Prudy Whalen March 9, 2017

Sports and American Culture

Professor Marston
Critical Analysis Paper #1
In the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics, Katie Ledecky became the first woman

since 1968 to win the 200, 400, and 800 meter freestyle races. She set two world records and was

the second most decorated Olympian of the games (behind Michael Phelps, of course) with five

golds and one silver. Yet, her victories were shadowed by her male counterparts. The name of a

newspaper article went viral that had a headline that read something along the lines of, Michael

Phelps ties for silver in 100 fly. In smaller print underneath that was, Ledecky sets the world

record in womens 800 freestyle. As unfortunate as it is, this is the world we live in. In sports, as

with American society, womens achievements have been historically overshadowed by mens.

In addition to this, the American sports world tends to reproduce historical identity hierarchies,

especially in regards to race, gender, and sexuality.

Typically, the world of sports follows the same hierarchies that society does. Excluding a

few major-league sports, straight white men are typically at the top of this sports chain. This is

followed by black men, then white women, and then black women. In basketball, since the NBA

is 74.3% black, with 81.7% of all players identifying as being of color (sbn 2016), it would make

sense that this is one of the national leagues in which black men are considered better at the sport

than their white counterparts.1 Over half of the NFL is black as well. Little black boys watch

television all over the country and see that people who look just like them are the majority in two

major league sports. Black men are not awarded positions of power in the world like their white

counter parts are. This is why men from lower status backgrounds [see] sports as their only

hope for success as a manan accomplishment that the higher status men [look] down upon as a

narrow, atavistic type of masculinity.2 However, being called light-skinned by someone in the

1 Sbn 2016.

2 Douglas Hartman, The Sanctity of Sunday Football. (New York: Oxford University
Press, 2015), 268.
Prudy Whalen March 9, 2017
Sports and American Culture
Professor Marston
Critical Analysis Paper #1
black community a is generally not a compliment. Kobe Bryant publicly criticized his teammate,

Jordan Clarkson, for driving to the basket like a light-skinned dude.3 In the black community,

being called light-skinned is considered derogatory it means youre soft and kind of a sell-out.

This is a huge contrast to how society views those who are of a lighter skin tone. Even so, it

shows that even within races, there is still a hierarchy that is enforced and noticed.
Michael Messner also discusses the concept of a Real Man. He conceptualizes the real man as

being strong, tough, aggressive, and above all, a winner in what is still a Mans World.4

However, he then unpacks this idea further, and makes a note that not just any man can be

considered a real man:

He will know if and when he as arrived as a Real Man when the Voices of Authority
White Males say he is a Real Man. But even when he has finally managed to win the big one,
has the good car, the right beer, and is surrounded by beautiful women, he will be reminded by
these very same Voices of Authority just how fragile this Real Manhood is5

Here, Messner is acknowledging the fact while men are considered to be at the top of the sports

chain, black men still need to answer to white men in order to be considered a true man. Even

within the gender hierarchy, the racial hierarchy also exists.

In womens sports, as well as mens, homophobia has become a huge issue. Many female

athletes who identify as being LBGTQ+ may choose not to take on the stereotypical, dainty,

sexist stereotype that many have about women. In womens sports, sexism is always present

because women are viewed as being the weaker, less dominant sex. The idea of a woman athlete

terrifies many. During the 20th century, an increasingly influential medical establishment warned

3 Michael Eric Dyson, The Color Line, The Undefeated, June 1, 2016,
(https://theundefeated.com/features/light-skinned-vs-dark-skinned/)

4 Michael Messner, Reflections on Communication and Sport. (New York: Oxford

University Press, 2015), 58.

5Ibid, 59.
Prudy Whalen March 9, 2017
Sports and American Culture
Professor Marston
Critical Analysis Paper #1
upper-class white women about the debilitating physiological effects of vigorous athleticism,

particularly on the reproductive system.6 Obviously, we know today that this is just not true.

This type of thinking was used as a scare tactic in order to draw women away from sports and

other forms of physical activity.

In addition to this, the sports arena is largely a heterosexual place. When winning a sports

championship or something of that nature, wives and husbands of heterosexual athletes will rush

out onto the field to greet their significant others. Media reporters will ask athletes about their

opposite-sex partners. Homosexual athletes are not awarded this same treatment. They do not

talk about their partners, and they are not asked about them either. This whole idea of the gay

athlete can get heated because it implies that there is something inherently different about

homosexual athletes and straight athletes, when that is just not the case. This same sentiment is

echoed across the United States today not just within the sports community.
The sports arena today is a reflection of the hierarchies that society has created,

especially in terms of gender, race, and sexuality. While significant progress has been made in

terms of the inclusivity of sports, it is still clear that there is a long way to go. The backlash

towards the #BlackLivesMatter movement, homophobia within the locker room, and the gender

pay gap in women and mens sports are all examples of this.

6 Pat Griffin, Changing the Game: Homophobia, Sexism, and Lesbians in Sport. (New
York: Oxford University Press, 2015), 280.
Prudy Whalen March 9, 2017
Sports and American Culture
Professor Marston
Critical Analysis Paper #1
Bibliography

Dyson, Michael Eric. The Color Line. The Undefeated. June 1, 2016.
(https://theundefeated.com/features/light-skinned-vs-dark-skinned/)

Griffin, Pat. 2015. Changing the Game: Homophobia, Sexism, and Lesbians in Sport. In Sport
in American Contemporary Society: An Anthology, edited by D. Stanley Eitzen, 280-297.
New York, New York: Oxford University Press.

Hartmann, Douglas. 2015. The Sanctity of Sunday Football: Why Men Love Sports. In Sport

in American Contemporary Society: An Anthology, edited by D. Stanley Eitzen, 263-271.

New York, New York: Oxford University Press.

Messner, Michael. 2015. "Reflections on Communication and Sport: On Men and Masculinities."

In Sport in American Contemporary Society: An Anthology, edited by D. Stanley Eitzen,

55-67. New York, New York: Oxford University Press.

sbn. 2016. 2016 National Basketball Association Racial and Gender Report Card. July 14.

Accessed March 6, 2017. (www.sportsbusinessnews.com/node/36737)