How Women View Athletes

Today in class we discussed Tiger Woods and his most recent win. The discussion focused on if this was the beginning of a comeback and if people have forgotten about his scandal. This then led to a discussion about whether women look more into the personal life of an athlete or if they are interested in the athlete and the game they play. This got me to think more about the subject and I wanted to find more insight from the class.

When the Tiger Woods scandal broke, I was saddened to see someone I considered a hero tell the whole world the truth about his life. I became a Tiger Woods fan when I was eight years old and did a book report on him. Everything about the way he grew up to how he found success was inspiring to me and I began to watch golf more regularly. He grew up from a young bachelor to a married family man and built this impeccable public image. In a matter of 24 hours that image was crushed and he not only lost a family and many sponsors, but also many fans. He also lost a lot of respect from the media and fans. Over the past three years he has worked to make himself a better man and a better golfer. I would say that the talk about Tiger’s private life stopped when his divorce was finalized and everything between he and Elin had been settled. The media also seemed to care less about his private life when it was discovered that Elin had moved on and began a new life for herself. With Tiger’s recent win everyone seemed to forget about the past and wanted to focus on the present and future.

As a woman, I am happy to see Tiger is back to winning and I hope that his career continues on the positive path. While it is hard to forget about his past, I can focus on his game and I am still a Tiger fan. For me an athlete’s personal life is different from the game. I am also a Josh Hamilton fan and even though he had a recent relapse with his sobriety I will still root for him this coming MLB season. My question is do you think women look more into an athlete’s personal life rather than his career? I was kind of offended when some suggested that a woman is not as focused on the game as a man is because I believe that to be a myth. I am focused on an athlete’s game and believe that anybody can make a comeback.

The Ideal Athletic Body

When we had the online class about the fat athlete and the ideal athletic body, the first player that came to mind was one of my favorite players. Alshon Jeffery, wide receiver from the University of South Carolina.

Let me start off by saying that Jeffery is a big guy. In his college playing days he was 6’4 and 230 pounds. When I first saw him play in high school, I couldn’t believe he was a receiver. He looked more like a linebacker or defensive end. Jeffery has never been a blazing fast receiver, but he is faster than your average receiver. He uses his big frame and leaping abilities against defenders to win the ball. Jeffery is simply a dominant receiver. When you add his above average speed and his leaping abilities to his 6’4 230 pound frame, you are going to have a stud.

In his sophomore season, Jeffery was arguably the best receiver in college football. After shattering SEC records, Jeffery was seen as possibly the next Calvin Johnson. Had he been draft eligible that season, many NFL scouts had him pegged as a top 10 pick and a better prospect than Julio Jones who went 6^th overall.

Jeffery was on the cover of Sports Illustrated for the 2011 college football preview. However, he appeared to be carrying some extra weight and had a gut. This instantly had the entire football community questioning his work ethic. Jeffery was the punch-line to many ‘fat’ jokes as a result. Jeffery lost the extra weight before the season started, but the damage was already done. He was already given the fat and lazy athlete tag. Despite having a great junior season, his draft stock was still shaky and his weight and work ethic was a major concern to scouts. He was told by scouts that an average receiver didn’t weigh 230 pounds, and he would have to lose at least 15 pounds before the NFL combine. Jeffery showed up to the combine at 215 pounds, losing the “required” 15 pounds. He didn’t participate in any workouts though. It was rumored that he was simply unable to perform any workouts because he was completely zapped of energy as a result of his weight loss strategies. Jeffery has said that he is highly motivated to keep the weight off and will perform some workouts at his South Carolina pro day. 

I have a few questions regarding this situation.

• Jeffery was 230 pounds in both his sophomore and junior seasons, so why was his weight a concern to scouts in his junior season, but not his sophomore?
• As I previously stated, Jeffery lost the gut he sported on SI before his junior season even started. So if he had not been on the cover of SI, would anyone have brought his work ethic and weight into question?
• Many would argue that what makes Jeffery such a good receiver is that he knows how to use his big frame to his advantage. Is it fair for them to tell him that he needs to lose 15 pounds to be a great NFL receiver? How will the weight loss affect his play?
• What makes NFL scouts think that a player cannot do well in the NFL based on their weight? Is there any truth to it, or are they just looking for the ideal athletic body? 

What is Sexism?

What is sexism? By definition, sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on sex or behavior, conditions, or attitudes that foster stereotypes of social roles based on sex (Merriam-Webster, 2011). The Don Imus incident with the Rutgers women's basketball  is one story that showcases sexism first hand with what was said and how the girls on the basketball team were viewed and treated from that point on. Imus is known for his rants and raves of controversy but none were bigger when he verbally abused and embarrassed the girls on that team. Sexism is a very touchy subject when sport is involved because public perception is women are inferior to men when it comes to sports. Men should be the ones playing it and women should do the more "feminine" work such as, reporting. In an article about the sexual allegations involving then Jets quarterback, Brett Favre, and his incident with Jets reporter, Jenn Sterger, it talks about how this is sexism and how the NFL should be aware of more cases like this one (Whitlock, 2010). In this case, Favre was alleged to have sent Sterger e-mails, picture messages, and voice mails on numerous occasions. Incidents like this one I feel is sexism that's right in front of everybody to see. There are more issues of sexism in sport but are not brought up in my opinion.

This raises questions about how sports such as football and basketball need to address certain issues involving sexism. As you know, women football coaches are very uncommon if any at all, would this be considered sexism? I feel, yes, this is a form of sexism which needs to be addressed in all major sports because there's going to come a time when a female wants to be a successful coach at some professional level which isn't common for a women to be in that spot.

What is it about Danica?

NASCAR is back, and I couldn't be happier. I've been looking forward to this year's season after the exciting finish to last year's. I watched the beginning of Speed Weeks by watching the Coors Shootout two weeks ago. The race itself was fantastic, perhaps the best Shootout I've ever watched. However, there was one thing that almost ruined it for me. Danica Mania. I knew that Danica Mania was going to hit NASCAR this season with her jumping to the Sprint Cup Series, but I wasn't expecting it to be this bad. Danica Patrick was not even competing in the Shootout, but she was still the hot topic for the night. FOX even brought her into the broadcast booth to commentate half the race!

I was beginning to get annoyed that she was the constant talk of the night. Then Darrell Waltrip brought up an interesting point about how Danica would be the first women since Shawna Robinson in 2002 to compete in the Daytona 500. That made me think...why wasn't Shawn Robinson a big deal when she was competing in the Winston Cup Series? I remember watching that 2002 Daytona 500, and Shawna Robinson's name was rarely brought up during the race, if ever. Then I recalled other female drivers that have competed in NASCAR. Shawna Robinson, Patty Moise, Erin Crocker, Tammy Jo Kirk, and Jennifer Jo Cobb, just to name a few, all competed in either the Grand National or the Cup Series, but none of them get nearly as much attention as Danica Patrick. Danica first started racing in the IRL, and she completely overshadowed fellow female driver Sarah Fisher. Danica has never won a points race in any level of professional racing. One could argue that her performance in the IRL was on par with Sarah Fisher, who is unknown to the general public. Her performance in the NASCAR Nationwide series has been below average with a career average finish of 28th. It is obvious it is not her on-track results that are making her so popular. So what is it?

Soldiers continue to play sports despite their disabilities

Over the past week, in class we have discussed sports that are catered to athletes with disabilities as well as athletes who overcome their numerous obstacles to still play sports. One of the first things we talked about was our involvement with sports for those with disabilities, including watching or keeping track of the sports and athletes. Many, including myself, admitted to not paying as much attention. Many of us were aware of athletes who have disabilities, but many of them play sports with those who aren’t disabled. This attracted much media attention, which catches our eyes and we become aware. One of the subjects I wanted to look into was the increase of sports and tournaments that help keep athletes active when they have a disability. One of the fastest growing sport organizations are those that focus on keeping our soldiers active after they suffer a disability fighting for our freedom.

When researching this topic I have found that many of our military branches have started to create programs for soldiers and veterans to come together and compete against each other in various sports. One program created by the United States Marine Corps grabbed my attention; their Warrior Athlete Reconditioning (WAR) program helps create organized sporting tournaments with other military branches. The goal of the WAR program is to keep soldiers active and accomplish physical fitness goals while competing with peers going through the same situation. Those participating within the program are required to compete in one sport for a 12-week period, which includes wheelchair basketball, sitting volleyball, running/track and field and other sports. Once a soldier has completed their 12-week period and has achieved their goals they are able choose from a large variety of sports, such as surfing, martial arts, scuba diving, tennis, skiing and many more.

This past November a wheelchair basketball tournament was held for wounded warriors in the Marine Corps and Navy. The goal of the tournament was to remind everyone that a wound or injury doesn’t slow down anyone who is wounded. The focus of the tournament was for wounded warriors to show that they wanted to move on with their “new normal” and not dwell on their past life without a disability.

Reading these articles made me think about how much courage it takes to face your disability like these servicemen have. If I was faced with a disability that altered the way I play sports, I think it would be really difficult to face and I might not even play sports again. It also made me think about the lack of sports programs we have for those that focus on athletes with disabilities and how they are not promoted enough. The military knows that camaraderie is the key for a soldier to adjust to their new life, and by creating organized sports for those with disabilities the adjustments are not as scary or challenging. However, how many programs are there for everyday civilians who are faced with a disability? This is a problem with society and we only focus on such events every four years because the Paralympics follow the Olympics. This past weeks class has brought to my attention that we need to start focusing on all athletes and give them an opportunity to play.

Warrior Athlete Reconditioning program

Wounded Warrior wheelchair basketball

Oscar Pistorius: "The fastest man on no legs"

An athlete with a disability is a topic we have discussed in the recent class and I wanted to find a story about an athlete who breaks the mold and competes with able-bodied athletes. Oscar Pistorius is one of those athletes where if you don't see him perform then you won't believe the story. Pistorius is an Olympic sprinter for South Africa and holds records for a double amputee in the 100, 200, and 400 meter events. He has also participated in able-bodied events such as the 2011 IAAF World Championships which is an event potentially to qualify for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. He wants to be the first disabled athlete to qualify for the Olympics. There was dispute on whether or not he had an advantage over able-bodied sprinters and Pistorius was put through a series of scientific tests to see if he did indeed have an advantage.

After hearing about how he was put through these tests because of how well he was performing against athletes with both legs, it brought many questions I have about how people view athlete's with disabilities. For the most part people see athletes with disabilities as individual's who need to compete with other athletes with disabilities because they'd be at a disadvantage if performing against able-bodied athletes. But when an athlete with a disability is good enough to perform better than some able-bodied athletes people jump to the conclusion that there is some type of advantage this athlete is getting because of the prosthetic limbs. There's been other stories like this where athletes compete at a level in which people seem to think it's impossible and want to find out answers through science. 

When coming back to the Olympics and how he wants be the first disabled athlete to qualify ever, it raises discussion. If Pistorius was to qualify for the Olympics in a sprint event, how would the media cover this story? Also, do you think it was right for people to raise questions on whether he had an advantage against able-bodied sprinters?

New York Times Article


Oscar Pistorius Official Website

Why do women collegiate athletes take a back seat to men?

Why do women collegiate athletes take a back seat to the men athletes? This question can easily relate to the blog Alli posted last week. However, this involves attendance at sporting events rather than television coverage. I was curious to see what peoples thoughts were on the trend of women's collegiate athletic events not being as popular among fans and students as the men's sporting events. One of the first things that popped into my mind was the UConn women's basketball team. The team recently went two consecutive seasons undefeated and won two consecutive National Championships, but I recall hearing some controversy during their historic winning streak on the lack of support and attendance at their games. 


In 2010, Grace Malloy wrote an article in UConn's The Daily Campus about this very issue surrounding its women's basketball team. The article was titled "Women's Basketball Team Under Appreciated." In her article, she says "The women's team puts in an enormous amount of time, effort and focus to be the best. They deserve a strong, faithful following of UConn students for their work. Unfortunately, not enough has materialized" (Malloy, 2010). When talking about the the support for the men's team, Malloy goes on to say "At every game, the stands are packed. Students arrive at Gampel hours early to get good seats. It's important that the men's team receive this support, but why is there so much more support for them, especially when the women have been doing significantly better?" This question is a fair one to ask. At the time of this article, UConn had the by far the best women's team in college basketball, and an average men's team. It is commonly known that fans are more likely to go to games when the team is winning. Why is that no the case for the women's team? History was being made by the women's team, and it was still taking a back seat to the less successful men's team. Malloy wanted to find the answer to this, so she asked around campus. She said her results ended up like this: "The reason I've heard from countless guys is that the women's team isn't actually better than the men's. They say that the women play easier teams compared to the teams that the men play, and that's why the women have won two consecutive national championships. But really, is this arguement valid? The fact remains that the women have won the past 78 games straight, most of them by huge margins. It is the longest winning streak in women's college basketball history" (Malloy, 2010). Malloy then went on to question why women fans were attending more men's games than women's games. She has this to say: "The fact that so many girls passionately cheer on the players of the men's team, while largely ignoring the success of their fellow women, is insulting. Why don't more girls at UConn recognize the need to support the women's team with the same fervor? One would think that, as women, they'd understand the frustration of being under appreciated and that they'd admire the success of the women's team" (Malloy, 2010).


Malloy also left us with some more questions concerning this topic. What would it take for the women's team to get more recognition? Is the under-appreciation simply a result of the women's team not having as much talent as the men's team, or is it a result of something more complex? Is is possible that the success of the women's team poises a threat to the men's team? 


Women's Basketball Team Under Appreciated