Sports Science(Quality work, no plagarism, A+)

**** Respond to    class mate Ashman (150 words)

Women should have equal access to sport regardless of the success of the program.  Furthermore, Title IX is a federal program which ensures that women have equal access to sport.  According to the Women’s Sport Foundation (2017), “Title IX is an important federal civil rights act that guarantees that our daughters and sons are treated in a like manner with regard to all educational programs and activities, including sports. ”  The law clearly mandates that women should have equal access to sport and institutions can be penalized for failure to comply.  Additionally, women should have access to sport regardless of availability of women’s programs whereas their ability is superior to that of their male counterparts. 

            As a child growing up, I did not have access to all sport which I was interested.  At the time of my youth, I excelled in baseball. I played in a youth boys baseball league because girl’s baseball and softball were not available in my community.  Although I was a girl playing a “boys” game, I annually made the all-star team as the league’s best second baseman.  I travelled with the team to all-star tournaments with my male counterparts and represented our community well.  Because my sport of preference was not available in a girl’s program, I opted to play in a boy’s league in which I excelled.  All women should have this same opportunity based on their interests and ability. 

            In the instance where women do not have access to the sport of their specific interest or ability, women should be allowed to participate in a man’s league.  When a female demonstrates equal or superior skill, she should be allowed to participate in the league if a female program is not available.  Football is an example where female athletes do not have equal access to sport. However, Toni Harris did not let the challenges of unavailability for women to play football.  She pursued her interest and is the first female to receive a college scholarship in football as a safety (Caron, 2019).  Her access to football was a challenge, but she overcame that obstacle to set a precedence for women in football. 

References

Caron, E. (2019).  Female football player makes history with scholarship offer . [online] Sports Illustrated. Available at: https://www.si.com/college/2019/02/27/female-football-player-toni-harris-makes-history-college-scholarship-offer [Accessed 27 Nov. 2019].

Women's Sports Foundation. (1998).  What is Title IX? - Women's Sports Foundation . [online] Available at: https://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/advocacy/what-is-title-ix/ [Accessed 27 Nov. 2019].

***Respond to classmate Glass ( 150 words)

This is a tough, and sensitive, topic!  I fall somewhere in the middle of this statement. I do think that women should have fair and equal access to sports; however it is very hard to control marketplace success. There are factors that clearly impact how society views a particular sport.  The media’s portrayal and reporting on the sport can help launch it into popularity.  Something that is unheard of cannot become popular.  The televising of a sport can also help it to gain momentum with marketplace success. People cannot watch what they do not have access to.  With that said I do not think that equal access can happen without some level of marketing. 

I also think that there are subtle events that take place that lead to men’s sports being more popular. Take, for example, high school soccer. In my own community the girls’ soccer team plays first (every single week) at 500 and the boys soccer team plays at 630.  The 630 time slot is clearly more appealing and easier to get to for individuals who work and get off at 500.  The crowd always grows around half time of the girl’s game and by the time the boy’s play it has doubled in size.  The school, unintentionally, has made the girls’ soccer game somewhat of a precursor to the main event of the boy’s game.

In order to truly promote women’s sports there has to be equal access.  Gaining success in the marketplace is up to society but the media and marketing can help tremendously with this. Commercials and ads with professional women athletes and more televised women’s events can help to spread the interest of women’s sports throughout the country. In the end, society will determine what they find worthy of watching and making popular; however, the lack of exposure will ensure that the public does not find certain sports worthy.

****Forum | Commercialization of Sport (300 words)

 

 

What changes occur in the meaning, purpose, and organization of sports when they become commercial activities? How does such a commercial arrangement benefit members of a society? What does sport commercialization tell us about the standard of living of the society supporting it? Does commercial sport activity like major league baseball or professional football deserve any form of public assistance such as stadium subsidies or other taxpayer support? Explain your view using the sociological terms and elements you have learned to this point.