Discrimination in Sports
Having to deal with discrimination in the world is an issue for many people. But, when you want to play a sport that you really enjoy, discrimination is even more constant. “Discrimination is prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things, especially on the grounds of race, age, or sex” (Oxford Dictionary). Discrimination is global across many eras. It may not be the word used in the past, but it was still considered a social issue and is to this day. It has been brought to my attention that discrimination in sports has been there from the beginning, mostly having to do with race or gender equality.Race shapes the world by bringing diversity through different cultures. Discrimination is not something we should be talking about over and over. It should be something that we learn from, because 100 years from now no one is really going to talk about the bills passed or what happened in the 1800s. There will be a new era to discuss so past challenges should be already handled. This concerns music, because many artists write songs about discrimination and how they grew up in poor economic conditions. Tupac was a major artist to address this kind of social issue because not only did he want to make music, but he wanted to make a difference. He didn’t want to be just another artist. This is something that needs to be addressed again. People are tired of hearing words of discrimination in every sentence, especially when it excludes them from the sport they love. We all know what discrimination is, and what it looks like in action. Discrimination is something we can take a step back from, and cherish each other. It can be prevented by respecting culture and racial differences, being professional, refusing to participate in harassment, and avoiding racist or cultural humor jokes and pranks. Discrimination in sports is something we can overcome because this industry is stronger than a few people who hate based on race or gender. “We have an opportunity to promote fairness, equality, inclusion and mutual respect from the playing field to the classroom through our national network across the country…” (“ADL Forms Sports Leadership Council”). This just shows how the sports industry can overcome these obstacles. “No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite” (Nelson Mandela). Nelson Mandela said, “if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love.” This quote seems really easy to connect to. It is a simple truth. When confronted by discrimination, athletes need to stick up for themselves and for other athletes.
* “ADL FORMS SPORTS LEADERSHIP COUNCIL TO PROMOTE POSITIVE SOCIAL CHANGE AND COMBAT HATE AND DISCRIMINATION ATHLETES, TEAM OWNERS, SPORTS EXECUTIVES JOIN SOCIAL CHANGE INITIATIVE.” States News Service, 28 Sept. 2017. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A507385528/AONE?u=mcc_chandler&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=0f128ca4. Accessed 19 June 2021.
* Fellner, Robert. “5 Anti-Discrimination Quotes That Shaped Our Understanding of Equality.” Human Rights Careers, 9 June 2020, www.humanrightscareers.com/issues/anti-discrimination-quotes-that-shaped-our-understanding-of-equality/.
* “Discrimination.” Discrimination Noun — Definition, Pictures, Pronunciation and Usage Notes | Oxford Advanced American Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com, www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/discrimination.
