Free Argumentative Essays: Racial Barriers In Sports

Racial Barriers in Sport

As racial issues continue to be a talking point in sports, so do the barriers that come along with it. With a more diverse world of sports there is more of a chance for racism to occur. In this report I will be covering how society views sports, how demographics and economics affect sport selection and also racial discrimination. Racial issues can be so common that some can even think it’s normal for it to happen, but that needs to change.

The way society views sports can have a huge impact on the sport, and also the participation. If you take Basketball for instance which is over 80% black, people will always view it as a “black” sport because that's what they all see in the media. The way the media shows the sport urges people to think that it’s a “black” sport and that won't change until they present it in more of a open minded view. If you were to look at hockey or lacrosse which are both over 90% white, they are often referred to as a “white” sport. If people changed the way they think about certain sports then it would give kids of the close minded parents a chance to play a sport that they are less likely to play.

For example if you live in the southern United States you are less likely to play hockey or lacrosse, because the opportunities don’t exist. In the United States only 0.16% of the population registered to play hockey compared to canada which 16.6% of the population was registered for hockey in 2015. This is because of demographics, people in the USA don’t get the opportunity to play hockey because of their location, in the states they have a total of 1060 ice hockey arenas but in Canada there is 8300. This may be a factor in why there are less people in the states that play hockey but have more people that play basketball and football because there is more of an