Sports in American Society

Sports in American Society

Analyze one case study of a famous athlete, coach, or owner that demonstrates the concept of intersectionality, i.e., Jackie Robinson (baseball).

Sixty years ago, Jackie Robinson became the first African-American to play in the major leagues in the United States. Her action ended the decades-long history of baseball intersectionality against minorities. It is not uncommon for a newspaper to run a feature item on the remarkable increase of female athletes and then pose an absurd question. This case proves that women's athletic prowess will never catch up to men (Alexander, 2015). When it comes to sports, the idea that women can compete with and against males is a hot-button issue. For the most part, everyone is aware of or at least acknowledges the reality that men are typically bigger, stronger, and faster than women. People may one day see sex segregation in the same light as intersectionality due to recent cultural trends. Even though white supremacist views are no longer accepted in mainstream society, many white people continue to believe that people of their race are morally and intellectually superior to people of other races (Gietschier, 2012). Feminists have had some success in lessening gender disparities, even though they have to cope with many of the legal hurdles that hinder women from contributing fully to society. And in the more contemporary postmodern queer feminist study, the naturalness of sexual dimorphism has been attacked head-on with a lot of power being put into it.

Explain what might be done to alleviate the incredible racial and gender disparity between professional and collegiate sports team owners and coaches, and those who play such sports, i.e., Billie Jean King (tennis). Be specific in your response.

For decades, Billie Jean King had fought relentlessly for women's equality in sports. During the 1960s and early 1970s, she worked tirelessly to ensure that women's participation in sports was equal to that of males. In 1972, she changed her focus to promoting Title IX (Olsen & Namara, 2021). Thus, the adoption of Title IX will forbid sex discrimination in all federally sponsored school programs. It was guts and leadership that Billie Jean King demonstrated when she went to Capitol Hill to advocate for Title IX. She was able to pull it off because she presented herself confidently and forcefully. Even in professional sports, Title IX's requirements show their value. Young women have more opportunities to make a profession out of their sport, particularly in the WNBA (Ware, 2011). There is also an increase in undergraduate and professional coaching possibilities. There is currently only one law in the United States that provides some degree of equality for women, and Billie Jean King was instrumental in creating the Women's Sports Foundation to defend this legislation.

Finally, the Cochrane interview with Billie Jean King and the US Women's National Soccer team lawsuit illustrates that equal pay for gender different athletes is an ongoing problem. In this, do you find that sport is an institution apart from the broader US society, or roughly like the gender pay inequity found in US society?

The average earnings of the US Women's National Soccer team and that of men are vastly different. Thus, I find that sport is roughly like the gender pay inequity in US society. For instance, NBA players are paid far more than those in the women's professional basketball league, part of the National Basketball Association (Culvin et al., 2021). For the finest male players, a yearly salary and endorsements of millions are not uncommon. The minimum compensation in the men's league is significantly more than the maximum earnings in the WNBA. Athletes engaging in sports in the United States are paid the most. Thus, the highest WNBA salaries were considerably lower than NBA salaries (Ware, 2011). While the WNBA may be willing to pay females the maximum amount, the most prominent and well-compensated players in the WNBA are paid less than six figures. In addition, the Women's National Basketball Association receives far fewer awards and major honors than the men's league.

References

Alexander, L. D. (2015). The Jackie Robinson story vs. the court-martial of Jackie Robinson vs. 42: Hollywood's representations of Jackie Robinson's legacy. NINE: A Journal of Baseball History and Culture, 24(1-2), 89-102. https://doi.org/10.1353/nin.2015.0034

Culvin, A., Bowes, A., Carrick, S., & Pope, S. (2021). The price of success: Equal pay and the US women’s national soccer team. Soccer & Society, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1080/14660970.2021.1977280

Gietschier, S. P. (2012). Slugging and snubbing: Hugh Casey, Ernest Hemingway, and Jackie Robinson—A baseball mystery. NINE: A Journal of Baseball History and Culture, 21(1), 12-46. https://doi.org/10.1353/nin.2012.0053

Olsen, C., & Namara, S. M. (2021). undefined. Collaborations in Architecture and Engineering, 101-124. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003018179-8

Ware, S. (2011). Game, set, match. https://doi.org/10.5149/9780807877999_ware

Ware, S. (2011). The incomplete revolution. Game, Set, Match, 207-214. https://doi.org/10.5149/9780807877999_ware.11