Week 15 - IOC's Gender Policies

Article 15

In class, we discussed the IOC's policies on gender and sex classification.  This article discusses the IOC's  and the International Association of Athletics Federations new policy for dealing with gender differences in sport.  The IOC has stated that these changes were completely unrelated to the fiasco during the world track and field championships in Berlin in 2009, but what happened to Caster Semenya definitely showed that the IOC's policies needed an update.  Sadly, what the IOC came up with is so sexist that it may even be in violation of Title IX, saying that testosterone is an exclusively male hormone.  Former Olympian Bruce Kidd said it best, "How can the I.O.C. and I.A.A.F. claim that they support the full inclusion of women when they reimpose a medical test for their very identity? It’s a huge setback for human rights and the integrity of the Olympic movement.”  
In my opinion, these new set of standards a a major setback in the women's sports movement.  In class, we talked about a lot of things that dealt with women in sports and Feminist movements along with the IOC's policies.  Something like this is a step back for everything that Feminists stand for.  It saddens me to see that we've come so far, and a step back may just halt progress for the time being.

Week 14 - Money and the NFL Lockout

Article 14

One major issue we discussed in class is was money.  What is better to describe the obsession with money than the NFL lockout? I'll tell you....Absolutely nothing.  A few years back the NHL lockout occurred, but was resolved a few weeks into the season.  Now, we're faced with another set of athletes and owners who can't come to a simple agreement.  "Although Judge Nelson has ordered both sides to negotiate, that does not mean that they must settle. At this point, it would require major concessions on either side for a new deal to get done, which seems unlikely to happen. It would appear that both sides would like to await the judge's ruling before returning to any serious negotiations."  With the draft coming up, players and fans alike are anxious to see if a decision can be made regarding pay and amenities for NFL players.  It makes me sad to see that, in the long run, these players will still be making more than the average American and they can't come to an agreement.
But again I say, "It's all about the money, honey."  In my opinion, these athletes and owners are getting paid too much as it is. Why can't they come to a simple agreement on salaries that are already far surpassing what they should be making in the world's economy.  These athletes aren't even taking into account the millions of dollars that they make in endorsement deals every year.  I just really want to see if they can come to a consensus before the season was supposed to start.

Week 13-Women in the Boston Marathon

Article 13

Not surprisingly, I chose another article dealing with women in sport.  April 18th is the 115th running of the Boston Marathon and three American women and four International women have been named possible front-runners for the race.  These women have taken marathon racing to their heart and have the same kind of dedication and talent as the men do.  No woman has won the marathon since 1985, but isn't stopping these lovely ladies from trying.  Women's front-runners include: Kara Goucher, Desiree Davila, Blake Russell, Dire Tune, Teyba Erkesso, Kim Smith, and Catherine Ndereba.

Update 4/18/2011: None of these women actually won the women's race.  Kenyan Catherine Kilel finished with a time of 2 hours and 22 minutes.  Desiree Davila, of the United States, followed with a close second.  

Week 12 - Gays in the NFL

Article 12

"Gay and lesbian couples want to marry for similar reasons as we all do: love and commitment.  It's time to allow them the opportunity to build a family though marriage. It's a matter of fairness." - Brendon Ayanbadejo

Just three short sentences have caused an uproar in millions of fans of the Baltimore Ravens and many others. Just one video caused social media platforms to erupt with speculation of the NFL linebackers sexuality.  While attitudes are changing, that change has not been felt in the locker room in American professional sports, including in the NFL. Fujita said that more NFL players might be as accepting as he and Ayanbadejo, but reporters who cover sports rarely venture beyond asking questions about the game.  It seems hard for me to believe that an openly gay NFL player would be accepted by teammates, even in the 21st century, but some people think it would be okay.  "It would be tough for a gay person just to feel comfortable in the locker room about coming out, because there are so many jokes," said Jets running back LaDainian Tomlinson. "But maybe there will be one, one day, someone who's brave enough to do so. If someone could deal with that and say, 'You know I don't care, I'm here to play football, this is my own deal,' then more power to them."

In class we discussed things like the Queer Theory and the Queer of Color Theory, where people who are different than the social "norm" are considered to be deviant.  If there were people who were be openly gay in  pro sports, the idea that athletes are the most masculine men would be questioned and, in turn, athleticism would be questioned.  I hope that more people like Jet RB Tomlinson make it public how they feel and more players would be able to share with the world how they really feel. 

Week 11 - Fibbing the Facts

Article 11

In class we discussed the creation and effects of Title IX.  Everything from my participation in sport to the inclusion of many women's sports into the Olympics and other championships has been based on the creation of this important and historical documentation.  "Title IX was passed in 1972 to give women and girls equal opportunity in federally financed education programs, including high school and collegiate athletics. Schools are now legally required to provide roster spots to males and females in proportion to their representation in the student body. As a result, female participation in sports has increased tenfold in high schools and by six times at the college level."  In this article, UCONN coach Gene Auriemma discusses his thoughts on how schools are altering their participation numbers to stay in accordance with Title IX.

Many schools, like University of South Florida, have taken to bending the rules to stay in accordance with the mandatory legislation.  According to the New York Times, "With the addition of football in 1997, USF no longer was in compliance with Title IX. Shortly thereafter, the school reported a massive increase in the members of its women's cross country team: from 21 in 2002 to 75 in 2008. The 2009 team reportedly had 71 members, but fewer than half of those listed actually ran a race that year."  Other schools were reportedly finding loopholes in the document, including Texas A&M and Duke, who both had male practice players listed as females.  While schools, including Cornell, have listed females as practice players on men's teams to allow for more male roster spots.  "There has been praise for the role Title IX has played in the growth of women's sports, but there has also been a backlash by those who believe that men's sports have suffered. Now it appears that many schools are willing to fib on the facts -- to break the law -- in order to open up more roster spots for men."  How disappointing.