Monday, April 11, 2016
Stereotypes and Labels in Professional Sports
Isiah Thomas was basketball player for the Detroit Pistons in the 1980s. Thomas started a conversation about racial labels in sports that continues today. Thomas argued that professional athletes were stereotyped. Thomas said that whites were stereotyped for their work ethic, and black athletes were stereotyped about their natural ability. Thomas felt that black athletes were not given credit for their hard work and instead their success was simply attributed to natural ability. This conversation continues today where black athletes are highlighted for their physical skills, and white athletes are continually praised for their character, their intellect, or their hard work. This can be exemplified by the way announcers describe Tom Brady versus Marshawn Lynch. Tom Brady is frequently described as the hardest working person in the locker room, or the best team leader the game has ever seen. Marshawn Lynch had a nick name when he played professional Football. It was Beast Mode. in something so simple as a nick name or the way Tom Brady is described comes years of stereotypes that continue to promote the idea that white athletes are hard working and highly intellectual while black athletes are good only because of their physical characteristics.
Johnson, R. (June 5, 1987). Thomas Explains Comments on Bird. Nytimes.com. Retrieved From http://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/05/sports/thomas-explains-comments-on-bird.html
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What stood out to me in this article was the emotion that each of the players involved were feeling through these events. It is sad that African-Americans know how they are stereotyped in today's society and are expected to act a certain way in order to avoid being judged for their actions on and off the court. I also don't believe it's fair to interview players after emotional games and expect them to respond correctly.
ReplyDeleteThis also applies to Richard Sherman's interview after a game winning play to win the Super Bowl. He was definitely fired up from the game still, and had to interview on the field. His emotions in the interview caused him to be labeled as a thug, even though he graduated from Stanford University.
DeleteHere is a link to the interview with Sherman About Michael Crabtree.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PH35C7Fhq0
I agree with both of you about the emotion. The media, and the rest of us as viewers, send mixed messages. Athletes at that level have to care, a lot, win or lose; yet when they do show emotion and sometimes even smarts, they get criticized for an inappropriate reaction. Sherman is a brilliant man and an amazing football player. Why should he have to turn off one aspect of who he is when he turns on the other. Society has a hard time with smart and skilled athletes of color--doesn't fir out dichotomy. Skilled and emotional is now becoming or has become a dichotomy we don't like (think Cam Newton after the Super Bowl loss).
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