Racism in professional sport - Aaron Keyer

Last week we talked about racism in sport, which I believe is a big problem for all sports. Everywhere people talk about sports it's a white basketball player either having to be a good shooter or a seven footer, a white quarterback in the NFL is automatically determined to be a set pocket passer. White wide recievers are expected to be possession recievers, not deep threats and black quarterbacks can't throw, they can only run. I think racism in sport has gotten better in terms of discriminating against one race or vulgarity toward a race, however the stereotyping that goes into recruiting and drafting players at certain positions has only gotten worse.

Leading up to the NFL draft a big topic of concern is always off the field issues. Doesn't it seem like black players are far more likely connected to not being as hard of workers off the field and more trouble in the locker room? Jamarcus Russel had all the talent in the world but completely flops as an NFL quarterback because of his off the field issues and his laziness but when Matt Leinhart fails as a quarterback it was because he was never in the right situation or maybe his skills weren't what we thought they were. That's not right, stereotyping a failed black quarterback as lazy and blaming the white quarterback's failures on alternative circumstances has gotten to be pathetic.

As a high school football player I saw stereotyping first hand. As a senior in high school I was being recruited as a wide reciever. I can't tell you how many times I got passed on for a black reciever who was the same size as me, had all the same attributes as me but I had better stats. A division one recruiter who had recruited me for several months ended up telling me I was simply "too white, too light and too slow" when at the combine workout we all participated in I ran the second best 40 yard dash time out of everyone.

If you simply just look around the NFL, you can stereotype by position. Even the NFL players see it. Last year Green Bay's wide reciever Jordy Nelson even said in an interview with the Green Bay Press Gazette, "Honestly, being white is a factor. Defensive backs don't respect my speed because white." His own black teammate Greg Jennings agreed also commenting in the Green Bay Press Gazette saying "people look at Jordy and say, oh he's just like those other slow white recievers. He's not."

Stereotyping has become a major problem in sports. Just because a player is black doesn't mean he can't learn the playbook or he is trouble off the field and just because a player is white doesn't mean he isn't as athletic. There has been so much bias created in which color player can be successful at which position and it's not right.

Racism In Hockey - Marc Horwitz

The NHL has been relatively clean when it comes to the existence of racism, much in part to the fact that the vast majority of athletes in the league are white. Whether it be at the youth level or the NHL, there is no denying the fact that the sport is predominantly white.  Through the efforts of grassroots movements and more development programs in urban areas in the NHL's push to target minorities, there has been a young talent entering the league with African American heritage such as Evander Kane, Kyle Okposo, and PK Subban.

Another young, black player who has developed into a very impressive winger is Wayne Simmonds of the Philadelphia Flyers.  In his first season with the Flyers organization, Simmonds has recorded career high point totals, but has also faced adversity as a result of his lineage. Since last season, Simmonds has been involved in two instances of racism that led to significant media coverage, with him also noting alleged occurrences aside from the two that were covered in the press.

The first incident that brought plenty of media attention to this problem in sport occurred last season when the Flyers played the Red Wings in London, Ontario in an exhibition game.  During a shootout, as Simmonds was approaching the goaltender, a banana peel was thrown onto the ice in Simmonds' direction, in an act to insinuate a common stereotype of African Americans.  Fortunately, Simmonds handled the situation professionally, stating that such an occurrence, while unfortunate, is expected.  In an interview after the game, Simmonds said "I guess it's something I obviously have to deal with - being a black player playing in a predominantly white sport.  I've grown a lot playing in this league and throughout my whole life. I'm not going to dwell on that, it's over with now" (Custance, 2011).

As if one act of racism against a player wasn't enough, just yesterday Simmonds had to deal with more disrespectful fan behavior.  Playing for a Czech Republic team due to the current NHL lockout, Simmonds was showered with racial taunts following a fight with an opponent of the home team.  The fans of the Czech team Chomotov began chanting "opice" following the fight, which translates to "monkey" in english.  Simmonds was unaware of what the chanting meant until following the game when teammate Chris Stewart (also African American), informed him of the translation.

Apologies were made on behalf of the Red Wings and Chomotov organizations immediately following both incidents.  London Mayor Joe Fontana apologized to Simmonds on behalf of the city, stating "it was a stupid and mindless act by one individual, however, it reflects badly on the entire community."  Chomotov general manager Jaroslav Veverka also issued an apology following the incident on Sunday, saying "it was embarrassing, pathetic, and small" (Allen, 2012).

While these apologies are a small step in the recovery process, they are still no reason to ignore the fact that these racist incidents have occurred.  A sport such as hockey has been fortunate enough to have very few isolated incidents of racism, but we see it quite often in sports such as football and baseball where organizations are more diverse.  Sport, as anywhere, is no place for racism.  Hopefully these incidents that have arisen in just one season will open the eyes of not just NHL fans, but also fans of all sports, and change the way some fans view the athletes.  We should be applauding their athleticism and performance, not holding their heritage and skin color against them.

http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/7007219/fan-throws-banana-philadelphia-flyers-winger-wayne-simmonds

http://www.usatoday.com/story/gameon/2012/10/29/nhl-wayne-simmonds-racial-incident/1666947/

Reverse The Racism - Joey Durant

This might be a somewhat controversial blog post, but I believe it is worth being discussed and hopefully I will get some good feedback and conversation out of it! I believe that in today's sport society there exists a reverse racial role. Take, for instance, the NBA as an example; the majority of the exceptional players are african-american. This is no knock on those players, they are great at what they do and deserve to be recognized as the best. However, does the ratio of great black basketball player to great white, latino, and european basketball players automatically create a stigma to the lesser part of the ratio? As another example, the number of white starting cornerbacks and running backs in the NFL is a total of zero athletes. Does this number create an automatic assumption that non-black athletes cannot play these positions? I would love to hear everyone in class respond to this question because it is a question I have had to discuss in prior classes and have heard mixed opinions.

Joey Durant

Linsanity

In class Thursday, we talked about the different stereotypes that Asian Americans receive from fans for example players like Jeremy Lin and Yao Ming. People, assume that Asian Americans are weak, slow, nerdy, are only good at math and are out of place. Asian basketball players have been fighting stereotypes throughout their basketball careers. They have to overcome not only their opponents on their respective playing fields, but also the perception that Asians Americans are not real athletes or that they really are not American athletes. Asian Americans have done well in America in many areas, but not so much in basketball, but ever since Jeremy Lin entered in to the world of basketball, that all has changed. Lin has a new and different appeal to him. Lin is one of the rarest of Asian Americans to play the game of basketball. Lin is giving Asian men a more attractive look when it comes to sports. What Lin has done has been thrilling and exciting to witness. It is amazing to see that he has been able to break through the different stereotypes to prove that Asian Americans can play alongside and beat the best in the NBA. Lin’s story has been embraced by the American public, with fans from all races cheering him on, but we have also been reminded of the ugliness with which Asians have often been depicted in American culture. I just can’t imagine the racist taunts that he receives from opponents and fans. Is the ‘Linsanity’ hype caused by race?

Alicia Jefferson 

Lost In Translation - Geoff Roberts

When I was at my apartment here in beautiful Bowling Green this summer, I saw something at a Reds game that really caught me off-guard.  As I was sitting and watching the Reds play, they showed in the dugout Joey Votto having a conversation through a translator with Johnny Cueto.  Cueto is of course from Latin America and has little English skills.  I started to think about it and I came to the realization that in the 25 years of my life, this was the first time I had ever seen a Spanish translator in the dugout for a Latin American player. 

I have seen translators be used for Asian players who come from Japan such as Ichiro (who was still speaking through a translator when he was traded to the Yankees this season), Hideki Matsui, Hiroki Kuroda, and Yu Darvish have all used translators at some point.  This has festered with Latin American players as a huge issue.  Latin American players are generally not afforded a translator for a few reasons.

One reason I could think of was because baseball is heavily populated with Latin Americans.  This number is far more than Asian players coming from overseas.  This allows the Latin Americans with better English skills on the team to kind of act as an impromptu translator for the Latin Americans on the team that have lower skill in the English language.

Another reason I could see being plausible is the sheer disparity in the languages.  If you speak Spanish, English is much easier to learn than if you speak Japanese.  I think the opposite is true as well.  How many college students and high school students do you see take Spanish?  Compare that with the number that decides to take Japanese, Chinese, or Korean.  The reason is because the East Asian languages are highly intimidating and feature symbols and characters to represent whole ideas instead of just letters that form words which form phrases.  East Asian languages are also spoken at a faster rate than English generally.  This can be a hard adjustment for either an English-speaking person or an East Asian native speaker.  Spanish at least shares a lot of similar words with English.

So, players coming from Asia were afforded the opportunity to have a translator.  There have been a few Latin American coaches and players who have spoken out about it and the most recent is Ozzie Guillen (see attached article).  Ozzie Guillen is of course known for speaking out about anything and everything though so many of his comments get swept to the side.

Either way, we now see at least one team utilizing a Spanish translator in the dugout.  Johnny Cueto and Aroldis Chapman use this man heavily.  I don't watch the Reds much, as they only serve to give me my baseball fix since I do not get Fox Sports Detroit in BG.  So, I wanted to open it up and ask a few questions:

1. Do you think MLB is taking a step in the right direction by letting Latin American players use Spanish translators in the dugout? 

2.  Have you seen any other teams with Spanish translators?

3.  Do you think in the future that every MLB team will have a Spanish translator in the dugout, and should they?




http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2010-08-03-baseball-interpreters-translators-guillen_N.htm

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/25/sports/baseball/25translate.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Aaron Crouse - Tales from the Crip

            Serena Williams created much controversy following her 2012 Gold Medal victory at Wimbledon during the London Olympics for performing her own variation of the Crip Walk after a crushing win over Maria Sharapova (6-0, 6-1).  The Crip Walk originally created in the 1970s by the Crip gang involved the spelling of C-R-I-P and was used by Crips at parties to diss the Bloods and by gang members after killing someone to give the kill a “Crip signature”.  Immediately following this display by Williams, the video of her dance went viral and critics across the country rushed to their computers to scold her behavior.  Many writers compared Serena’s Crip Walk in 2012 to a similar dance done by Brent Barry at the 2003 NBA All Star Game during the three-point contest.  Most agreed that while Serena Williams should have been embarrassed and apologized immediately for her actions, there was not much wrong with what Brent Barry had done.  While I in no way support celebrations such as the Crip Walk or believe that race had anything to do with the feelings of these writers, I think that there is a valid argument that can be made that Serena’s actions were inappropriate while Barry’s can be tolerated.

            The time and place at which Serena Williams performed her Crip Walk are the main factors that I believe caused her actions to be seen as an abomination by the sports world.  In this case, the environment is everything.  When we think about the Olympics, we conjure up images of global competition, the best athletes in the world, high class, and elegance.  In no way, shape, or form do we associate the Crip Walk with any of these words.  On top of this, the 2012 London Olympic tennis matches took place at Wimbledon, often described as the “Holy Land” for tennis.  As Jason Whitlock writes, “Wimbledon isn’t the place to break out a dance popularized by California Crip gang members. She knows it. That’s why she got embarrassed when asked by reporters to reveal the name of the dance” (Whitlock, 2012 Paragraph 6).  As an Olympic participant for the United States, Serena Williams was provided with the opportunity to represent her country on a national state (and rightly so, she has more than earned this honor).  Along with the duty to perform at the highest degree, Williams also inherited the responsibility to act in an appropriate manner and not let the nature of her celebration overshadow her great individual performance and accomplishment.  Clearly it was not Serena’s intention to create quite a controversy, she simply got caught up in the moment. However, this does not change the fact that Wimbledon Centre Court at the 2012 London Summer Olympics is not the time or place for a gang dance.  As the flag fell during her medal ceremony on the podium, Serena claimed that the flag was just trying to fly toward her because “It was probably flying to come hug me because the flag was so happy.” While this could be true, but others including Reid Forgrave suggest that it is more likely that “it was the Royal Gods of Wimbledon, giving Queen Serena a proper British slap on the wrist for her moment of innocent, though unfortunate, American celebration” (Forgrave, 2012, Paragraph 19).

            Brent Barry performing his version of the Crip Walk at the 2003 NBA three-point contest was seen as more socially acceptable based upon the context of the event.  Jason Whitlock points out that “Crip Walking inside an NBA arena that is routinely filled with the sounds of edited versions of popular gangsta rap songs is different from Crip Walking at Wimbledon. That fact has nothing to do with race.” (Whitlock, 2012, Paragraph 7).  Barry’s Crip Walk took place at Phillips Arena in Atlanta, GA in 2003 at the NBA skills competition, which is regarded more as an exhibition and an opportunity for NBA players to entertain and put on a show than an actual competitive battle (certainly not an Olympic Gold Medal finals match).  It should also be pointed out that performing the dance was not even Barry’s idea but a dare from Seattle SuperSonics teammate Gary Payton, who ended up paying Barry $1000 for holding up his end of the bargain in performing the dance on national television (Lund, 2012, Paragraph 3).  In this situation, other NBA players were accepting of the celebration and even encouraged Barry to go through with it and the fans found his routine to be entertaining.  Barry was not trying to show anyone up and did not have the entire world watching him.  He was representing himself and the NBA rather than an entire nation and was placed in an environment where rap and gang dance more are more prevalent and made aware of.  Plain and simple, there is a different behavior expectation for the NBA skills competition and a finals match taking place at Wimbledon.

            The difference between Serena Williams and Brent Barry’s Crip Walk celebrations was the time and place in which they occurred.  There are certain things that fans do not expect to see (or want to see) in specific sports.  While elaborate celebrations and dance exhibitions are acceptable in the NBA, the same cannot be said for tennis and the Olympics.  Serena performing the Crip Walk a Wimbledon at the Olympics would be like Tiger Woods Lambeau Leaping into the gallery after making a put on the 18^th hole at the Masters to win the tournament or Derek Jeter pulling a Tiger Williams (former NHL player, check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpYQkuEurfI ) and riding his bat like a horse after hitting a homerun in the World Series.  There is a time and place for everything.  Serena picked the wrong moment while Barry was a bit more justified in his.  I am in no way supporting the Crip Walk as a sports celebration or claiming that race has anything to do with the difference between these two events.  I am solely making an argument that the context in which we view and think of select sporting events is the main reason behind the different opinions sports writers have of these similar celebrations.

The Best Decision – Aaron Keyer

I would like to start by saying that I am in no way a fan of any Cleveland sports teams, and never will be. Before the “The Decision” I had respect for Cleveland sports fans, for how loyal they have been over the years. However after seeing how they acted after Lebron James made his decision leave Cleveland, I lost all respect for Cleveland fans and Cleveland sports franchises.

Lebron James was the only reason the Cleveland Cavs were even remotely relevant in the NBA and it’s quite evident that Cleveland fans have not figured out that in today’s world professional sports is one thing, a business.

Making the decision to leave Cleveland was the single best decision of Lebron’s career. He probably could have done it in a different way, but who’s to say it was his decision to make his decision on national television. Where was his agent, manager, family or his marketing team in all this? Professional athletes make very few decisions by themselves.

For Cleveland fans to act the way they did toward him in my opinion is almost hypocritical. If you were offered the same job, with the same salary, with a much better run company, in Miami, Florida wouldn’t you leave Cleveland too?

“The Decision” has not hurt Lebron’s marketability at all. In fact his marketability has done nothing but grow. He still is one of the most recognizable figures in the world, he still has his own complete shoe and sports attire line with the most popular sports company in the world, Nike and now he has a NBA Title.

Cleveland fans need to realize that they blame shouldn’t be directed toward Lebron, but toward the upper level management. Lebron left Cleveland and the Cavs went from the best record in the league to setting the NBA record for consecutive losses in a season. He did more for and gave more to the city of Cleveland than any of us will ever know. The fact that it was even a decision for him should say something about him as a person, because for any other athlete, staying in Cleveland would not have even been an option.

All in all, Lebron James made the same business decision any other professional athlete would have made. The way he has conducted himself since “The Decision” has turned me into a huge Lebron James fan. Even with the way Cleveland fans have treated him, he is yet to say one bad thing about Cleveland. Go Heat.

The Wrong Way Way to Decide - Joey Durant

I am, and will always be, a Cleveland fan no matter how horrible our teams may be from year to year. That being said, I was forced to come to terms with the fact that LeBron James was no longer a Cleveland Cavalier after "The Decision." I would like to discuss the topic from an unbiased point of view, and I am able to do that now after a few years of reasoning with myself and others.

LeBron James' decision to leave Cleveland was blown out of proportion by so many different outlets that it was almost unavoidable to have it aired on television as "The Decision" and for fans to react the way they did. Realistically, LeBron is nothing more than an athlete and does not deserve the money and attention that he gets. Only one alternative could have been in play with what turned out to be a nationwide fiasco, in my opinion. The alternative would have been for James to quietly announce his decision to the teams involved in his sign-and-trade, as well as those teams that were involved in discussions but were left out of the final deal. As I said before, this became almost a non-option thanks to the extreme focus on the topic from media outlets like ESPN.

LeBron, being the marketing force that he is, tarnished his name in the short-term with his decision but he still made a lot of money from the whole situation and remains the top player in the NBA currently. His marketability has done nothing but grown once the dust had settled from "The Decision."

As a small disclaimer from a Cleveland fan, he will never be forgiven in Cleveland for leaving and for the manner in which he did it. I personally believe that a lot of the animosity felt is because of "The Decision" and not from LeBron's actual decision to "take his talents to South Beach."

The Decision? - Geoff Roberts

Let me preface this blog by saying that I am not a Cavaliers fan.  I am a Pistons fan and will never root for a Cleveland team in any sport.  Don't get me wrong, Cleveland has had some serious sport legends play in the city.  Bob Feller and LeBron James come to mind.  Bob Feller's domination is undeniable.  Even with his service to the military in WWII taking him out of the game for awhile, he still put up ridiculous statistics.

Speaking of the military, I was at Fort Bragg when "The Decision" happened.  We had just gotten back from a 30 day field training exercise in Louisiana a few days prior to the actual program.  I wasn't exactly aware that LeBron James might have been leaving Cleveland, much less that it was that big of a spectacle.  As Marc posted earlier, it was a brilliant marketing move.  This is one of the most prolific basketball players that will ever play in the NBA.  He was on the cover of Sports Illustrated prior to even graduating high school.  Nevertheless, the way that I found out about LeBron going to the Miami Heat was through a replay of "The Decision" a couple days later while I was eating breakfast at the "lovely" chow hall about 300 meters from the barracks.  I didn't feel anything but excitement that he was leaving the division. 

At the same time though, I started to think about how classless the whole thing was.  It's really insulting to tell everyone who has supported you for so long that you are leaving for nothing more than glory.  After you do that, what happens?  Every day people, who will never pick up a basketball for an NBA team, are burning your jersey and images of you as if you had just committed the worst crime in history.  The owner of the team you just left submits an open letter that is highly insulting.

The whole situation turned ugly fast and from an outsiders point of view, I can see why.  I have always grown up with an appreciation for class acts in sports.  This whole situation was classless for everyone involved, LeBron, Dan Gilbert, the fans, and ESPN alike.    

A Decision on "The Decision" - Marc Horwitz

Regardless of your stance on how Lebron James handled his announcement to continue his basketball career with the Miami Heat, one aspect that most should be able to agree on was that his execution of the announcement was a phenomenal marketing effort.  Personally, I am not much of a fan of the NBA. I'll tune in during playoff time, or maybe if the team closest to my home, the Sixers, are being broadcasted on ESPN, but aside from that I really tend to focus more on the collegiate game for my basketball fix.  For that reason, I really did not have much opinion when it came to where Lebron chose to play, whether that be to stay with Cleveland or venture off to join the Heat, Bulls, or any other scenario that was thrown around throughout the offseason. Sure, his announcement could have been handled differently to leave a less bitter taste in the mouths of Cavs fans, but if you take a step back from your loyalty to an organization and look at it from a marketing stance, "The Decision" was brilliant.

Never before had an athlete been granted a one-hour block on national television to make an announcement that could quite easily take less than thirty seconds. This was a first not just for professional sport, but also for the networks covering this occurrence and for the fans tuning in to view the event. While so many have negative things to say about the announcement, many fail to keep in mind that they still chose to watch. Cleveland fans knew that there was a chance that he would be departing, Bulls fans knew to not get their hopes up, whether you argue that the televised interview was tasteless still doesn't account for the fact that millions, yes, millions, tuned in to watch the live broadcast. James met his goal for the program, he had viewers, millions of them.

"The Decision" was not necessarily marketed towards fans of Lebron James. Those that are true James fans are going to stick by him regardless of the organization which he plays for. For that reason, James and ESPN did not attempt to target those in their efforts. Instead, it was more for the general public, the individual who considers themselves "a basketball fan" rather than show allegiance to a specific team or athlete. At the time of air, I would be willing to bet that you could walk into any sports bar and you would find "The Decision" being broadcasted on the screens, regardless of the proximity to the teams in the running for Lebron or the amount of James fans in attendance.  Most of the cities broadcasting the program were probably in no relation to an NBA team, let alone the Cavs, Heat, or Bulls, but they still chose to watch it as sports fans because the marketing for the program had done its job, it built interest and drew an audience.

For an hour of primetime television on a national broadcast, Lebron James was the center of everyone's attention, and that is what he wanted. People in the organizations involved knew of Lebron's choice before "The Decision" was aired, specifically top executives, this announcement wasn't for them. Instead, this was simply a way to ensure that James, his brand, and everything that he represents was the center of focus for that hour.

In addition to bringing more attention from the casual sports fan to Lebron James, this event did also have a charitable impact.  According to Mark Gillispie of the Plain Dealer, not only did James donate $2 million in cash from television revenue to Boy’s & Girl’s Clubs across the country, but “James arranged for the donation of $500,000 in computers from Hewlett-Packard and $500,000 in gear from Nike.  Fifty-nine Boys & Girls Clubs across the country are receiving help from James” (Gillispie, 2011).

I am in no way saying that the way Lebron handled his announcement was the best way to go about things, but I think it should be noted that although it could have been done differently, “The Decision” was a brilliant marketing move. Yes, he may have lost the admiration of Cavaliers fans, but in doing so he also gained global attention as all eyes with even a remote interest in sports were watching him declare his move to South Beach.

http://www.sbnation.com/2010/7/8/1559877/lebron-james-free-agent-espn-event-ad-sales

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/07/07/like-it-or-not-lebron-james-decision-is-all-part-of-the-plan-and-its-working/

http://www.marketingprofessor.com/misc/update-why-lebron-james-decision-is-a-game-changer-marketers-edition/

Sister Act VI: The Williams Sisters

In class Thursday, we talked about how the Williams family encountered hostile fans at an Indian Wells match. First off, I believe that the tour officials were wrong for not telling fans earlier that the match between the Williams sisters was not going on. I don’t know why the officials waited so late to tell fans that Venus had dropped out because of an injury. The officials had plenty of time to tell fans and spectators that the match was being cancelled. The way the officials did that was very unprofessional and Serena suffered the most from the whole situation and it wasn’t even her fault. Secondly, I believe that the tour officials or someone in charge of crowd control should have done something to calm the crowd down during the finals match against Serena and Kim Clijsters. I know it was devastating for me to hear that the crowd was booing her and her family for something that Serena did not do. It was neither Serena nor Venus’s fault for the late announcement about the match. You can’t get mad at someone for dropping out, because of an injury, but you can get mad for how the officials handled the situation. I thought it was crazy how the crowd was booing the Williams sisters when they did not play against each other and also when they did play against each other. Was the crowd still mad? I know the crowd was very upset when they wanted their money back. That is something that the tour officials should have took into consideration, before they made the late announcement.

Alicia Jefferson

Aaron Crouse - Royal Embarrassment for the MLB

During March of 2001, sisters Venus and Serena were set to face off for the 6^th time in their careers during the semifinals of the Indian Wells Masters tournament.  This match was set to be their first meeting since a controversial semifinal match at the 2000 Wimbledon Championship in which some experts questioned whether or not Venus and Serena’s father, Richard Williams, had fixed the match by convincing Serna to throw the match to Venus.  However, this match would never occur, as Venus would pull out with an injury allowing Serena to advance via walkover.  While Venus had informed trainers hours before the match that she would not be able to compete, tournament officials decided not to announce this news until 10 minutes before the match, resulting in much backlash from the fans at Indian Wells.  During Serena’s finals match against Kim Clijsters, Serena (along with her sister Venus and father Richard who were in attendance) were met with profuse booing racial slurs and threats.  The crowd response, especially considering the general good-natured and elegance of tennis crowds, created quite a scene and controversy.  It became clear that racism was a factor in the treatment of the Williams family and is still an issue in sports today.  The Indian Wells incident draws a shocking resemblance to the 2012 Home Run Derby in which Kansas City fans endlessly booed Robinson Cano and his father after Cano did not include hometown fan favorite Billy Butler in the event.

After capturing the 2011 Home Run Derby crown at Chase Field in Arizona, Robinson Cano was elected captain of the 2012 AL Home Run Derby squad.  As captain, Cano was put in charge for the selection of 3 additional participants for the 2012 Home Run Derby, set to take place at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.  Much to the dismay of Kansas City fans, Cano selected Prince Fielder (the eventual derby champion), Jose Bautista, and Mark Trumbo over Royals DH Billy Butler. Even though each of Cano’s selections were completely justified in the eyes of competition, Kansas City fans took their frustrations out on Cano by booing him throughout player introductions, his entire Home Run Derby at-bat, and during the actual All-Star game the following night.  As Cano, who has being pitched to by his father, struggled during his time at the plate (failing to hit a single home run) fans watching at home and around the world could not but help but feel disgust and embarrassment for what the KC fans were doing.  Several Dominican and Latin American analysts even went as far as to question whether or not similar behavior would have occurred had a white, American player such as David Wright, Josh Hamilton, or Paul Konerko been the captain of the AL team.  As fans continually booed Cano, cheered for his outs, and chanted the name “Billy Butler” during his at-bat, it is difficult not to see the resemblance between this sporting event in 2012 and the Venus and Serena incident at Indian Wells in 2001.                              

                

                    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_CCcAWbT30

Who is Better? Ryan Viselli

In class we discussed the question who’s better Michael or Kobe?  I am a huge fan of Kobe Bryant ever since I was kid and had his jersey and thought he was the most dominant athlete when I was growing up.  So the easy response would be to say Kobe is better.  However watching highlights of Michael Jordan and how dominant he was as an athlete, I would have to say my answer is Michael Jordan.  Both players are very similar in the way they play, such as both are very hard working, determined and competitive.  They both have incredible talent and are born winners with “clutch” skills when the game is down to the wire.

     Michael does have six championships compared to Kobe’s five.  His six championships also came as three-peats during the 90’s.  Kobe also had three-peat and back-to-back championships in the 2000’s.  Jordan has more MVP’s and finals MVP’s. They are both 14-time NBA all-stars, 10 times first team, 9 time defensive first team and slam dunk champions.  Jordan is a 10-time NBA scoring champ with Kobe only having two. Kobe does have five rings with two of them coming without Shaq.  Jordan won all his six rings with Scottie Pippen.

     With both players being accomplished and considered the best of all time, where do we look to see who’s better?  I think we have to look at the eras both of these players played in.  Jordan was at the end of his career when Kobe entered the league and when Jordan played against the greats like Magic, Bird and Isaiah Thomas, he did not win a championship.  Kobe won a championship in his fourth season while Jordan won his first championship in his seventh season.  When Shaq left Los Angeles in 2004 it took Kobe five years to win again in 2009.  Kobe also has had to play against greats such as LeBron, Iverson, Duncan, Durant and the list goes on.

     I believe that this question is so hard to answer because of how comparable these two athletes are talent wise and their demeanor on and off the court.  I think their demeanor and attitude is what makes them the greatest.  LeBron should be in the same question but I don’t think he has the mental toughness and killer instinct that these two athletes have.  There is no doubt that Jordan set the standard on the court with his play and off the court with his marketability.  Kobe has formed his own identity on the court and endorses many products that are recognizable in popular culture.

    One thing is for sure is that both of these athletes are legends in their own right and are exciting to watch demonstrate why they are in a class of their own.

Kobe vs. Roethlisberger - Marc Horwitz

After discussing the topic in class, I did more research into the comparisons of the Ben Roethlisberger rape allegations in relation to those charges made against Kobe Bryant.  Much like the discussion we had in class, many references that were found online seem to be pointing to race being a significant, if not sole, reason why Kobe was treated so differently by the media and general public than Roethlisberger.

Both of these allegations of rape came against successful and established professional athletes, and both cases have numerous similarities that make it easier for comparison. For one, both cases involved women with questionable stories.  Both accusers immediately attempted to make a settlement outside of court, asking for excessive amounts of money to drop charges, Roethlisberger's accuser more so than Kobe's. Along with the two cases being very similar in terms of the accusations, the players being accused of the crime are also quite comparable.  Both athletes play in large markets where media has a huge presence and both men have their share of championships. So what is the outlier that clearly sets the two men apart in terms of case comparison? Race.

Boyce Watkins, in an article written soon after the Roethlisberger charges were made in Las Vegas, makes the statement that "there is the final possibility that our imagery of black men as criminals and sexual aggressors makes it easier to believe that Kobe raped a white woman" (Watkins, 2009).  He goes on to make the point that there are several cases when African American athletes have been practically convicted before even being tried, such as Barry Bonds, Michael Vick, Terrell Owens, and Ron Artest.  These examples, and many others that were not mentioned in the article, are prime examples of the media expressing an elevated level in the actions and misbehavior of black athletes as opposed to those of their white counterparts.

A similar article comparing the two cases was written by Dexter Rodgers of the Huffington Post one year after the Watkins article. Rodgers asks why the media hadn't crucified Roethlisberger the same as it had Bryant, and provides the reasoning that "the white male dominated media doesn't cover the marquee white athlete with the same level of intensity as compared to the African-American athlete" (Rodgers, 2010).

Upon reading these articles, analyzing our discussion in class regarding the topic, and taking my own personal opinions into consideration, I certainly believe that the media came down so harshly and quickly upon Bryant because their minds had been made up long before both sides were even prevented.  As Watkins noted in his article, I do think that the perception of African Americans and their perceived aggression led to the thought of Bryant's charges being more believable than those of Roethlisberger.  There is no other explanation for the treatment of Bryant in comparison to Big Ben. Bryant is just as high a profile athlete as Roethlisberger, they are both successful, both play for elite franchises in their respective sports, and both have been charged with rape. Bryant even provided an apology for his actions, continuous cooperation with authorities, and constant defense of himself as the claims were made against him. He took responsibility for his acts of infidelity and I feel as though he handled the situation very well from a public relations point of view. Roethlisberger on the other hand practically flew under the radar, which is even more surprising seeing as the Las Vegas incident was the second case of rape allegations in as many years. Roethlisberger did not make public statements in his defense as Bryant did, he did not refute charges, and he simply sat back as the media more or less defended him rather than convict him from behind their keyboards. Had Roethlisberger been an African American, he would have certainly been scrutinized differently by media with far more tenacity. 

http://www.bvblackspin.com/2009/08/02/kobe-bryant-ben-roethlisberger-race/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dexter-rogers/ben-roethlisberger-contin_b_512950.html

Aaron Crouse- Pink is for Profit?

It is common to associate blue with boys and pink with girls when a child is born.  This association is made in order to influence gender identity and show a difference between masculinity and femininity.  However, during October, it is acceptable and almost expected than male and female athletes both wear pink in order to support breast cancer awareness.  The NFL along with NCAA Football have done a phenomenal job in enabling players to have an exception to the standard uniform policies and make bold statements with pink jerseys, helmet stickers wristbands, and cleats that are all auctioned off to raise additional funds.  These teams have also encouraged brands such as Under Armour (Power in Pink), Adidas (All Fight), Nike (A Crucial Catch), and New Era to develop their own lines of breast cancer awareness shirts, polos, and hats.  Even with all of the special Nike Pro Combat, Wounded Warrior Project, and retro rivalry game jerseys that are produced in the NFL and NCAA, the October pink jerseys still have a way of really standing out above the rest and making the pink noticeable at the games and on television.

Recently, a report was published that indicated that the NFL only donates 5% of breast cancer awareness sales to the American Cancer society (and considering that only 70.8% of money the ACS receives goes towards research and cancer programs, for every $100 in sales of pink gear, only $3.54 is going towards research while the NFL is keeping approximately $45 based on a 100% mark-up assumption).  While this still will end up raising a total of over $3 million in total for jersey, t-shirt, and memorabilia auction sales, this number still feels disappointing.  While the NFL has denied some of these claims in saying that they do not profit from the breast cancer awareness line, they have acknowledged that there may be some truth to the rumors about the donation numbers.  For a league that raked in approximately $9.5 billion in 2011, there is not reason that a little bit more can be donated in order to make a difference.  Even though it is great to see some of the toughest athletes in the world such as Ray Lewis, Patrick Willis, and Clay Matthews who help define present day masculinity wearing pink, knowing that the profits being made may not be going to the correct cause is concerning.  The NFL does a great job in promoting breast cancer awareness, but this venture should be about finding a cure and securing donations for research with profit being the last think on the mind of the league. (Gaines, 2012, P.1)

http://www.businessinsider.com/why-is-the-nfl-profitting-off-of-breast-cancer-2012-10

What is "Cool Pose?"

In class on Tuesday, we talked about the “Cool Pose” and what actually is “Cool Pose?” When I think of the word “Cool Pose” I think of people portraying behaviors of cool or “bad boy” types of lifestyles and being something that people are really not and people are just acting that way to be “cool” or to fit in. You can see this being expressed through the way people “try” to talk, the clothing that people wear, someone’s walk or stand, or even through a crazy and complex handshake. Some people believe that “Cool Pose” can be potrayed in a positive way. Others may think a “Cool Pose” is a sign of racism. It is worth noting that African American males have had a huge impact on American society and American culture in many ways for example basketball. I believe that the “Cool Pose” does not have to always apply to all African American athletes. “Cool Pose” could be a dance that an athlete does after making the game winning touchdown or game winning basket at a basketball game, as what Aaron Crouse discussed in his blog about Tim Tebow. Tim Tebow is definitely not an African American athlete, but he demonstrates his “Cool Pose” through his religious views and his outspoken lifestyle. I believe that Tim Tebow’s portrayal of  “Cool Pose” is inspirational and I admire his “Cool Pose”. Sometimes I believe that these images and other stereotypes that people hold of the dominant culture make it difficult for African American athletes and men to stand up for their manhood and so many of these men use various actions to fight these negative images and “Cool Pose” is one of those approaches.

Alicia Jefferson