“ I don’t know what my future holds, but I do know who holds my future.” Tim Tebow’s words blew the door, that was once thought to be closed, wide open. Many athletes before and after Mr. Tebow, have declared their religious views to society. Society refuses to allow this sort of testimony, but welcomes athletes that acknowledge themselves as homosexual, or transgender. Keeping personal preferences or beliefs to oneself is highly encouraged when faith is involved, but when it involves sexuality preferences or beliefs, people are praised. Homosexuality used to be a whisper and now it is a chant. Movie after movie, athlete after athlete, team after team, has exposed the whispered fact, God is in sports. Why does faith remain a whisper?
What I Know:
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Praying before games, expressing one’s faith publicly, and even referencing a religious figure, is frowned upon. Multiple movies have been showing in theaters recently exposing this hidden reality society tries to ignore, God is in sports. As an athlete and Christian myself, I’ve often pondered why expressing my love for my Creator is so wrong? People argue that not everyone is a believer, and keeping religion to ourselves is preferred. What I know is that as a Christian, I am supposed to share my love of the Lord with others, to show them the greatness He has, but when the law prohibits me for expressing my faith, my freedoms are taken away. Separation of church and state laws have made that very clear. I know people disapprove, but I also know God is making a difference in athletes all over the
Many Americans have seen or at least heard of the movie “Remember the Titans.” The classic film focuses on a school that is blending black and whites and taking on an African American head coach. The coach knows the importance of winning, but also knows the team must work together to get those wins and have respect for every single person in the locker room. Although coach Boone was still put in a tough situation with the school board and the community, he was able to lead his team, with the help of a white assistant coach, to an undefeated season. The team coming together is exactly what America does with sports. Most everybody can come together and enjoy sporting events. By saying “everybody”, that includes all races: white, black, Hispanic, Asian, and so on. Sports are America’s past, present, and
This these verses may have a different meaning to a variety of different people but one things is for certain that all athletes religious or not must respect these solemn words because they describe what it is that we as athletes or even former athletes must go through or have gone through in order to achieve certain goals and aspirations. Furthermore, after watching
Christianity plays a very important role in society today. Seeing all the different ways that Christianity affects the way we live our lives, I noticed that professional sports is greatly influenced by Christianity. There always tens to be some controversy over Christianity in professional sports. Weather in football, boxing, basketball, or baseball, there is controversy. But this controversy is not necessarily a bad thing. The reason that there is controversy is because more and more professional athletes are either professing that they are Christians, or there are athletes accepting the Christian beliefs from the witnessing of other athletes. This growth does not stop here. As the number of Christian professional athletes is on a rise, the public notices. The public is greatly influenced by super-stars. When one of those super-stars becomes Christian, many fans of that athlete will notice and see the difference in him/her. The fans will act how the athlete will act. If they see Michael Jordan doing something, they "wanna be like Mike". So, it is easy to see how Christian athletes have an affect on other athletes, and how all the athletes have an affect on society. Subsequently, by having this affect on society it is healthy to set a Christian example rather then that of the world. We need someone who is willing to put him/herself out there and proclaim the word of god through his or her own lives.
The game’s various stereotypes make it hard for a man in the league to have a different sexual preference than the “normal,” heterosexual. Most people view football as the manliest sport, due to its constant physical contact of tackling one another. Many believe that this is a “man’s game,” and that there should not be homosexuals in the league, which causes a great controversy. Our nation’s view on homosexuality has gradually changed, so why shouldn’t football, an all American sport, also be able to progress and drop the stigma around having openly homosexual players in the league still be considered exceptional athletes? Another reason why the NFL might not be interested in drafting a homosexual player is because of the money.
Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream, but so Cassius Clay, Jackie Robinson, and Bill Russell. Long before King’s famous “I Had a Dream” speech or Rosa Parks famous stand came something much simpler: sports. Sports have always had the ability to open people’s eyes in a way that is more impactful than words or actions. The way that athletics can shape a persons mind, or open their eyes to something beyond what they already believe, is incredible. They can get everyone to root for a common purpose, a common goal. And for some, that was freedom. The integration of professional and collegiate athletics not only changed sports history, but helped shape American history.
The Health and fitness industry have many ethical issues involved which was very interesting to me. I have never purchased a membership at a health club, but from the reading I learned a lot about how they operate. It amazed me that health clubs push their sales representatives to get 200-300 new members a month (Amend, 1992). This is a large amount of people for such a short amount a time, which means some members are not fully aware of the fine print of the membership agreement. Also the reading mentions that more than half of instructors at these clubs do not have valid certification (Copeland et al, 1988),. This is unethical because the members pay each month for the service of a qualified staff member to assist them in exercise and fitness. Safety of the members could also be at risk working out with a non-qualified trainer. Learning how these companies do business make me want to hold off as long as possible to join a gym.
Religion has an important impact on everyday life. Society uses religion to express themselves through faith, God and worshiping. Sports are also a type of religion in today’s society. People worship their teams at games and pray before every game. Sports and religion tie directly into people’s lives every day.
It is clear that sports are big deal in our lives. They shape us as individuals and more importantly they promote gender roles and stereotypes that have negative impacts on females. It promotes a paradigm that states males are superior to females when it comes to sports. Co-ed sports can be used as a foundation to break through this paradigm and jumpstart a movement to disease these gender roles and stereotypes we place. Females don’t get equal opportunities as they don’t want to perceive as manly because of this dichotomous thinking we have. They shy away from getting into sports. Using co-ed leagues not only benefits females and promotes them to play sports, it also benefits them as a generation to further this paradigm shift and dismiss
One of the most pressing issues within physical contact sports is the amount of Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) sustained by the players on both professional and amateur levels. This particular topic has been debated over numerous times, arguing whether or not there should be more safety regulations within these particular sports. Many people suggest that adding more regulations will impact the sports taking away from their original entertainment. However, one can clearly see the endangerment these athletes face with long term brain trauma, and how certain steps should be enforced in order to avoid this.
I believe the question posed by Prebish asking whether sport is a parallel to religion or identical means that sport is very closely related to the same principles. It is an organized institution dealing with faith, discipline, tradition, rituals, and has devout followers, as does the religious institution. When a sport can bring its followers to an experience of the ultimate plateau of complete focus, oneness, devotion, and the quest for salvation, I believe this is identical to religion.
Thirty, twenty, ten, touchdown, and the Redskins win! With that one play the mood of all those Redskins fans went through the roof and the moods of the opposing teams fans dropped. Fans across the nation follow every stat, every play, and every game of their favorite sports teams. If you ask any football fan what Sunday means they will probably reply football and drinking with the guys instead of church. Is it a good thing that people plan their lives around what time their teams’ play? When you base your life around a single sports team or a favorite athlete then it can be very problematic. Worship of sports teams and athletes is damaging to society; it can cause you to lose focus on your real goals, can lead to physiological problems, and can even lead to physical harm and violence. Worship of sports teams and athletes is damaging to society.
This chapter provides background information on the research topic. The first section provides a general overview of the anthropology of sports with sub-headings of anthropologists and their contributions to the study of sport and the body in the anthropology of sport. The second section provides a description of sport studies. The third section of the chapter sheds light on the meaning and application of sport. The fourth heading provides literature on relevant subjects to the anthropology of sports and sport studies. Finally, the fifth heading provides concluding thoughts for the chapter.
Ethical and moral quandaries are present at all levels of organized sports (DeSensi, 2010). Athletic directors and sporting managers face many demands each day surrounding their job responsibilities; budgets, parents, coaches, student-athletes, office personal, facility management, public relations. Each of these areas and many more require a considerate, level minded, comprehensive ethical and moral response when a challenge arises to develop an equitable response and solution (DeSensi, 2010). Hence, having a plan of action to handle ethical and moral issues may be essential to creating a culture of integrity in athletic organization.
I hope you find well. I would like to go this weekend to our family meeting. I know there's going to be a grill, friends and good meat, besides those who live outside are visiting for our cousin’s birthday. But this time, I'm going to avoid joining. Do not take it bad, I always feel welcome in your house and you are a good host, but I have to say: you drink too much, and worse, you make people drink too much.
Jeff Kemp, a retired professional NFL quarterback, once stated, “Sports teach positive lessons that enrich America even while revealing its flaws” (Kemp). Athletics offer so much more than the joy of game day and the thrill of a win. Being involved in sports holds the key to a world filled with passion, excitement, and once in a lifetime opportunities. There is nothing better than seeing the student section arrive in full force or hearing the school fight song chanted before kickoff. However, when life moves on and leaves sports behind, the lessons it has instilled in athletes never disappears. The play calls may be foggy and the jersey will be too tight, but what was innocently learned in the jersey shines out at an older age. Although life lessons can be learned through everyday activities, lessons such as teamwork, self-confidence, and dealing with failure are only truly learned through sports by young athletes.