Conclusion - Max Perry

This class allowed me to see new perspectives on gender and race issues in sport. Before this class I was unfamiliar and/or uniformed on many of the topics we covered in class like transgenders such as Renee Richards, or the issues women both who are straight and lesbian face in collegiate and professional sport. I had never heard of the racist incident at Indian Wells involving the William’s sisters and I can’t believe that something so blatantly racist could’ve occurred in a professional sporting event so recently. The Indian Wells incident is a prime example of the benefit of this class. Although major progress has been made over the last 50 years for gender and racial equality, clearly racism and sexism are still alive and present in society and the Indian Wells incident clearly exemplifies this. 

The blog entries were helpful to expound on thoughts and ideas discussed in class in addition to serving as refresher on the material and a compact place to find class concepts from throughout the entire semester. Overall, what I will take from this class is a more nuanced, and informed opinion on gender and racial issues. In my career in sports there will more than likely be situations and scenarios which call upon me to make a fair and informed decision and thanks to this class I feel as though I will be more than prepared to make the right decision. This class taught us to think critically about hard issues that may have no right answer and I believe that will be a valuable skill throughout life. 

Max Perry

Final Blog, Jay Clark

            When I first began this class I thought to myself, how deep can we really go with the topic of sport and gender?  After a few weeks in the class I found that I was mistaken.  Just yesterday I was explaining to my roommates the truths about people that are transgender and their differences in sexuality.  Before I took this class I was accepting of homosexuality and differences in peoples sexuality but I had a limited perspective on the topic all the same.  If I had a choice in the layout of our sport management classes I would consider breaking this class into two classes simply because the topic was an eye opener. 

            Aside from learning about sexual orientation I learned many other things from this class.  I was extremely interested in how our MLB teams recruit players from overseas and pay them less.  These are the kind of topics that make me happy I paid for the class.  I say this because this is interesting information that I will take with me rather than forget about by next semester.  That being said, MBL recruiting is not the only thing I will take from this class.  I enjoyed our discussions each class and was always surprised how active my fellow students were in relation to each topic.  Overall I took a great deal from this class and enjoyed my semester in Sport and Gender 4250.

Conclusion- Shaun Higgins

This Sport and Gender class has turned into my favorite class that I have taken. The discussion in this class has been not only engaging, but also very thought provoking. My viewpoint on so many issues has changed or at least been expanded due to the information provided.  As I stated at the end of our group presentation, I believe that the thing that will stick with me the most from this class is to not think in binary terms. Many of the topics that we discussed dealt with the multiple facets of the issues. I learned that everything is not just black and white (both figuratively and literally). Race, sexual orientation, gender and so many other topics can be categorized in many different ways. I loved the discussions that we had about race in sport. I think we had a class that was willing to speak up about the issues while still being respectful and thoughtful to the others in the class. Many of the topics are very controversial, yet I think our class handled them extremely well. My favorite article of the class was probably the one about the fall from grace that Tiger had. They way that his public image fell was just incredible. As I read the article though, I began to notice how private and almost robotic Tiger had become with the media and it makes it easier to understand how this could happen. Overall, I have really enjoyed this class. I will miss coming to it and having these great discussions each week.

Conclusion -Eddie Hodges

I felt that SM 4250 was one of my favorite classes to attend. Dr. Spencer always had the class engaged in a great conversation. It was a great opportunity for me to hear different opinions, about various subjects, from a class full of my peers. I will say I have taken a lot from this class. I have learned that there is a distinction between transgenders and transsexuals. I have also learned how different genders and races are portrayed by the media. The media has a big effect on a player's particular image and it can be tarnished or made better by media depictions. This was one of my favorite classes this semester and I will truly miss coming in class each day to learn and speak about different aspects of sports. Thank you Dr. Spencer for creating such a good class atmosphere and making it appealing to come to class each session.

Conclusion- Evan Sechler

Upon signing up for this class I was not really sure what to expect. I just knew that it was another required class. That being said, Sport and Gender turned out to be much more interesting and enjoyable than I originally expected. Every day I looked forward to going to class, and I cannot say the same about a lot of my classes. The main reason I enjoyed the class so much is because we covered a lot of topics that are rarely talked about in other classes, and it was nice being able to hear several people’s opinions and their experiences in relation to those topics. Also, I was previously unaware of many of the issues surrounding race, gender, and religion that were discussed in class. As a future sport manager, I not only realize that these issues do exist, but that they are also very significant and, in some ways, completely changing the world of sport. Also, although I absolutely despise presenting, our final group project was actually very interesting. It was nice being able to go out, gather our own information, and formulate our own opinions on a subject that we had not yet touched on in class.

Conclusion- Brian Kochheiser

Sport and gender was a much more interesting and informative class than I had anticipated it to be at the beginning of the semester. Growing up, I was taught the importance of diversity and inclusion because of the fairly diverse area that I lived in. I thought that my experiences and education in high school and college thus far had given me great knowledge about sport and gender topics. While that is true, this class dove even deeper into the issues that society is still facing and how it impacts sports. I thought that all of the sections were interesting, but because I am interested in working in collegiate athletics and ultimately becoming the AD at a University, I found Title IX to be the most useful. The budgeting assignment was a lot of fun and it forced be to think outside of the box which will be useful in my future career. I'm glad that we were able to research topics further in depth at the end of the semester because diversity in the NHL was interest of mine. I played hockey all throughout my youth, so I was interested to learn more about the diversity in the NHL and the steps that it has taken in recent years. At first, I was skeptical about the blogs because I'm not always confident in expressing my thoughts to the public, but this semester has proved to me that I have valid thoughts and opinions and the blogs have given me confidence to share those more in other settings. Overall, this was a fantastic class that always made me think in other perspectives and I definitely learned a lot because of it. This class had great conversations throughout the semester and was one of the more fun class environments that I have been in at BGSU.  

Homosexuality in Sport - Britney, Stacy, Taylor, Jude

Throughout the semester, in class, we talked a lot about how homosexuality is viewed and portrayed in sport. As a group, we all found this topic and the conversations we had in class to be very interesting so we chose it for our group presentation. We decided to break up homosexuality in sport into different parts. They include; management and homosexuality - how should management handle homosexuality in their organization? Female vs. Male - why is it more acceptable for females to come out than males in sport? Endorsements and Financial risks - is it worth the financial risk to come out if you are in professional sport and getting paid to do what you do and be in the media? Locker room culture - how is the atmosphere affected in the locker room if there is a gay or lesbian on the team? Homosexuality in different sports and age groups - is it more acceptable for an athlete to come out if they are in a team sport or individual sport? Or is it more acceptable for them to come out as a college athlete compared to a professional athlete? A tolerance rule - should there be a no tolerance rule in sport for homosexuals? And finally, with a negative connotation in sport, what should be done to change the view point many have of gays in sport? In our presentation we will be talking about many different viewpoints of each question asked. We will talk about people who agree, disagree and who are neutral with every part that is talked about.

Men & Women's NCAA Basketball Tournament - Billy Nowak, Shaun Higgins, Travis Kash & Nicole Zawislan

            Our group was very intrigued throughout the semester about the comparisons between male and female sports, so for our presentation we decided to compare the differences between the Men’s and Women’s NCAA Basketball Tournaments, more commonly known as March Madness. The reason there is an ability to compare the two tournaments as different can be found in just this simple year comparison: The first Men’s March Madness Tournament was held in 1939 and the first Women’s Tournament was held in 1972. 1972 was also considered an important year for women’s sports in general because of Title IX becoming official.

            Before Title IX, only two percent of total athletic budgets went to female college athletes. The other 98 percent went towards basic athletic upkeep and male athletes. That number is astonishing when you look at how much that has changed in just 40 years. Title IX has helped to make the number closer a 50/50 split. Women’s Basketball has benefited from Title IX immensely, however there are still many areas that lack when comparing to Men’s NCAA Basketball.

            An interesting statistic that can really explain the difference in media coverage for both tournaments is that ESPN’s SportsCenter spent roughly over 3 hours of segments discussing different aspects of the Men’s Tournament. The same program then spent a little over 6 minutes worth of discussion on the Women’s Tournament.  That statistic is shocking, but also shows how much media coverage has an effect on the popularity of the March Madness Tournaments. If the media were to focus on getting those air times closer to a 50/50 split like other areas of the tournaments have, we believe that people who watch the Tournament would be interested in more than just the tournament of one gender.

Diversity in the NHL: Brett Bardwell, Corey Krupa, and Brian Kochheiser

For our group presentation we took a look at how far black players in the NHL have come and what some of the steps these players took to get there. Right off the bat, we noticed that there was a theme of old players saying it was hard for them to get into the game because there was no role model for them to look up to when they were kids.

We tried to look at some other factors too, such as the fact that there is a high concentration of the black community located in big cities. We found that there is a program, Hockey is for Everyone, that is trying to promote the game of hockey and its awareness to these areas. This program provides kids with equipment and guidance for no charge to their families. The goal of the program is to further expand the game of hockey to all people.

To sum up our presentation, we wanted to look at some key players from each era and sort of compare those players to the players of today. It starts out with Willie O'Ree, the first black player in the NHL, who played in 1958. One would have thought that this would pave the way for other players to come into the NHL, but there was 15 years before the next black players surfaced. Mike Marson and Bill Riley were the first black hockey players to be drafted and they played together for the Washington Capitals during the 1974-75 season.

As the years go on, more prominent black players began to surface. In the 80s there was Grant Fuhr, one of the better goalies of his era and 4-time Stanley Cup Champion as a member of the Edmonton Oilers. He teamed up with legends Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier during these years and won a Vezina Trophy in 1987.

The 90s is when the road for dominant scorers began to be paved, thanks in large part to Jarome Iginla. Iginla is most certainly the best black hockey player ever and it is a huge credit to him that we are beginning to see more black players in the NHL today. Without Jarome Iginla I do not think that there would be budding stars like Evander Kane, P.K. Subban, or Dustin Byfuglien. Just this year there was a black defensemen, Seth Jones, who was a possibility to be the number one overall pick of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. He ended up going fourth to the Nashville Predators and is having a great year playing on the top defensive line. With so many future stars in the league now I think it is only a matter of time before we see even more black players in the NHL.

Fallon Fox and Class Conclusion: Michelle Bowles, Whitney Pellham, Even Sechler

Our group felt there were a lot of strong opinions mixed with little knowledge in the class when discussing the topic of transsexual and transgender athletes in sport. This led us to further exploring the background of Fallon Fox, a male-turned-female MMA fighter, and discussing the ethics, science, and opinions surrounding the situation.

Throughout the course of preparing this presentation, we learned a lot about the medical side of sex reassignment surgery, particularly what happens to a male’s body when he transitions into a female. Although there are a lot of things we are still having a hard time understanding, we feel even a basic knowledge has led us to being more accepting of male-to-female athletes in competition.

In the course in general, we found the most useful portion of class centered on discussions. Almost every day we were exposed to new ideas and had to assess our own viewpoints. The fact that classmates were not afraid to voice opposing opinions was encouraging, because it opened difficult topics up to conversation.

One of the readings we all found to be interesting was the Messner article on children and gender. Being more aware of how gender is pushed on children even before they are born opened our eyes to the different ways society shapes us as individuals.

All of the topics we felt were covered a decent amount in class. While all of the topics were interesting and provoked meaningful conversations, to cover all of the material in the class we felt we covered enough to get a general idea before moving on to the next topic.

Writing the journals was a great way to further explain your point without worry of judgment based on your stance, but blog entries forced you to analyze the perspectives of others and also your own. Often times the few dominant voices in class shared a viewpoint, but then the blog would be full of people taking the other side.

Overall, we will take from class that everyone has an opinion, whether it is a strong or weak opinion, and that everyone has different ways to communicate those opinions. In our careers we will make sure to get feedback through multiple channels so everyone feels they can best express themselves.

Femininity in the WNBA by Max Perry, Eddie Hodges, Clay Leser and Tyler Crellin

For our presentation we decided to look at the issue of femininity in the WNBA. We first examine what femininity is and how it is formed as a socially constructed gender role for females to try and emulate. We then look at how femininity is perceived in the WNBA by examining how the WNBA markets itself, the WNBA’s practices and lastly how WNBA superstars present themselves. We’ll be looking at Candace Parker and Lisa Leslie and discussing the pressure they feel to look and act more feminine while still dominating their craft. Tina Thompson is another large figure in the WNBA and we’ll be talking about her decision to wear lipstick and whether or not that would be a good idea for more players in the WNBA. We’ll also be discussing Brittney Griner and her choice of presenting herself in a non-traditional no- feminine way. In addition to her appearance, we will delve into the repression of her sexual identity in college, and why her coming out wasn’t a larger deal when she did graduate and go pro. How in 2013 are athletes, and superstar ones at that, still being forced to repress aspects of their lives? Clearly this is a problem not just symptomatic of female sports, there are currently no gay male athletes active in any of the four major sports, but it is something to still discuss and examine. Could a player of her status withstood the backlash at a private university that doesn’t support lesbians like Baylor? Has her decision to come out now affected her professional career in any way? We will also talk about other out female athletes like Sheryl Swoopes, Martina Navratilova and Megan Rapinoe and how coming out can be different for active and retired athletes and also for athletes in individual sports as compared to athletes in team sports. Overall, we hope to examine the issues that females encounter while trying to compete in sports just like the opposite gender. Hopefully through this presentation we will expand on the ideas we discussed in class while encouraging new thoughts and ideas related to femininity in professional sport. A combination of new examples and rehashing of old ones should allow for the rest of the class to gain a new perspective on female athletes that they didn’t have before our presentation and before this class. 

The Pressures of Being a High Profile Male Collegiate Athlete - Brandon Focht, Anthony Cornwell, Ben Matheny, and Jay Clark

Our presentation looks at the struggle of being a high profile college athlete, with our main focus on two current high profile athletes in college football, Jadeveon Clowney and Johny Manziel. Through the current events of Jedeveon Clowney and Johny Manziel we review Title IX, the roles of sexuality and gender, and the impact that high profile players can have on a program/school’s economics. We used many different topics and articles in this presentation but we found ourselves most interested in the article on black masculinity and the article about Tigers mishaps with women. We began our focus on Jedeveon Clowney and his situations relation to Richard Major’s article Cool Pose: Black Masculinity and Sports. Richard Major talks about the limitations on opportunities for black men in relation to education and economic stability. He goes on to say that from these limitations, black people struggle with more frustrations down the road in attempting to earn such respected masculinities. In other words Richards expresses how the African American culture feels more of a need to prove their masculinity because they have little opportunities to begin with. Jedeveon Clowney grew up in a single parent home and went through many of the struggles Major’s article covers. The main focus being football was Clowney's main opportunity for masculinity. We also looked into the discussion of Clowney’s recent absence in games this year. Was Clowney really struggling from a rib injury as Coach Spurrier said or is Clowney looking ahead to his NFL career already? Or was Clowney told not to dress because Spurrier thought he was no longer bought into South Carolinas program? Our second high profile player was Texas A&M’s quarter back Johnny Manziel. In relation to the article Tiger in the Rough we relate Manziels actions towards his super star status to Tigers sex addictions from success in golf. Although Johnny’s actions since stardom are much less morally wrong than Tigers, the attention attracted from the general public has been quite similar. Fans were concerned about their superstars’ actions. In Manzeil’s defense we attempt to look at the situation in his eyes. We need to understand that Manzeil, unlike Tiger, is still a young man growing up in college. Being watched by the media and your fans everyday can make a high profile athlete act out differently then they normally would.

Magic Johnson: The Announcement -Eddie Hodges

Magic Johnson is considered one of the best NBA players of all-time. He changed basketball forever, he was one of the pioneers for the way basketball is played today, with flash and excitement. Although his basketball resume was through the roof, he still had some personal issues brewing towards the end of his career. He later came out to the press that he was HIV positive. This was a big shock to many people. HIV was not as known in the early nineties than it is today. Many fans and fellow players were thrown for a loop and were shock. Some players came out saying they did not what Magic to play, or they did not want to get in contact with Magic. For Magic, this was a big adjustment because now he has to take treatment and temporarily retired from the game of basketball. This new disease was taking a toll on his career. I believe that because Magic got HIV was big because such a big figure like Magic at the time was struck with HIV. Now that someone of that caliber contracted HIV now he is able to make more people aware of the disease. That is why I believe that Magic Johnson's announcement had much bigger effects on society than much people fail to realize. Now you have an advocate to speak for HIV and help people stay clean and prevent such diseases.

Magic Johnson-The announcement-Corey Krupa

Magic Johnson was one of the greatest players of all-time in a great era of basketball until he received life altering news that he was HIV positive. Many sports fans especially young children idolize athletes and perceive them to be invincible. Back in 1991, the world found out in an emotional press conference that one of the greatest athletes had HIV. Imagine if an NBA superstar like Kobe Bryant or LeBron James announced to the entire world that they had such a serious disease. Athletes deal with injuries all of the time but it is usually never as serious as a disease like HIV. What made it worse for Magic is that he contracted it sexually from someone that was not his wife and that the entire world knew about his personal life. Because of this heartbreaking news, he had to retire prematurely from a game that he was so good at and loved. However, more than 20 years later Magic is still alive and still in great health. He is a very successful businessman, analyst, and even part owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Even though he has a serious condition like HIV, it should not take away from his legacy as one of the greatest players ever for one of the most successful franchises ever. He helped make the Los Angeles Lakers a household name in the 1980s with his classic rivalry with Larry Bird. He is still beloved in the city of Los Angeles and still well known throughout the world. His announcement helped raise awareness towards prevention from HIV. He has achieved a lot on court, but one could argue that he has achieved just as much off the court. -Corey Krupa

Magic Johnson- The Announcement - Brandon Focht

Magic Johnson is one of the best point guards to ever play the game at the highest level. He is still on many analysts All-Time NBA team at the point guard position. In 1991 headlines swept the media that he was HIV positive. This was before I was born, but watching the video of his news conference telling the world that he was in fact HIV positive put a very different perspective of how that would actually be as an athlete in his shoes in my mind. I cannot imagine having to tell the world that I was HIV positive, and that it would ultimately end my basketball playing career. He had to retire due to the effects it could have had on other players in the league. This was difficult for him alone because his wife did not have the disease. It hindered his family as well which was not good for his personal life either. Not only was his basketball career over, his personal life was effected as well. Magic had said he had contracted the disease sexually, which in the end was completely his fault, but how embarrassing would that be to have to tell the entire world that. He was a role model for so many people on the basketball court that his off the court actions most likely turned many people away from having good envisions of him as a person. When he spoke at the “announcement” he seemed in good spirits and that he was upset he would no longer be playing the game, but he was now able to live the rest of his life. What Magic did do that helped his image was that he started to be a spokesman for the virus. He had to explain why he was retiring but the reason why will in my opinion will be embarrassing for him.

Anthony Cornwell, Jr. Magic Johnson and the Ideology of AIDS

Magic Johnson is one of the best basketball players in the history of the NBA. He had the swag of Julius Erving and the flash of Michael Jordan. He was a NBA Champion multiple times and a league MVP multiple times. He brought in the breed of point guard that no one else had seen before. 6’9” and could handle the ball was unheard of. On and off the court Magic was magic. In the eyes of America, there was no way that Magic could do any wrong. But on November 8, 1991 Magic made an announcement that caught the attention of not just Americans but people around the world. He announced that he was HIV positive. The article mentions how athlete’s bodies are tools of production, especially for male athletes and have become marketable commodities. But for Magic, his was marketable physicality. It in order for him to be as profitable as possible, it was necessary to construct him as an ideal typical hero. There’s a quote that says, “You die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become a villain.” The quote is wrong in this case. Though Magic did mess up terribly, by far the worst you can mess up. Not only did he cheat on his wife, but got HIV along with it. He didn’t become a villain. Magic could’ve gone crazy after he lost endorsements from the most famous companies, but he decided to make a stand. He made people aware of the virus. He still until this day gives speeches about HIV and even started an organization to raise money to find a cure. Instead of him becoming a villain, he remained a hero. He may not make the flashy passes anymore but his awareness speeches and involvement in the community are just as good.

Jason Collins- Eddie Hodges

Sports are seen to be a form of masculinity amongst men who play them; even women can be conceived as masculine if they participate in sports. So when people think of male athletes you think of warriors and grown men built to participate in sports. Throughout men's sports homosexuality has not been as prevalent as women's sports. Perceiving that a man is homosexual was rare prior to Jason Collins coming out. Jason Collins is a veteran NBA basketball player and has played in the league for many years. No one had ever speculated that Jason Collins was homosexual. So what drove Jason Collins to come out as gay towards the end of his career? In my opinion, I believe that Jason Collins thought his career was over and wanted to leave the league with something that he could be remembered by. When Jason Collins came out as gay to the public, the media took the story and exploited the opportunity and Jason Collins soon became national headlines. Jason Collins then appeared on talk shows, and even received a call from Obama. With social and mass media being very prevalent in society Jason Collins used that as if he was running for office and used it as a way to keep his name out there. After it is all said in done Jason Collins has never been a big name in pro basketball and until a big name player, such as, Chris Bosh or Tim Duncan who is well-known, comes out as homosexual then we will see a difference in how players and fans react. Now I believe people did not really care about Jason Collins because he was an irrelevant basketball player who just wanted his name to be out there. I believe no NBA team will give Jason Collins a chance because of the "Tebow Effect" meaning a player brings outside problems and bad press with him as he travels from team to team and no NBA team wants that in their locker room.

Female Star Comes Out as Gay, and Sports World Shrugs: Brett Bardwell

I actually caught myself in the trap of not even paying attention to the fact that Brittany Griner had come out as an openly gay athlete when reading the article. I had watched her play during the NCAA tournament for Baylor and she was very impressive to watch. You could just tell that she was head and shoulders above everyone else in terms of skill and size. America as a whole has come more to grasp with openly gay people, but I think that sports and that locker room is a world of its own with its own rules. I could never say what its like because I have never been in an NFL, MLB, NBA, etc. locker room, but just from things on television it definitely seems like they are much less accepting to gay people. Back to Griner, it is unfortunate that her coming out did not get more publicity. Jason Collins came out and had interviews on major networks and was on the cover of Sports Illustrated. This was for a guy who was certainly a serviceable NBA player, but by no means a star, and nearing the end of his career. Why not make Griner the star of this story? This is nothing against Jason Collins and I totally respect his decision to come out because it takes a lot of courage to do it, but I would be willing to bet there are a whole lot more people who look up to Brittany Griner as an athlete than there are people who look up to Jason Collins. That does not make either one of their situations any less significant, but I would think that the more popular player would be the one to carry the torch for this movement. For example, when the Miami Heat win the NBA Championship there aren't pictures of Mario Chalmers, Shane Battier, Chris Andersen, Udonis Haslem etc. on the cover; it is LeBron, Wade, and Bosh. Why wouldn't you do the same in this instance? The article said it was solely because she was female and, unfortunately, I think it is true. There needs to more attention paid to everybody's situation because although they are unique they should be treated almost the same. One person should not garner more attention than another based on gender. It is hard to say, but maybe Griner wanted it to be this way. Maybe she did not want to be the poster image for this topic, but if she did she should have been given the same opportunities as Jason Collins.

Why Jason Collins is Coming Out Now- Corey Krupa

It is pretty amazing to think that America did not have an active openly gay male athlete playing in a team sport until 2013. I could not imagine how difficult it must have been for Jason Collins to come out, especially since he was the first one to do so. I think that there are other male athletes currently playing that are afraid to come out because they fear being treated differently. Many players in sports leagues such as the NBA and NFL are known for making nasty homophobic remarks. However, it is nice to know that athletes such as Chris Kluwe and Brendon Ayanbadejo are supportive of Jason’s decision to come out. I feel that there are probably other players who support his decision, but do not want to say so because they also don’t want to be treated differently. It is sad that Jason Collins had to “live a double life” as mentioned in the article because he didn’t want anybody to know his secret. I think that Jason Collins over the course of his career has proved that gay athletes are no different from straight athletes. He seems like a true professional and I wish that he was still playing in the NBA because it would be interesting to hear the crowds’ reactions towards him. I think that he would get mostly mixed reactions in away games, and positive reactions with home crowds. The NBA is known for doing campaigns to help the community and I think that the NBA could have done a campaign with Collins to help promote equality for the LGBT community. -Corey Krupa

Anthony Cornwell, Jr. Why NBA center Jason Collins is coming out now

As we all know, Jason Collins is the first openly gay athlete in men’s sports. It’s a shocker to some, but not to all. The funny thing to me is that it was a shocker to his twin brother but not to his aunt. I personally feel that maybe since his aunt is a female, she would be able to notice certain things about Jason that his brother couldn’t. In the article Jason mentioned that, “He (his twin brother) was downright astounded. He never suspected. So much for twin telepathy. But by dinner that night, he was full of brotherly love” (Collins, 2013, p. 15). I personally feel like this is Jason’s fault though. He was living a life giving everyone the wrong messages. He made the world think that he was something he wasn’t. Everyone now looks at Jason like he is some kind of hero but I don’t. He made a woman think that she had found the one person that she would spend the rest of her life with and he faked his image. That makes him a fake person. If he really wanted to be a hero/real, not just for the world but to himself, he would’ve said something when he was around 12 years of age or even earlier than now. Since he hasn’t owned up to it when he was younger, he has put himself through countless sleepless nights, years of misery, and has withdrawn a ton of energy from himself. I also think that if he would’ve come out years ago, he may still be in the NBA. But for right now, I don’t think anytime is ready to deal with this kind of publicity.

Jason Collins Coming Out - Travis Kash

Since the beginning of sport, there has been discrimination and unfair treatment against homosexual athletes of all sports. Although it is not as bad as it used to be, it is still present in professional leagues today as apparent by the alarmingly huge deal made out of Jason Collins coming out as the first openly gay athlete to still play. When Jason Collins came out, it was a huge deal and many people jumped out in immediate support and praise of Collins for making such a brave decision. While I do think it was very admirable of Collins to have the bravery to do this, I also think at the same time that a person shouldn’t have to be brave or afraid to simply be who they are. It is not right that a person, professional athlete or not, should have to be afraid to let those they know closest who they truly are. Our society and the media just makes it even more difficult, because they make “coming out” for a homosexual a huge event and give it so much coverage and attention. I feel like that might cause some people who are homosexual to be more afraid to embrace their sexuality because they are afraid of how big of a deal it can be turned in to. If the culture of discrimination against gay athletes is going to change, I think that people and the media need to treat an athlete coming out as just a normal thing and accept it and move on. A person should never be afraid of being who they naturally are, and I think Jason Collins really helped to change the attitude towards homosexuals in professional athletics.

Jason Collins, Coming Out- Tyler Crellin

Society makes us scared, it makes us afraid to try new things, say something different, or be the person we want to be. The reason for this is because of the norms of our society, our society looks and judges things that are different from the norm. Jason Collins is the number 1 example of sub coming to the norms of society. He faced diversity all of his life, believing that he could not come out of shell because of what society might think of him. Things changed when the 2011 NBA player lock out happened. For the first time Jason did not have the distraction of basketball to provide shelter on his inner thoughts, and on who he wanted to be. It would be extremely difficult to dwell on your own thoughts for a long period of time, when trying to avoid it for so long. It was not soon after that Jason decided to come out and tell the world the person he really is. Someone had to be the poster boy for gays, and be the first one to come out. Before Jason, no male had openly come out in full media press conference and announce that he is gay. I think it is good for society, because there are a lot of people who are gay in our society today, and now they have a role model they can look at and say "hey, he came out, I shouldn't be afraid to too". I think what Jason did took a lot of courage and was not easy to do, but he will be remembered for what he did. To some, he will be looked upon as an outcast, to others he will be looked at as role model to the gay community.

Why Jason Collins is coming out now?- Brandon Focht

Jason Collins is the first male athlete to come out as gay while still playing in the NBA. He finished last season and came out as gay this past summer. He is coming out now because he wanted to take a stand and felt that he was ready to come out. His college roommate had told him that he went to a gay parade and that is why he had wanted to come out because he felt envious that he could not support his own sexuality and that he had to hide it because he was a professional basketball player. There were a lot of mixed emotions after Jason Collins came out as gay. It was headline news on ESPN for a week, there were interviews with him as well. I feel like I have always been able to tell or have a hunch if another person is gay or straight. I cannot tell when someone is bisexual however not to ignore the binary thinking that we are brought to. I am going to just talk about being straight or gay and being a professional athlete. While we are starting to have this image that we need to be more acceptable in today's society that is why we are starting to soften, I believe as a nation. Everyone wants us to accept them for who they are and that is completely fine and I understand that. I don't have to accept anyone for who they are in my opinion because I have learned that being gay or straight is a choice. I do not think it is something that we are born with, and I believe it is a choice. In the end Jason Collins decided to come out, and people can turn either direction they can accept the fact that he is gay or step aside from him in a locker room. He is going to have to accept the fact that some people are not going to treat him the same. Not everyone treats straight people the same. I personally do not have a problem with people that are gay. I will still talk to them and get to know them as a person and see them for who they are outside of their sexuality. I do not agree with their sexuality choice however.

Field of Broken Dreams- Brian Kochheiser

Reading the article, Field of Broken Dreams, was very interesting and eye-opening to me. I was not aware of what Latino athletes had to go through during the 1990s in an effort to make it big and achieve their dreams. While I was unaware of the situation because baseball has never been my favorite sport and I was only 7 years old when this article was written; I find myself not very surprised by this. At the end of the day, baseball, just like all other professional sports, is a business that is trying to make money. If they can pay less money on a prospect that is low risk and high reward then it only makes sense for them to do that. At the same time, some of the best players in the world today have Latino ties, just look at Miguel Cabrera, Yoenis Cesepdes, and Aroldis Chapman, just to name a few. These international baseball stars are compensated fairly and it is my understanding that the situation has gotten better over the course of the past 13 years. Looking at the game today, it boggles my mind when I see how much teams are willing to pay just to negotiate a contract with some of these players. Just look at Daiske Matsuzaka of the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox paid over $51 million just to negotiate to him and then signed him to a contract of over $50 million. While not all foreign baseball players receive contracts like that, many of them get the opportunity to compete and prove that they are worthy of a high paying contract. Foreign baseball players seem to be compensated fairly in the MLB today.

Field of Broken Dreams-Corey Krupa

I am not surprised that back in the 90s superstar baseball players overseas received significantly lower signing bonuses than American players. Baseball is a business and many businesses make unethical decisions to maximize profit. But, thirteen years later I feel that many foreign players are compensated fairly for their talent. Young foreign players such as Aroldis Chapman, Yoenis Cesepdes, and Robinson Cano have become the future of Major League Baseball. It is great to see that diversity in baseball is more prevalent because it gives more opportunities to more talent players. However, I feel that some of the signing bonuses and salaries for international players are too high. For example, my favorite team the Chicago White Sox just recently signed a Cuban player named Jose Abreu for six years and 68 million dollars. This is a very large amount for a player that has never played in a Major League game. Also, back in 2007 the Boston Red Sox gave Daisuke Matsuzaka a contract worth more than 50 million dollars. This was before he ever threw a pitch on American soil and “Dice K” never lived up to all of the hype that surrounded him. I would like for Major League Baseball to implement a cap on how high international players can be paid. Top collegiate baseball players do not earn nearly as much when they enter the MLB draft. It is nice to see many foreign players bring more variety to baseball in America, however I feel that some of them have now become overpaid.

Jeremy Lin, race and lessons learned- Brandon Focht

Jeremy Lin burst into the spotlight of the NBA two seasons ago in New York. He brought a new culture into the NBA as an Asian-American. This was slightly different than Yao Ming because he was a foreigner first, and had to learn the culture and English to be able to be involved with the media. With Lin arriving on the scene this called for different racial barriers being tested. It is different with an Asian American making such an impact on the sports world in such a short amount of time. Lin hit the scene and within two weeks was a sensation or "Linsanity." The fact that so many things we say can be seen as a stereotype today is just mind boggling to me. With so many things you say in the media today, it could possibly upset someone solely based on your opinion. J.A. Adande was about to tweet "the only way Lin could be more impressive would be if he got the wrinkles out of those pants." This could have been seen as a play of Asians because of the stereotype that many Asians own dry cleaning places. Lin made a huge impact in a short period of time with the New York Knicks. This was seen as an opportunity for the Houston Rockets to go out and sign Lin in the off season with there good Asian fan base that was attracted by Yao Ming previously. Lin received a large contract and pay raise from the Rockets. He is no longer a sensation but your average point guard in the NBA. Lin did bring a different culture identity into the NBA however.

The “Asianization” of America - Nicole Zawislan

Before I read the article on the “Asianization” of America, I had never really given it any thought. I always just assumed that because America has always been considered as a melting pot, it would carry over into our 21st century. It’s a common thing for a town to have at least one Asian, one Mexican, and one Italian restaurant and bigger towns have an even more widespread array of cultures like Greek, Indian and Irish Pubs. But the USA Today article pointed out that it’s much more than food or a “Made in China” sticker. The East has infused so much in our Western lives that we do not even realize it. Since 2001 when the article was written, even more things have brought eastern culture to America. Some examples would be the Life of Pi movie that was a blockbuster in 2012 or from a political aspect, China buying our debt. Sports have also been involved in helping Asian culture to immerse more in America. Many famous Asian-American athletes have helped, since the article was written, to break stereotypes and increase discussion about incorporating Asian-Americans into mainstream sports. Examples of famous Asian-Americans would be Apolo Anton Ohno, who was a very successful speed skater in the 2002, 2006 and 2010 Olympics, and Hines Ward, the Super Bowl MVP wide receiver for the Steelers, who has a Korean mother and black father. In addition to those cases, Yao Ming and Jeremy Lin both deserve credit for breaking the Asian barrier in the NBA. Lin, being born in America, has helped to break through many stereotypes that people think of when they think of the Asian-American population in sports.

Field of Broken Dreams: Brett Bardwell

I was not fully aware of the situation that went on with Latin players because I was younger at the time of the article and did not pay as much attention to sports, or at least not as in depth, as I do now. It was certainly wrong for the MLB to do the things they did. The Latin players could have viewed it as fine because they had never had anything in their life and this could be a possible way out of the life they have known, but they should have been given the same opportunities that every other player has. There was something that made me somewhat happy when reading this article, though: the fact that MLB has changed their ways. Their are players every year who come into the league from South America, Cuba, Japan, etc. and they get paid for it too. Some recent players to come in include Yoenis Cespedes, Yu Darvish, Yasiel Puig, Aroldis Chapman and many more. Most of these prospects are signing deals that are in the 30+ million dollar range over 4+ years. I understand that there are players who have been in the major leagues that are making 25+ million dollars per year, but that is because they have hit the free agency market and been paid a large amount of money for their services. Also, barring injury, these players will likely get big pay increases if they continue to perform the way that they have so far. Although things in the past were certainly not the greatest, I am glad to see that the MLB has made strides to more properly pay these foreign players.

Anthony Cornwell, Jr. Fields of Broken Dreams: Latinos and Baseball

After reading the Fields of Broken Dreams: Latinos and Baseball I was shocked. I was shocked of how the Latinos are treated. It really comes into comparison of black athletes. The article mentioned how Miguel Tejada, shortstop of the Oakland Athletics came from a destitute barrio in the Dominican Republic with no running water and little electricity (Breton, 2000). That’s how most black athletes who make a career in sport come from. Most of them aren’t living in conditions this bad, but they are living in less fortunate conditions. It’s also crazy how the Latinos count for 25% of the MLB and are still treated this way. I also find it disrespectful of what Dick Balderson calls the “Boatload Mentality.” The Boatload Mentality” is described as signing a “boatload” of Latinos for little money and if only a couple make it to the big leagues, teams still come out ahead. Dick Balderson describes it as, “instead of signing four [American] guys at $25,000 each, you sign 20 [Dominican] guys for $5,000 each” (Breton, 2000, p. 8). That’s crazy. I’m not that big of a baseball fan but I do watch it. Also being a Yankees fan, I am a huge fan of the recently retired Mariano Rivera. He’s a Latino, and he is the greatest closer of all-time. The records he broke in the MLB may not ever get broken and I believe that the MLB should treat these players with more respect. This is supposed to be a country where everyone is equal, just because someone is coming from out of the country that doesn’t mean treat them badly. If they’re putting their ass on the line for a team and their organization, treat them correctly and pay them what they deserve.

Don Imus Rutgers Women's basketball - Eddie Hodges

Women's basketball will forever live in the shadow of men's basketball when it comes to the amount of respect given to women's basketball programs. Women who play basketball are already more of a "tom-boy" compared to other women who do not participate in sports. So when Don Imus got on the radio and said what he said in his mind he may of felt like it was something that could be said without any repercussions. I personally believe that everything he said was very offensive and very hurtful not only to Rutgers women's basketball program but to all women basketball players. African Americans predominately make up both men's and women's basketball. Knowing that, for Don Imus to attack those women with such hurtful slang that is a disgrace to his character. Those women work hard each and everyday to be able to be successful at the game in which they play. I believe that these comments were said by Don Imus but other people around America were probably feeling the same way but Don Imus just had the courage to say it. Americans believe that we are in a post-racism society but that is not the case. There will always be people who feel a certain way against a different race but we cannot live like everything is perfect, people just have to keep all of their comments to themselves and try to stay out of the spotlight with comments like that.

Anthony Cornwell, Jr. One Nation under a Hoop: Race, Meritocracy, and Messiahs in the NBA

Sports Illustrated dubbed him "The Chosen One" while he was still in high school, a messianic designation that proved telling when, in 2003; he was taken first in the first round of the NBA draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. LeBron James is the best basketball player in the world right now. He is arguably on the pace to be greater than Michael Jordan. The NBA analysts will be the judges of that though. LeBron James has accomplished a lot in his short Hall of Fame career. A few years after his coming to the NBA he appeared on Oprah as a guest. Not many athletes appear on Oprah, so this was a preview of what is next to come. Oprah asked him types of questions like, do he ever think he will regret not going to college. LeBron answered every question she asked professionally. A few years later he reached another milestone for that no one before him has done. Not even Michael Jordan. Yeah, you read that right, not even Michael Jordan He is the first black man to ever appear on the cover of Vogue Magazine. The media soon made a big deal out of it. They called him King Kong which most referenced to an animal. Until this day I believe that the photographer of the cover knew what this was in for. I love how the article title LeBron as the second coming (of Michael Jordan not Jesus). Then, later in the year, as the summer of 2008 drew to a close, LeBron James saw himself lead "The Redeem Team" into the Beijing Olympics to win Gold. Then you know it’s real when here are 1,040 items including a brand new James high school throwback jersey. A brand new throwback jersey on eBay. Once again that’s a high school jersey. Whether or not you believe LeBron is the Chosen One. It does seem like he is on pace to proving that right. He at least proves some thus far.

Don Imus Scandal - Corey Krupa

When I first heard the comments that Don Imus made about the Rutgers Women's basketball team I sadly was not surprised that someone thinks that way. However, I was surprised that someone with as much power as Don Imus made those types of remarks. He obviously should have never made those statements because he needed to serve as a role model instead. These types of racist remarks should never be tolerated even if you are just an everyday person. The comments were not only racist but other sexist. Why should a man like Don Imus care about how female athletes look? The Rutgers Women’s basketball team and their University did not need that type of negative publicity. I feel like issue such as racism and sexism will never go away around the world or in this country. Unfortunately, some older people in America are set in their stubborn ways and will not change their racist or sexist mindset. However, I feel like the younger generations of America have a better perspective on issues such as racism and sexism. America will never be perfect and these types of issues will never go away. I feel like we are heading towards a better place and we cannot let the thoughts of a few individuals in the entire population bring us down. Don Imus was the only person out of thousands of radio hosts that work every day to say those cruel remarks. That racism, sexism, and negativity will always exist. We need to look at the positives and appreciate how far our society has come in the last 50 years. -Corey Krupa

Don Imus: Brett Bardwell

When it comes to the topic of Don Imus there are some different thoughts I have about him. Obviously, his comments about the Rutgers women's basketball team were completely close-minded and reckless without thought. What is more frustrating to me, though, is that people like this are in the positions that they are in. He as somewhat of a well respected radio host on a national radio station. How does someone who is capable of saying things like this have a microphone in front of him talking to a large group of people? I understand that anybody could say any random thing when they have a microphone in front of them, but he was around for so long that I highly doubt that this was the first touchy thing that he had done or said. It was good that he handled the situation well afterwards, apologizing and owning up to his comments, but obviously the comments should have never been made in the first place. It is also understandable at times that people say things that may sound bad but are not intended that way, but there was no mistake about his comments. He knew what he was saying and, at the time, felt no remorse about it. I do not think that racism is something that can be immediately terminated and, unfortunately, probably never will in the future. That is why it should be extremely important for companies to have over-extensive background checks on people that they are going to hire. When you are giving someone the power of a microphone you have to have absolute trust that this person is going to represent your company or station appropriately. Although nobody is responsible for what was said other than Imus himself, I do feel that these companies could do a better job of monitoring their employees and maybe get a sense of these things coming and stop them before they go on the air.

RUIMUS Scandal -Ben Mathey

The RUIMUS scandal was shocking to me. I remember when the story broke on ESPN and how the hosts of the show were reacting with such disdain and disbelief. In retrospect though, it does not surprise me that someone like Don Imus could make such terrible comments. He was an old, white guy who made millions of dollars and was out of touch with reality. I think that when he made the comments he was not entirely aware of the backlash that he was going to face and how much progress female athletes have made since the passage of Title IX. I also believe that if he made those comments in public, what kinds of things did he say behind closed doors? I understand that people have their opinions and they may voice those opinions in private or among friends and family but a person in the national spotlight has to understand that comments like that simply cannot be made. Also, I think the incident speaks to the continued racial issues our country still faces. Some may argue that race is dead or that we are past racism but it is still very much alive and that's evident from the comments made by Imus. Obviously it would be great to see the end of racism in our country but that may not be possible because of the separation from reality that is often faced by people with money and power, which is exactly who needs to lead the charge of ending racism. Ben Mathey

Rutgers Women Basketball & Don Imus- Brandon Focht

I did not fully remember what was said, so I am glad they put it in this article to give perspective. I do not know how any person can say words like these about a group of young women. Don Imus did a lot of damage both within the African American culture and to his own reputation. It was much needed for Imus to apologize, and the Rutgers accepted the apology. White privilege, new racism, and sexism all played into Don's comments. His comments were not acceptable by any means, but I think it is a tale of the time period that he lived in. We have talked about in class how racism will never go away, and I fully believe that it will never go away. It is very saddening to have that feeling. I think that a lot of this has do to with how we are raised by our parents, and how we are shaped by our environment from a young age. If we are not exposed to other cultures and races at young ages we will not have different views of these cultures, and have a biased opinion on them because they are not like us. Parenting plays a huge role in this too because parents need to teach their children to be accepting of different cultures and races to nip the racism as much as possible. I am assuming that Imus was not raised this way, but I do know that he regretted his comments entirely. I know that Rutgers has had some recent problems with their athletic programs, but I feel that the Athletic Department handled this situation well.

Tiger Woods- Tyler Crellin

Tiger woods had been compared to Michael Jordan for being the most dominate athlete in his sport. He had endorsements, sponsorships, was winning championships, and had a good family. In 2009 Tiger's world came crashing under. As it was known that he had been cheating on his wife, and things drastically declined from there. Nike dumbed him, most of his other sponsors dumbed him, and with his recent brush with injuries it did not look like Tiger was going to come back in Tiger form, anytime soon. Athletes, like Tiger, LeBron, and Michael all live in the spot light. They are the talk of sport media constantly, and that talk can quickly become negative, and have harsh and rash implications. As Michael Jordan knew one slip up and it would all go away, he would lose everything. As Tiger came so close to losing everything, but he did not. As now his family matters are more improved than they were, and he has found life again on the golf course. Tiger struggled on his way back on the golf course, but now has found his inner self. Some say that Tiger will never be what he was before the 2009 scandal, but people need to realize that he was also hurt, and injured during some of those times as well. Tiger is not the most humble person in the media, he is cocky and arrogant, but doesn't he have the right to be, because he is considered one of, if not the best to ever step on to a golf course? Tiger this year has won multiple events, and although he has not won that elusive major championship, he has assumed his dominance and took back the number 1 spot as the world’s best golfer.

Tiger in the Rough: Corey Krupa

It seems like Tiger Woods used to be on the same level as Michael Jordan in terms of athletic dominance. Tiger had countless endorsements, was winning majors, and had a happy family. This was until his infamous infidelity scandal in 2009. When you are as dominant as Tiger Woods, LeBron James, or Michael Jordan you are going to have a lot of pressure on you on and off the field. It seems like some of Tiger’s success has gotten to his head, because to me he seems to come across as arrogant. He is one of the greatest golfers ever but that does not give him an excuse to cheat on his wife or cheat in golf courses on the PGA Tour. Also, since his scandal he is not winning as much as he used to. I remember he would dominate the competition on Sundays or at least finish high on the leaderboard. He used to regularly win majors but now he is nowhere to be found on Sundays and instead newcomers like Rory McIlroy have emerged as the best golfers in the world. Tiger was an extremely entertaining competitor to watch but ever since that scandal he does not seem to be playing like his old self. I remember people used to think that Tiger would easily break Jack Nicklaus’ amazing record of 18 major championships. Now it seems like Tiger will never win another major ever again. It is difficult to watch superstar athletes such as Woods struggle and I do not think that Tiger Woods will ever regain his once dominate form. -Corey Krupa

Tiger in the Rough: Brett Bardwell

I am a normal golfer and follower of golf. I remember reading and seeing the incident that he had with his wife. Unfortunately, in today's society this has become some of the norm, especially with pro athletes. It is very common for people to throw themselves at these athletes for a shot at fame or recognition, but it is still on the athlete's to put their families before all of this. Tiger Woods the golfer is, in my opinion, the greatest golfer of all time. There has never been anybody who has played the game like him. For him to win as many tournaments as he has in the era of golf today is unbelievable. When Jack Nicklaus was playing there were normally three to four golfers who would compete for wins on Tour. This is evident in the fact that there have been 19 different winners in the last 21 majors. This would never happen back when Jack played. What I do not support is Tiger Woods the person. He has always been about himself and nobody else. That would easily explain his disregard for his wife and kids during his affairs. He also never spends any time with his fans that make it possible for him to live the life that he does. He never takes time to sign autographs or interact with fans like other golfers such as Phil Mickelson. Also, he is not liked very much on Tour. When the players compete in tournaments together like the Ryder and President's Cup he is one of the least favorite players to play with. Typically in these events pairings will be mixed up, but Tiger, until this most recent President's Cup, has always played with Steve Stricker. I hope that these recent events from Tiger's camp about his cheating in tournaments ends up hurting him. He always threatens people not to break stories or else he will not talk to them during the year. I think it is time for people to stand up to Tiger and make him finally start to respect the people and the game that made him what he is today.

Unfair to call Tiger Woods a Cheat - Travis Kash

Brandel Chamblee has been in the spotlight of golf as of late for remarks he made about Tiger Woods and this past season. In Golf Magazine Chamblee called Tiger Woods a "cheat" and gave him an F grade for this past season because of four incidents that took place over the course of the season. This is a big allegation because not only is calling someone a cheater the ultimate sign of disrespect in golf, but also because the season he is giving Tiger an F for was a season in which Tiger had five wins and also won Player of the Year. If one is not familiar with golf then it would be easy for you to come to the conclusion that four penalties in a year makes him a cheater, but you have to look at the context of each shot to truly understand what happened before you call Tiger a cheater. The first penalty came in Abu Dhabi at the HSBC Golf Championship. Woods missed the cut after he was assessed a two stroke penalty for taking a drop that himself and even his playing partner Martin Kaymer thought was legal. They were unclear about a very specific rule about hazards and vegetation, and that is what caused the penalty. The second penalty came at The Masters. Woods hit a ball that went off the flagstick and into the water, which meant he was supposed to drop from where he took his last shot. Since it is difficult to remember exactly where a shot was once you have moved from it, Woods dropped where him and many others thought was correct and carried on. Woods was assessed a penalty because a television viewer called in and it was found that the drop was 3 to 4 feet behind where it was supposed to be. These two are both penalties that Tiger paid for, and both penalties came about because of a simple misunderstanding of the rules, not because Tiger was trying to cheat. It is very well known that players are not very familiar with the rules. Bubba Watson, a tour competitor, was quoted as saying "I don't know the rules book, so I always call the rules official". The third penalty came at The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass. Woods hit his ball into the water, so he chose to take a drop where the ball first crossed the water. After deliberating with his playing partner Casey Wittenberg, who said “I told him exactly where I thought it crossed, and we all agreed, so he's definitely great on that", they concluded where they saw the ball cross and Tiger dropped from there. Even though there was no official violation, people have come out since and said that it was an illegal drop and Woods should have been penalized. The final two stroke penalty came after Woods moved a twig from behind his ball at the BMW Championship. To the naked eye, it was nearly impossible to see whether or not the twig moved the ball. Once you used super slow motion, however, you could finally see that the ball did move very slightly. Once again this shows that Tiger had no ill intent, and that he was simply a victim of having a highly scrutinizing spotlight on his every room. To call Tiger a cheater is to say that he willfully and purposefully meant to better his score by doing things he knew was illegal, which is not what happened in any of these instances. While it is true that Tiger should know the rules better and not be so quick to make a decision when it comes to drops and other things,that does not make him a cheater.Tiger Woods is very deserving of his Player of the Year award (awarded to him by his own PGA tour peers), and Chamblee was way out of line when he called woods a cheater.

Tiger in the Rough- Brandon Focht

I had not heard much about Tiger Woods' life outside of golf since the incident a few years ago which this article talks about. I was also listening to the radio the other day, 106.5, which is a sports talk show most of the time. There was a guy talking about how players on the PGA Tour were coming together to not vote for Tiger as player of the year because he was caught cheating for different times on the course this year. The host of the show then said "once a cheater always a cheater." I thought about what he said, and got a chuckle out of it but it makes me have much less respect for Tiger. Most athletes do not live a normal personal life I understand that, and I believe that Tiger made mistakes (a lot of them) just like any other athlete has. Kobe Bryant had the rape allegations as well which ruined his marriage, but Kobe cannot cheat on the court and not have anyone see it with roughly 18,000 fans in the stands as well. On a golf course it is a different situation there are people scattered everywhere watching different professionals play. The fact that Tiger had cheated four different times this past year makes my respect for him dwindle. If I was on the PGA Tour whether Tiger won every tournament but the four he cheated in I would not vote him player of the year even if that were the case. If he is willing to cheat on the course, we already know he is willing to cheat off the course due to his past, but who knows maybe he is also taking PED's? Tiger I believe has learned his lesson for his personal antics, but is he going to have to learn the hard way if he keeps getting caught cheating on the course?

Advertisements in Flex and SI for Women- Shaun, Billy, Travis and Nicole

The advertisements in Flex and SI for Women differed fairly drastically. Each magazine focused on their target market and therefore had advertisements that would effectively reach these markets. In SI for Women, the target market would be women in sports. They magazine did a great job of highlighting women playing sports as 69% of the advertisements were of "Athletic Competence". Another aspect of the advertising in SI for Women that I found to be surprising, yet refreshing was that there was zero instances of "Soft Pornography". Clearly, SI for Women was promoting the right sort of ads while still publishing. Flex on the other hand had a very different set of advertisements. Flex focused on huge men showing off their muscles. These advertisements are meant to attract their man readers which are committed body builders. These men wore far less clothing than the women in Sports Illustrated for Women. 44% of the advertisements were of Dietary Supplements, 19% were of Knowledge systems, and 17% were of bodybuilding equipment. In terms of adornment of the body, 15% were of cosmetics. The messages sent by each magazine were very different. The ads in SI for Women were much more upbeat and encouraging, while Flex had advertisements that told readers that they are not good enough yet. SI for Women showed a wide range of athletes from different sports posing with an array of products. Some advertisements showed athletes stretching and preparing, while others used sentimental value by showing a couple or a family. Flex showed very muscular men advertising supplements or workout equipment. They sent the message that you are not man enough until you look like the guys in the ads. In selecting the picture of femininity and masculinity from each of the respective advertisements, we found the selection to be very simple. In Flex, the image of masculinity was of a muscular male, playing a game of pool with an attractive woman on each side of him. This conveyed masculinity because he is playing a game with attractive women and he is in great shape. The image of femininity was of a woman in short shorts and a bikini top walking out onto the beach. She seemed like an all american girl with a good smile, body, and very attractive.

Photographs in Sporting Magazines- Evan Sechler, Whitney Pellham, Michelle Bowles

The first magazine that our group looked at was Sports Illustrated for Women. In the magazine, the vast majority of the pictures were related to athletic competence (50%). Only 11 pictures showed ambivalence (13.8%). The magazine featured an “All-American Girl Next Door” 13 times (16.3%). Only 4 pictures in the magazine would be considered “hyper heterosexual” (5%). There were 9 pictures in the “sexy babe” category (11.3%). Finally, the magazine had 3 pictures that could be considered soft pornography (3.8%). The next magazine our group looked at was Muscle and Fitness. In the magazine, we observed 52 pictures that featured dietary supplements (47.3%). Only 5 pictures were advertising bodybuilding equipment (4.5%). There were 53 pictures relating to “knowledge systems” (48.2%). 2 pictures in the magazine were advertisements for clothes (1.8%), and only 1 picture was advertising cosmetics (0.9%).

Advertisements and Photographs in Flex & SI for Women - Britney, Stacy, Jude

The advertisements and photos in Flex magazine in comparison to the advertisements and photos in Sports Illustrated for Women were different, yet the same in that they both promoted "good looking" bodies. Of the 84 advertisements in the November 2005 issue of Flex, 81 of them were about Technologies of the body (dietary supplements, body building equipment and knowledge systems) and only 3 of them were of adornment and display of the boday (clothes, cosmetics and competitions). In technologies of the body, 54% of all the ads were of dietary supplements, 3.5% were of body building equipment and 35% were of knowledge systems. In adornment and display of the body, only 1% were clothes, 0% were cosmetics, and 2.3% were competitions. In the November/December 2000 issue of Sports Illustrated for Women issue there were 30 advertisements. 18 of them (60%) were Athletic Competence, 0 of them were Ambivelance, 10% were All-American Girl Next Door, 6% were Hyper Heterosexual, 13% were Sexy Babe and 10% of them were Soft Pornography. Most of the advertisements in Flex showed huge, bulky, muscular men and most of the advertisements in Sports Illustrated for Women showed females in action and them playing a sport, or them posing in a sports bra and athletic short shorts. The themes conveyed most dominantly in Flex were the manly man, and the big men and how to get big fast with uses of different dietary supplements. The message mostly conveyed in SI for Women was to stay fit and active and competition. SI for women didn't really convey much feminity but Flex definitly conveyed a lot of masculinity. A good example, however, of femininity in SI for Women is on page 46. A good example for masculinity in Flex is on page 110. This activity showed that sport/fitness magazines for men are all about being more manly and more masculine. The sport and fitness magazines for women are not about feminity, but more about health and competition. -Britney, Stacy, Jude.

Anthony Cornwell, Jr. The Effect that Michael Jordan Has

Michael Jordan is the great basketball player of all time. Hands down! Kobe Bryant is the closest athlete to ever reach Jordan’s status. When he passes Jordan on the all-time scoring list this year, he still won’t be able to gain the status as Michael. LeBron may catch him, but it’s hard to tell at this time. Maybe in a few years. Michael Jordan is such a great athlete, role model and business man. His highlights and the way he changed the game speaks for his self. His swagger, his athleticism, and most of all his shoes. Did I mention the shoes? Mostly every kid I knew at a young age wanted to be like Mike. Not just black kids, kids of all races and backgrounds. But his business may be the most impressive. Even as me and my friends grow older, we still want to be like Mike. But this time in a different way, the business way. Just in Jordan’s six years in the NBA, he made the NBA revenue increase by 1.5 billion. That’s billion with a B. also whatever Jordan comes out with, it sells. All across the country and the globe, people stand outside in lines for hours just for a Jordan release. Every time he releases a shoe it’s out as well. It’s not just the shoes though, Jordan has a cologne and is the face of Hanes underwear. Let’s not even mention Space Jam (arguably the best kids movie ever). Jordan also represents many athletes in the NBA and other sports. He also sponsors some colleges (North Carolina for example). Hip hop artist wear Jordan’s and people in business attire wear even Jordan’s. Michael Jordan is like the King Midas of the business world. Whatever he touches turns to gold. Well in this case it would turn green. The Jordan Effect is real and will live on until the end of time. . . Did I mention the shoes?

Jordan Brand- Brandon Focht

Michael Jordan is nothing less than a sensation he has been an inspiration in so many things, he has inspired so many people through multiple things. He went from being cut from making the high school basketball team, to becoming the best player to ever play the game. With his hard work and determination on the court he has been able to develop the Jordan brand, cologne, shoe line, he has appeared in movies, and advertisements for many different products such as Hanes. I remember after Space Jam came out I asked for my Mom to buy me "Michael's Secret Stuff," which was a drink that was shown in the movie. Everybody wanted to be "Like Mike," which is also a movie that affiliates with a pair of his old basketball shoes giving whoever wears the shoes his basketball skills. MJ is a brand in his self, and he sells anything he is a part of because he is a winner, and everyone wants to associate with a winner. The NBA benefitted from MJ an extreme amount. In Johnson's article it is shown that once MJ had been in the league for six years the league had an in crease of over $1.5 billion dollars. That is just for the NBA Jordan had such an economic impact just in the league alone, he had an impact in the society as well. He helped businesses explode, and benefitted tremendously off of it. He boosted the economy through movies, books, and his own products as well. There are so many different pairs of Jordan shoes that have been created that are extremely valued as well. Only the greatest player of all time could have an impact like this, and Lebron James will never have an impact like MJ did. Michael helped refresh the NBA, and it exploded.

Photographs in Sporting Magazines- Brett Bardwell, Brian Kochheiser, Corey Krupa

Our group examined advertisements and photographs in two different magazines: Muscle & Fitness and Sports Illustrated for Women. When looking at the photographs of both genders in their respective magazines, we found that there were some differences between the ways that both genders were portrayed. In the Muscle & Fitness magazine, we noticed that the men had less clothing on than the women who were in Sports Illustrated for Women. This was a little surprising because traditionally people assume women will have less clothing on in their photos. Additionally, there were a lot more ads for drugs and supplements in the Muscle & Fitness magazine than the Sports Illustrated for Women, which is to be expected.

We found in the Sports Illustrated for Women magazine that 66% of the advertisements and photographs were focused on “athletic competence”. The most dominant theme for Muscle & Fitness was dietary supplements which was found on nearly every page. Additionally, there was a very high focus on masculinity in the Muscle & Fitness magazine. One thing that should be noted is the date that each magazine was published. The Sports Illustrated for Women was published in 2000, whereas the Muscle & Fitness was published in 2011. This is a fairly significant amount of time which might effect the types of advertisements that were in each magazine.

Overall, this was an interesting to do an advertisement and photography analysis of comparing and contrasting each magazine. I believe that it provided a little bit more insight to how genders are portrayed in print media.

By: Brett Bardwell, Brian Kochheiser, Corey Krupa   

Sex Sells Sex, Not Women's Sport - Corey Krupa

In a society that is often unfairly dominated by males, some female athletes are often portrayed in a sexual way. Women should obviously not be degraded and looked at as objects. However, a woman and a man have the choice to not pose in their underwear, swimsuits, or any other sexual ways. Athletes earn a lot of money for posing in little or no clothing and as a result can gain a lot popularity. They are the ones that put themselves out there to be viewed as eye candy and judged not by their performance or character, but instead how attractive they are. In my opinion, athletes should focus more on their performance on the field and involvement in the community with charities instead of taking off their clothes. I understand that a human body can be viewed as "artistic" when someone poses in a photo shoot wearing little or no clothing. However, I feel like it degrades women and it is not necessary at all for someone to pose in a sexual manner. I even feel like if women want to have even more respect in sports, then female athletes shouldn't pose in sexual ways for magazines or any other types of media outlets. They should leave all of that to models and other celebrities.

-Corey Krupa

Sex, whats the difference? - Tyler Crellin

Sex sells is such a broad term in stating that sex appeal sells more than the actual sport its self. This is true for women sports in general. Using the advertisements in class as an example, when I saw that advertisement just of the tennis player in her bra, I did not think of it any different from Victoria Secret ads or perfume ads some women athletes do. Now the male ad I reacted with laughter, and thought of it as a joke and a bad representation of male athletes. What is a bad representation? A male athlete in his underwear doing an advertisement? Our society today is all about the norms, and the norms are that women sell sex appeal not men, but is that true for all things? Power lifting, some consider it a sport, others consider it an athletic activity, both men and women do this sport/activity. Men are fit and there are a lot of women that go to power lifting meets just to see them, most do not care what they lift or if they lift. So is that not the same as men going to a women's sport just because of sex appeal. Even some women like male sports just because they think players on that team are hot, is that not the same thing? People look at men going to women's games because of sex appeal, but what about women that go to men sports? Do people ever wonder why they like that team? It is like asking a random male why he likes women's tennis. Women show off their sex appeal in ads, but men show there's off through action in sports. With a woman that does power lifting depending on her physique, she is looked at the same way that a man is looked at in that ad in class. The reason is because people find it odd and out of place for a woman to be that fit and strong, as people feel it is out of place for a man to be in there underwear in a advertisement.

Brett Bardwell: Sex Sells Sex, Not Women's Sports

I personally recall the cover of Sports Illustrated that featured Lindsay Vonn after the Olympics. I feel that it is unfortunate that her sexual prowess had to be the focus of the article. Why not put a picture of her in action during the downhill race instead? This would have been a great time to gain awareness for women's sports because she was the best at her respective sport and there was the underlying theme of patriotism. Not only was she a great women's sports figure, but she was a great American sports figure. I also agree with the article when it said that whether or not an  athlete is attractive has nothing to do with the viewing of the sport. When I watch sports I watch them for entertainment not because of how people look. In the case of Lindsay Vonn, I enjoyed watching the Olympics because of how she represented our country. In skiing especially, the people competing in the event are not even viewable. They are fully clothed and are wearing helmets and goggles. I feel that tennis promotes the selling of sex on the women's side. Men are clothed in normal shorts and a t-shirt, whereas women are wearing extremely skimpy skirts. In the case of Serena Williams, she designs her own clothes for events. She has the full opportunity to wear things that would not generate talk about her appearance and therefore focus solely on her performance on the court. It may be fair to say that this is a major way that she can garner focus for herself and her brand, but I think that if everybody involved wore things that took focus away from sex that there would be a greater focus on the sport itself. While marketing and promotion deserves a big bulk of the blame, athletes consent to this and put themselves farther in the hole.

Brandon Focht- Sex Sells Sex, Not Sports

As we have talked about several times in class the controversy of the media portraying female athletes as feminine and heterosexual. We are used to the feed from the media however, and we are far more comfortable with women being portrayed in a sexual manner then men. The example from class with Anna Kournikova in a sports bra advertisement was a lot more comfortable to see than the male cricket player wearing a jock strap with cricket gear. The caption was the same for both "Only the ball should bounce," but both the guys and girls reacted the same way to both advertisements. It was more generic with Anna Kournikova just in her sports bra, and there were not any looks of disgust on our classmate’s faces. When the advertisement with the cricket player was shown in the PowerPoint there were some comments, and laughter made by people in our class because it made us uncomfortable. We are used to the media giving female athletes this image and displaying them more for sexual prowess, than their ability as an athlete. Lindsey Vonn had the same thing done in Sports Illustrated after she was succeeding in alpine skiing in the Olympics and World Cup Championships. After Mary Jo Kane did studies it was found that most fans of female athletics did not believe that sexual pictures, and media of female athletes increased their interest in women's sports. I think that fans of female sports are not going to change their opinion of female athletics with these sexual images the media portrays, it will help keep younger men interested in female athletics, but it could hurt female fans, and older men who are fans as well.