
college athletes
 Approximately
10,000
professional
athletes
 Less than 800
Olympic athletes
Athletes
7,000,000
7,000,000
6,000,000
5,000,000
4,000,000
3,000,000
2,000,000
500,000
1,000,000
10,000
800
0
1
Interscholastic
Intercollegiate
Professional
O lympic
Estimated Probability of Competing in Athletics beyond the High
School Interscholastic Level (NCAA, 2007)
Student-Athletes
Men's
Basketball
Women's
Basketball
Football
Baseball
Men's Ice
Hockey
Men's
Soccer
High School Student
Athletes
546,335
452,929
1,071,775
470,671
36,263
358,935
High School Senior
Student Athletes
156,096
129,408
306,221
134,477
10,361
102,553
NCAA Student
Athletes
16,571
15,096
61,252
28,767
3,973
19,793
NCAA Freshman
Roster Positions
4,735
4,313
17,501
8,219
1,135
5,655
NCAA Senior Student
Athletes
3,682
3,355
13,612
6,393
883
4,398
44
32
250
600
33
76
Percent High School
to NCAA
3.0%
3.3%
5.7%
6.1%
11.0%
5.5%
Percent NCAA to
Professional
1.2%
1.0%
1.8%
9.4%
3.7%
1.7%
Percent High School
to Professional
0.03%
0.02%
0.08%
0.45%
0.32%
0.07%
NCAA Student
Athletes Drafted
Moral Justifications Used to Defend
Unethical Actions in Sport and Society

Try to make it seem that the unethical action is
really ethical, such as by claiming there is no rule
against it, no one will ever know, or everyone else
does it.
 State that the action is not really unethical since
no one was really harmed or no foul was called or
penalty assessed.
 Argue that while a rule was violated, the situation
along with the amount of good accomplished
overshadowed the small amount of harm; that is,
the end justifies the means.
Sports Reflecting Societal Values
Influence
of money
Unethical
behaviors
Winning at all costs
Sports Are a Reflection of Societal Values
While sports have been praised for leading
positive societal changes, such as reducing
discriminatory treatment of African
Americans, today sports reflect society’s
cheating culture.
 Commercialized sports, especially as
popularized by the media, entertain
Americans, many of whom are obsessed by
winning and cheer for athletes and coaches
who do whatever it takes to win.
