At first, when the blog assignments was first given to us, it seemed like a daunting task. Choosing a topic and basically writing a paper on it each and every week of the semester seemed near impossible and torturous. First came the agonizing step, which it really was agonizing, of choosing what to write about. There was almost nothing that would seem to keep me interested for an entire semester. I really didn’t decide until the day that our first blog was due, on that day I chose to write about sports. My decision to choose sports is very telling, when all else fails I can always talk about sports.
Through out the whole blog process, I have not learned much that I hadn’t already read. About the only time I read is if it has to do with sports, like Sports Illustrated, or ESPN. The main thing I have learned through out this process is little statistics about certain issues. Such as; 3,114,091 girls and 4,422,662 boys participating in high school sports in 2008-09 (NFHS.org). 3 to 6 percent of high school students have at least tried Anabolic Steroids (New York Times). Also through deep research I have gained a better knowledge on Title IX and the effects it had upon colleges. I also learned that Title IX was part of an overall bill the made it illegal to discriminate based on a persons sex. I feel like I have a very good grip on the sports aspect, because of prior background knowledge and through research for this blog.
Since sports is such a general topic there are many more ways I can take this blog. There is not much at the moment that I have a thirst to figure out. A real inspiration for the topics that are covered in this blog come from current event in the sports world. When one really strikes an interest I write about it, like the concussion issue, and the Title IX issue. One issue that elicits strong opinoins from everyone is the aspect of private schools dominating the Western Slope 3a sports teams. This is an issue that I will wrtie about before semesters end. I am also going to try and stay away from blatant topics that are can not cause debate. All in all I am glad I chose the topic I did. It has helped tremendously.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Title IX
Through out the early 1970s and before it was not uncommon to see discrimination based on ones gender. In 1975 President Ford set in place Title IX in order to end discrimination based on someone's gender in athletics. Title IX seemed to be passed just to appease women and now it is having consequences. Though Title IX was intended to end discrimination, which it did, it hasn’t quite lived up to what it has promised. Title IX is terrible for collegiate sports. Title IX is bad for college sports for a couple of reasons. One reason being that Title IX requires schools to cut funding, and entire programs, to ensure that women have an equal opportunity. Another reason is that when schools cut funding for a sport it ends up coming from the football program which is the highest revenue college sport. A third reason is that it was created to end gender discrimination against women, but what it really did was create gender discrimination against men.
Title IX is bad for college sports because it causes programs to be cut to make room for women's programs. From 1981 to 2005 mens sports have seen a decrease in participants and programs. In that time period men’s athletes have decreased 6 percent (usatoday). Teams per school have also dropped, from 9.1 to 7.8 that is a decrease of 17 percent (usatoday). Also since the birth of Title IX many specific men’s programs have been dropped to make room for women's teams. 181 wrestling teams have been cut, 56 men’s gymnastics programs have been cut in order to be in compliance of Title IX (CBS). A major university recently in the news, for cutting teams in order to meet Title IX requirements is University of California. The University of California has dropped men’s rugby, baseball, and gymnastics in order to make room for the Title IX requirements as a result a total 118 student athletes will loose their varsity sport (Sfgate.com). This gives the University of California just enough room to play to meet the Title IX requirements. As you can see Title IX is harmful to college sports.
Another reason why Title IX is does more harm than good is that it takes funds away from college football programs, which is the highest revenue sport in college athletics. Many school administrators, and antagonists of Title IX, argue that there should be three genders in college male, female, and football. Football is the king of college sports, and when funding is cut from football then the football teams will make less money for their school. Notre Dame itself is the king of college football, in terms of how much the football program is worth. The Notre Dame Football program is worth an estimated 97 million dollars. 23.5 million of that 97 million dollars is contributed to the non football sports at the school (forbes.com). If funding is cut for the football team it causes and cause and effect case, and ends up costing the entire sports programs (mens and women's) money.
A third reason why Title IX is harmful for college sports is because it causes discrimination towards men. One reason it causes discrimination towards men is because their are more women than men, on average, in colleges around the country. Which means that, according to Title IX, there should be more women than men competing in college sports. This means that there actually has to be enough women to be interested and good enough to compete in college sports. When there is not enough women it means that the men suffer because Title IX does not allow a surplus of mens sports. In essence TItle IX does the reverse of what it was intended to do, yes it does give women an opportunity to women, but in doing so it allows for discrimination of men. Dale Anderson, who is an attorney for the Reform and Oversight Committee in D.C says that “ if 55 percent of the students in a university are female (the national average), then the percentage of female athletes must be 55 percent. In order to achieve this absurd quota, educational administrators are simply dumping male athletes” (deeperintosports.com). By just “simply dumping male athletes” Title IX is achieving the opposite of what it was trying to achieve.
As you can see, Title IX is a harmful regulation on college sports. Though it was created for a good purpose, it has not done exactly what it should have. Title IX had made schools cut teams just to make room for women's sports. It also has cut funding to football programs which gives large amounts of its revenues to non football sports at their universities. Also Title IX has created opportunities for women, but has caused discrimination towards men in the process.
Crumpacker, John. "Cal cuts sports: baseball, gymnastics, lacrosse - SFGate." Featured Articles From The SFGate. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2010. <http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-09-29/news/24102128_1_female-athletes-college-athletics-rugby>.
Garber, Greg. "ESPN.com: GEN - Title IX always open to interpretation." ESPN: The Worldwide Leader In Sports. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2010. <http://espn.go.com/gen/womenandsports/020619interpret.html>.
"In Pictures: Ranking The 20 Most Valuable College Football Teams - Forbes.com." Forbes.com - Business News, Financial News, Stock Market Analysis, Technology & Global Headline News. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2010. <http://www.forbes.com/2007/11/20/notre-dame-fooball-biz-sports-cx_ps_1120collegeball_slide_2.html?thisSpeed=15000>.
Porpora, Gary. "Title IX No Gender Equality Women's Sports | Deep Into Sports." Deep Into Sports - MLB NFL NBA NHL NCAA PGA Olympics Tennis. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2010. <http://www.deepintosports.com/2009/07/07/title-ix-no-gender-equality-women-sports/>.
Title IX is bad for college sports because it causes programs to be cut to make room for women's programs. From 1981 to 2005 mens sports have seen a decrease in participants and programs. In that time period men’s athletes have decreased 6 percent (usatoday). Teams per school have also dropped, from 9.1 to 7.8 that is a decrease of 17 percent (usatoday). Also since the birth of Title IX many specific men’s programs have been dropped to make room for women's teams. 181 wrestling teams have been cut, 56 men’s gymnastics programs have been cut in order to be in compliance of Title IX (CBS). A major university recently in the news, for cutting teams in order to meet Title IX requirements is University of California. The University of California has dropped men’s rugby, baseball, and gymnastics in order to make room for the Title IX requirements as a result a total 118 student athletes will loose their varsity sport (Sfgate.com). This gives the University of California just enough room to play to meet the Title IX requirements. As you can see Title IX is harmful to college sports.
Another reason why Title IX is does more harm than good is that it takes funds away from college football programs, which is the highest revenue sport in college athletics. Many school administrators, and antagonists of Title IX, argue that there should be three genders in college male, female, and football. Football is the king of college sports, and when funding is cut from football then the football teams will make less money for their school. Notre Dame itself is the king of college football, in terms of how much the football program is worth. The Notre Dame Football program is worth an estimated 97 million dollars. 23.5 million of that 97 million dollars is contributed to the non football sports at the school (forbes.com). If funding is cut for the football team it causes and cause and effect case, and ends up costing the entire sports programs (mens and women's) money.
A third reason why Title IX is harmful for college sports is because it causes discrimination towards men. One reason it causes discrimination towards men is because their are more women than men, on average, in colleges around the country. Which means that, according to Title IX, there should be more women than men competing in college sports. This means that there actually has to be enough women to be interested and good enough to compete in college sports. When there is not enough women it means that the men suffer because Title IX does not allow a surplus of mens sports. In essence TItle IX does the reverse of what it was intended to do, yes it does give women an opportunity to women, but in doing so it allows for discrimination of men. Dale Anderson, who is an attorney for the Reform and Oversight Committee in D.C says that “ if 55 percent of the students in a university are female (the national average), then the percentage of female athletes must be 55 percent. In order to achieve this absurd quota, educational administrators are simply dumping male athletes” (deeperintosports.com). By just “simply dumping male athletes” Title IX is achieving the opposite of what it was trying to achieve.
As you can see, Title IX is a harmful regulation on college sports. Though it was created for a good purpose, it has not done exactly what it should have. Title IX had made schools cut teams just to make room for women's sports. It also has cut funding to football programs which gives large amounts of its revenues to non football sports at their universities. Also Title IX has created opportunities for women, but has caused discrimination towards men in the process.
Crumpacker, John. "Cal cuts sports: baseball, gymnastics, lacrosse - SFGate." Featured Articles From The SFGate. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2010. <http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-09-29/news/24102128_1_female-athletes-college-athletics-rugby>.
Garber, Greg. "ESPN.com: GEN - Title IX always open to interpretation." ESPN: The Worldwide Leader In Sports. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2010. <http://espn.go.com/gen/womenandsports/020619interpret.html>.
"In Pictures: Ranking The 20 Most Valuable College Football Teams - Forbes.com." Forbes.com - Business News, Financial News, Stock Market Analysis, Technology & Global Headline News. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2010. <http://www.forbes.com/2007/11/20/notre-dame-fooball-biz-sports-cx_ps_1120collegeball_slide_2.html?thisSpeed=15000>.
Porpora, Gary. "Title IX No Gender Equality Women's Sports | Deep Into Sports." Deep Into Sports - MLB NFL NBA NHL NCAA PGA Olympics Tennis. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2010. <http://www.deepintosports.com/2009/07/07/title-ix-no-gender-equality-women-sports/>.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Concussions
We all know that the concussions have made headline news recently throughout the sports world, especially in football. Where the NFL has reportedly had 53 players diagnosed with concussion (Sports Illustrated 37). The NFL has fought to make football a safer game. But some players think that takes away from what football really is. Is it possible to change the culture of such a historically violent sport? A sport where down to it’s inner core is renowned for the violence it impacts on human beings. A sport that glorified the vicious hits done by its players. The NFL has sought to change the mindset and culture of the game. Some people within the game welcome the change, others find it a horrendous idea though up by the power hungry NFL commissioner.
The main concern that has been brought up with concussions is the chance for permanently damaging a persons brain. The NFL has sought to reduce the number of concussions in it’s sport. They have done this by trying to change the culture of football, by imposing fines on the players that produce the lethal hits that we all have seen. Many players have a strong animosity towards this new rule “It’s a sad day for the sport.” said Ryan Clark Steelers Safety, referring to the new rules imposing fines on players making vicious hits (Sports Illustrated 36). Kevin Mawae Players Union President said that “The skirts need to be taken off in NFL offices.” (Sports Illustrated 36) A former NFL player and current ESPN NFL analyst Mark Schlereth, ranted about the move the NFL was making, and is adamant about calling it a hypocritical league. He argues that the NFL makes money off oh these glorified hits and now they are imposing fines on the very players that have made them millions (usatoday.com). He argues that it is just the speed that the players play the game at that creates these violent hits. "You can't take the NFL and what we do and eliminate contact," he said. "The game of football is about going out there and separating the man from the ball. Going out there and playing hard. It's reaction. The players are so fast, so big and so strong. It happens in a moment's notice. It's not like players are saying, 'Watch me try to decapitate someone.' "(usatoday.com) Schlereth also states that if you take the contact out of the game that all the NFL has on it’s hands is soccer, and that is not what made the NFL the most popular sport in the country.
Like all other issues there is another side to this. The other side of this applauds the NFL in its attempt to change the violent culture of the game. Many doctors are know the effects of brain damage and are glad to see this rule be enforced more strictly. Dr. Ann McKee has examined the brains of past NFL players and has time and time again seen Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). She has never seen the occurrence of CTE’s in a brain that has not had the repetitive violent hits of Football. Recent studies have shown that it is not just the big violent hits that cause brain trauma but the constant repetitive hitting does as well. Many parent and doctors are happy to see the NFL take the matter of human brains seriously. Hopefully this will lead to more and more football teams below the NFL to take head injuries more seriously.
Mark Schlereth comments: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SMavliBT38&feature=related
Epstein, David . "The Damage Done." Sports Illustrated 1 Nov. 2010: 42-47. Print.
King, Peter . "Concussions." Sports Illustrated 1 Nov. 2010: 34-41. Print.
"Mark Schlereth: NFL a 'hypocrite league' with unfair punishment of James Harrison - The Huddle: Football News from the NFL - USATODAY.com." News, Travel, Weather, Entertainment, Sports, Technology, U.S. & World - USATODAY.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Nov. 2010. <http://content.usatoday.com/communities/thehuddle/post/2010/10/mark-schlereth-nfl-a-hypocrite-league-with-unfair-punishment-of-james-harrison/1>.
The main concern that has been brought up with concussions is the chance for permanently damaging a persons brain. The NFL has sought to reduce the number of concussions in it’s sport. They have done this by trying to change the culture of football, by imposing fines on the players that produce the lethal hits that we all have seen. Many players have a strong animosity towards this new rule “It’s a sad day for the sport.” said Ryan Clark Steelers Safety, referring to the new rules imposing fines on players making vicious hits (Sports Illustrated 36). Kevin Mawae Players Union President said that “The skirts need to be taken off in NFL offices.” (Sports Illustrated 36) A former NFL player and current ESPN NFL analyst Mark Schlereth, ranted about the move the NFL was making, and is adamant about calling it a hypocritical league. He argues that the NFL makes money off oh these glorified hits and now they are imposing fines on the very players that have made them millions (usatoday.com). He argues that it is just the speed that the players play the game at that creates these violent hits. "You can't take the NFL and what we do and eliminate contact," he said. "The game of football is about going out there and separating the man from the ball. Going out there and playing hard. It's reaction. The players are so fast, so big and so strong. It happens in a moment's notice. It's not like players are saying, 'Watch me try to decapitate someone.' "(usatoday.com) Schlereth also states that if you take the contact out of the game that all the NFL has on it’s hands is soccer, and that is not what made the NFL the most popular sport in the country.
Like all other issues there is another side to this. The other side of this applauds the NFL in its attempt to change the violent culture of the game. Many doctors are know the effects of brain damage and are glad to see this rule be enforced more strictly. Dr. Ann McKee has examined the brains of past NFL players and has time and time again seen Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). She has never seen the occurrence of CTE’s in a brain that has not had the repetitive violent hits of Football. Recent studies have shown that it is not just the big violent hits that cause brain trauma but the constant repetitive hitting does as well. Many parent and doctors are happy to see the NFL take the matter of human brains seriously. Hopefully this will lead to more and more football teams below the NFL to take head injuries more seriously.
Mark Schlereth comments: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SMavliBT38&feature=related
Epstein, David . "The Damage Done." Sports Illustrated 1 Nov. 2010: 42-47. Print.
King, Peter . "Concussions." Sports Illustrated 1 Nov. 2010: 34-41. Print.
"Mark Schlereth: NFL a 'hypocrite league' with unfair punishment of James Harrison - The Huddle: Football News from the NFL - USATODAY.com." News, Travel, Weather, Entertainment, Sports, Technology, U.S. & World - USATODAY.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Nov. 2010. <http://content.usatoday.com/communities/thehuddle/post/2010/10/mark-schlereth-nfl-a-hypocrite-league-with-unfair-punishment-of-james-harrison/1>.
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