Sports ills in America resonate around contemporary societal issues. Some of the main concerns include the unequal salaries, the increased cases of violence, sexual exploitation of female athletes, sexism, and racism, among others. Some of these ills have been facilitated by the mainstream media whose lack of news perhaps motivate them into propagating information that goes into feeding the nation the wrong way. In addition, the American society has evolved overtime from a society compromised with racist, sexist and capitalistic undertones. These factors have had their contribution on the current sports ills. It is incumbent on the stakeholders to pursue remedies for the solution of the current ills. From a historical perspective, this paper suggests a number of remedies that need to be pursued and implemented.
The role of the media is crucial in the development of the sports industries and the consequential solution of the current ills. It is the media that is accountable for feeding the masses on the current affairs including sports affairs. It is imperative for the media to approach sports coverage with an objective and constructive approach. The media needs to stop fuelling unnecessary discourse that goes to facilitating the sports conflicts and divide. The approach that the media needs to assume must be reconciling and all-inclusive. In addition, the media needs to champion courses that seek to postulate sporting as a positive occurrence.
Sports personalities need to re-examine their lifestyles and how they carry themselves. It is factual that most of the sports ills have occurred with the support and cooperation of sports personalities. For instance, the adverse sexual exploitation of sports personalities has occurred with the cooperation of the females involved. It is the sportswomen who accept offers to have their images posted in magazines, bill boards, and pornographic content among others. The personalities must assume an active role towards the eradication of the sexual exploitation. In addition, females should allow the media coverage that concentrates on their sporting abilities rather than the sexualisation of their bodies in media coverage.
Over and above that, it is incumbent on the sports personalities to maintain decorum and decency. In many cases, sports personalities have been the subject of violence cases. This has occasioned the conclusion that sports persons are generally more violent than the average person. Examples such as Kobe Byrant and Duke Lacrosse with rape cases have been expounded illustratively on these fronts. On the solution of this sporting ill, it is important for sports personalities to tone down on their actions especially in relation to violent engagements.
The economic sphere of sports needs to be examines afresh and rid of the capitalist face. In modern sports, it is estimated that American sports industry generates an annual income of $ 414 billion dollars. However, majority of the sports persons remain poor and exploited by clubs and agencies that transact on their behalf. This is occasioned partly by the capitalist face of America. It is incumbent of government and other stakeholders that the unabated exploitation of athletes is put to a stop. This can be cured by a number of solutions which if employed cumulatively would result to progressive changes. One solution entails legislations that would impose commission percentages payable to the agencies and clubs that transacts for the athletes.
It would be equally essential for the sporting industry to be cleaned of the cases of racism and substance and drug abuse. It is noteworthy that several athletes have been accused of indulgence in substances. A good example is the Olympic Medallist Marion Jones. In her case, the Olympic Association had to withdraw the titles and Honors it had conferred on her after the discovery of substance abuse. It is imperative to note that the drug industry in America thrives partly because of the market it gets from celebrities including sports personalities. In addition, sports have been positioned as a national feature without putting in place effective mechanisms to prevent racist tendencies. The racial divide in America has often been manifested in sports cases with stereotypes being flung based on racist inclinations. It is essential for American to pursue a multiracial approach in the solution of sports racism. Cases of nationalism such as the celebrated Muhammad Ali need to be promoted so as to overcome the racial divide that faces multiracial America in the sporting industry.
In the long run, America has had to deal with unique sports challenges that have arisen due to its multiracial character, capitalists system and the aggressive media that is ready to sacrifice ethics and moral in preference of profit making. It is, however, essential to appreciate the fact that overtime America has overcome several challenges and continues to streamline its sports industry with the recognition of the multiracial and multi-ethnic composition. The industry has also dealt with cases of violence and drug and substance abuse among its stakeholders especially the athletes in the best interest of sports and the public interest. It is, therefore, arguable to postulate that the current ills would be solved in the near future.
References
Eastman, S., & Billings, A. (2008). Sportscasting and Sports Reporting: The Power of Gender Bias. Journal of Sport & Social Issues, 192-213.
Hartmann, D., & Kwauk, C. (2011). Sport and Development: An Overview, Critique, and Reconstruction. Journal of Sport & Social Issues, 284-305.
Spears , A., & Chen, S. (2010). Are There Problems in American Sport? The Sport Digest. Retrieved from http://thesportdigest.com/archive/article/are-there-problems-american-sport
