Posted: October 5th, 2017

do you believe sport plays a positive role or a negative role in promoting diversity and equal opportunity based on gender and ethnicity?

The face of sports in America has changed dramatically over the past 50 years through the inclusion of women and athletes of color (African Americans, Latinos, and Asians) at all levels of participation. Where white males once dominated sport, the balance in many sports such as basketball and football has now shifted to dominance by black athletes. African Americans and Latinos have also both increased their representation in baseball.

In addition, changes in American society in the last 50 years have dramatically altered the roles for women, but the quest for equalizing women’s opportunity in sport is still short of its goal. While a few female athletes gained fame during the early 1900’s (Babe Didrikson Zaharias in golf and Helen Wills Moody in tennis), sport opportunity for women did not change until the passage of Title IX in 1972.

Despite the integration of athletes of all genders and races into sport, there are still challenges. With this in mind, and based on your sports interests and career goals, do you believe sport plays a positive role or a negative role in promoting diversity and equal opportunity based on gender and ethnicity? Describe pros and cons of each view and then decide which list is more powerful. Also, discuss additional strategies not listed in the textbook to eliminate sexism and racism in sport.