Title IX

Women Are Just As Deserving

By: Brandon Akins





Source: Female Athletes

On September 13, 2012 we discussed the topic of Title IX we didn't go into much detail about it so that is why I have provided the video above to give a little overview about Title IX and some history of woman sports. Title IX is what gives/gave the right to play sports and not be discriminated against like how they were prior to the passing of this law. On page 235 of the text Coakley explains that Title IX did more for women then just allowed them to play in sports. It was originally made for educational opportunities in schools, its many purpose was to eliminate gender-based barriers to all programs defined as "educational." He went on to state that when it was first passed it wasn't controversial, but when people realized that it could be applied to sports programs sparks flew. As a nation gender equity sounded good but the men running and already participating in sport did not support the idea of women being able to compete in the same sports as them. Me personally love the fact that women have the chance to compete like men even sometimes with them. If it wasn't for Title IX we wouldn't have female sports icons such as the Williams Sisters, Mia Hamm, Danica Patrick, Pat Summit, and many more (15 of the most influential women in sports).  These women show that even in a man-ruled sexist society they can do anything a man could maybe even better. In recent year you can also see that there has been a raise in support and popularity in female athletes and sports. 

Source: Vivian Stringer

Did you know that this year is the mark for the 40th year anniversary of Title IX? Just think 41 years ago if your would have said a female would be a Superstar athlete you probably would be laughed at, now one would ask which one are you talking about. One of Slippery Rock's own is a women's basketball icon as a coach (Rutgers University), Vivian Stringer. If it was wasn't for the rights Title IX gave women she would have never had the opportunity to accomplish the things that she has. Title IX is just another big step in history for the equality between men and women.

   How dos you feel about this, do you agree with Title IX or the men that thought it should have stayed the way it was?

Abuses in Intercollegiate Sports

There is a Violation on the Play

By: Brandon Akins

                                                            Source: Major Programs

In class on October 2, 2012 we learned about the abuses within' big-time division 1 programs. When you step back and think about the information i am going to provide you with it is quite disturbing because these are the programs that millions of people are infatuated with, little do they know about the dirty behind the clean face. First subject I want to touch on is illegal recruitment. This is all to present in college sports mostly in the men's basketball and football the two primary focuses of college sports because the potential revenue they can generate for schools, and they are the most popular because they are heavily televised. Coaches in recent years have been accused of illegal recruitment such as Lane Kiffin (USC), Urban Mayer (OSU), and many other well known D-1 coaches. USC being one of the most prestigious schools in the nation is seemingly the one with the most scandals of illegal infractions. Illegal recruitment consist of contacting players during grace periods or before they are allowed to due to ageand also recruiting players from other schools. It also includes promising recruits and there parents added external incentives other than the opportunity to play for there program (money, houses, cars, and other items). The second subject I want to talk about is the altering of grades for student-athletes and having other people do there work for them. Meredith Galante published an article "The 10 Biggest College Cheating Scandals" that highlighted the 10 biggest college cheating scandals within' colleges. Three out of the 10 biggest "cheating" scandals in college history involved college athletes in major D-1programs (use link to see the other seven). Programs such as Duke, Minnesota, and Florida State were the one's who made the cut. Now to say these are the only schools that are doing this type of thing would be outlanish, because coaches and college programs will do ANYTHING to keep there star players and most likely have the mindstate of its only cheating if you get caught. In the long run it hurts the athletes because they recieve a degree that they didnt earn which leaves them uneducated in their field. As for athletes that leave early and have to go back they are not athletes anymore so they have to do the solely by themselves and they aren't educated enough because they weren't doing there work in the first place. Now-a-days colleges sports are so glorified and revenue based it is almost like they are professionals and that is the only reason they are there. It's kinda sad when put into perspective because they really don't can about you just what you do/can for them. The last subject is the exploitation of athletes which is an extreme no-no in the world of college sports. This is because it ultimately gets the player and the school itself in a lot of trouble. If you can remember a few years back USC got hit hard in several sports within' several years for the exploitation of student athletes. Two of the more noteable figures of the scandals are Reggie Bush arguebly the greatest college football player ever and OJ Mayo a one and done superstar of the men's basketball team. Madison Gray does more in-depth about the situations in her article "USC Trojans Get Black Eye Over Reggie Bush Scandal".

On page 502 of the text Coakley makes a great point when says basketball players on big-time teams are classified as amateurs as they devote most of their college lives to their sport for scholarships fo $4000 to $25,000 per year. He then goes on to say how coaches how salary packages that average over $1 million a year and how coaches, AD's, and NCAA officials become wealthy from the loabr of these amateurs. The strongest part of his information is when he states that this hypocrisy intensifies the expectation of privilege among many athletes, which leads to them getting in trouble. Does this change your out look of your favorite collegiate sports teams?



Interscholastic Sports

Are they beneficial?

By: Brandon Akins

 

On September 27,2012 the topic of discussion in class was about High School Sports, we spoke about the arguments for and against, costs to participate, were they valuable, and the culture of H.S. sports. in recent years as like youth sports an on-going debate has began to brew about are High School Sports beneficial and are they worth the time and money. Now when it comes to the arguments for and against High School sports I would say I am more on the for side. This is because when you really compare them I think the arguments for out way the arguments against. Also I there are fallacies within' the arguments against because almost every claim against can be strongly contested. Here are some common claim's for and against interscholastic sports:

 

High School sports

 

For:	Against
·         Involves students in school activities and increases interest in academic activities.	·         Distracts students from academic activities and distorts values in school culture.
·         they build self-esteem, responsibility, achievement orientation, and teamwork skills	·         They perpetuate dependence, conformity,       and a power and performance Orientation that is no longer useful.
·         They foster fitness and stimulate interest in physical activities among students	·         They turn most students into passive spectators and cause too many serious injuries to athletes.
·         They generate spirit and unity and maintain the school as a viable organization.	·         They create a superficial, transitory spirit that is unrelated to educational goals.
·         They promote parental, alumni, and community support for school programs.	·         They deprive educational programs of resources, facilities, staff, and community support.
·         They give students opportunities to develop and display skills in activities valued in society and to be recognized for their competence.	·         They create pressure on athletes and support a hierarchical status system in which athletes are unfairly privileged over other students.

 



As you can see in the chart number one for both contradict each other one side says that sports help interest or focus on academics and the other side says it is a distraction. On page 473 of the text Coakley defends the for side when it comes to participation in sports and its affects of the nature of school. He states that studies in the United States consistently show that high school athletes as a group generally have higher grade point averages, more positive attitudes toward school, lower rates of absenteeism, more interest in attending college, more years of college completed, greater career success, and better health than students who don't play school-sponsored sports. I can also concur with this because of my experience being a high school student-athlete. These studies show those results because the athletes know if they don't stay on top of school work, go to school, and take their academic endeavors serious they can not participate in their sport anymore. So they put sport in the perspective that it is an incentive and/or reward for doing what they need to do when it comes to school. Teresa McEntire explains in here article "10 Benefits of Playing Sports" talks about how statistics show that kids who are involved in sports while in high school are more likely to experience academic success and graduate from high school. Then she goes on to state that sports can help develop teamwork and leadership skills. Young people quickly learn that they have to work together as a team if they want to achieve the common goal which is winning. She also touches on how research has found that young people that play sports, especially girls, are more likely to have a positive body image and higher self-esteem. They also are less likely to be overweight and face obesity issues. One aspect of High School sports that is often over looked is the social interaction part of it. A lot of friendships that are present in today's society are derived from sports. Even if they don't participate friends go to games together and show school spirit which is a bonding experience in itself. If schools didn't have High School sports it would take away from the culture of high school and the liveliness that it provides to school's auroras. Things like pep rallies for big games, homecoming week and game, fundraisers for sports teams, winning titles, gaining prestiege from successful sports programs are a HUGE part of the high school culture. Though there are strong points on both sides, which one do you side with?

Major Trends and problems in Youth Sports Today

Not just all benefits, the ugly truth

 By: Brandon Akins

    



Source: Youth Sports

On September 20 & 25, 2012, we spoke about the major trends and problems associated with youth sports in today's society. Now one would believe that because youth sports is at an all time high there is not much room for improvement, but there is research that proves youth sports is not as peachy as it seems. I myself was one that believed in there is much room for improvement for youth sports. After the discussion in class I began to link my own experiences with youth leagues in my hometown and saw that they hold true. In the article "A closer look at some trends in youth sport participation" by Ronald B. Woods, he provides a list of trends/problems in youth sport that go hand in hand with the trends/problems that Dr. Higgs provided us with in class.


These Lists consist of (coinciding points from both class discussion and article):

1. The over emphasis on winning - as time goes on there is an increasingly pressure on kids to  have tunnel vision on winning which takes away of the fun aspect of the game.

2. The pressure of external factors such as parents to achieve success - now days parents try to live vicariously through their children and hold dreams of stardom and push professional

endeavors.

3. Increase in the participation of alternative sports - kids have been moving away from the more traditional sports and have been engaging in skateboarding, in-line skating, snowboarding, and many other action sports that are based on individual success.

4. Increase in injuries - because America is a violent society it makes sense that football is now America's past time. So sports will naturally go with the trend and also become more intense, physical, and injury prone.

On page 127 of Coakley's text he talks about major trends that he saw where in youth sports, and on pages 142-147 he talks about some the issues he sees with youth sport also. Mr. Coakley and Mr. Woods saw eye to eye on a couple points. They both share common ground when they make the point about the increase in the participation in alternative sports. Mr. Coakley goes on to say that this means that many young people prefer unstructured, participant-controlled sports such as skateboarding, in-cline skating, snowboarding, BMX biking, Frisbee, jumping rope, and other physical activities that have local or regional relevance in their lives. Today's youth leagues or any league for that matter are heavily based on winning so they take any measure to achieve the sensation, so that means some might not get the opportunity to play. That's when they turn to these sports where competition is individually driven and actual participation is decided by them and not a coach. Mr. Woods and Mr. Coakley also agreed on the expenses it is costing the parents to have their children to participate in these youth sports. In the text it spoke on how some families can spend up to thousands of dollars for their children to participate in sports. Now personally I think this is an absurd amount of money just for your kids to participate in youth leagues but when you think about it if they didn't spend the money no one else would and you would see a massive decline in  sports. Its like a domino or chain effect sports wouldn't have any one to look forward too because they had to give up sports when they were young because their parents couldn't afford to keep them in it. Honestly, it could get better but studies show it will only get worse for youth sports.  Where do you see the future going for youth sports?