(Gabby Douglas)
In the Huffington post I found a blog posted by Keli Goff entitled “Why Are Some Olympic Sports Whiter Than Others?” (2012). Goff is an author, blogger, and political commentator whose work has been talked about on Meet the Press and on the Wall Street Journal online. Goff interviews several black athletes to try and figure out what obstacles there are for minority women to be exposed to non-traditional sports. Cost was the biggest obstacle, as many of the interviewed athletes like Wendy Hilliard, the first African-American on the U.S. Rhythmic Gymnastics National Team, have founded foundations to help expose young minorities to these sports. Exposure is another problem, MaliVai Washington, the only other African-American man besides Arthur Ashe to make it to a Wimbledon final, explained that plenty of kids may see Serena Williams win a Grand Slam, and that is one form of exposure, but "practical exposure" is what actually happens after that girl or boy sees her win (Goff, 2012, para. 9). Third point goes along with my point on environment and the culture in which someone grows up in. Goff quotes a professor who has written about these issues, and says “All these kids grow up in the Michael Jordan era and want to be 'like Mike' or Kobe or LeBron (Goff, 2012, para. 5).”
So does this mean in the future that minority girls are going to want to be ‘like Gabby’? I do not think this will be the case but more exposure from athletes like her will certainly help.
Here is the link to the blog I was referencing if you would like to read it http://www.huffingtonpost.com/keli-goff/olympics-minority-athletes_b_1721930.html
Douglas Deprest
I agree with Douglas in the fact that where a child grows up, and what he/she grows up playing will affect their future. These children that don't have the opportunities to play sports, or watch these stars perform on T.V. they won't take part in these sports down the road. I also agree that if you grow up around kids your age who play a certain sport, that you are more likely to play that too. It was true for me. Most of my friends played baseball and football, and I did both as well. I am twisted on the next point Douglas made with there not being enough exposure for those kids who can see it. Think about all the great African-American athletes. Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Muhammad Ali, the WIlliams' sisters, etc. I feel as if these minorities have a lot of people that they share the same ethnicity with to inspire them.
ReplyDeletePatrick McFall
When reading this blog, I have to agree with the fact that environment plays a pivotal role in what people are exposed to. If minority girls are not exposed to non-traditional sports than the interest level has a decreased chance. I believe that is not only for minorities but also for everyone. When I was growing up living in Canada I wasn’t exposed to sports such football, which in America many children are exposed to at a young age. Hockey is a sport that is exposed to many young Canadians boys and girls and I believe that’s the reason why so many kids play hockey growing up and why Canada is known for hockey.
ReplyDeleteNon-traditional sports are difficult to become involved with because they don’t get much media attention. If girls are not exposed to them until they are adolescents they are behind those girls who have been playing the sports growing up. So environment and exposure are very important because if a person doesn’t have the information about something they wont know about it and therefore won’t be able to participate. Cost is an issue for people and I believe there should be more programs created to support children who can’t afford to play non-traditional sports. If every child that wants to play a sport is supported the talent level would rise and sports would have a better competition, which is what sports thrive on.
Ryan Viselli
Patrick,
ReplyDeleteAs far as not as much exposure, that is in regards to the non-traditional sports like gymnastics, field hockey, volleyball and etc. Yes they see the William sisters but as the article I found says it is also about what they do after they see them play. It is easier for them to pick up a basketball and go play then to have their parents go buy them a racket and take them to a tennis court and show them the basics of tennis.
Douglas Deprest
Douglas,
ReplyDeleteI see the points you are making, and want to make another point supporting the theory but from a different angle. Rather than see the sports that minority children are not exposed to, why not look at the ones they see regularly. The "like Mike" point you made touches on this a bit as well, but the majority of coverage for sports is dedicated to football, basketball, and baseball. Because of this most American families are exposed to it by actual interest and by advertising between other programs. This cannot be avoided in our society and creates the exposure to these higher profile sports and leads to the the mainstream interest in these sports rather than gymnastics or swimming.
Joey Durant
Douglas,
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with you!! I think that the environment that someone grows up in has a huge role in the sport that they may decided to play. Me being a minority i wasn't raised around a lot of non-tadional sports so i never really even tried playing them. I really didn't have much interest in them, because I wasn't exposed to them. I also agree that cost is a big thing, every sport nowadays cost to participate. I also feel that there should be more programs that kids cant play sports and it not cost just so children can have the opportunity to at least know which sport interest them the most.
-Danielle Miller