Sports journalists play vital role in sports world

The role of the sports journalist in my opinion is to present all sports stories good or bad in a non bias view. Sports Journalists do play a significant role in telling us if athletes are good or bad. Although they tend to just present the facts of what is happening, journalists tend to over analyze or over show controversial new stories surrounding athlete’s specifically troubled athletes. I do believe that we should hold sports journalist’s to a certain amount of responsibility for issues such as class, race, gender, etc. Simply because they choose what they want cover and also how they are going to portray. For example look at Sports Center typically during the fall months on Saturdays and Sundays they will show the best or most dramatic football game on that happened that that day. That means in terms of equality is that they somewhat neglect the other sports specifically female sports that may have happen that day. The connection between the media and sport does have a direct correlation with athletes and their high salaries because they get fans to turn on the TV and see these high profile athletes.

Sports Journalists

I think that people forget that the role of a sports journalist is the same as any journalist, to relay information to their audience. This information needs to be interesting, informational, understandable and most importantly correct. It's impossible for any journalist to be completely unbiased, but good reporting journalists find a way to give the facts with out their opinons. Columnists are a very different story and I think some people forget that columnists just give their opinion and its the public's job to be critical of that opinion. With that in mind, yes journalists do play a role in telling the public what and how to think, but the public certainly needs to be critical of everything, not just in sports, that is being sad. Also I do believe that sport journalists should be more aware about the issues that we are discussing in class. I am actually taking a class called sports reporting and writing and we have not mentioned anything about the topics that we discuss in class. In fact, it almost appears that race isn't even an issue in the field, when it clearly is. Similarly, sometimes I think sport journalists forget about their ethical obligations in the name of ratings, which is very unfortunate and can lead to the problems that we are seeing now with T.O. But I also believe that the media helps the sports industry more than it hurts it, by making it an industry. Without the media there would not be the market for sports that there is today.

I agree with James I think that sports journalist can be a athletes best friend or worst enemy. If they like you they will always talk you up and make sure you get alot of ink in there magazine or newpaper, but if you are viewed like T.O. no matter what you say i believe they will turn your words around to make you seem like you were talking bad about somebody to cause even more turmoil.. I think the media can be great at times because they about sports and creat a bigger fan base, but i think they can also hurt sports by putting a bad image on the players and teams.

I do believe that sports journalists play a role in telling us what athletes are good and bad. They are the ones that decide what is going in the papers, on the radio and on television. Articles in newspapers and magazines are sometimes written in ways the athlete didn’t mean or intend to say. Also on television, press conferences or post-game interview clips are cut at certain spots which makes the audience think that was all that was said. Sports journalists want stories that are interesting to the audience and I think they will do anything to do just that.

Sports journalists play a huge role in not only communicating game results and play reports, they give rise to the image of certain athletes and certainly fill the gap between spectator and athlete. They give us stories from on and off the field, allowing full access to the lives of top athletes. Journalists and the media in general are not the only factor that influence the image of an athlete, but they are one of the biggest. Writers that do full features of an athlete in ESPN magazine or Sports Illustrated have all the power in their hands to make someone look good or bad on print, and the same goes for the anchors of major sports networks. This is why elite athletes have the best agents, public reps and image consultants not only to help them look good in the public eye, but to keep them there since popular athletes are advertising gold. I don't see more journalists becoming critical of sports like Dave Zirin because the media makes millions off of the coverage and stories they sell, and organizations like the NFL and NBA arn't going to give special rights to certain media giants if the reporting and coverage they provide critiques and analyzes the views and beliefs of the organization and the impact that these have on the sporting world.

To me sports journalist dont have much better things to do, so they interview people who they think people will read about anyways. One type of person is those of the dallas cowboy cheerleaders. These cheerleaders are obviously a bit of sex appeal. Anytime that someone can get to be involved with these cheerleaders it will make them feel good. But, also like i saw in someone elses post the cheerleader did not even know what was going on. Should there be boundaries set on who and who should not be interviewed if the interview does not have to do with that sport directly?

Cowboy Cheerleaders

I found this article very amusing. First of all, when exactly do the Cowboy Cheerleaders get interviewed? And if a cheerleader was interviewed what would the questions actually be: How much do you love being a Cowboy Cheerleader? I think even a ditsy blond can answer that one. The article was also amusing when Reilly asked the questions to the football players. One person said that they don't need to know these things as long as they win. The media does not care what athletes think about world and national issues. Sport media as consumed are minds, entertainment and interest.

Steven Staggs

I think sports analysts need to watch what they say a lot more. A lot of times something they say isn't 100% true. But us as an audience, have no other way of knowing whats true or false. I think making them more accountable for what they say will greatly improve the qualty of sports analysts there are.

The Dallas Cowboys cheerleading article was kind of interesting to me on how they're forced to do well on a test given to them during tryouts. If they don't do well they don't make the squad. It makes sense why they have them take it, but like they said in the article cheerleaders aren't the ones being interviewed after the game. I also think it wouldn't be a bad idea to have the players take a test, but have it be about that teams history. I'm not saying it should count agaist them if they make the team or not, but do it so the players know a little about what they're playing for.

I see the role of sports analysts as a person who goes into depth on what that team did during that specific game and why they did it. Any viewer can watch ESPN and learn the specifics about the sport, instead of just watching because it looks exciting. Analysts have the right to say who they think is good or bad because that's part of their job on analyzing each team during that specific season.

I think sports journalists are an extremely big part of making players look good or bad. When you think about it, the only information most people get about there favorite players or teams is that which they read in the paper or magazines. This puts almost all of there opinion in the hands of the author of the article, who probably knows only slightly more than that viewer. This one way track of recieving information can be problamatic when the authors of these articles do not get there facts correct.

I actually think that sports journalist have the right to tell us which athletes are good and which ones are bad. I mean that's there job and they express there opinion in a subject they are knowledgeable in. Its there right to say what they feel if people don't like it then they wont read or listen to that particular journalist. So in my opinion most of them probably skew there opinion or alter it to fit the ideologies of society. So yes i do think that the media has a huge role in determining these ideologies but they should not be held responsible for writing material that is considered acceptable and entertaining. At the same time if something is going to change its probably going to have to start with the media, but at this point they have no reason to.

Sport's journalists are present to watch, develop, and share the news information regarding sport. Now it can also be said that the journalist's view point is seen to play an important part in analyzing and reviewing certain people as well as sports. I do not think that sport's journalists have a so called "right" to "tell" us which athletes are good or bad but this is what comes along with a sport's journalist. Maybe the role of a journalist should be reevaluated but where does this put other media sources? Media such a the television stations are biased one way or the other based solely on the producer's opinion. So overall, I think that the opinion of an athlete can and should be made solely on a person's own mind and the beliefs that are formed. Not only is our society strong minded but we are also able to formulate our own opinions while at the same time we seem to be influenced by the media. I also believe that we as a class should not hold sport journalists responsible for the topics we discuss in class beecause it is impossible to have our opinions on what is relevant today regarding sport rehurgitated in the media. The idea of sport journalists and what they cover is up to them and the publisher while at the same time I think that many of the topics we have discussed in class have been formulated in the sport media today. Overall sport journalist's are very opinonated but is this not what our society is interested in?

Sport and the Media

As we are moving into discussing the media and their involvement in sport this week, there are some questions I would like us to start thinking about. What is the role of the sports journalist? Do they play a role in telling us what athletes are good or bad? Should we be more critical of the sports media? More specifically should we hold sport journalist's responsible for being aware of the topics we discuss in class? Does the connection between the media and sport help facilitate the large salaries athletes are paid? Why do you think more journalists don't take the critical approach that Dave Zirin seems to take with sport?

Here is a great article discussing some of the topics we talked about today

http://sportsonmymind.com/2009/09/29/the-daily-skip-bayless-a-t-o-induced-doozy/

One way in which to start thinking about these questions is to take a look at this article. What does it suggest? Does it omit anything? What is the purpose of this?

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=reilly_rick&id=4491594

Crabtree

A lot of the poster believe that Crabtree is in the wrong for everything that he is doing with his contract but I am going to have to disagree. I think that he needs to do what is best for him and get what he can get. If he is not happy where he is at I think he is doing the right thing and fighting for what he wants. Critics say that he is not playing for the love of the game and he is all about the money, I have to disagree. He has worked his ass off to get where he is today and he deserves it. He will bring in a lot of revenue where ever he plays.

Crabtree

I choose to read about Crabtree in sportsonmymind.com. I thought it was a good website with insight information about whats going on. Had a lot of things that interested me. I think he is being so disrespectful to the game. Not just for football, but to any athlete. So what if your not making as much money as you wanted. I think he should have to prove himself before he gets the kind of money he wants. College to pro is totally different and I'm not putting down his talent or ability at all he is a amazing football player, but there has been so many college stars go to the pros and are no where to be heard of again. With being hurt as well, he should be happy getting picked up at the 10th pick. I think he should sign the contract and prove to the 49's why they should pay him the money he wants. Right now he is acting like a little child. Saying that he is going to take off the year. There are so many people out there who would give anything to be where he is at right now and he is throwing it out the door. If he doesnt want to play I think they should go out and get somebody who will play. For other teams looking maybe to pick him up, I would tell them to not give him the money he wants either. He hasnt done anything to get that money. He is a prime example of somebody who isnt playing for the love of the game but just for the money. He is someone who is ruining the game and why some people look at athletes in a bad way.

Blount article

I chose the Blount article from Edge of Sports. I overall liked the site, as it was easy to navigate and a variety of topics displayed. I chose the Blount article because this event blew up in the news and it's ironic it was on sportsmanship day. In the article the author makes the argument that Blount's punishment is far to harsh for the crime commited. Blount was suspended for the season following the punch of a Boise St. palyer. While the punishment is harsh, I don't feel that The University of Oregon had mush coice. Not only did he punch the player, but follwing, he rushed towards the stands at jeering fans a la Ron Artest. I think that this factored into the length of the punishment. It was an emberassment for the University and the football team. I also feel the University felt pressure from the NCAA as Well as the PAC 10 to make and example of Blount, and suspend him for the season. We also need to take into account Blount's past troubles. He was suspended for the team previously for violation of team rules, and this calls his character into question. While the punishment is harsh, I disagree with the author and feel that the Univerity had no choice.

LeGarrette Blount and the Politics of the Punch

I chose the Blount article from the Edge of Sports because I saw the punch on live television and had a little more background information on it. That being said, I think that both sites were very interesting, and I liked how the Sports on My Mind sight had just about any sport. However, I also liked how simple the Edge of Sports site was and found it to be much less intimidating. I also like how the Edge of Sports gave you the article right away on the home page. So although they were both thought provoking sites, I would give the advantage to Dave Zirin.

I thought the Blount article was an excellent article. It highlighted alot of great points about today's sporting world, especially when it comes to the college level of sports. I agree with him when he says that college football is unpaid labor. I understand that most of the players are getting a full-ride scholarship, but that's nothing when you think about how much money the NCAA, conferences and the institutions make off of those players. I don't know how to "rectify" the situation, but I do think something should be done to make things more equal.

I also agree with Zirin when he said that professional athletes have much more control, as well as freedom, than college athletes. Granted, I don't believe this is such a bad thing, but I do believe they should have more say in what happens to them.

Finally I also agree with Zirin that Blount's punishment was too severe. It was very obvious that the Boise State player provoke him, which doesn't make it right at all, but should be taken in to consideration. I know that professional athletes aren't always the best role models, but this type of thing does happen alot in the pros, as well as in sport (especially aggressive sports) quite often. Sometimes people just lose control. I think Blount should be given a second chance, as long as he is remorseful for what he did and works diligently to correct the situation as well as his anger issues. I know he has had behavioral problems in the past, but I think he needs to be given a lesser suspension, yet still a suspension. Zirin was also right when he said that the only way he will be forgiven is by doing well, but he won't have the opportunity to do well if they keep the suspension. So Blount really does not have a shot at redemption or to save his football career because he let his emotions get the best of him, but I guess he could try ultimate fighting.

Crabtree the NFL and Money

I choose to read a blog from the sportsonmymind.com website because of the articles on their sparked more of an interest to me. The site was organized very well and I was able to navigate from blog to blog fairly quickly. The three teams whispering in Michael Crabtree’s ear caught my attention. I have been following the Michael Crabtree situation since it all started back in April when he was drafted 10th overall by the 49ers. The fact that he takes up a roster spot on my fantasy football league also made me want to see if the rumors are true that other teams are interested in Crabtree. I agree 100 % with “dwil” the author of this article. He sees exactly what I see that is wrong in professional sports specifically the NFL. It is all about the money in professional sports and owners, coaches, and player all contribute to that. The owners want their franchises to be successful so they in turn want the best players and are willing to pay top dollar. As far as Crabtree goes he is way in over his head. Believing his agent Eugene Parker that other teams are interested in him and sitting out the 2009 season might not be a bad idea is completely illogical from a competitive prospective. Think about it one whole year away from one of the most physical games if not the most physical game will leave Crabtree behind when it comes to developing in the NFL. Although not mentioned in the article part of the reason Crabtree will not sign with the 49ers is due to the fact that the Darrius Heyward-Bey the 7th overall pick by the Raiders is would be making more money than him in his contract. I don’t understand that, Crabtree has not proved anything in the NFL yet. Heyward-Bey had a great NFL combine and was able to move his draft position up by doing so. Crabtree was coming off an injury he suffered to his leg following the 2008-09 season. Yes what he did with Texas Tech last year was remarkable and he was a talented wide receiver in college but he needs to prove he can play at the highest level before he signs huge mega million contract. If I was Crabtree I would sign with the 49ers they are 2-0 in a weak West Division that they have a good chance of winning. This goes back to what we have discussed before in class that players do not really play for the love of the game and merely just care about how many zeros are behind their name.

Double Standard

The article I read was about Serena Williams and her acting out during a tennis match. I think that this site really showed all perspectives on how the officials as well as the media treated her and Federer differently although they acted out in the same manner. The article talks about the fact that not only is there a double standard because she is a woman, but also because she is a woman of color. Although yelling profanity was wrong on both ends, the punishment and media attention should have also been the same. There shuold be no difference in the punishments just because one is a male and one is a female. The actions that both players took part in was unacceptable as well as unprofessional. I think that this site did a nice job of showing how there was a double standard for Serena only because she is a woman and that that should not make a difference. Both of these people are in the spotlight because they are athletes that people look up to and follow closely. They both should have been treated the same after their behavior. The fact that Serena had the courage to stand up and tell her fans that she was wrong and apologize showed that she does care about her image and knew that she was in the wrong.

Crabtree

The whole Michael Crabtree situation is a disrespect for the game of football and sports in general. Here is a guy who has all the talent in the world and is holding out because he wants to make a few extra million dollars on his contract. I have no problem with the 49ers not giving him what he wants. If he isnt willing to swollow his pride, or lack there of, then he might as well quit. The tampering charges that were pressed against the Jets and possibly other teams is not a big deal in my eyes. If Crabtree isnt willing to sign with the 49ners then obviously other teams are going to persuade him to come to their team because of the talent that he possesses. I dont know for sure but I could guess that this kind of stuff goes on in all sports. So I dont really see the problem with the tampering

Double Standard For Serena Williams

I went on the Edge of Sports website and read the article "Double Standard for Serena Williams". I liked the website a lot, the article was well written and the author posted a good opposing response that someone sent him. The article tied nicely into some of the things we've been talking about in class lately. Serena got in trouble in a recent match- after a bad line call was made that affected the outcome of the match she made an inappropriate comment to the line judge that ended up costing her the game. I agreed with all of the points the author made- yes she was in the wrong to say what she did, it was in really bad taste and showed awful sportsmanship, but as the author pointed out, there were some race and gender issues that Serena faced. Federer had an incident a few weeks ago in the US Open finals and (because he was a male??) didn't get in trouble- no fines, no apology press conference, nothing. The author also pointed out that if Serena were a little white girl playing she also most likely wouldn't have received this treatment. Serena has a harder time because she is a black, female athlete. Inequality in sport is still a major issue that athletes are facing today....

"The List"

I read the article about the list and I think the whole situation has gone on long enough. We all have to face the fact that steroids were a part of baseball back in the "steriod era." Players took substances because they either were legal or they knew they wouldnt get caught. They were told by the MLB that "the list" would not get out to the public. Well it did. My personal opinion is that "the list" should be announced. Fans should be able to know every player on that list since there have been a few players singled out. I think that once the whole list is released it will help the fans move on from this situation. Until the names are released people are always going to wonder if their favorite player is on it. So I think the MLB should release the list so everybody can move on

Sports my Mind

I read both articles about Serena Williams on both sites. From the two, I liked the one from sportsonmymind.com. While the Edge of Sports brought up good points, the other site looked at all aspects of the sport of tennis and brought up more interesting issues. The article talks about that no matter how great of a tennis player Serena Williams is she will always have a "black cloud" over her becuase of her race and gender. The author states that tennis is full of racism and the crowd prefers to see white blond women playing each other in tennis rather than a black women. The article also brings up this race issue and gender issue as a double standard. To explain, in 2001 the Australian player Lleyton Hewitt called the linesman in the tournment a Nigger. Interestingly, he was never punished for it and was seen as competitive player who just curses alot. While I understand what Serena Williams did was completely wrong and her punishment was deserved I just think the double standard on race and gender is completely unfair and it helps emphasizes the fact that womens sports are being recognized for the wrong reasons and not the right ones like Serena's amazing impact on tennis.

MLBPA Receives Favorable Court Ruling on “The List” – for Now

I like the “Sports on My Mind” site because it presents opinions on a variety of issues in a large number of different sports.

I chose to read the article titled, “MLBPA Receives Favorable Court Ruling on “The List” — for Now.”

First off, the whole steroid situation surrounding baseball is a mess, and it has been for a number of years now. This specific issue, however, is one of the few in that mess where I side with the players.

The said list from 2003 that implicated over 100 positive tests was never meant to be released to the public. Major League Baseball intended for the testing to be anonymous — to use the results to get an idea of how widespread the use of performance-enhancing drugs was — and thus come up with the corresponding punishments that are now in place. (ie: first offense: 50 games, second offense: 100 games, third: lifetime ban)

This intention was made clear to the players at the time of the initial testing, but since then the list has been anything but anonymous. Many of the positive tests on the list were also “false positives,” meaning they took a substance that produced a positive result, but that substance was not a performance-enhancing drug.

The 9^th circuit of court appeals ruled that the raid that produced the list was unconstitutional. However, that ruling may be bumped up to the Supreme Court.

I think it’s unfair that the names of these players were released. Unfortunately, with the fact that more and more names continue to come out frequently, it might be best to just release the rest of the names all at once.

Otherwise, MLB has to deal with a new name coming out seemingly every couple of months and overshadowing everything that is actually important — the game of baseball.

I am very interested to see whether the case makes it to the Supreme Court or not.

There are certain sports were you just know that the environment is going to be heated and intense. Football is defiantly one of those. I'm not saying what Blount did is ok but you have to realize how these players are into their sport and take it very seriously. I believe that in sports taunting is fine, it shows competiveness. Blount couldn’t handle it so he retaliated in the wrong way so yes he should have a punishment. The one he received though is too harsh in my opinion. With this punishment it just ruined his college career and put a stop to any chance for the NFL and people needed to realize it before they gave it to him.

EdgeofSports.com- Chicago's Olympic Bid

I found this website to be very enjoyable because it seems to be a pretty strait shooter. It doesn't hold back punches and seems to reveal the truth about matters, especially things that had to do with Sport. I specifically say this in response to the article I read on the Website about Obama's support of the 2016 Olympics being held in Chicago. Turns out there is quite the protest against this support and against holding the Olympics in Chicago. Much of this resistance is due to tax payers money funding these games and the that the money will go into the pockets of investors. Another issue brought up was the dangers of the crime in Chicago and then trying to being people from over over the world into the city safely. In fact, 84% of the city's people do not support the Olympics coming to their city. I found this article very informative and interesting because it completely negated all the positive beliefs i had about having the Olympics in Chicago, but their arguments where clear and seemed to make a lot of since.

Michael Crabtree

I read the article about Michael Crabtree and the three teams that are supposedly whispering in his year about his chances of getting better money if he holds out until next years draft. Personally, I don't think it was any of Deion Sanders' business to tell the world that the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins are talking under the table to Crabtree. If someone told him these teams were doing this you would think he would keep quiet because he played for both teams. For the issue itself, some kind of punishment should be brought upon these three teams and Michael Crabtree himself. It's against the rules for anyone to talk to Crabtree about holding out so they can draft him and offer him a better contract.

I also read the article about Blount I think it is unfair that he is suspended for the entire season. What he did was unacceptable, but I feel that the suspension should be only for half of the season or eights games at the most. The author brought up a good point about some other athletes, such as Ron Artest, that have done similar or worse things and given second chances. Even a few weeks ago a Michigan player punched a Notre Dame player at the end of the play and received nothing. So I agree with the author that what he did was wrong but the punishment is too harsh.

I chose to look around the site Edge of Sports, the weekly sports column by Dave Zirin. I happened to like the site because it was pretty simple and to the point. I read a past column about Michael Vick and his transition to Philadelphia. Zirin gets in to the news part of the story, talking about the uproar heard throughout the city on different radio shows, and from the Philly fans themselves. I like how the column didn't focus too much time on what Vick had done and why fans were bothered by his addition to the Eagles. Instead he makes a good point that in a country with 2.3 million people behind bars, being an ex-felon doesn't necessarily mean you're a failure. Yeah, Vick did some pretty terrible things, but he's served his time and is broke right now as a consequence, and even after this season he still has a long way to go to get his life back on track. As any of us would want a second chance for our failures, he should get one too.

The three teams whispering in Michael Crabtrees ear

I choose sports on my mind as a website. I thought it was a interesting website because you read the story and then you get to read the comments that people posted afterward they read it. The article is about michael crabtree holding out on his contract. Then it talks about how other teams are talking to michael crabtree about signing him maybe in 2010 draft. Those teams are the jets, cowboys, and redskins. Like the author says even if these teams talked to michael crabtree. That still probably doesn't have an impact on him holding out on this season. It seems like to me he has his mind made up that he's going to reenter the draft in 2010. I agree with what the author says in this article that most of the reporters that report this information are not giving the entire story. Personally i hope no one signs Michael Crabtree because he's still going to make millions of dollars if he signs now. But he is being selfish and holding out for more money. I hope no one signs him next year and he ends up poor. I know thats mean to say, but maybe that way he would learn his lesson and not be greedy.

I read an article about Serena Williams and when she lost the match because of a penalty after she reportedly said, “I will kill you,” to a lines judge. I chose this article because we just finished up talking about gender and sport. I wanted to hear what others thought about this situation with Serena. My thoughts about this penalty would be do you think this would ever happen to a man? Would he be penalized for yelling remarks, which Serena denies saying in the first place, during a critical part of a match? Or was Serena not acting “lady” like? One blogger wrote under the article that, “these girls don’t take shit from others,” and I really liked his statement. Most females would say okay and move on to the next point but being the competitor she is Serena was able to say what she thought; maybe not to the extent of killing the line person but she should be able to state her opinion on the call. I really liked this website because it not only had great articles but great input and discussion going on below the article.

Blount's Punch

I read the article on Blount punching a Boise st. player. Before I read the article, I agreed with the punishment of the year long suspension. I don't care what is said to you, you can't punch someone on the field or anywhere else. Period. I've played sports before and understand the idea of being in the heat of the moment, but you have to control yourself. After reading the article, I still feal that the year long suspension was appropriate. The only thing that made me think about the length of the punishment in the article was the comparison to other athletes such as Ron Artest, Shaq, and NHL players. This seems to be a fair point but I still feel that the year long suspension is appropriate. I do think the possibility exists that Blount was made an example of by putting the foot down so forcefully with the length of the suspension, however I think the message needed to be sent that what happened was completely unacceptable.
I realize these are hypothetical situations, but I think they are interesting to think about. One, lets say that Blount fully lands the punch on the Boise St. player and breaks his jaw. Now that player is out for what I would assume to be at least a month. Are people still so outraged by the year long suspension? Two, lets say Blount was a sophomore. He would still have at least one more year in college before he could turn pro. You can't look at the situation and say 'well hes a senior and this is it for him so we are going to go easy on him.' It just so happens that he was a senior, now his career is done, and he must deal with the consequences. I think the same thing goes for his NFL prospects. The fact that he might/would get drafted is irrelevant in my mind. You can say that because he is a NFL prospect that he should get less of a penalty. Lets say he wasnt that good and had no hope for the NFL; would people still feel the same way? The fact that hes a senior and an NFL prospect just makes this situation that much more interesting.

Garrett Blount

Garrett Blount was obviously very wrong in what he did and there should be no excuse. But, in one way i think i can give him an excuse. I have participated in sports all my life and i know for a fact that sports can get very heated. The amount of testosterone pumping through a males body is very high. In BLounts situation he was almost forced if you ask me, to do what he did. It is a competition and another person got in his face and was talking. Good competitors dont just lie down. But in the end what he did was wrong and was very ill advised which is why he is suffering the consequences now. It is a bad situation but in the heat of competiton sometimes the worst comes out in the greatest competitors.

LeGarrette Blount Article

I read the article about the Oregon football player who ended up being suspended for the entire season. I watched the game and everything preceding the blow that he gave to the Boise State player, and i feel that the punishment that was put on him was much to harsh. Obviously punching the player was very wrong like others have mentioned and as the author of the article, but again i feel as if a possible half season or so would be more fitting for the situation. I do not feel that he will be able to redeem himself by apologizing at all because everything is already set into stone just like the author says. Also, the question of whether the Boise State player who provoked the act should be suspended or not has been up in the air. I do not feel like he should just because that stuff happens all the time (taunting and such), and that it is almost part of the game now. In the end i think that Blount suspension should be shortened and that the Boise State coaching staff did the right thing by not suspending their player.

I liked the edge of sports more because it had several really good opinions. It also had correct information on the whole situation with the running back blount. I do not agree with the author though saying that his punishment was too severe. I mean this guy first punched a guy on another team, then was fighting his own team, and then to top all of it had to be restrained from going into the stands to attack fans. This guy lost it and i cant believe he is still on scholarship and on the team. He already had been previously suspended for violating team rules and this is a pretty HUGE second strike. The guy from Boise State probably was getting what he deserved, but you cant lose it like that on national television and expect to get sympathy.

LeGarrette Blount

LeGarrette Blount was wrong for reacting back to the Boise State player who was taunting him. Blount should not have hit the player but there should have been a punishment for the Boise State player as well. This year in college football there is a emphasis on sportsmanship and throughout the game each team lacked it. I do not agree with Blount's season long suspension, I think should have been half the year at most and if he did not attempt to go into the stands it should have been only 2 games. The Boise State player should have received a game suspension for his actions as well.

Caster part 1

Jonathan Gimm

I think the IAAF testing is stupid when they do find out that women have XY chromosomes they don't do anything about it any way, so why even have it?

Steven Staggs

I agree that in some cases people can view women's sports as sexist. A lot of the marketing of women's sports though is to target people to watch them. And the best way they can find to do this is market the appearance of the female athletes.

"Sexism on Centre Court"

I chose the article "Sexism on Centre Court" due to the fact that it correlates well with what we are discussing in class this week. The article relates the fact that sexism is still promenant in today's society. The William's sisters played against each other and a comment was made concerning the attractiveness of women tennis players. "Physical Attractiveness is taken into consideration", commented the officials and this is all in all sexism. The media coverage and playing area for each match is governed by the beauty not the bronze of the athletes. It goes on to say that males only watch for the beauty and if not, then they would not watch. I agree that males do not watch tennis unless they are themselves in tennis, enjoy the sport or are viewing an attractive competition. The reality of our society is that sexism does occur more than we would like to believe and it is as simple as the coverage a female athlete will receive. I think that this is terrible and rude but none the less, what is the society doing to try and fix this? The options are not conclusive nor present. I think that this article was very interesting in the fact that still today after all women have been through, discrimination of many forms still is alive.

Sport on the individual, small scale.

I read an article off sportsonmymind regarding President Myles Brand's death. Overall, I liked the site. I thought it was very well rounded and centered less on just sports but the individual contributions of the people that make sport what it is today. For example, this article of Myles Brand's death showed how one man could influence sport as a whole on such a great level and care less about winning championships and more about good morals, and fair play. This article gave an example of him as firing a coach that one 3 national championships for allegedly physically grabbing a player. This must have been a very difficult decision to make, but the right one. It showed not only the school and the players, but the nation how it's not always about winning but doing the right thing on every level... no matter how costly. By having an article about one man, a coach's death, it proves to the sporting world that there is more to sports than winning, steriods, race issues, athlete-murders, dui's, dog-fighting, or any other issues that may arise. The more important things usually come on a smaller, more individual level, and everyone can make a positive contribution in that respect.

The Punch

I would most definitely say the punishment for LeGarette Blount was absolutely too severe. There is no way you can suspend a senior for the entire season and the post season for having one outburst. Life is full of second chances and he should be allowed a second chance. I am also only commenting on the facts that I know. I have heard that he had been in some trouble inside the program and things like that, but I think this is still an argument. I think at times coaches make decisions like they do not care about their player's lives. I think a fair punishment for this incident would have been for him to be suspended for at least half the season and do alot of community service hours during his suspension.

I read the edge of sports blog and i thought it is a very good site and it is put together well. The Author's basic argument is that the player LeGarrette Blount from Oregon received to harsh of a penalty for punching a Boise St. player at the end of the game. He basically says that getting banned for the entire season because of one punch is way to severe and should be lessened. He names many great players in different sports who have thrown a punch at one time or another. I actually agree with him to a certain degree. He definitely needs to have a serious punishment but to end his season and virtually end his chances to get drafted is to harsh. He made a huge mistake and should pay for it but now he may never play in the NFL because of this. In my opinion he should miss half the season but still get a chance to come back at the end. That would be punishment enough in my mind.

Blog for week of September 21st

This week we are going to do something a little different. The purpose of our blog is to generate more critical discussions of current events in sport. By talking with each other about different happenings in sport, I hope we can open up a lot of diverse opinions about our modern sporting word. There are two well known sport blogs who also have a focus on generating critical sport discussions. These sites are Dave Zirin's Edge of Sports, and sportsonmymind.com. The links are posted below. I want you to browse through these sites and then pick one story and make a post about it. I want you to discuss your opinion about what site you chose. Did you like the site, did you not. Then I want you to summarize the article you chose, and then discuss whether you agree or disagree with the author.

http://www.edgeofsports.com/2009-09-08-451/index.html

http://sportsonmymind.com/

I agree I think if she wouldn't have earned a medal there wouldn't have been any of testing to verify her gender. Whenever someone acomplishes something great, like winning a track event, there are always those who are envious, and in this case they saw her identity as a man or woman grounds for questioning her success.

Steven Staggs

I agree the way men's and women's sports are looked at is different. If it was a woman in a men's sport, then I think that woman would get more praise than critisim, but if a man was found in a woman's sport, he would be looked down upon. I think because of this she is going to be treated a lot harsher

What if a man got found out to be a woman in a mens competition? How would we treat that? Surely we wouldnt say that she was trying to cheat to win. Why would these circumstances allow for a different reaction than the one that is going on right now? This really shows our total outlook on mens and womens sports and how they compare to each other.

If she would have gotten 7th place I don't think that she would have been tested, nor do I think that it would be a big deal. Who would honestly go through this big conspiracy just to finish 7th? And if it was a male getting beat by females I don't think that it that determental to female athletics

What you said brings up a good point nick. If she would have got 7th in this race would she have been tested? I dont think she would have which would mean she would still be competing and nobody would care. Its always more controversial when you win, especially if you are not a favorite to win. How many other people could be cheating that havent been caught because they havent been successful yet?

I believe she was not cheating nor had any intentions to. They should test all the athletes before competition not after. It seems like since she is great at what she does people then are then putting her under the magnifying class and try to bring her down. To herself and her culture there is no question about her or her performance and there is nothing wrong with her therefore she doesn’t need to take any tests. When a male athlete is on top of his game or not, people do not question him about his gender.

I dont think that she can be called a cheater. She has been living her life as a woman her whole life not knowing. I don't think that she had negative intentions and had a big conspiracy so that she could succeed in woman's athletics. I think that this is a rare situation and she is not a cheater.

Jonathan Gimm

on the topic about if a male would be treated the same way? i don't think a male will ever be tested about their gender, and this is because male sports are at the top. Competing at a male level and succeed is very hard to do, you cant dominate a male sport like a male can dominate a women's sport.

jonathan gimm

about the cheating, if she knew that she male testes i think that it would be cheating and she should be competing with the men. also if she really didn't know and she has been a girl all her life then i think that it is ok and she should be competing with the girls.

There is no way that she can be considered a cheater. She had no way of knowing about her internal parts, or how they would affect her performance. Seeing her dominance in the sport though does raise questions about how they do affect her athletic performance. I am sure that she does have an edge over the competition, but it isn't like she is taking performance enhancing drugs. There is nothing she can do about it seeing as she was born that way. You cannot consider her a cheater, and I think that she should still be allowed to compete.

There are rumors that say that Semenya was born a hermaphrodite which is having both male and female reproductive organs, and that she was cleared by testing done by Athletics South Africa twice. So what does this mean if true? So should she be able to compete with the men or the women?

There is a chance that if she looked a little more feminine this testing would have never happened. Needless to say that is a horrible thing to say because she can't entirely help the fact that she has more masculine features than most women. This is a relative situation to that of a woman taking steroids. Even though it's a harsh situation she is going to go down looking like a cheater, because there is no other way to rule this.

I don't know what to make of this. On the one hand, if she has testes then theres the possibility that testostorne could have aided her in some way. Even then though, there was have to be some way to prove that the testostorne did, in fact, help her. On the other side though, if she was born like that and didn't know about it, what is she to do? I can't see any reasonable way to blame her for it. As to how she sould be treated in regards to playing with men or women, its a very difficult situation and would hate to have to be the one who decides because I think no matter what way you would go, there would be criticism of your decision.

Would a male athlete be treated the same way?

One of the questions Nik posed was if a male athlete would be treated the same way? I think this is a very interesting point to consider.

If we reversed the situation - say a man with a very feminine appearance dominated a men's track event, would his gender be questioned? No, probably not. It would receive plenty of media attention, but I feel like the situation would probably be more centered around the man's sexual orientation rather than this actual gender. Since most people see males as being athletically superior to females in general, people wouldn't opt f or a gender test or anything, since by that thinking he wouldn't have an advantage if he was actually female.

I don't think that just because a female out performs and has a body different than that of the norm is grounds for a gender test. If any test should have been done it should have been before she competed and not after winning medals, and I can't imagine how she must have felt when she found out the results. She grew up believing she was a female and had no clue about her situation, so she lived her life as a female like any normal girl would. I don't think that she needs to start acting like a guy or become one, but my only concern comes down to competing. Who knows whether or not the testes inside of her functioned, and if they did then she possibly had hormones levels present that were not that of a typical female. Could she have had a competitive advantage compared to other female athletes because of her situation, much like that of a football player shootin' up roids? I don't know, she could just be an excellent athlete who has strived to be the best and in doing so has built a physique and talent that is envied by other women track stars and coaches.

Seth Knickrehm

This is a rare situation but I think that a male athlete would never be asked to take a gender test simply because our society believes that men can perform at a high level. Caster Semenya was completely stereotyped in this matter, because of her performance and her not fitting the “norm” for how women should look. And if the testing had to be done why wasn’t in done prior to her winning the gold medal? This is an unfortunate situation because if the tests comes back that she is a male then she should essentially have to compete with the male athletes. This is totally unfair in all aspects. First, the committee or whoever wanted the testing done should have done this before she competed. Second, the one of the main reasons she was asked to take the gender test was because of her appearance. Finally, she grew up believing she was a woman and was to compete against women athletes.

Jake Reisen

I agree with Jonathan when he was talking about men being tested. If any male performing has an outstanding performance they are instantly questioned for cheated and using performing enhancing drugs. She broke the 800 meter record by over 2 seconds so a similar question comes up. Is she actually female? Is it fair to questioned her? No, but because of the past issues with cheating especially in track and field it is necessary to test her. That is how society views special performances. Is it legit or did they cheat?

This, for sure, is a controversial situation. The whole testes found inside of her made my decision for me. Having those testes does make her somewhat of a man. The whole fact that she claimed that she didn't know she had them really throws me off. How are you born with both body parts and not know that. The deal is that they are there, and having those could send out adrenaline, testosterone, or some kind of chemical secretion that would give her some sort of an advantage against other woman that she is racing.

Steven Staggs

Testing is the same in both men and women track and field events. She didn't test positive for anything, so she was not cheating. This was all done beyond her control and I bet she would give up alot for this to have never happened to her. I think it's very unfair to label her as a cheater.

jonathan gimm

what I think about this topic..... I think if she was more feminine then she wouldn't of had to take a gender test. i think even though they found out that she has testes, i still dont think that she could compete with men because she still has female attributes.

When talking about if men get tested as much as women, i say yes they do. Think how many steroid tests are given out in professional baseball each year. In todays society, if you hit any homeruns, you are considered suspicious for using steroids. And these tests go for all sports, not just baseball. And this is just one of the numerous tests that male athletes take on a monthly and sometimes weekly basis.

Obviously this is a very controversial situation, and it seems most people think it is wrong that they tested her just because of her looks. I wonder though if she had not won the race if they would have even thought about testing her. Was this really a test to see if she was a women or not or just a test done because she won and today in sports when an athlete wins it is often assumed that they cheated somehow?

I believe that there should be tests ran on her. I don't think that it is very fair if a supposedly girl is running against other women and she has testicles that are pumping testosterone it is not really fair. It's not exactly her fault, thats just the way these situations go. She probably will and should have some type of testing to see if it gives her an unfair advantage. If something is revealed that she is more of a man than a women, obviously she should be asked to be dismissed from womens racing, and then possibly try racing against men.

One thing that is a little odd to me is how did they find out now? She hasnt been a dominant force in womans racing as far as i know. I mean if she didnt even know, how did they find out? The whole situation seems a little strange to me but if she does in fact have male parts then she cannot compete in womans races. I think she should be allowed to compete in mens races if her times are good enough.

It is a little hard to believe that she wasn't aware of this disease, but I don't know if we can exactly say it was cheating. Scientists should run some tests to see if she has an advantage over other women. Odds are, she is not going to be able to compete against other women, but I think she should then be allowed to race against men.