While racism has altered dramatically within the past century, the past defines the present and helps mold the future, and therefore, racism still resides in today's world and won't shift gears anytime soon. Regardless of the growing efforts to appease racism within social constructs, such as that of sports, the process of altering society's perspectives cannot be achieved overnight. Although one may deny being judgmental towards specific groups of people, racism is embedded deep within the mind. Therefore, an unconscious slur said in the heat of the moment can soon enough become deeply regrettable after processing the wretchedness of the comment. This is precisely what happened for two English Premier League footballers, John Terry and Luis Suarez, who have been recently charged for making racist remarks on camera. On the topic, Steve Waugh tried to argue in defense of these players by admitting that "these days there is very little racism on the field and I think when it does happen it becomes big news because it is such a rarity." But that is farthest from the truth. As Boris Becker more accurately diagnosed, "The role of an athlete today is very different than it was 10 or 20 years ago. When you become a professional athlete, yes your sport is important, but your behavior is as important. Yes it's important to score the winning goal but unfortunately sometimes it's more important what you say after in a news conference." Athletes are expected to put up a front at all times of the day because they are constantly watched and criticized. But although John Terry and Luis Suarez are only two of the many professional athletes who have been charged of racial slurs, does not mean they are the only ones guilty of this. Present in every culture and in every social construct/environment, racism is a global issue.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Racism in Sports
Is racism a widespread problem in sports?
While racism has altered dramatically within the past century, the past defines the present and helps mold the future, and therefore, racism still resides in today's world and won't shift gears anytime soon. Regardless of the growing efforts to appease racism within social constructs, such as that of sports, the process of altering society's perspectives cannot be achieved overnight. Although one may deny being judgmental towards specific groups of people, racism is embedded deep within the mind. Therefore, an unconscious slur said in the heat of the moment can soon enough become deeply regrettable after processing the wretchedness of the comment. This is precisely what happened for two English Premier League footballers, John Terry and Luis Suarez, who have been recently charged for making racist remarks on camera. On the topic, Steve Waugh tried to argue in defense of these players by admitting that "these days there is very little racism on the field and I think when it does happen it becomes big news because it is such a rarity." But that is farthest from the truth. As Boris Becker more accurately diagnosed, "The role of an athlete today is very different than it was 10 or 20 years ago. When you become a professional athlete, yes your sport is important, but your behavior is as important. Yes it's important to score the winning goal but unfortunately sometimes it's more important what you say after in a news conference." Athletes are expected to put up a front at all times of the day because they are constantly watched and criticized. But although John Terry and Luis Suarez are only two of the many professional athletes who have been charged of racial slurs, does not mean they are the only ones guilty of this. Present in every culture and in every social construct/environment, racism is a global issue.
While racism has altered dramatically within the past century, the past defines the present and helps mold the future, and therefore, racism still resides in today's world and won't shift gears anytime soon. Regardless of the growing efforts to appease racism within social constructs, such as that of sports, the process of altering society's perspectives cannot be achieved overnight. Although one may deny being judgmental towards specific groups of people, racism is embedded deep within the mind. Therefore, an unconscious slur said in the heat of the moment can soon enough become deeply regrettable after processing the wretchedness of the comment. This is precisely what happened for two English Premier League footballers, John Terry and Luis Suarez, who have been recently charged for making racist remarks on camera. On the topic, Steve Waugh tried to argue in defense of these players by admitting that "these days there is very little racism on the field and I think when it does happen it becomes big news because it is such a rarity." But that is farthest from the truth. As Boris Becker more accurately diagnosed, "The role of an athlete today is very different than it was 10 or 20 years ago. When you become a professional athlete, yes your sport is important, but your behavior is as important. Yes it's important to score the winning goal but unfortunately sometimes it's more important what you say after in a news conference." Athletes are expected to put up a front at all times of the day because they are constantly watched and criticized. But although John Terry and Luis Suarez are only two of the many professional athletes who have been charged of racial slurs, does not mean they are the only ones guilty of this. Present in every culture and in every social construct/environment, racism is a global issue.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment