Social Issues in Sports Paper Example

Sociological Issues in Sports: An Examination of the Video "League of Denial"

In essence, sporting activities are considered to reduce anti-social behavior especially among the youth and promoting interaction and cohesiveness between communities of different ethnic backgrounds. Health benefits of sports are mainly observed in reduction of physical health problems. However, there are negative social and health impacts related to sports. Negative social impacts are affiliated with violence and drugs and substance abuse while health impacts are related to injuries that occur in sports participants. Unfortunately, some of these injuries despite being viewed as insignificant can have far-reaching consequences as witnessed in the video, League of Denial: The NFL's Concussion Crisis, featured in this study. This paper derives from the book Social Issues in Sport with relation to the video League of Denial to elaborate key sociological issues that are associated with sports.

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In reaction to the first requirement of this paper, the following chapters have been identified as applicable to the featured case study:

Chapter 1: What is Sport and why do we study it?

Chapter 2: How do we study sport?

Chapter 3: Participants Versus Spectators

Chapter 4: Business of Sport

Chapter 5: Media and Sport

Chapter 11: Sporting Behavior

Chapter 19: Violence and rule breaking in Sport

As demonstrated in League of denial, there are various sociological issues that surround the world of sports and its dynamism. One of these issues is participation patterns. Some sports participants tend to exhibit aggressive sporting behavior for the love of the sport, the urge to amuse their spectators, or a need to maintain the teams and individual reputation. Such tendency may influence a player to get aggressive in the sport and enjoy acts through which they unknowingly predispose themselves to risks of fatal injuries and long-term complications. A good example is Mike Webster who participated in American National Football League representing Steel City team for 17 years. Apparently, he is described to have been iconic to his fans by his continued habit of enjoying the ruthless nature of the game (League of Denial). He engaged himself in a high contact position for years to his own and his fans amusement not knowing that the high impacts tackles he endured would lead to a fatal health problem and death (League of Denial, min 5). Such participation behavioral patterns are evident in sports from time to time and despite creating great moments of the game, they can be a factor that may lead players to unforeseen problems.

Health Impacts of Sports: The Case of Mike Webster

Another sport related issue is health. According to the story of Mike Webster featured in League of Denial, Mike died 11years after his retirement in 1991 (min 5). A Nigerian neuropathologist examined Mike's body and noticed unusual characteristics in his brain. He also identified cracks on feet, broken vertebra, and forehead skin fixed against his skull (League of Denial, min 7). The doctor attributed these observations to injuries from the game. Mike's family describes how he had started acting differently and exhibiting memory problems; he tore off his football pictures, spent a lot of time in a pick-up truck, and could not respond to TV interviews fluently (min 17). Robert Stern concurred with the Nigerian neuropathologist that his brain damage had been caused by the impact against his head during the football games. There are other American football players like Young and Aikman who experience memory problems, confusion, and concussions. This illustration clearly shows how sports can lead serious health issues in a sporting community especially when such consequences are unforeseen.

Racism and Social Class in Sports

The third sport related sociological issue related to sports is racism. After the Nigerian neuropathologist raised claims on dangers posed by football based on his findings of Mike Webster, he encountered strong opposition from NFL and they demanded that he retract his evidence published in the then-popular Neurosurgery Magazine (League of Denial, min 43). It was until Ann McKee, a neuropathologist at BU CTE Centre evaluated McHale's with CTE and his wife went public about the findings that NFL was moved to agreeing that injuries from football were causing brain damage (League of Denial, min 68). Despite similar concerns being raised by another medical specialist earlier, many actors focused on fighting him even without taking a consideration to scientifically verify his claims. Probably, it was on basis that the doctor was an African that even professional doctors undermined his findings without acknowledging his level of expertise in the medical field.

Social class is another sociological issue associated with sports. Some people who have legendary personality in the sports world have a tendency of placing themselves in a noble class within their society. A renowned sports personality withdrew his father who was under medical treatment from service of the Nigerian doctor after his evidence against NFL was published. This was a move of expressing his loyalty to NFL officials and disassociating himself from the doctor who was at that time viewed as an enemy of NFL. In contrast, some scholars argue that overt racism has declined without changing power relations on ethnic lines within one sport (Taylor, Davies, Wells, Gilberston, & Tayleur, 2015). There have been signs of positive communal attitudes among sports participants in Cyprus, a sensitive political area. They tended to view other participants in sports as other groups other than a comparison group. This is an expression of sporting group perceiving different sports participants as members of their own social class founded on sporting.

Drugs and Substance Abuse: A Sociological Issue in Sports

Drugs and substance abuse has been on many occasions mentioned and affiliated with sports personality. There have been cases of doping involving even very renowned players from different areas of sports. When Mike Webster was attempting to make his case and filling a disability claim against NFL, the latter was also holding on claims that Mike's background on the use of drugs was not clarified and that probably it was his substance abuse problem that had caused the brain damage (League of Denial, min 18). Additionally, Taylor et al (2015) mention the illegal use of drugs as an exception against positive influences of sports in a society. This is an illustration of how sports participants are regarded by the society as a group that tends to be involved with drug abuse which makes drug abuse an easy basis of misjudging and a critical sociological issue in sports.

The last dominant social issue in sport is commercialism. Bodies and federations invest in sports not for the interest of basically benefiting the participants or the society involved but for their own commercial benefits as this highlighted by Woods (2015). NFL, for example, is seen to capitalize on the popularity of American football as a sport and ends up turning it into a multi-million-dollar venture through organizing sporting events for which spectators would pay large amounts of money to attend. Unfortunately, when cases of damage emanating from the sport are raised NFL is observed to be reluctant in compensating the victims. Surprisingly, after sufficient evidence proving the football game to be causing brain damage mounted, NFL made move to supporting a campaign of brain bank where long-term players would donate their brain for research by Ann McKee. These occurrences highlight the commercialized nature most areas of sporting industry are submerged too.

In relation to the third part of this study, the following questions were highlighted:

Importance of Media in Addressing Sociological Issues Related To Sports

Apart from relaying sports news and broadcasting sports events, the media can play a vital role in addressing social issues that could be impacting the society negatively. As observed in League of Denial, investigative journalists Steve and Mark happen to be the first group outside the medical profession to put interest in investigating the cause of death of Mike Webster (League of Denial, min 10). Also, the same journalist exposes the admittance of NFL to fund a monthly disability pay for Webster following his story being revealed on ESPN and their doctors agreeing to the claims. It is also notable that the Nigerian neuropathologist resorted to publishing his evidence about brain damage from football in a magazine.

These developments towards acceptance that injuries endured in football could cause problems to mental health could probably not be realized were it not for the awareness and the attention the media attracted towards the matter. Any individual could be silenced by being subjected to humiliation by NFL but the media had a big enough voice that could not be shut. This shows how powerful the media can be in taking part to find solutions to the social problems that face societies.

Influence of the Sport on a Participant's Emotions With Regard To an Aggressive Sport like American Football

Involvement in aggressive sporting activity can influence the emotional nature of a sports participant. Players of the Steel City team of, which Mike Webster was part of, had a sporting aggression nature. This is observed from their behavior of creating a defensive line which they referred as a "steel curtain" whenever they played a game. The scenes in League of Denial video shows the team advancing aggressive tackles towards their opponents while at the same time taking high impact tackles. In the midst of it all, everyone seems to be enjoying every bit of it until a player is injured and rolling on the ground in pain.

The amusement gained from such experiences can be thought to be amazing but in case the experience results in a bad thing, individuals are likely to get emotionally affected. In the case of Webster, for example, he changed emotionally and expressed very unusual behavior when he learned that the game he once enjoyed had caused him brain damage. He is said to have torn his football pictures and spend a lot of time lonely in a pick-up truck. These are emotional effects he suffered as a consequence of the violence and aggression he faced for many years during his football career.

Commercial Benefits That Can Be Realized Through Sports and How Such Benefits Can Be Channeled Towards Promoting Social Capital

NFL is said to have grown into a multi-million-dollar venture which over years organized sporting events through which they could raise up to 120million dollars. NFL consequently collegiate the American football sport by supporting the game in an institution like Boston University. It was noted that NFL offered Boston University millions of dollars in its midst of concussion crisis. Also, the NFL league happened to be a center of ethical and regional integration as participants and spectators from different social backgrounds were brought together by the football sport.

Sporting events, collegiate sports, and reimbursements for sports participants are some of the ways through which sports organizations can promote social capital. This would mean encouraging members of the society especially youths to maintain pro-social behaviors and keep their life away from a risk of getting into crime or drug and substance abuse. Also, these organizations would facilitate iconic sports personality to play mentorship roles in their society so as to promote good morals through sports.

References

League of Denial: The NFL's Concussion Crisis (2013). Produced by Kirk, M., Gilmore, J., & Wiser, M. Frontline. Retrieved from: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/league-of-denial/

Taylor, P., Davies, L., Wells, P., Gilberston, J., and Tayleur, W. (2015). "A Review of the Social Impacts of Culture and Sport". The Culture and Sports Evidence Programme. (Research paper). Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research.

Woods, R. (2015). Social...