Racial Equality In Sports

Not only is race hard to define, but race and ethnicity are used interchangeably about various groups of people (Woods, 2016). Woods accurately defines the usage of both race and ethnicity as when referring to attributes passed on genetically and cultural heritage respectively (2016). Identifying one’s racial background can be rather difficult in America today. Woods wrote, “Due to the mixing of many generations of different races, more Americans have a mixed racial background than an unmixed one” (pg.281, 2016). Yet, groups find themselves a victim of discrimination due to their racial background (Woods, 2016). This very discrimination extends into sport, impacting the entire structure from the top to the bottom.
Furthermore, participation

One can find sport at every level of competition producing a positive effect on the quest for racial equality in society. For example, young people from all racial and ethnic background integrate when they must work together for success in sport (Woods, 2016). Racially diverse athletes who succeed and have the platform to speak on these issues can also bring light to racial inequalities. Woods wrote about this platform in his strategies to combat challenges to racial diversity in sport. Woods appealed, “Prominent minority athletes must assume the responsibility of pointing out inconsistencies and inequities and using their popularity to help improve the future for other minority athletes” (p.306). Eleven more strategies Woods listed to promote racial diversity can be found in Appendix

Ali was fighting social issues in the late 1960s. However, social issues, including discrimination, still exist today in sport. For example, in various sports one may see form of discrimination called stacking, which is when an unusual distribution of whites and blacks in sports is found (Woods, 2016). In other words, having a white quarterback or middle linebacker command the team, while the more physically demanding roles such as wide receiver or cornerback are filled with African American players in the NFL. According to Lapchick’s research in 2012, this sort of stacking can still be seen throughout the NFL. On top of stacking, racial diversity is still low or displaced when compared to the U.S. Population. This is evident in the racial diversity of players as well as the management, including