Sport and Social Values

On January 28th, 2016 my American Sport in the 21st Century class discussed values in sport and society. The purpose of this topic was to compare these values and participation in sport. We went over lists of values in American society and sport, Competition/Winning, Health/Fitness Promotion, and Nationalism/Patriotism.  Below you can see what we learned about these topics.

American Societal Values:
-Achievement and Success
-Materialism
-Moral Orientation
-Humanitarianism
-Progress
-Equality
-Freedom
-Conformity
-Nationalism
-Individualism

Values in Sport:
Character Building
Who Says? - Coaches, former athletes, professionals
What Character traits do they build? - Integrity, work ethic, leadership, sportsmanship, teamwork, honesty, respect, self-confidence, responsibility
What happens if you aren't good? How does the bench build character? What does this do for a child's self-esteem? Do athletes get a free pass for being good? Are they spoiled? - No clear evidence either way

Charles Darwin

Competition/Winning

-Darwinian- Survival of the fittest. Life is a struggle and only the strong survive

-Sport prepares one for the competitive nature of life

-Focus on winning? Leads to over-emphasis and ‘winning at any costs’

Health/fitness promotion

-Result of athletic participation?

-Rates/costs of obesity (37% increase in 5 years; $147 b per/annum)

-Reduces pregnancy rates in teens

-Sport promotes unhealthy practices like eating disorders in gymnasts, divers, figure skates, wrestlers. Concussion/Alzheimer’s/early deaths (contact sports) PED’s

Nationalism/patriotism

-Sport used as a means of promoting love of country

-Reinforces American identity

-Inspires intense devotion

-Reinforces national conflicts, ethnocentrism (judge others cultural practices using your own as a reference)

Pope Francis

In a Sports Business Journal publication titled "Pope Francis sees sports as a world changer" from January 25, 2016, John Ourand talks about a multifaith sports conference being launched in October by the Vatican. He talks about how the Vatican will be examining the role that sports play in society. The Vatican will be launching this three day event and hopes to include around 150 world leaders from sports, government, and religion. Pope Francis hopes to identify a way that sports can bring people from all over the world together in peace. Bernie Mullin, CEO and chairman of The Aspire Group says this initiative could lead to "more youth sports programs and opportunities for kids."

Full article: 

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2016/01/25/Sports-in-Society/Pope-Francis.aspx