Final Post

I must say that I have really enjoyed this class. I appreciated being able to talk discuss topics that may not be appropriate in otherwise, such as, gay stigmas, race, gender, and discrimination. I believe it is important to talk and discuss these type of topics in order improve society.
I really enjoyed writing the blogs this semester. Last year for Dr. Spencer’s history and philosophy of sport class, we were given the option to write a journal or have a blog. I chose to use the journal because Im not the type who enjoys criticism. I tend to take negative comments to heart, so in order to protect my thoughts I wrote them in a journal. This year I wanted to step outside of the box, and let others read and give their opinions on my thoughts about things. I would have to say it was not as bad as I thought it would be. I enjoyed the feedback, positive or negative, because it allowed me to see a broader prospective of the topic. Reading other peoples blogs were a positive experience for me too. I enjoyed being able to express my opinions and gave me more avenues to affirm my beliefs. Also, with the blogs that I agreed with, I was able to see more, “ah Ha”, moments, because I found that my classmates either better worded my opinions or had a different thought process of their beliefs.
I really enjoyed all the topics in we discussed in class. There was not one discussion that wasn’t interesting. However, I would have to say that one of the topics I got most involved in was the Indian Wells incident. I couldn’t believe how passionate I became in class. I was very opinionated and very hard time why some people didn’t understand the reasoning’s behind the Williams sister’s protest. After the heated discussion I had a strong impulse to go write on my blog because I had so much to say. That was the first time I really had a passion to write something down, get it all out, to be able to express the ideas running through my head. It was a way to figure it all out, to allow my brain to process the situation and to organize my beliefs into something that made sense. Because of this moment, I would like to keep a journal for myself. I’m not sure if I would like to blog something quit yet, however, I see the positive impacts that writing and idea down could have and I am more than willing to reap the benefits from that.

Korean Dominance on the LPGA

Within the past couple decades the Korean golf players have made a huge presence on the LPGA golf tour. There is a lot of speculation and unease about their dominance on the tour. People are fearful about losing sponsorships and fans due to their lack of English speaking ability and “emotion” that they portray on the tour. Their dominance on the tour is no mistake. There are several factors that explain their great deal of success, and they are: Golf Boom in Korea, work ethic that is the envy of the tour, devotion and focus to the game that is unparalleled, indomitable mental toughness, family involvement while on tour, and they are from an agrarian society which means they are more futuristic. All of these characteristics are very favorable and result in success in professional golf. Working at the Jamie Farr I have been able to witness these characteristics such as their mental toughness, work ethic, and family involvement. The most evident to me was the involvement of their families. I would see their families camping out in mini vans for a quick nap between plays and them standing by their players every step on the golf course for encouragement. When they were not on the course, the majority of the players who took advantage of the practice putting greens were the Korean players; sometimes I could see them from the office practicing hours at a time. And last but not least I witnessed their mental toughness. There was only one Korean who was popular on the tour who happened to be Si Ri Pak. She has one this particular tournament six or seven times, so the locals have huge respect for her. She would have crowds that were just as big as Natalie Gulbis and Michelle Wie. However, the rest of the players did not have as big as a fan base, and if they were paired with an American, the crowed would be rooting for the American. Of course they are on the home course of the Americans, however, their focus was something to witness. It was as if they were the only ones on the course. I applaud the Koreans for doing so well, and I believe that a lot of the American players can learn from their strategies in order to excel in the tour just as they have.

Gay Stigmas

I was inspired by the story of John Amaechi. John Amaechi is a former NBA hall of famer who we discussed in class because of his sexual orientation. His sexual orientation as a gay man within the professional world of sports is not exactly something that is commonly accepted. The fact the males in professional sports are placed on a pedestal for hegemonic masculinity may compromise a players worth and eligibility on a team if he is to come out. This is because of the common stereotype that homosexual males are considered to be feminine and will never fit the ideal mold of a hegemonic male. It is as if a homosexual is less than that of a male, and I think that is why most men who are gay and in the professional sports profession wait until they are retired to reveal that they are gay. Revealing while they are still playing may hurt the perceived emotion that people are supposed to get while watching sport and idolizing their favorite player. But why can people idolize a gay man or get just as excited seeing them slam dunk a ball as they would Michael Jordan? I think this all relates to peoples fear of homosexuality, they want to disconnect themselves in order to steer away from gay stigmas that other homophobes would respond to. However, I believe that the more that the cycle is broken, and more people come out that they are gay while holding respectful or even contradictory positions such as male professional sport the more people will not discriminate. Amaechi’s story is amazing. I went to his homepage and it stated that he started playing when he was 17 years old and currently he is a motivational speaker as well as promotes charities for a living. I think that a lot of people would admire his accomplishments and he can be that hero to little boys or girls that think its too late to become good at something. However, the public needs to look past the gay man they first see and view him as the person that he really is.

Racial Slurs in Sport

Its interesting now that Asians are making headways in professional athletics that they are receiving degrees of racism from other professional athletes within their respected sport. Take Shaq’s comment about Yao. He on camera deliberately insulted Yao on his culture and language by speaking gibberish in order to imitate the Chinese language. I felt that the comment was immature. Shaq may have tried to be funny, but I think he was being really naive to respecting other cultures within the NBA. Shaq being an African American himself, you would think that he was would a little more sensitivity to racial comments. However, Shaq’s comment could be considered as teasing compared to the comment that Jan Stephenson made about the Koreans on the LPGA tour. She comprised a bunch of assumptions about how they are hurting the tour. She said that they cant speak English, are emotionless, and are dominating an international tour. However, all these comments were in relation to how they are hurting the American tour as opposed to the international tour. I felt like her remarks were nowhere near a joking matter as Shaq’s were and she was personally attacking the LPGA players. I would have to disagree with her comments. From working with the Jamie Farr this year, the Korean players are more than great with the pro am players as well as do well with the media. I think that the implementation of knowing basic English helps with publicity in America, but I only agree with the rule because it is the international language. If English was not the international language, then I feel like English speaking player would have to know the basic language of every country they play in too.

The Tiger Empire

It’s hard to believe that just a few months ago my marketing professors would use Tiger Woods as an example as a brand that companies would inquire to be associated with their product because Tiger was, “perfect”. He was successful, respectful, ideal, and handsome. There was not one criticism that someone could make up about Tiger other than he is really rich and shouldn’t have as much money as he does. However, I guess with the latest reports in the media, his entire brand is at risk. Tiger is now being accused for having not one but several mistresses. His fans and the world are in shock. He was well on his way in becoming the next Jordan, pumping millions of dollars into the economy for quit a bit of time, however, how will the public react to these latest allegations? I myself, would not stop buying his brand, however, I do see him in a different light. I was actually really disappointed, I thought for once we would have this phenomenal athlete who has mass media attention, that would be a role model out into the community. But he is a person and he does make mistakes, but this was a mistake of character and integrity that could really hurt his empire. Already, Gillette has dropped him, who is to come next? I was watching Larry King Live and they were discussing this very topic. At the time, no one had dropped him and they were sending out statements that supported Tiger, however, the statements suggested that they were waiting on further information. The show also suggested that they are in binding contracts with Tiger, so his sponsors may legally not be able to drop his contract. I think that it is a good idea for Tiger to take a leave. It will not only get him out of the spotlight but allow the situation to settle. It will also allow his sponsors to better evaluate the relationship with the public when he does come back so that they may make an executive decision to whether they are to continue further business with Tiger.

BYU vs New Mexico

We had been discussing in class how women's sport does not receive a lot of publicity unless the athlete herself is a celebrity, sells sex appeal, or is a popular champion. Now, it has been discovered that women who are deliberately being violent during the game will gain the fame. I am referring to college women’s soccer particularly the match of BYU vs. New Mexico. There are video clips of the New Mexico team player, punching, tripping, and even pulling the hair of their opposing players. The video was funny to watch, but at the same time as a coach it was unpleasant. For the most part athletics hold a high standard of dignity, respect, and sportsmanship. And I made sure that these values were instilled in my lacrosse players. Violence may be entertaining, however, I feel as if it degrades what sport is all about. There is going to be harsh feelings, animosity, and grudges against other teams, that’s the nature of the competition, but to completely out lash the way the New Meixco team did was appalling. I was thinking to myself, where is the coach? It is easy to miss some conduct that is displayed on the field, however, I feel like New Mexico’s harsh play was hard to miss. There is a lot of pressure on the coach to control their players and control misconduct. The lines were never crossed with my girls because they knew of the high standards that the lacrosse association within Ohio expects of them, and across the board most of all lacrosse coaches enforce strict discipline for misconduct. I can only imagine how much heat that soccer coach is in for continually letting the game to be violent. UNM Vice President for Athletics Paul Krebs commented about the game, “Liz’s conduct on the field against BYU was completely inappropriate. There is no way to defend her actions." And I myself think it would be hard to defend a player who did that. I’m surprised her punishment has not been discussed within the media, because I feel like it would be a bigger topic if this was to happen within a men’s team.

March Madness

We have discussed how bizarre it is that March Madness in men’s college basketball is so much more popular than the women’s tournament. Only a select few within the class have filled out a bracket and followed the women’s tournament while nearly everyone followed the men’s. I think that the following has the same correlation with men’s and women’s professional basketball. Actually, I could see the march madness for women’s basketball may get more spectators than an average professional women’s game. I think that its particularly due to interest, more people are willing to watch a men’s game than a womens because of gender perspectives that the men’s game is faster and fiercer, and has a more sense of excitement. But I also think that the publicity has a lot to do with it. I looked up both of the websites for the men’s and women’s Final Four championships. The men’s tournament was held in Detriot, while the women played in St Louis. I then found the schedules for the games and events, and there was a significant difference in public entertainment. Both tournaments had free basketball clinics, middle school madness programs, and a walk or run for their fans to participate in. However, the men’s tournament also included a college all star game, community initiatives, practice viewings, and block party, where musicians came to perform and the community could get together for fun activities. There is defiantly a lot more hype and buzz for the men’s tournament than women’s. So I have decided for the first time that I am going to make a bracket for the women’s march madness and see if I derive the same type of excitement that I get from following my men’s bracket. I think not only my own personal interest once games start will influence my excitement, I also feel like the people around me will also have a huge influence. Who knows I may find a big group of people who do follow the women’s march madness, or I may be flying solo.

"Wie Love Michelle"

Wie wins her first victory! November 15, 2009 Wie had her first LPGA championship victory beating Paula Creamer and Lorena Ochoa by two shots. The win was necessary for the success of her career and the desperate attempt to get the LPGA back into the spotlight. The tour has lost a lot of American spectators and public attention. There are no more American Sweetharts winning the championships as they are now being dominated by Asian players. Also, Carolyn Bivens, the old commissioner was asked to step down from her position for a number of reasons. She was not alleviating the financial pressures that the American tournaments experiencing during these economic times, in fact she was raising tournament fees to an inoperable rate, which in turn made several tournaments in the US drop from the tour this year ; raising sponsorship prices by as much as $200,000, declining the media attention of the tour, as well as supporting and raising more tournaments overseas to earn an extra penny. Since her leave the LPGA has a lot to clean up as well as gaining their respected fan base back in the US. Since Wie’s win the LPGA website has a viewing jump of 84%. This could be a beginning of a time that everyone was waiting for. If Wie continues to win tournaments, she will be bringing attention back to the LPGA like Tiger brought to the PGA. Wie had a long absence due to her ambition trying to compete in the PGA. It was not until this year that she became a full member the of the LPGA. Personally I have seen her play at the Jamie Farr, her game is amazing to watch, but she beats herself. Her game diminishes as she gets discouraged and it’s very easy to pick up that emotion. I think with this win it will encourage her to try harder and to practice harder, she is finally coming around and meeting the expectations that everyone was waiting for since she was 14. That is a lot to carry on ones shoulders at such a young age, so I can understand her since of displacement with not reaching the goals society had placed for her. But now she has evidence of her achievements that are supposedly, “long overdue”, and I think if she continues to win, the LPGA will bounce back very quickly due to her fame, likeability, and sponsorship deals. America will have their sweetheart back.

The Jordan Empire

Michael Jordan is probably one of the most well known human beings on this planet. We discussed in class all of the memories we had of Jordan that we had when we were younger. All of the sponsorships like his Nike shoes and Gatorade. Also the publicity, memorabilia, and staring in movies, it’s hard to forget the face and the name. He is like a demigod, people to this day idolize him. My most fond childhood memory of him was the Space Jam movie he was in. I never watched basketball, but I loved that movie and I knew of him, and I think that because I had a lot of friends who loved him, it made the movie for favorable for me. It’s funny ever since we discussed his fame and his impact on sport, its like I see Jordan everywhere. It’s probably because I am more aware of him from the class discussion. I now notice his Hayne’s commercials which probably play just as much in the past as I notice them now. I also see clips of him when he attends basketball games. Last week When the Cav’s played the Miami Heat Jordan was in attendance and it seemed about every five minutes the camera would flash back to show viewers his reaction. Lastly, I ran across a fairly new documentary about Michael Jordan. I can not recall the specific station but it was not aired on a sport channel. In the documentary they discussed a lot of the topics that we had in class; his fame, worth, impact on economics and sport, endorsements, experiments with golf and baseball, and the scandal associated with his father’s death. I found my attention to his publicity today amusing. Although he has been out of sport for some time, he still has a huge impact within our culture and media today. It’s strange that I have never notice the media attention that he still gets until recently but I really enjoy it because I cant help but relate it to class discussions.

Female Sport and Sexuality

Last week in class we discussed whether or not it was ok for women athletes to pose for magazines baring a little more skin that is commonly acceptable and if their photos were really promoting their sports. I think that there are a couple underlying reasons why women expressing their sexuality is a controversial topic. The first one is that women’s sport is not nearly as popular and does not generate as much money as men’s sport. Some women have posed for photos in promotion of their sport and promotion of their athleticism. But what about the female athletes that pose more provocatively? Is it ok for them to sell sex in order to create more attention for their sport? My question is why has sport made it acceptable for women to bare all? You do not see female lawyers posing in bikini’s to promote their firms. I think that part of the reason why is that it generates money and media attention, and the media attention in most cases is positive or creates a buzz. I think that most people can agree that in world of fitness and health athletes have gorgeous bodies. Maybe promoting their bodies is a way to create fans, people who strive to achieve the fitness that the athletes have, and if you can look good while working out all the better. I still do not know if it is good for essentially promoting the sport. There is a difference in showing that your fit and a difference in sex appeal. Take David Beckham for example, he is famous for Soccer, his looks, and being married to Victoria so when I see him in underwear ads I do not think of him of promoting soccer, however, soccer does cross my mind because he has such a big face in US soccer. So in conclusion even though he is not directly promoting soccer, soccer is in association with him, and his name. Is it ok for him to pose provocatively when he represents a family sport entertainment? Yet, you do not hear about him being criticized for being in underwear ads, is it because soccer is really popular and his actions do not affect the representation of soccer as much? Or is the general public more strict with women? Does the public criticize women for going against lady like behavior, whether its for promoting their sport or not eyebrows will be raised. What I think it comes down to for most cases is that this is really some of the only media exposure that particular women sports get, some use it to increase their celebrity, however, this will be a circulating issue because I do not see a decrease in a correlation of female athletes and sex appeal in the near future.

Male Athletes and Homosexuality

Today in class we discussed about the perplexities about male athletes coming out to their professional teams when they are homosexual. In recent history most males have only come out after their professional careers were over to avoid being ostracized with their fans and even within their own team. Even with the strides we have made in recent years for gay rights and the acceptance of gays within the community, male athletes who are gay may have it a little harder than the majority. Their profession revolves around masculinity, and it doesn’t help their case that there is a connotation that gay men tend to be more feminine. I think because of the nature of their job and the negative reputation of the homosexuality, the atmosphere of and a gay male athlete and his counterparts are intensified. If a professional athlete were to come out that he was gay, I think he will have a support system, however, I also think that he will have a hard time maintaining expectance from the rest of his teams and his fans. I totally understand that for wanting to wait to come out until their career is over. Until there has been a substantial number of athletes that come out later in life, people will finally start to break down their pre conceptions and expectations of athletes and heterosexuality. And until that happens I think it will be unlikely that we will hear about gay male athletes that come out while in the duration of their career.

Women with MUSCLE

In class we got into a discussion on how much muscle is too much muscle that is acceptable for a woman. I found this interesting, because I myself have my preferences about how much muscle I like on a man or how much muscle I think is attractive on a woman, however, I never considered an amount of muscle mass being inappropriate or not right. Working within the fitness culture I have found that those who work to compete in fitness and body building competitions are apart of this close knit subculture. Even, a lot of muscle on a man in class was considered to be unattractive, however, I do not think men will ever be ostracized by society such as some women may be who are apart of the body building subculture. To those who compete in body building view large muscles as beautiful and a healthy way of living, and I do not think that they should be judged on their appearance for that. It is not as if they are making their appearance offensive to others or that their looks would be deemed inappropriate in certain social settings such as a conservative atmosphere. I just feel that its sexist that women who have taken apart of the body building lifestyle are deemed inappropriate as apposed to men who, were not thought of as inappropriate, just not attractive to those who do not like the body building type. It just may take time before women may reach the same type of criticisms as men, however, you can not deny that there are different standards and expectations for men and women and that maybe women are criticized more for joining the body building world because it has never been accepted that women posses a masculine trait. However, I do believe that times are changing and people are being more open because we already see more women playing football, but who knows if women will ever truly be equal to men in terms of masculinity.

Indian Wells and the William Sisters

I never really understood the Indian Wells incident until we discussed it in class, and I completely side with the Williams sisters with their decision in not returning to play in future tournaments. I understand that it is not so much the crowds reaction and their inappropriate display of resentment towards the Williams family, its the fact that the tournament staff did not do anything to fix their mistakes and prevent future outrage with the fans. First of all, I agree that Indian Wells should have confessed to their ticket holders that they were late in informing them that Serena could not participate in her match. Because they did not do that one simple action it was the cause of a whole set of events that are much harder to control, such as a mass crowed of angry tennis fans. I do believe that they could have done other actions to protect their players, such as security warning their rude and intolerable fans to watch their language and if they didn't they would be escorted out of the venue and be given a refund. Or even the tournament director making an announcement to kindly ask people to keep their etiquette during the match or even confessing their mistake. The tournament director has control to do what he wants, it is his tournament, it would not be hard to get a microphone and address the crowd. There were many opportunities to help resolve the problem or even to cut some of the tension. However, because they did not, they disrespected the Williams family and let the situation get so out of control that they had a upset stadium that would be nearly impossible to settle down. Since this is the one tournament that a lot of the Williams family and friends could easily attend, I highly doubt that racial slurs would prevent them from returning. Again, it was how the was run, who would want to play in a tournament that doesn't take care of their athletes and does not have control of their own operations. Maybe one day when there is a new director and the tournament is under different management the sisters will return to play.

Equality within Sport

Recently we have been discussing equality, Title IX, and should females be able to participate in male athletics. The general consensus was mixed. I personally felt that if a females should be able to participate in a sport that is not available to them, and vise versa. There is a lot of controversy about how title IX in sports was mainly meant to help advance female equality in athletics, however, I think people tend to forget that’s its a new day and a new age. Yes, title IX was created only a few decades ago, but I believe that alterations need to be kept up with the times. Title IX wasn’t even meant to have a huge impact on sports when it was first created, so I do not think we can discriminate on a policy because it was, "supposed" or "meant" to advance women in sport. When rules and regulations were made within individual athletic programs, women wanting to compete in men’s sports and men wanting to compete in female sport most, likely was never considered to be an option. Well again, times have changed, and we must keep up. If there is not an opportunity for a male to play field hockey then he should have the chance to play on the women’s team if he qualifies in skill. I understand where is coach was coming from. Her job is to create a team that will win games, if a male can bring a contribution to the team then he should be able to compete. Also with a male wanting to play field hockey, it will probably spring interest from others, and eventually could develop the sport and grow it’s popularity. Coaching lacrosse, it was important not only to win games but to develop an interest and a love for the game that will allow current athletes to give back to the sport the following years, growing the sport. Who knows that one male athlete that played on the women’s field hockey team may give back to the sport weather he is a coach or a huge donator to their national association, allowing more teams to be created, who knows, he may spring enough publicity that male teams will spring up across the country. The parents that were salty were probably parents of children who’s playing time was cut because another athlete had more skill. Trust me, as a head varsity coach if someone’s child is not fed with a silver spoon, they will find anything to find someone who is responsible for their, “star” child not getting as much playing time. Again, we are continually advancing in equal rights and rules and regulations need to be altered in order to keep up and further advancement.

Hermaphrodites and Athletics

Caster Semenya is exploding all over the media with the recent discovery that she is a hermaphrodite.  Semenya has no ovaries or uterus and does have internal testes that produce large amounts of testosterone, which would explain her deep voice and her physical shape.  This is a new debate that is very interesting to me because this has never really been a problem before in athletes nor have we had to technology to diagnose those in question.  Semenya with male traits and testosterone running through her body would be the debate that would give a bigger advantage to other female runners.  I say if we are going to get technical with the amount of testosterone in someones body then we need to look at the genetic makeup of every single participant of that athletic competition.  Yes testosterone is defiantly going to give a female athlete an advantage over others, however, how can we not exclude other female athletes whos genetic makeup is very athletic and similar to that a of a male body, which would give them an advantage to a competitor who isnt.  That is my opinion but who is to say that a female is too male, and a male is too female.  This i believe is going to be a long ongoing debate for those who are a hermaphrodite.  I mean who is to judge someones gender preference and disregard it because it would be an unfair competition.  again, if its going to be looked into that closely then I think that other factors must be taken into affect as well.

Serena's Outburst

Okay,  so Serena had a melt down when a footfall was called and she reacted in a manner that upset most.  I would have to say when I first saw the video clip I laughed and found it humorous.  I think I reacted this way because this was outside of her character and is one of the most respected and notable female athletes of our time.  She already has established a favorable reputation with the public.  I think a lot of people had a similar reaction to her rage like mine, however, there were a lot who viewed her actions as, "un lady like".  Especially in a prestigious country club sport like tennis, that behavior is unacceptable.  Even as a lacrosse coach if one of my girls acted out like that to a referee she would be suspended from that game and the next.  I think if it were a male that reacted the way she did, it would be a little more accepted but not by much. Instead of being unlady like I think he would become a little unfavorable, yet, his actions would just reflect what our society percieves our male athletes to be; dominant, masculine, and aggressive.  Ya he may get the, jerk, vibe from a lot of his female friends, yet, he may be praised by his males fans.  I believe it is a little harder to come out of a situation like Serena's solely because she is a women and we as a society have different expectations and standards that women must uphold.

As far as her punishment, I do not believe that she should be suspended from her next tournament.  Being at the elite professional level that she is at, I think that suspending her is a little ridiculous. It is not as if she went chasing after the line judge with her racket.  I would think that there might be rules forbidding players to speak to a line judge in a negative manner or any official at that.  Her punishment was a fine, yet I would think that her actions would result in points taken away from her game or her complete ranking as an individual player. I am not excusing her from her actions, but I think all of the negative publicity is enough to think before she speaks again. Again, who knows what the consequences and the reaction of the publicity might be if a male player were to react the same way in that particular situation.  I think across the board in tennis it would have been looked down upon, yet I can not decide if the male would have been viewed as more threatening and would have recieved a harsher punishment or if his actions would have been slightly more acecpted due to the fact he has testosterone running through his blood.

About Me

My Name is Jessica Jackel. I am from Worthington Ohio, (columbus), and a senior majoring in Sport Management. After graduation I plan working for an agency or marketing firm down in Charlotte, N.C. Not too sure what I want to do, but I think business development sounds pretty cool to me right now.

I have been involved with sports my whole life. I started out playing volleyball then later my I became involved in cross country and lacrosse. I continued to play lacrosse as a club member at BGSU, and I started coaching at Perrysburg High School. I was their JV coach my freshman year, and then became head varsity my sophomore and junior year. This year, I decided to call it quits due to the time commitment.

I love the industry and I guess that's what made me switch from pre med my freshman year to sport management. I was never a huge ESPN viewer or kept up to date with stats of my favorite teams, however, I found a passion with the business side of things and that is what I am looking forward to after graduation.
If I were to pick a male and female athlete that I could watch play, they would have to be Michael Phelps and Serena Williams. I became a fan of swimming events due to my best friends brother who swam and played water polo competitively. We would travel all over the state to watch his matches and meets due to the fact that the teams he was on always made it to states. So I found excitement and interest in a sport that I have never participated in competitively, and that's why I think it would be cool to watch an athlete such as Phelps to dominate in the water. The same type of story goes for my fondness of Tennis. One of my best friends in high school played tennis, so when I would go over to her house, we were only allowed to watch tennis if we had the TV on. Instead of being bored from not understanding the game, Abby taught me how it was played and all of the rules. Soon after I was rooting for her favorite players and found a new love for the sport. Being able to watch Serena would be incredible. After watching her play against Venus at Wimbledon, I can only imagine what it would be like to watch them live.

I am excited for this class, I am eager to discuss the roles that gender plays in sport. I believe that there are so many stereotypes in what is accepted and expected of male and females athletes within their respected sports. I believe it has a huge role in the evolution of sport and why they are, the way they are today. The discussion that was brought up of transgender athletes really sparked my interest because most sports divide male and female athletics based on biological makeup. so now that people are changing their makeup based on gender preferences, I believe will make it difficult for them to be accepted anywhere. Particularly, I am eager to see the further discussions that will come up about this topic.