Sport Media-Industrial Complex (NFL)

     The draft process in professional sport, particularly the NFL draft, has always intrigued me. The entire process is a spectacle in itself on how potential athletes are scouted, the different skills tests involved (especially the 40 yard dash times), and eventually the draft day (watch the video and you'll see what I mean). For some the NFL draft may be viewed as just a selection process and it provides fans a reason to forget about last season and to look forward at another  exciting new season of football ahead. As teams begin to restructure and rebuild, NFL draft experts like Todd McShay and Mel Kiper of ESPN begin to identify team needs, and thus the strategy of the draft (trades for picks or trades to move up) is really interesting.

     In order to be drafted, athletes had to be out of high school for at least three years, which generally had them playing college football in the meantime for those three seasons. Actually graduating college before entering the draft was optional. Before doing any research, that was the extent of my NFL draft eligibility knowledge. I never recognized the significance of this rule and viewed it as waste of time. If the athlete is physically capable of competing against top athletes (who are most likely older) and can make a significant impact on the game, a three-year gap should not make a difference.  

     One social injustice coming out of the NFL draft age restrictions is the continued exploitation of athletes through college football.  What college football provides for the NFL is essentially it’s farm system to pick out athletes without any extra costs to the NFL, even though it generates over a $9 billion a year (Keown, 2013). Since the draft rule mandates that athletes looking to enter must wait for three seasons, it allows both the NFL and NCAA to control players with disregard to their professional and personal well being (Keown, 2013). The idea behind the age restriction is so that athletes have time to fully develop and prevent injuries before entering into the league (Haven, 2013). Many college athletes however continue risking career ending injuries every season without making any money professionally. It allows the NFL to scout a player for three years, against reliable competition compared to high school talent, before making an investment (Dickey, 2013). By keeping players longer at their institution, colleges continue to remain relevant in maintaining the prestige of their football program through increased alumni interest and success of the team (Dickey, 2013). The NFL and the NCAA greatly benefit from this arrangement.

     The NCAA promotes that athletes continue amateur sport and scholarship over athletic endeavor through embodiment of the ‘student-athlete’ (Branch, 2011). This means that any collegiate athlete is prohibited from receiving any kinds of monetary benefits (Keown, 2013; Branch, 2011). Athletes that do however are punished and are deemed as selfish and inconsiderate for being granted an athletic scholarship. The NCAA is not about promoting amateur sport, however it focuses on the idea of commercialism (Branch, 2011). Making money is the end game for universities and the NCAA, and adding into the figurations are the corporate sponsors who continues to pump money into Bowl Championship Series (BCS) games, such as the Rose Bowl or Orange Bowl. Keeping star football athletes at an institution for three years allows that team to continue winning, therefore making it to the bigger football games, where the greater payouts for the universities are. Yet college athletes, who are the ones subjecting themselves to potential injury, are short changed in this deal and cannot seek out the money they deserve because of an agreement between the NFL and the NCAA.

     It is clear that the NFL, corporate sponsors, NCAA, and universities are benefitting from the NFL’s draft rules by continuing commercialism at college players’ expense. Although college football players looking to make it into the draft do not benefit from the rule, another group in mind that gets left out are the ones who miss out on the opportunity to attend college because ‘student-athletes’ need to be accommodated first. By keeping the three year minimum requirement for college football athletes entering the draft, it prevents a potential student from seeking higher education from the university that athlete attends. If a player decides to enter the draft and not graduate college, it leaves out the potential for other students to fully commit to higher education and eventually graduating. The idea of a three-year wait essentially wastes the athlete’s time and takes away the chance for a student who wants a college education.  

     The NFL knows what it is doing by keeping a three-year eligibility rule in place. It will continue to utilize college football as it’s farm to develop potential stars at an amateur level in order to provide a constant flow of recognizable talent into the game. To combat the three-year eligibility rule is to implement a system that requires a minimum amount of plays or snaps a player actually engages in. This number would have to be further researched in order to determine how many is enough and can help determine if an athlete is ready for the professional league.

Branch, T. (2011). The shame of college sports. The Atlantic. http://www.theathlantic.com/magazine/print/2011/10/the-shame-of-college-sports/8643/.

Dickey, J. (2013). Johnny Manziel could change the NFL’s rules forever. Time Sports. Retrieved February 22, 2014 from http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/08/09/could-johnny-manziel-change-the-nfls-rules-forever/.

Draftsite LLC. NFL draft Rules. (May 14th 2014)  Retrieved from:http://www.draftsite.com/nfl/rules/.

Haven, C. (2013). Why the NFL age minimum is likely here to stay. The Jeffrey S. Moorad. Retrieved February 22, 2014 from http://lawweb2009.law.villanova.edu/sportslaw/?p=1765.

Keown, T. (2013). Injustice of NFL draft restriction. ESPN. Retrieved February 21, 2014 from http://espn.go.com/nfl/draft2013/story/_/id/8943142/draft-restriction-makes-sense-colleges-nfl-not-players.

Oliva, S. (2013). Abolish the NFL draft. Reason. Retrieved February 21, 2014 from http://reason.com/archives/2013/04/23/abolish-the-nfl-draft.

Sports Media Complex

The relationship between mass media and sport has always been synonymously linked together. Mass media has been used in sport to attract different spectators by reaching a wider audience through the advancement of technology (Whannel, 2000). The growing emergence of technology allowed the increase in sports coverage. Sports were recognized as the ideal platform to capture spectators for advertisements as well as reinforce patriotism. With mass media being a cost effective method in transporting messages across, the sports industry acknowledged the importance of mass media in spreading their agenda and creating increased interest between sponsors and viewers.

Immediately after winning the NFC Championship game, Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman was interviewed on television in what later became the most talked about taunting story (Chase, 2014). Having the Seahawks win against a team that I highly followed, the San Francisco 49ers, my initial reaction to Richard Sherman’s post game interview was filled with disgust and anger. Who does this guy think he is? Not knowing who he was and any information about him, I initially felt that his remarks were typical of current black male athletes. Growing up playing sports as a kid, winning humbly was what I’ve been taught, and seeing how Sherman handled the win made me hate his character.

Having a little bit of information of Richard Sherman’s personality outside of football and how the media portrayed him, the subject that followed on sports networks was whether or not he was a thug (Roger, 2014). His actions in the post game interview quickly became viewed as ignorant, uneducated, and brash (Rogers, 2014; Strauss, 2014). Racial slurs were even made about Sherman’s comments, including the N-word (Hutchinson, 2014). It was easy to assume the media’s portrayal of Sherman as a thug because of his African American background and the fact that he was raised in Compton, California (Rogers, 2014). The outburst by Sherman quickly became viral on Twitter feeds, with stereotypical comments linked to his background, quickly labeling him as a thug (Straus, 2014).

As the story continued, the facts of Richard Sherman came to light. Although growing up in Compton, Richard Sherman was a Stanford graduate who excelled in the classroom with a high grade point average (Strauss, 2014). He has no criminal record and continues to contribute back to his hometown of Compton (Strauss, 2014).  The initial image of Richard Sherman as a thug or ape gets dispelled when an accurate portrayal is made.

As mentioned earlier that sport is synonymous with the media, establishing the key players in the sport media complex is needed to identify the power relations.  Media conglomerates, transnational corporations, and sports governing bodies are among the highly influential figures in the sports media complex (Lefever, 2012). With media being able to represent the world’s view, more importantly is the ability for it to construct versions of reality (Whannel, 2000). These constructed realities are usually made through political, economic, and cultural influences. This is a fundamental concept in understanding the role of the media since it is the media conglomerates that have the ability to construct people’s perceptions of reality. As media conglomerates are viewed as keepers of information, people who consume what the media portrays are also part of the figuration. The sports media complex constructs these messages in order to make the public think in a specific way (Whannel, 2000). In the context of the Richard Sherman story, the public who consumes the portrayal of Sherman as a thug only continues the cultural racial stereotype of black male athletes.

The stereotype of black male athletes behaving badly is deeply engrained in the world of sport and in our society. Yet why is it that black athletes receive more scrutiny under media attention, especially when all of the facts are not presented? The media continues to highlight black male athletes who are filled with bravado, such as Muhammad Ali, who capitalized more in his showmanship instead of his athleticism (Strauss, 2014). Viewers are constantly bombarded with stories of black athletes who get in trouble with the law. Most notable black male athletes that receive plenty of media attention is Michael Vick, Mike Tyson, and Floyd Mayweather, Jr., to name a few. 

This only confirms that the issue of racism is still prevalent in our society and that racism was again brought to light with the Richard Sherman story. Although his actions were at the heat of the moment, having just helped his team make it to the Superbowl, you cannot judge a book by its cover. Society automatically sees Richard Sherman’s actions and quickly jumps to conclusions based on stereotypes from the past. The stereotype towards black male athletes will continue as long as the media continues to portray black male athletes as thugs. Young athletes especially who are susceptible from this stigma, are forced to tread lightly to avoid being labeled as a thug or criminal by their peers, coaches, or other parents.

Chase, C. (2014). Seahawks star Richard Sherman’s instant-classic postgame interview with Erin Andrews. USA Today. Retrieved February 14, 2014 from http://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/01/richard-sherman-erin-andrews-interview/.

Hutchinson, E. (2014). Richard Sherman’s rant again blew the hinge off the door of racial stereotypes. Huffington Post. Retrieved February 14, 2014 from

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/earl-ofari-hutchinson/richard-shermans-rant-aga_b_4638270.html.

Lefever, K. (2012). Sports media complex in the new media landscape. International Sports Law Series, 7-27.

Rogers, D. (2014). Seattle seahawks: Is Richard Sherman a thug? Huffington Post. Retrieved February 14, 2014 from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dexter-rogers/richard-sherman-thug_b_4705030.html.

Strauss, V. (2014). Justifying Richard Sherman by his GPA at Standford. Washington Post. Retrieved February 14, 2014 from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/02/01/justifying-richard-sherman-by-his-gpa-at-stanford/.

Whannel, G. (2000). Sport and the Media. Handbook of Sports Studies. Sage Publications.

Social Injustice in Sochi

            According to Tomlinson and Young (2006), a global sports mega event is one that globally involves the majority of the nations in the world and includes large amounts of spectators. One current event in particular is the highly anticipated 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. The core principle of the Olympic games has always been to promote international harmony and universal peace through joyful competition of sport (King, 2014). Although sport is the main focus for the Olympics, politics and economy have a significant role in global sport. This relationship between politics and economics has developed power chances among countries, corporations, and people involved in global sport. One particular social justice that has spawned from the Winter Olympics in Sochi is the anti gay laws that target the LGBT community.

To further understand the social injustice, the process sociology theory will be used to analyze power relations. The process sociology focuses that people are all connected in a network or figuration, and that everybody influences each other intentionally and discreetly (Maguire, 1994). These power relations are constructed from these figurations, which allow certain groups or individuals to influence others. The power relations created further establish who is constrained and who is enabled. In the context of the Winter Olympics, Russian president Vladimir Putin and the Russian government signify the enabled and privileged groups with greater power chances. For Vladimir Putin, hosting the Olympic games is an opportunity to show the rest of the world how powerful the country and its leader are (Tomlinson & Young, 2006). The use of a GSME has been used to assert particular national ideology and reinforce national, cultural, and racial stereotypes (Tomlinson & Young, 2006). This has been more evident with the passing of anti gay propaganda laws by the Russian government, in preparation for the Winter Games. Although homosexuality was decriminalized in 1993, anti-gay emotion still exists, which continues to reinforce the status quo.

With all of the power chances being driven towards Vladimir Putin and the Russian government, why are the Olympics continued to go on in a country that condones the persecution of the LGBT community? Under Principle 6 of the Olympic Charter states that “Any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or other is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement” (IOC, 2013). It is clear and evident that the International Olympic Committee enables persecution of the LGBT community. Instead of making an effort to show that the discrimination by the Russian government is against the Olympic ideal, and defend human rights, IOC president Thomas Bach criticizes leaders who want to boycott the Olympics (Wilstein, 2014). President Bach claims that the games should not be used as a medium to promote a country’s political agenda. President Bach continues that athletes should not protest the issue at the medal podium but rather during press conferences to make a political statement (King, 2014). This shows that the IOC has little influence in changing how Russia views homosexuality and further reinforces the power chances held by Putin and the oppression allowed by the IOC.

The question that comes up is why doesn’t the IOC act and do something about it? They are in a prime position to say that the host country is does not embody the essence of the Olympic games. Is Vladimir Putin’s influence that strong on the games? Further examination of the IOC’s failure to uphold the principles of the games can be seen with the economic impact of GSME. As previously mentioned, global sport is affected by both politics and the economy (Tomlinson & Young, 2006). The Olympics has become a venue for global marketing opportunities by multinational corporations such as Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, and Visa (Tomlinson & Young, 2006). These corporations are major contributors to the success of the games yet do not seek to stand up against Russia’s oppression of the LGBT community. These transnational corporations, who provide tens of millions into the games, fear that any support on the topic will be met with backlash from consumers (Davison, 2014). The potential boycott of their product by consumers at the games does not seem to outweigh the short terms gains by speaking out against the social injustice. By remaining quiet, these corporations can continue to exist at the Olympic games so that they can continue selling their product.

The LGBT communities in Russia are faced with continued discrimination, violence, and persecution (Gibson & Walker, 2014). Through the emphasis of the power balances between politics and the economy, the issues of the LGBT community get forgotten. This highlights how members within a figuration allow the status quo to continue and how some members in the figuration turn a blind eye to what is happening.

Social change is difficult and it will continue to be controlled by the people in power. Vladimir Putin’s stance against the LGBT community is evident, but growing awareness is out there. The Humans Rights Watch has been a strong advocate in bringing to light the social injustices that are occurring in Russia. Still a combined effort from the IOC, corporations, athletes, and public opinion leaders are needed in order to break cycle of injustice.

Davison, J. (2014). Big Olympic sponsors tread softly around Russia’s anti-gay law. Available: http://www.cbc.ca/news/big-olympic-sponsors-tread-softly-around-russia-s-anti-gay-law-1.2526092. Retrieved 10th February, 2014.

King, B. (2014). 17 days in Sochi: The Olympics and social justice. Available: http://www.npr.org/blogs/13.7/2014/02/06/271093846/17-days-in-sochi-the-olympics-and-social-justice. Retrieved 8th February, 2014.

Gibson, O., and Walker, S. (2014). Ban Ki-moon condemns persecution of gay people in Russia. Available: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/06/sochi-olympics-ban-ki-moon-lgbt-prejudice. Retrieved 9th February, 2014.

Maguire, J. (1994). Figurations, power, civilizing processes. In Jarvie, G & Maguire, J (1994). Sport & Leisure in Social Thought. London: Routledge, Pp 130-137.

Tomlinson A. and Young C. (2006). National identity and global sports events.  pp 5-7)

Wilstein, M. (2014). Here’s the anti-discrimination message NBC cut fom Sochi opening ceremony. Avaialbe: http://www.mediaite.com/tv/heres-the-anti-discrimination-message-nbc-cut-from-sochi-opening-ceremony/.  Retrieved 9^th February, 2014.

Penn State Child Abuse Scandal

Penn State Child Abuse Scandal

            Led by their legendary coach Joe Paterno, Penn State was synonymous with great football traditional which brought pride to the institution. Among his many accomplishments, the storm that would unfortunately sink Paterno and leave a black mark on Penn State was when the child abuse scandal of Jerry Sandusky was brought to light in the fall of 2011 (CNN, 2013). The social injustice that occurred was whether or not administrators, in this case primarily Vice President Gary Schultz, did the right thing by stopping Sandusky’s abuse and was punishment enough to stop it?

Over the span of at least fifteen years, former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky sexually abused 10 boys while operating a youth organization (Center, Jackson, Smith, & Stansberry, 2014). In 1998, administrators such as Athletic Director Tim Curley and senior Vice President Gary Schultz, as well as head coach Joe Paterno were first aware of Sandusky’s mischievous behavior but was swept under the rug (Chappel, 2012). In 2000, a janitor witnessed Sandusky molesting a boy in the shower. The janitor, Jim Calhoun,  told his supervisors but the consensus among the staff was not to report the incident for fear of losing their jobs (Center et al., 2014). In 2002, graduate assistant Mike McQueary reports to Curley, Schultz, and Paterno that he witnessed Sandusky abusing a boy in the locker room showers. The administrators failed to report any incidents to law enforcement, which allowed Sandusky to continue his abuse of young boys (CNN, 2013; Chappel, 2012). Penn State missed several opportunities to stop Sandusky, yet silence was the answer in order to protect the coveted football program (Center et al., 2014). Sandusky was later found guilty for 45 counts of child sex abuse in 2012 (Center et al. 2014).

            Examining through the process sociological lens will further develop our understanding of the Penn State scandal. Through the process sociological theory, the main focus is how the present has emerged from the past by studying power relations between figurations (Maguire, 1994). According to Maguire (1994), humans are interdependent, but are connected through figurations marked by power relations.  

            The use of figurations is first considered and applied to the Penn State scandal since all of the administrators’ actions were intertwined. The figuration between Schultz and the other administrators allowed Sandusky to continue his abuse. The second consideration for under the process sociological lens is power relations. In relation to the Penn State scandal, the key players in power were coach Joe Paterno, Athletic Director Tim Curley, and Vice President Gary Schultz. Power is viewed as the constraining and enabling feature and is highly dynamic (Maguire, 1994). This is viewed with Paterno having control over both Curley and Schultz, forcing them to remain silent about allegations against Sandusky. This example of power relations occurred again with Curley and Schultz overpowering and squandering graduate assistant McQueary’s reports. Third, the enabling of figurations and power relations creates habitus, explaining a lifestyle of entitlement. For Sandusky’s case, this lead to an abuse of power and Schultz being in a position unable to challenge the football coaching staff. Finally, in order to further understand power relations, pronouns are used to identify separate groups (Maguire, 1994). Using the pronoun of ‘them’ referring to Schultz, Paterno, Curley, and Sandusky further reinforces the concept that power exists in a figuration and influences everyone with unintentional consequences.

            Through the eyes of Vice President Schultz, he was constrained to not report anything in order to maintain integrity of the football program (Center et al., 2014). A key power figure was Coach Paterno, whose legacy was being protected by the administration, Athletic Director Curley. Vice President Schultz, who was also oversaw the campus police, was in a key position to stop the abuse if he further continued investigation of Sandusky (Center et al., 2014). Yet with the football culture within the Penn State community, who not only idolized but also loved Joe Paterno, the pressure to conform and to remain silent in order to protect the famed coach was needed. This power of Joe Paterno leads to minimal power chances for Vice President Schultz. By understanding the power relations within the figuration at Penn State, maintaining the status quo was the concern for Schultz.

            In hindsight to how the actions of all the individuals in the scandal, key officials such as Vice President Schultz should have stopped the abuse when it first came about. By being in charge of campus police, the expectation to protect young boys must be done. Determining that Sandusky needed to be prosecuted all the way was strongly needed instead of being swept under the rug. Further questions arises such as did Joe Paterno want to know or even cared? Did his consumption in his football legacy led to him not caring about the child abuse scandal? 

This abuse of power from a highly popular official shows how unintentional consequences occur from intentional means. The Penn State scandal highlights how figurations can influence decision making and how strong power relations are in studying sociology.

           

References

Center, A., Jackson, P., Smith, S., & Stansberry, F. (2014). Public relations practices: Managerial case studies and problems. Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson. 

Chappel, B. (2012). Penn state abuse scandal: A guide and timeline. Available: http://wwww.npr.org/2011/11/08/142111804/penn-state-abuse-scandal-a-guide-and-timeline Retrieved 31st January, 2014.

CNN Wire. (2013). Penn State Scandal Fast Facts. CNN Newsource Sales, Inc.

Maguire, J. (1994). Figurations, power, civilizing processes. In Jarvie, G & Maguire, J (1994). Sport & Leisure in Social Thought. London: Routledge, Pp 130-137.