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Recommended: Sports and ethics
An amateur was a person who enjoyed playing while a professional was paid to be good at the sport. Amateurism was significant because it maintained the dignity and morality of the recreation or play because people were playing to play and not to make money. College football maintained a serious amateur definition while baseball turned to the world of professionalism. Players were not playing the sport, but they were going to work every time they had a game or practice. It was no longer pure, but for any sport that became professional related back to the importance for teams to seek out the players with the best prowess. This only confirms that as the recreation turned into a sport and the sport turned into a business, people associated with …show more content…
Status and prowess that inherently came from playing competitive sports and recreation also came out of convenience. As sports and recreation became integral in American everyday life, there was a problem in the north. It became too cold to play baseball and football outside, but it was wasn’t possible to play these sports inside as it just resulted in injuries to players and the facilities where they attempted to play them. Therefore, basketball was invented as a game where you couldn’t run with the ball and scoring was upright in hopes to decrease the amount of violence but also provide men with recreation in the winter. Soon, basketball just like cycling, football, prize fighting and baseball became a competitive sport and turned into a business where status and prowess become the significant. There were handbooks written to guide people to play and watch basketball and prove its status as a serious sport; “physical judgment is required and cultivated in handling the ball, receiving it from one of your own side, and eluding an opponents” (Naismith 5). Basketball, just like other sports required prowess, physical fitness and understanding of the game in order to defeat the …show more content…
Sports transformed into a business where profit was the main concern. “As the pecuniary returns of the game increased, the value of the individual player was enhanced: the strength or weakness of one position made a difference in thousands in receipts, and this set the astute managerial mind at work” (Ward 315). This pertains to baseball, football, basketball and any other sport today. The more money a person could make off the game, the more significant the players became. The players were the ones making the money for the owners or the gamblers, and so many of these people no longer saw the person in the player, only the prowess in the player. The players soon began to be thought of as property and were often coerced into giving their permission to be traded to another club. “[T]he buying club bought not only the player’s services for the unexpired term of the contract, but the right to reserve or sell him again” ( Ward 315). Clubs claimed that this right to the player’s prowess was necessary to conserve the game and so many clubs abused this idea and ignored getting the player’s
Baseball was popular the most sport in 1919; players were seen as heroes and celebrities. At this time the players were payed very low wages and the owners of the team made huge profit. Because of this many players were into scams that involved them losing games on purpose. During that time of baseball, players didn’t make as much as they do today.Players would be offered large amount of money that would multiply to several times their salary.
“The athletic craze began in the late nineteenth century when American’s were looking for some recreational activities to add to their daily lives during the Depression. In the cities, industrial wage earners frequented play grounds. They went dancing at the dance halls and had fun at the amusement parks. People that lived in rural areas simply rode bicycles, played baseball or football. “
Critics feel that the term amateurism is only a term used in collegiate sports to show the distinguish the difference between professional and collegiate so that they don’t have to pay college athletes. College athletes are just as talented and just as exposed as professional athletes. The argument is for there to be a share in the profits for wage compensation amongst players is know as pay-for-play. College athletics is a corporate enterprise that is worth millions of dollars in revenue. Pay-for-play is an assumption that colleges and universities receive huge revenues from marketing their collegiate sports programs and that the profits from these revenues are not shared with players who perform in the arena. Which some feel that they should.
When looking into the history of our culture, there are many subtopics that fall under the word, “history.” Topics such as arts and literature, food, and media fall into place. Among these topics reside sports. Since the beginning of time, sports have persisted as an activity intertwined with the daily life of people. Whether it is a pick-up game of football in the backyard, or catching an evening game at the local stadium, sports have become the national pastime. According to Marcus Jansen of the Sign Post, more specifically, baseball is America’s national pastime, competing with other sports (Jansen 1). Providing the entertainment that Americans pay top dollar for, live the role models, superstars, and celebrities that put on a jersey as their job. As said in an article by Lucas Reilly, Americans spend close to $25.4 billion dollars on professional sports (Reilly 4). The people that many children want to be when they grow up are not the firefighters or astronauts told about in bed time stories. These dream jobs or fantasies have become swinging a bat or tossing a football in front of millions of screaming fans. When asked why so many dream of having such job, the majority will respond with a salary related answer. In today’s day and age, the average athlete is paid more than our own president. The cold hard facts show that in professional sports, the circulation of money is endless. Certain teams in professional baseball and football are worth over millions of dollars. Consequently, the teams who are worth more are able to spend more. The issue that arises with this philosophy is virtually how much more? League managers, team owners and other sports officials have sought out a solution to the surfacing problem. Is it fair to let...
Basketball players were not paid all as well and did not play as hard and they looked up to legends. “Smith is Abe Lincoln in a sports world” (Reilly 2). Both Abe and Smith include blacks in their activities. “In today’s scandal-dripping land of college basketball, couldn’t we all use a little of Dean Smith” (Reilly 2). So many people only went to basketball games were that they only wanted to she the famous people that play and to get their
In the collegiate world of sports, basketball has become an increasingly recognized sport among African Americans, predominantly males. The hope of any young basketball player is that one day a scout will come and recruit them into stardom The question that presents itself as a problem to the lucky few who are chosen to go professional, is whether or not an education is more important than a million dollar shoe deal, “The NCAA's (1998) annual six-year study reported that only 33% of Black male basketball players graduated, (Chronicle of Higher Education, 1999). Individually, basketball reported the lowest graduation rate in all divisions,” (Robinson, 2004:1). Basketball players have become so idolized in the eyes of young Black male basketball athletes, that the value of education appear to be less important in the development of these young men, “According to Sailes (1997), there is an over-representation of Black males in particular sports and an under-representation in other segments of American society. He provides the example of percentages of Black males competing in the NBA (77%), NFL (65%), MLB (15%), and MLS (16%) in comparison to the fact that fewer than 2% of doctors, lawyers, architects, college professors, or business executives are Black males.”, (Robinson, 2004:1). The idea of the attainment of a professional basketball player’s salary in the NBA, without even having to go to school for the time it takes to earn a degree is very appealing to some players. Those with a wealthy, or even upper-middle class upbringing may not view material assets as a priority. In the Black community, we have theorized that money and success play a more important role than education in most households. Although these two seem to go together, one resulting from the other, this does not apply in the sports world. Our research will examine the role that the family value system plays in influencing Black vs. White male athletes to turn professional, as opposed to obtaining a college degree before turning professional.
Throughout the year a baseball player gives numerous amount of hours to baseball. Weekdays through weekends, a baseball player is constantly playing. During the year a player has a regular season in which games go on and an off season in which training happens. During the regular season, a professional baseball player plays three games every four days. On the extra day they have a practice. With this being said, there is no free time left within the regular playing season. During the off season a professional baseball player has more time than the regular season but still not as much as someone who does not play baseball. Every morning of an off season a player has to go work out to maintain strength. Many of the workouts can take up to three hours. This means a baseball player has three hours less throughout the day. A non baseball player has enough free time to do fun stuff like go out to the movies. A baseball player does not even have enough time to go home, relax, and watch tv. These sacrifices would be very difficult for some people to wrap their head around. They require constant, major dedication to the sport in which all professional players
Baseball, in the 1940s, was not an integrated sport, but rather followed a separate but equal policy. While the white players got paid a lot of money to play in the Major Leagues, the sometimes superior black players were left to play in the Negro Leagues, which did not pay as well. Many of these players gained notoriety through this league, such as Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson. While their records beat numerous of the white players records, racism was too bad to justify integrating the Major Leagues without someone who would not fight the callous abuse that was sure to come their way. One man was successful in finding the right man to play. Branch Rickey made baseball history by signing a black player to the Dodgers in 1947. The Negro League star players questioned his choice in players, but ultimately Rickey made the right decision by signing Jackie Robinson.
According to the NCAA regulations an athlete will lose his/her eligibility if they are paid to play; sign a contract with an agent; receive a salary, incentive payment, award, gratuity educational expenses or allowances; or play on a professional team. The word amateur in sports has stood for positive values compared to professional, which has had just the opposite. The professional sport has meant bad and degrading; while the amateur sport has meant good and elevating. William Geoghegan, Flyer News sports editor writes, “Would paying athletes tarnish the ideal of amateurism? Maybe, but being fair is far more important than upholding an ideal” (Geoghehan 1).
Willie Mays once said “In order to excel, you must be completely dedicated to your chosen sport. You must also be prepared to work hard and be willing to accept constructive criticism. Without one-hundred percent dedication, you won't be able to do this” In order to succeed it’s required to put everything on the line to survive in the world of sports. Without devoting to sports there is no correct path to success. Nobody will be on the level of competition. Dedication also comes into play where people will need to be better in other areas. Technique is another must have to be involved with sports. If its not possible to do something right then try over and over until it is. Speed is needed to be able to get place to place or to shoot a swift shot. Working out lower body will help with strength which comes back to dedication. Therefore, everything comes back to each other and helps be better, faster, harder, and stronger.
Sports are one of the most profitable industries in the world. Everyone wants to get their hands on a piece of the action. Those individuals and industries that spend hundreds of millions of dollars on these sports teams are hoping to make a profit, but it may be an indirect profit. It could be a profit for the sports club, or it could be a promotion for another organization (i.e. Rupert Murdoch, FOX). The economics involved with sports have drastically changed over the last ten years.
Sports are often identified to have positive influences on many individuals. The sports industry is growing worldwide, especially the basketball industry, which is regarded in second place behind football. The global prevalence of basketball is unquestionable, especially among the young. Basketball is a dynamic team sport that involves a pattern of alternating, active, and skilled movement activities. There are compound demands that require a mixture of individual skills, team plays, strategies, and motivational aspects.
While sports for the spectators are merely entertainment, the economics of the industry are what drives businesses to become involved. Sports have become more of a business entity rather than an entertainment industry due to the strong economic perception of the over all industry. There are several instances in which economics may contribute to the effect on the sports industry, such as: the success of a team, the price of a ticket, the amount of money an athlete will make, and the amount of profit a team will make. The success of an...
In one historical moment from Pamela Grundy's book Learning to Win: Sports, Education, and Social Change in Twentieth-Century North Carolina, she writes about men's college athletics between 1880 and 1901. Grundy states that "metaphors of competition gained new prominence, particularly among the members of the state's expanding middle class, which was coming to dominate public affairs" (Grundy, 12). Male college students living in North Carolina began to excel in organized athletics during this time period. "The contests on the field seemed to mirror the competitive conditions prevailing in the society at large, and the discipline, self-assertion and reasoned strategy that sports were credited with teaching meshed neatly with the qualifies required for business and political success" (Grungy, 13). People who supported athletics wholeheartedly believed it taught good values such as discipline and good character, while there were some who opposed this saying that sports were a distraction for students and thus a hindrance to their educational goals. White college men perceived athletics as a way to show their superiority and justify their presence in business as well as politics. They believed athletic sports were essential in their "vision o...
Sports, a very popular past time today, have been around since ancient times. Greek Olympic Games featured events from chariot races, javelin throws, to wrestling. In addition, a game similar to soccer was played in China by the second century BC. In England, a violent rugby type game was even played to settle feuds between villages. With the development of the industrial revolution and the creation of the first public schools, sports decreased in violence and were played more recreationally and constructively. Basketball was invented to help the youth in New England spend their energy in the winter months. Since the early 1900’s sports have been a key experience in the United States (“History of Sports”). I have played sports for many years, and the experience has helped me grow significantly as an individual.