Racism In Sports

Introduction

“Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than government in breaking down racial barriers” (Busbee, 2013). This quote from Nelson Mandela describes one of the key ways he felt he was able to help unify South Africa; he used sport to begin to breakdown the culture of racism and bring his country together. This is just one example of how sports can have a positive impact on an individual, neighborhood, city, state, nation, and even the world. However, sports can also negatively impact the same groups. This can
An individual can be active in sports one or all of the following three different ways; they can be a participant, an in-person spectator, and/or a viewer on television or radio. According to the 2015 Participation Report by the Physical Activity Council (2015), of the 292 million Americans that are age six and older, 209 million are active participants in some type of sports activity. In a 2008 report, Humphreys and Ruseski reported that 277 million tickets were sold to fans who attended games at one of 26 major U.S. sports in 2005 (p.13). They also cite the National Sporting Goods Association report on television viewership. According to the report the top three sports watched by American audiences are the National Football League (105,874,000 viewers), Major League Baseball (76,744,000 viewers), and National Basketball Association (60,877,000 viewers) (p.17). All of these numbers tell us that sports have a huge impact on the way Americans spend their time and money. This is important to acknowledge because it shows the influence that sports have on our society physiologically, psychologically, and
We are made up of people of many races, ethnicities, cultures, abilities, and sexualities. The 2010 United States Census Bureau estimated that the population in the United States would reach approximately 318,857,056 people in 2014 (Annual Estimates of the Resident Population; 2014). A U.S. Gallop Poll conducted at the beginning of 2015, estimated that approximately 3.8% of the population identified as LGBTQ (Newport, 2015). Therefore, this would mean that over 12 million Americans identify as LGBTQ; and based on the figures about sport participation previously mentioned, it can be assumed that a large portion of these individuals are involved in sports in some