Women in men's sports

After watching the video about the girl wrestler in Michigan I think that girls should be allowed toplay men's sports no matter contact or not. People may have concerns about most boys being bigger, stronger and faster than girls. In the video, however, it stated that although the girl's opponent may have been faster than her, she was in fact stronger than he was. Also, in wrestling, your opponents are in your weight class and thus basically the same size as you are. So really she was at no disadvantage in this match or any of the matches she competed in all season. She ended up being one of the best wrestlers in the state, why take that away from her? Why take that opportunity away from any girl? Especially in a physical contact sport that is a very individual effort. There aren't many girls sports like that.

As for girls competing in other contact sports I think that as long as they are benefitting and contributing to the team they should be allowed to play. If a girl on the team helps the team win games then why would you not want her on the team? A line has to be drawn though if the girl gets injured or she is a distraction to the team. Otherwise, girls should be allowed to at least try out for any sport they would like.

Jordan, Federer and Serena

I thought this conversation was very interesting. A lot of good and different points were made. The fact is, as an elite athlete you are a role model for so many people around the world and need to act like it. Yes the competition can get to them but they have to get past it and let it go. Move on and concentrate on what they do best. Frustration will not help them anyways. This happens all too often. But maybe this is what makes them elite athletes, they have that nature in them. We even see these kind of reactions from Tiger Woods, and nobody can be at fault but himself and sometimes he still looses his calm. But there is a difference between what Federer and Serena did compared to how Jordan acted.

I don't see anything really wrong with his acceptance speech. Yea he made some remarks that were borderline wrong. But he can finally get what he wanted to really say out. Things he hadn't been able to say before. And this was his night to do that. All eyes on him and his chance to say what he wants to say. I think the borderline things he said were also with good intentions and he meant good by them. He wouldn't mention the names he did unless he respected them and appreciated how they helped him along his career. His playing career in the NBA is over. He isn't going to make enemies now in the league. Let him say what he wants to say. No matter what, people respect him, look up to him and appreciate what he has done for the game all the same.

Caster Semenya

I think the case of Caster Semenya is very intriguing. My view on it is that why can't there be an athlete like her and not have it be questioned like it is. Let her enjoy her accomplishments and we should praise her like any other spectacular athlete. If the Olympic Committee or anybody else is going to test her then everybody should be tested. It just isn't fair. It's as if people believe that it is impossible to be a woman and be that fast. Well, nothing is impossible. Chances are that Semenya is definitely a woman. Nobody stops and asks how they think this makes her feel with everybody sale that she is a male. She doesn't even get any time to enjoy her accomplishments and as of now her records tend to be overshadowed by the fact that she could be a male. Let her enjoy her glory. Test everybody and if it comes back that she is in fact a male then I will eat my words. But let the young incredible talent of a woman enjoy what she has accomplished.

I think this is a problem not only with great women athletes. People say it is impossible for Usain Bolt to be as fast as he is and no matter what he does there is always the question of if he takes steroids. People will say a man that is 6'6" can't possible run that fast without some enhancer. Well, its true. People need to learn that athletes are getting bigger and stronger and faster than ever with advances in equipment and training. Let things be. Don't do anything any differently than normal but if any athletes happen to be found out of either being a different sex or use performance enhancers, then deal with it then. For now let us enjoy it.

Introduction

My name is Andrew Karr and I am in my fourth year as a Sport Management major with a specialization in marketing. I am from Parma Heights, Ohio outside of Cleveland. I am taking this course as a requirement but also because I have had Dr. Spencer before and enjoy the debate in her classes. All my life I have been a fan of and participated in sports and still do both today. I am a huge Cleveland sports fan and Ohio State Buckeyes fan even though I go to BG. The subject of sport and ender is rather new to me. We talked about it a little bit in history and philosophy of sport but I am eager to dig a little deeper into the subject.

The male athletes I said I would like to see would be Shaq and Kelly Pavlik. Shaq is a player that has always intrigued me and I love his personality and that he just likes to have fun. Now that he is in Cleveland I think it may be an even bigger incentive to go see him and the rest of the 2010 NBA Champions (wishful thinking). As for Kelly Pavlik, I think boxing is a dying sport. It is pretty sad to see where boxing is compared to where is has been as one of the biggest sports in the country. Kelly is also from my home state of Ohio and has shared the success of other Youngstown raised boxers. I really want to see him fight one day and hope that he continues to dominate.

The female athlete I mentioned in class was Natalie Gulbis. I chose her for obvious reasons. She is very attractive and a very good golfer. To be quite honest there aren't many female athletes that I would be very intrigued to see. Hopefully this class will change my opinion.

As for my own history playing and watching sports I started when I was five with soccer. I never really got into soccer and stopped playing at age 8. At the age of six I got into tee-ball. I gradually moved my way up and kept with it. I played many years of travel baseball and started four years on my high school’s varsity baseball team where I hold two school records. To this day I still play in an adult wood bat league in the summer. I realized while growing up my passion was for football. I never played organized until I was in 7th grade but I started playing pick-up games around six years old. I went on to be very successful playing football in high school being named 1st team all conference and all district three times as well as honorable mention for the all-state team three times setting my schools’ rushing record. I decided to play football after high school but because of my small size was not given any scholarship offers. I played for a year at a small division III school called Baldwin-Wallace. After a year I realized college football wasn’t for me though I still had a lot of passion for the game. I still like to stay active and play other sports like basketball and golf, but nothing ever compared to playing football.

My expectations for this class and what I will learn are high. I am not very enlightened on this subject and hope to come away from this class as rather knowledgeable about the subject. I just hope the debate and conversation keeps up with the class. It makes class more enjoyable and I learn more from other students opinions.