Final Thoughts

With this being my last blog post of the semester, I figured I should just discuss some thoughts I've had during the course of this class. To begin with, I had no idea how many ethical issues we have in sports today when I first started this class. We basically learned the following:

• America is fat.
• Athletes are still doping.
• Female athletes are starting to look like male athletes.
• Football might be getting too dangerous.

Of course we went into way more detail than just four bulleted points. But these were the main ideas. Watching Supersize Me showed us the horrible effects of an unhealthy lifestyle. Talking about performance enhancing drugs informed us that unethical behavior is starting to deviate from the norm so much as to athletes are forced to conform. Seeing pictures of Lenda Murphy versus Katie Stam showed us the extremely large range of acceptable physical appearances. And finally, hearing about CTE and the punch drunk syndrome informed us that football has been proven to be awful for one's health in the long run. It is amazing to see what the world of sports is struggling with these days. And we know there will be even more problems in the years to come. 

So the other night I was sitting on my couch, flipping back and forth between the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show and college basketball games. Hello, epiphany. Despite all of these problems in sports today, there are a large number of us that aren't affected by any of it. I'm an athletic female college student who can live in a world where it is acceptable to watch a fashion show and a basketball game in one night. Of course I have opinions about ethical behavior in sports and how things should be done. But in the end, you have to be able to look at the positive sides. 

Sports at all levels today are very competitive, provide entertainment, and provide opportunities for all ages. We should be thankful for what it has given us to this day. I am so glad that I had the opportunity to take this class and learn about what we are dealing with. It will be very interesting to see how everything pans out in the next 50 years.

Cam for Heisman

Here's the super short story of Cam Newton.

Committed to the University of Florida---arrested for stealing and obstruction of justice--kicked out.

Transferred to Blinn JuCo---ranked number one quarterback in JuCo's.

Transferred to Auburn University---competing for an SEC championship.

This kid has come a long way. After facing all of these felony charges and now this eligibility controversy? He participated in unethical behavior early in his college career but soon learned that it is not acceptable. He has completely turned his life around. He realized that attending an elite academic school while also competing at a division I university for football is what is important to him. And you can clearly see his transformation in his stats for this year in college football. Ranked #2 in the BCS and playing for an SEC championship. Not to mention he's won plenty of individual awards over the past 3 years. He has single-handedly turned his life around and for that, I commend. So I end this post by saying:

Cam for Heisman

Bron Bron

Okay, so I have been waiting for this moment all season: when Lebron and the Heat play at Cleveland. To start off this post, I AM A HUGE LEBRON FAN. Say what you will, but the man is a legend and ultimately he made the best personal decision by moving to Miami.

So last night was the Cavs/Heat matchup. There has been story after story on ESPN all week about this. What will happen? Who will win? How are the Cleveland fans going to treat "the former King James"? I was watching Outside the Lines this week and they were discussing a fan page that was created by Cavs fans about what they planned to do during the game. They listed things such as burning his jersey, chanting, yelling profanities when he touched the ball, etc.

How is this considered ethical behavior? This is a topic that hits me hard because I honestly have no idea how this is accepted. Sure, Lebron maybe might have over-exaggerated his switch to Miami, but really? This is how you respond? This legend made his mark in Cleveland, was the reason people cheered for the Cavs. By the sales of just his jersey alone, he single-handedly improved the Cleveland economy. Y'all are just upset because your best player decided to do what was best for him and move to a team that he can actually play with and not just for.

And also, Dan Gilbert, owner of the Cavs. The letter he published to Cleveland fans after Lebron made the switch? Come on, man. This action was just plain classless. You should be focused on what the next step is instead of starting a riot against the best player in the NBA. It amazes me how so much unethical behavior can come out of a single situation, especially from people high up in the organization.

These people need to move on. Maybe if you would have drafted some players to actually help out Lebron at Cleveland, then he wouldn't have left. We all know that he is a great player but it is impossible for one player to win a championship alone. He needed to be somewhere that he could rely on some teammates to help him out. Lebron will ALWAYS be a King in my eyes.

Is football an option for our kids?

In one of our discussion sections, we talked about how dangerous sports have become over the past years. It has gotten to the point where parents today are keeping their children from playing starting at early ages. Some students in class talked about how their high school sport injuries had kept them from competing at the next level. Too many concussions, blew out their knee, etc. So many horrible accidents are coming from an activity that we all love to do.

I had a similar experience. I played varsity soccer at Lake Travis High School, a 4A powerhouse that made it to the state finals my junior year. I also played simultaneously for Lonestar Soccer Club on the second team year-round. This is a lot of soccer and I loved every minute of it; however, it might have been a little too much. After suffering from a huge knee injury, I had to decide whether reconstructive surgery would be worth it. I very much had the potential to play in college but after seeing the dangers of any and all sports, I had to decide to just focus on my academics and play soccer on the side for fun. This was a heartbreaking decision for me. Soccer had been my life every since I was 4 years old. Although it might not have been something I was excited about giving up, it ended up being the right choice. I am currently super healthy and injury-free while still being able to play intramural soccer.

These types of situations are crucial to examine because they could make or break your future as well as your health.

Collegiate Sports - Week 11

In one of the last weeks of lecture, we discussed a topic that we could easily relate to: collegiate sports. As students at one of the most elite schools in the nation, we take our collegiate sports very seriously.

We take so much pride in the abilities of our sports teams here at the University of Texas. I actually talked about this same topic in my sport sociology class. Our professor asked us how our college experience would be different at UT if we didn't have sports. Most, if not all of us, responded "we wouldn't even be at this university if there were no varsity sports." Personally, I chose to come here because of our strong athletics program. Of course I also wanted a terrific education but our football team was a huge decision-making factor when deciding where I was going to go to college. 

Every athletic department has their own mission statement to inform student-athletes, the university community, and the citizens of the state of Texas what they value. As we progress into the future, we become more focused on graduating our athletes. This is a positive step in the right direction. It is understood that there will be athletes who are good enough to make it to the next level professionally and won't necessarily "need" to graduate; however, there are top universities everywhere that are encouraging these athletes to finish. This looks great for the graduation success rate and academic progress rate. 

Vince Young is a great example for this. He is a tremendous athlete that was more than capable of making his sport into a professional career. Although he took this route, somewhere along the path he realized that an education is a very important thing to have; therefore, he came back to UT and finished out his degree. 

Violence Sport - Week 10

Have sports become too violent today that we have been forced to question the ethics of the game? We've gotten to a point where we fight precious animals in order to win bets and become competitive. To me, this is completely ridiculous. How has this become acceptable and how is it appropriate in certain cultures:

Personally, I am a huge fan of Michael Vick (his athletics side, of course). I don't judge his personal actions when I'm cheering for him on Sundays; however, when I think about all of his unethical behavior, I can't help but become less of a fan. It is just ridiculous to me how people can deviate so far from cultural norms. By underconforming, Vick ignored the rules and therefore suffered the consequences.

Recent studies of collegiate football players showed an association between multiple concussions and reduced cognitive performance, prolonged recovery, and the increased likelihood of subsequent concussions. These blood sports and violent behavior violate the ethical principles of beneficence and justice. Sport becomes a form of war and forces you to objectify yourself. It will be interesting to see how much more (or less) violence in sport will become in the next 50 years.

Sports and the Cold War - Week 9

We had a guest lecturer this week, Dr. Hunt. He did a great job of informing us about the world of sports during the Cold War. The main point that caught my attention is whether or not we should focus on mass fitness or elite competitiveness. Physical inactivity had started to become a huge problem because there were many young Americans who failed to pass the military fitness test. Also, the Kraus-Weber tests portrayed how unhealthy America is. There were 60% of US children who failed this test whereas Europe only had 9% fail.

John F. Kennedy became very interested in this and decided to fix the problem. He chose to enforce the idea of mass fitness aka start from the bottom and work our way up. By encouraging everyone to do at least the minimum amount of physical activity, we would be able to work towards elite competitiveness. I completely agree with this theory. By implementing a simple exercise program, we can start with younger generations and hopefully increase the health and well-being of our future.

Race and Sport - Week 8

One of the most important issues in sport today is the number of opportunities offered to all races. We watched a movie in class that was fascinating about Jackie Robinson. This particular African American baseball player excelled in football, basketball, track, golf and swimming too.  He had the most modest personality of all.  Despite much racism in baseball, he always maintained composure. All races loved him. Branch Rickey of the Dodgers made him the 1^st black ball player in the major leagues. He was seen as “unconquerable” and instantly became the nation's famous baseball player.

So after hearing stories like Jackie's, we ask how has race in sport changed over the past 100 years? Do we still honor athletes based on their natural ability and not their race? I believe that we have come a long way. Careers in sports today are offered to not only just white males but to those who are qualified. Of course we will always have issues with diversity and discrimination, but how else can we learn and improve our ways? By experiencing challenges like this, we are able to better society in many different ways.

Gender and the Body - Week 7

This week's lecture was by far my favorite. The main reason being that we were able to see how gender is viewed in sport by taking a class poll. We discussed the muscle problem among women's bodies by asking what is and is not acceptable in today's society. Modern media continues to play a role in criticizing strength in women. Over time, myths began to stir regarding women and strength. Some of these include: that women are physiologically different and inferior; that women should do different types of exercises than men do; and finally, that strength is both "unfeminine" and symbolic of "lower class" women.

It is amazing to me how athletes care so much about their performance that they will do anything it takes, even if this means distorting their body to become the best. In my opinion, I wouldn't want to live my life looking like this, no matter how much money I made doing it:

I'd prefer something like this:

By taking a quick survey, we were able to reason through these myths. We were shown pictures of four different women. This first, Lenda Murray, was a professional body builder. The second, Brandi Chastain, is a professional soccer player. The third, Serena Williams, is a professional tennis player. And the fourth, Katie Stam, is the current Ms. America. After polling the class, there were some similarities and differences. As a gender, the males collectively agreed that Katie Stam had the most attractive body out of the group of four women. The females on the other hand found Brandi Chastain to have the most attractive body. As for the least attractive, both men and women agreed that Lenda Murray was the least feminine. Words such as manly and masculine were used to describe her, whereas Katie Stam had adjectives like beautiful and perfect. 

Ethics and Obesity - Week 6

During week 6, we welcomed a guest speaker to come and talk about the youth obesity epidemic. Baker Harrell, who is Founder/CEO of ACTIVE Life Movement, explains that, in order "to build strength, to enhance muscle size, to improve endurance and cardiovascular fitness, and to live a long, full life, it is important - if not essential - to remain healthy." Here's the link to the ACTIVE Life website:

http://www.activelifemovement.org/

This Austin based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization is dedicated to organizing the movement for healthy change in America. Their mission is to make healthy the norm by generating a persistent demand for healthy living among all sectors of society. After visiting this website and learning more about the organization, it became very clear as to why Harrell came and spoke to us about obesity. Our overall quest as a society is to better understand the root causes of the US youth obesity epidemic.

In the book "Why We Hate Fat People," the author explains how we are trying to understand our own attitudes about fatness. It is important to recognize that fatness has always had political connotations. Many years ago, historically speaking, fatness has always been associated with power, health, and well-being. The wealthy were typically fatter than the general population. Today, however, the reason that so many people think the rise of obesity is a cause for alarm is because of our own chronic feelings of helplessness.

Because children and adolescents mature along a spectrum of chronological age, assessments of youth overweight and obesity are more difficult than evaluations of adults. The many disparate and interrelated factors associated with the US youth obesity epidemic make comprehensive research on the issue a daunting task. We're looking for a balance, to make healthy the norm and to create a demand for healthy. It is important for all of us to commit to end this problem in order to save the future generations.

Kinesiology in Historical Perspective - Week 5

As we move into week five of the class, we begin to delve deeper into the historical aspects of sport. This particular lecture, we discussed how the topic of kinesiology evolved. During the late 19th century, physical anthropology was considered to be the first scientific area of study in order to test strength. Then going into the 20th century, there was a rise of sport as physical education. As mentioned in the Exercise and Sport Science article, "it was no longer the exception to find physical education courses included in the curricula of liberal arts colleges and universities." The popularity of of interscholastic and intercollegiate athletics was a huge factor in creating demand for physical education teachers.

The inventions of basketball and volleyball promoted the idea that team sports taught moral qualities that were of benefit to society and therefore educational. This era was called the Muscular Christianity Movement in the United States. With mind, body, and spirit being recognized symmetrically balanced, no aspect is held in greater regard. Once again, the article explains that "the drive to identify and organize the body of knowledge led to the ascendency of research, the administrative and curricular reorganization of departments in colleges and universities, and the creation of sub-disciplines and specialties."

Of course, kinesiology programs will be different wherever you look. But at UT, our PE program underwent a paradigm shift in the 1970's. The physical activity programs, health program, and PE department are now combined into one department where movement competence courses are no longer required. The UT Kinesiology program asks that their students should be knowledgeable of: physical activity in health, wellness, and quality of life; scientific foundations of physical activity; cultural, historical, and philosophical dimensions of physical activity; and the practice of physical activity. Below is the link of a degree plan for an undergraduate student at UT majoring in Kinesiology:

http://www.edb.utexas.edu/education/assets/files/KHE/KHE%20UG%20Degree%20Plans/10-12/10-12%20HP%2005-24-10.pdf

As you can see, a Health Promotion major at UT must take at least 3 physical activity classes, one historical class, etc. This type of program is a great example of what young adults should be learning about in the kinesiology world today. So in conclusion, over the past 100 years, we can look at kinesiology in a historical perspective and see how much it has changed. As a matter of fact, it will always be changing on so many different levels. It will be interesting to see, in 50 years or so, what types of classes will be required for UT kines undergrads.

Meaning and Modern Sports - Week 4

After getting settled into the background of historical/ethical issues of sport, it is important that we begin to understand the meaning of modern sports and why we are so interested in sports. We ask ourselves the following questions in order to further examine this: Are sport cultural practices that express common shared values of a society? And what cultural values do modern American sports express?

We reviewed some of the old history and origins of sport including mythology and religion. Sport was known to be directly tied to religion, especially during the Olympic Games. Also, we noticed how many years ago there weren't as many team sports as there are today. Why is this? Well, team sports require longer childhoods, greater leisure time, special locations, and cities. Back then, having all of these requirements were rare and expensive; therefore, in a more developed world today, we are able to create and evolve through team sports. Personally, I believe the evolution of team sports has been one of the greatest inventions to enter the world of sports. It has provided so many life lessons and values to all participants. These values include cooperation, teamwork, respect, leadership, and character.

According to Michael Mandelbaum, the meaning of sport deals with three basic human needs. First, it provides a diversion from the mainstream and routines of modern life. Next, the ritual of sport is logical and dramatic. And finally, sport provides us with heroes. This last aspect is the most important in my opinion. We all want to achieve and the way this happens is with the right motivation. And what better way are we motivated than by having our own personal heroes. Heroes are people we admire and hope to emulate. They're people who embody virtues attainable to everyone who possesses character and discipline. Hard work brings success.

Guttman, on the other hand, has his own seven characteristics of sport. I have found both theories to describe the meaning of sport well; however, Guttman gives a more detailed explanation. In summary, he basically portrays that sport is non-religious, equal to all, specialized, organized, consistent, and measured. Since sport is derived from play, it depends on what type of sport you're discussing in order to apply one of the meaning of sport theories. In conclusion, sports can be symbolic, they're essentially achieving a particular end, and they fulfill aesthetic needs in humans. Sports give us a medium for performance and a reason to compete.

Bigger, Stronger, Faster - Week 3

This week in class we watched a film called Bigger, Stronger, Faster. Directed and narrated by Chris Bell, this movie is a real-life documentary of the effects of steroids. Chris is one of three sons in his family and is the only child that does not partake in steroids on a regular basis. In the movie, Chris interviews his two brothers and their families about using these performance-enhancing drugs. These men claim that they feel like it's necessary to take steroids because of what they do. Considering that they wanted to compete in professional weightlifting and wrestling, steroids were the given solution to becoming bigger and better. These guys, as well as many others across the United States, say that steroids are used for performance but also to avoid feeling inadequate in comparison to other stronger men.

In addition to interviewing his brothers, Chris addresses many other examples of "cheating." For example, Floyd Landis, who competed in the 2006 Tour de France and got disqualified, explains his story. He strongly denies any allegations that claim he used steroids. When asked what techniques he has for preparing for a big race, Landis shows Chris his self-made high-altitude chamber in his backyard that he sleeps in. This method pumps more oxygen into his body, therefore, allowing him to perform longer. When introduced to methods like this, we can't help but ask: is this cheating? According to the rules, it is not. But how is it any different than blood doping (which is cheating)? The rules nowadays are strict, but apparently there are some loopholes. Athletes are always trying to become bigger, stronger, and faster; so they will do whatever it takes, following by their own individual morals.

And what about Tiger Woods? He corrected his vision to 20/15 with Lasik eye surgery. Now is this cheating? Most claim that it is not, because it's available to everyone.....right? As you can see, there are way too many forms of "performance-enhancements" to judge what is cheating and what isn't. Most of these methods will all boil down to deciding what is right/moral, depending on the athlete. This is exactly what we saw in the film. Although the main character, Chris, wants to look good like his brothers, he is completely against using anything illegal and unnatural. He has the same aspirations as everyone else, but he just chooses to achieve his goals through normal physical activity.

This film is the perfect example of demonstrating doping in sports. It's illegal but it's legal. It's right but can also be wrong. We will never truly understand what to believe when it comes to steroids. As children, we learn that they're bad and what not. But as we get older and want to improve our image, we begin to notice the benefits of using steroids, while ignoring what we learned growing up. So in conclusion, we become selfish. Besides the set-in-stone rules stated in certain organizations, we go by what we think is best for our own good. And depending on what choices we make, they can eventually affect more than just ourselves.

History of Doping and Ethics - Week 2

During our second week of class, we learned about the early history of doping and its morality/immorality in the world of sports. Doping tracks all the way back to Ancient Greece, when athletes used hallucinogenic mushrooms and sesame seeds for increased endurance and higher protein levels. Back in these days, however, diets and doping weren't considered "cheating." But we now know that they can be illegal in this day and age depending on the substance and amount taken.

As the years went by, scientists discovered that doping could in fact increase performance but it could also be harmful to the health of athletes. Sports became more and more competitive and therefore, testosterone and anabolic descendants became a common substance taken among those who wanted to get better. Because of its masculinizing qualities, testosterone was known to increase aggression and enhance muscularity. But as the rules became stricter on taking steroids, other types were invented to find their ways around the rules.

In relation to this week's lecture, I found an article that involves doping and morality:

The Hall of Fame's fuzzy standards
http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/blog?name=olney_buster&id=5563843&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fmlb%2fblog%3fname%3dolney_buster%26id%3d5563843

To summarize, this writer discusses the requirements of becoming admitted into the MLB Hall of Fame. The voting standard states that induction will "be based upon the player's record, ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character and contribution to the team(s) on which the player played."It is said that the most important requirements are the player's sportsmanship and character. Relating back to last week's blog post about ethics in sports, this article ties in doping as well as morality regarding performance. Many years ago, doping wasn't illegal and therefore was a moral decision made by athletes. Nowadays, some substances are in fact illegal, so it depends on the athlete to make the right decision of whether or not they should break the rules. Doping will always bring up the morality argument. It's a problem in the sports world that will be around for a while, so it will be the athlete's choice to decide if it will remain an issue in their own individual sports life.

Ethical Decision Making - Week 1

After attending the first week of class, I've formulated opinions about what I think of ethics and morality in the world of sport. Our first lecture introduced some history of ethical reasoning, including the stories of the Tuskegee Airmen in Alabama. As the first African American bomber squad in the United States, the Tuskegee Airmen were considered to be the first test of segregation laws in America.

An ethical issue example given in class also occurred in Tuskegee, Alabama called the Tuskegee Experiment (1932-1972). Black men were given syphilis in an experiment. Researchers decided to just let the disease run, because they were only interested in the course of the disease over a lifetime. These men ultimately passed on the disease to their wives and children. During this time period, researchers failed to treat their subjects even though it was known in the late 1940s that penicillin would cure syphilis. This event became a topic of discussion during class. What ethical principles were violated in this experiment and how so? In my opinion, this test was completely irresponsible. Researchers were dishonest to their subjects and did not treat them with equality or respect whatsoever.

Making ethical decisions will always depend on our own personal morals; however, it always begins with recognizing the problem. Once we've pinpointed the issue, we have to decide what we value and what principles are important to us. The four main ethical principles in "good" sport are justice, honesty, beneficence, and responsibility. When thinking about an example that relates to all of these principles, I can't help but think of the one and only Lance Armstrong. We were given an assigned reading from the New York Times regarding this athlete and his fight with cancer as well as his fight with steroid allegations. Lance Armstrong has been through so many dilemmas in his lifetime, having to make ethical decisions every day. Many believe he his a hero; he's battled cancer, reached out to his fans, and become a world-class philanthropist. As a great athlete and father, of course he'll have some hard decisions to make. "Some of what makes Mr. Armstrong's character difficult to parse is the blinding sheen of his celebrity." Depending on the decisions he makes, he'll represent a hero or a failure. All ethical reasonings portray your character and can very easily determine what principles you believe in.

So events like this in history help us determine what has been deemed ethical and moral in today's society, and more specifically, sports. In a philosophical viewpoint, ethics regards questions regarding human morality and human duty. When dealing with sports, we usually devote our decision-making to what is ethically right. Ethics is concerned with values, issues, and decisions. Morals, on the other hand, deal with our beliefs and practices about how to live a good life.  These days, ethical issues concern personal conduct and our judgments of moral obligation. In Lance's case, some believe that for all the good he has done, people shouldn't worry about whether or not he's been using performance enhancing drugs. Others believe that no matter how benevolent he has been, taking steroids will never be acceptable. So depending on your morals, what do you think?