Sean Avery

On Tuesday, December 2nd NHL hockey star Sean Avery was suspended indefinitely. Not for rough play or unsportsmanlike conduct, but punished for rude remarks he made regarding an ex-girlfriend. In a personally instigated press conference, he made the statement that, "I'm just going to say one thing. I'm really happy to be back in Calgary; I love Canada. I just want to comment on how it's become like a common thing in the NHL for guys to fall in love with my (former girlfriends). I don't know what that's about, but enjoy the game tonight." In place of (former girlfriends) Avery actually stated, "sloppy seconds." When NHL commissioner Gary Bettmen heard about the comments, he immediately retaliated to keep the Dallas star from playing in Tuesday night's game. Actual length of his punishment was determined on another date and resulted in a six-game suspension. I think that it is really good that Bettmen acted so quickly and efficiently in order to establish that crude comments about women would not be tolerated within the organization. Issues of gender ideology and women being seen as sex objects were raised as Avery's deviant actions took place. Avery is known for his ability to talk "smack" to other players as a way to get inside their heads, but there is a difference between competitive banter and demeaning remarks about women.

-KatieS
KIN 332I S3200

UFC and Hegemony

I’m not sure if anyone saw this or not, but this month on the 15th was a UFC PPV event. The headlining match was the Randy Couture versus Brock Lesnar. Couture is a long time veteran of the UFC that kept defying the odds by winning fights against top fighters and championships. Being 45 at his last fight, Lesnar the young opponent received a title fight against Couture after only having 3 frights and losing to one. No Lesnar use to being the WWE heavy weight champion, that’s for pro wrestling. He has absolutely no technique or much skill for that matter as a MMA fighter. The only reason, he received the title fight was because of his big fan base that he brought over from wrestling. Their were many top contenders for this title fight, but Lesnar received it for the revenue the UFC would get from it. They hyped this fight to be the biggest in UFC history, when actually it was far from it. This just shows what people in power can make viewers believe. Its all about hegemony and what the media represents as the biggest thing since “sliced bread.” All they see is ratings and $$$.

Michael Zitt
KIN 332i S3200
TU/TH 12:30-1:45

High School Athletes in Academics

As I watched the gymnastics competition in the 2008 Summer Olympics, I was amazed to see the next Mary Lou Retton successfully and gracefully complete the balance beams. Shawn Johnson is your average 16 year old teenager who maintains a 4.0 GPA at Valley High School. Well what is so special about her? She just so happened to win the all-around medal at the Summer Olympics for the USA team. Shawn Johnson has been in gymnastics at the age of 3 and has been trained with the same coach, Liang Chow, since she was 6. She devotes her time training 25 hours a week instead of 40 in order to do her school work. Her parents and coach support and encourage her that education is to be number one and then gymnastics is number two.
This is an example of how a high school student who can manage and devote their time on education and can sustain that athletic ability in order to accomplish his/her success. In reading Chapter 14 on sports in high school and college, it indicates that a high school student who participates in interscholastic sports generally depends on their academic score by their social class status. With Shawn’s case, her middle-class status show that the support of her parents, her coach, and friends help her through with academics, sport participation in gymnastics and social life as an average teenager.

Rhona Barroquillo (#003001698)
22 November 2008
KIN 332i. S3200
T/TH 1230p-145p

Murder Ball

The movie Murder ball that we watched in class was very interesting because it took you into the lives of these Paralympics competitors. It somewhat touched a little bit on each topic we have discussed in class. As far as race and how the 12 different countries were out to get the Americans. It also touched on how the athletes perceive themselves and how they think they are perceived in society. One athlete said he didn’t want to go outside to get the newspaper because he was worried about what people would think of him. The sexual ability of the athletes was really interesting to hear about because I was really curious about that and I’m assuming most people are. Another thing I found interesting was the Canadian Coach’s son who was an able body person and still chooses not to play sports. It showed how children that are into sports tend to be less social or confident, that the boy would get picked on all the time because he was an outcast. This part of the film touched on children in sports.

Alexander Cartagena

Are Mascots Taken out of Context?

There have been many issues with school mascots across the United States, from high school to college to the professional lever. The example in class of the Illinois Fighting Illini is definitely not the easiest one to debate. If I had to pick one side to defend, it would be difficult to do. My feelings on the issue fall somewhat in between. I feel that the school named themselves after the Illini, who from the movie, seem to be portrayed as a very brave and honorable people who were killed off by another tribe of the area. To me, naming a school mascot after them is a tribute to their courage and bravery. However, I do not totally agree with "the Chief" doing everything he did, I understand that people, students, fans, and alumni may see him as a huge part of the school and its history. But, when what the mascot is doing at games gets to be too much and too far from what the Illini would actually do or have done, I can understand where Charlene was getting offended. The dances being simply for show and entertainment sounds like a great idea, but could very easily be demeaning to people. In this case they were. It is a very slippery slope when a school is named after a group of people because they do have to account for how those people would want to be portrayed and represented; is it respectful to them? is it an accurate portrayal? are just some questions that must be addressed. As, we discussed today, the media never talks about the Seminole being offended by the fans or students of Florida State. This could be because the school has a very healthy relationship with the Seminole and they account for what they think and how they feel when they do things at school or games.
Being an athlete for so many years of my life I have never felt like any team named the Apache's, Warriors, Braves, Indians, or any other names have ever intentionally tried to offend or disrespect they mascot or people affiliated with their mascot. As they are the representation, most athletes have always taken pride in representing what school they are and their mascot. I feel like some of the people in the world who are upset by actions of students and teams may take some of the actions out of context and make them much larger issues then they are meant to be. If they do have issues with them, demanding a school change as mascot and its history seems to be a little extreme to me. A better solution might be to meet with the school and explain the feelings you have and what you would like to see done differently. If this is done and the school and students were to continue to show disrespect, I can easily understand more extreme actions.
Of course I have no exact knowledge of what the Illini did or were like, but from what I was able to get from the movie in class, the above would be a simple summary of my feelings on certain mascots, and how they are portrayed and received by other people.

CRAIG WILDER
004739733
KIN 332I
10/28/2008

media in athletes with disability

I never paid much attention to Title IX mostly because I never knew about in until I stated college. I never paid much attention on discrimination that happens within sports. I knew about gender discrimination and how females receive less attention in sports in general than men do, but not within athletes with disabilities. I was reading ch12 in the text on the "Breaking Barriers" page 426 i found it interesting how media portraits disability sport by certain categories. They don't acknowledge such sports. On Page 426 it says " ...re-presentations often fall into one of the following categories:
Patronizing: "aren't they marvelous!!
Tragedy: "do you think she can really do that?"
Inspiration: "she's a true hero and a model for all of us"
Mystification: "I cant believe he just did that"
Pitty: "give her a hand for trying so hard"
Surprise: "stay tuned to see physical feats you've never imagined"

To me that would be somewhat demeaning. I think that any sport whether with disability or not its the same. saying such things can be stereotypical.

Gender, Media, & Politics

Today, Thursday, October 2nd, in class we discussed gender and sexism in sport. When discussing gender, it led us into the topic of media and gender. As a class we spoke of how media announcers used female’s first names and male’s last names when broadcasting. We discussed that it is disrespectful addressing athletes by their first names, rather than their last. Therefore, as a class we found that when addressing a person, doing so by their last name is an expected and respectful way.
For those of you who watched the presidential debate on the 26th of September, Senator McCain respectfully addressed his fellow Senator as “Senator Obama.” On the other hand Senator Obama continuously addressed Senator McCain as “John.” Was this a way of Senator Obama disrespecting and belittling Senator McCain? Yes or no? And why?

Below I have posted the address for the full debate from YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-nNIEduEOw

Keely Molles
Tue/ Thurs 12:15-1:45
Kin 332I.S3200