GOOOOOOOOAAAAAALLLL, is something you are most likely to hear every time Thierry Henry takes a shot. Thierry Henry plays professional soccer for Arsenal Football Club in England and he is also part of the French national team. Thierry is of African descent and is considered the most feared striker in today's football world which is highlighted by his fascinating goal scoring ability. Although he is loved by the majority of people in France and supporters of Arsenal in England, there are still people who dismiss what he achieves as an athlete and only judge him by his skin color. His experience is only one brief example of racism in sports. In this paper, racism in five different sports will be discussed: Basketball, Baseball, Boxing, Golfing, and Soccer. Even though there is a significant amount of talented black athletes in today's professional sports market, these players are still subject to racial prejudice from their teammates, coaches, and fans.
As March madness (College Basketball Tournament) fades into memory and one reflects on the tournament, one is certain that it was an exciting event to watch. Taken from the Article "Basketball and Racism," it is evident that it is utterly dominated by black athletes. (Dan K. Thomasson) It is fascinating how much college basketball has diversified. As an article by Dan K. Thomasson stated "not too long ago the presence of bare limbed young Negroes on the basketball court, especially in college game, was considered a racial affront." Black athletes have become an important part of the present March madness as opposed to the past. In fact, according to the article "Basketball and Racism," there was an unwritten agreement in the major American conference, the Big Ten, banned blacks from playing on the teams of these large Midwest Universities. The denial of rights by these schools sent a message to the smaller conferences in the rest of the U.S. That unwritten agreement stopped thousands