Final Reflections

Final Reflections

When the class stared I did not think there was much involved in sports culture in our country.  I always thought of sports as something younger kids play and what you watch on television.  I learned that sporting culture is more complex that I had anticipated.  It involves a few issues that I did not think about in the past.  These issues include racial diversity, sexual exploitation of the body, use of performance enhancing drugs, violence in sports, and handicapped athletes.  This list is rather short but I feel like these are the main issues that we covered in the course.  I am glad that I took this course because I feel like I learned a lot more than I thought that I was going to.   

"Why the 'Mans Mans' Game is an Insult to Men"

            I would not consider sport to be a safe place for LGBT individuals.  There are a few reasons that this is true.  The first reason is that our culture, mainly because of the media, makes too big of a deal about LGBT athletes.  There is absolutely no reason why LGBT people should be excluded from sports.  Even the most right wing conservatives would be hard pressed to come up with an explanation.

            Just this morning when I turned on the television to sports center, I was confronted with the recent news that yet another athlete has come out to be openly gay.  This story involved a college athlete that plays basketball at University of Massachusetts.  I am not surprised that it is difficult for athletes to come out of the closet and admit that they are openly gay to their family and teammates.  However, I am surprised that a college athlete was mature enough to tell the people around him that he is gay.  I would expect this from a professional athlete, but I am impressed that this college athlete had the courage to come out. 

            The NFL is even having the same “issue” with athletes that are open gay.  I feel like this is only an issue because the media and professional sports organizations are making it an issue.  Personally, I don’t care what sexual orientation the athletes have that I watch on television.  It’s really too bad that the media, professional sports organizations, and American culture as a whole is homophobic and obsessed with violence.