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Section One: The Fundamentals
A) Keywords
Exercise 1:
Briefly (in 100 words or less) define one of the keywords in the padlet (including one that you. may have added yourself).
Critical Race Theory (CRT): A school of thinking that examines social, legal, and cultural dynamics through a racial point of view. This theory operates on the basis that racism is entrenched in Western society, creating unequal opportunities and advantages for white people while discriminating against people of colour. Critical race theory considers racism to be systemic in our legal and political frameworks, and not solely based on the prejudice of a fringe minority. Critical race theory advocates for racial justice in going beyond DEI and restructuring the legal and political landscape of the West to discard white supremacist legislation.
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B) Representing Race
Exercise 2: Notebook Prompt
In about 50-70 words, consider Joel Bervell’s question: why do we feel the need to extrapolate the athleticism of one Black athlete to all Black people when we do not do the same for white athletes?
Try to think of examples when this happens, making sure to reflect on your own positionality.
| Like many other aspects of society, sports have become a platform for discrimination and racial profiling of people of colour, while white athletes do not tend to receive the same treatment. I find this very discouraging, as it undermines an athlete’s success and completely disregards all the hard work they have put in to achieve their goals. This was seen with Usain Bolt, as some suggested that his success could be attributed to a Jamaican genetic variant rather than commenting on his training, support system, and overall ambition to be the fastest man alive.
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C) Gender, Race & Sport
Exercise 3: Notebook Prompt
What are some strategies for resistance that Rajack and Joseph identify in their article as a means of pushing back against and resisting misogynoir?
| The authors identify the issue of misogynoir as anti-black misogyny which can be seen in the media’s treatment of professional tennis player Naomi Osaka. Mainstream media tends to reduce Osaka’s ethnic background to her nationality (Japanese) although she also has Haitian heritage and self identifies as black. The authors of this article argue that self-representation is key to combating and resisting misogynoir. Self-representation could mean a number of things including correcting mis-representation by members of the press, creating media to express one’s cultural identity, or through ethnic symbolism on and off the court. Osaka has embraced self-representation utilizing these methods to ensure that her Haitian heritage is not overlooked.
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Section Two: Making Connections
A) Athlete Activism
Exercise 3: Padlet Prompt
Do athletes have a responsibility to use their platform for social change? Why or why not? Please remember to record your response in both the padlet below and in your Notebook.
B) Athlete Activism & Feminism
Exercise 4: Complete the activities
Exercise 5: Notebook Prompt
What do the authors of the article call for as a way of challenging how mainstream sports journalism privileges neoliberal feminist concerns? (100 words max.)
| The authors of this article assert that the modern feminist movement is centred around neoliberal feminism; a subcategory of feminism calling for gender equality through means which do not disrupt pre-existing power structures related to capitalism and political arrangements. This ideology may promote gender equality but does not directly address the power structures that are at the root of gender inequality. To correct this, the authors call for an increase in media focus on women’s sports, especially in terms of coverage pertaining to female athlete’s advocacy for social justice. As the WNBA president noted, protests around BLM began in the WNBA before any male sports leagues, yet received much less attention than the NBA or NFL.
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C) Corporate social justice
Exercise 6: Padlet Poll
Full text: I do believe sports leagues hold a responsibility to support social justice movements, as silence around movements like BLM makes these organizations complicit in systemic racism. Given that professional sports leagues are multi-billion dollar industries, they have a great responsibility to their fans, players, and employees to recognize injustices and contribute in any way they can to working towards equality. Sports are not an apolitical realm, and the injustices that athletes experience off the field can contribute to their performance on the field. In order for athletes to feel valued and heard by their organization, it is imperative that higher-ups take these issues seriously, instead of only commenting on the issue when it is no longer profitable to stay silent, like Roger Goodell. Reply: I understand what your saying here, but I have to disagree. Sports leagues such as the NBA, are some of the most powerful businesses in North America and with that power comes a responsibility to promote meaningful and profound social change any way they can. If a major organization stays silent during times of injustice, they are essentially saying that they do not object to this injustice, and therefore their millions of fans shouldn’t object either.
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Section Three: Taking a shot
Module Assignment (submit as part of notebook and separately through Blackboard mini assignment #1 portal)
The movie “42” depicts the career of MLB player Jackie Robinson; the first African American major leaguer who broke the colour barrier in 1947. Being the trailblazer than he was, Robinson was a very controversial figure in the 1940s and his integration into MLB was met with strong opposition as depicted in “42”. In the movie, Robinson must put up with all forms of bigotry from fans, players, and coaches. Rather than retaliating in anger, Robinson keeps his temper and lets his run scoring ability do the talking. This response reminds of some of the strategies discussed in the Razack and Joseph article, advocating for self-representation as a means to resist racism in sports. Prior to joining the MLB, Robinson had a reputation for being quick to anger, which many white folks used as an excuse to stereotype all black athletes as hotheaded. Rather than giving in to these stereotypes, Robinson uses his opportunity to positively represent himself, and other African American athletes, through sportsman-like conduct.
The political atmosphere surrounding sports in the 1940s was certainly not concerned with race and inclusivity, and blatant acts of racism are normalized and accepted in “42”. Such an example is seen in the movie when an announcer suggests that African American players will “run the white man out of baseball”, citing the supposed physiological advantage of black ball players having a longer heel bone than white players. This observation is not rooted in science but rather prejudice and goes to support the idea of critical race theory, in that the society we live in is inherently racist (Hylton, 2010). Hylton also suggests that “the incentive to innovate may be stronger in persons for whom the current system does not work”, which is interesting in relation to “42”, as Robinson is not depicted as outspoken on racial issues, but this may be due to the time period. As the American civil rights movement of the 60s involving MLK, has not yet happened, Robinson would have internalized the idea that he as a black man cannot speak out against racial injustice and instead must put up with it in a sportsman-like manner.
References
Helgeland, B. (Director). (2013). 42 [Film]. Warner Bros.
Hylton, Kevin. “How a turn to critical race theory can contribute to our understanding of ‘race’, racism and anti-racism in Sport.” International Review for the Sociology of Sport, vol. 45, no. 3, 9 Aug. 2010, pp. 335–354, https://doi.org/10.1177/1012690210371045.
Razack, Sabrina, and Janelle Joseph. “Misogynoir in Women’s Sport Media: Race, Nation, and diaspora in the representation of naomi osaka.” Media, Culture & Society, vol. 43, no. 2, 8 Oct. 2020, pp. 291–308, https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443720960919.
