Joey Durant - Reading Sport Critically
The article for this week discusses the topic of critical theories in sports. Things such as "race, class, nationality, ability, age, gender, and sexuality" are explained and the increased attention these topics have been, deservedly, getting in research and analyses (McDonald & Birrell, 1999). An interesting point is made early in the article that these individual stereotypes, for lack of a better word, are independent forces aligned against one another rather than as potent interacting forces in our culture" (McDonald & Powell, 1999). This is further explained by using the OJ Simpson case in media being described strictly as a racial conflict, and not one that might have involved gender biases. Another point made explains that the Bill Clinton - Monica Lewinski scandal may have been treated completely differently had the president involved been of a different race.
I find this of great interest because it is brought up in such a way that makes you consider theses facts that may not have been discussed in great detail at the time of the event or in recantations in more recent stories. Would a Barack Obama sex scandal result in an immediate impeachment, or a more scrutinized trial? What would be the story if OJ Simpson's ex-wife and husband were both black, or if the opposite had happened and OJ Simpson was murdered by his ex-wife? These stories, I think, would have a much different outcome than those in the past. They also should be analyzed more in depth than what typical media portrays them as so cut-and-dry simple cases of a disadvantaged category doing something wrong.
I think an interesting case to study more deeply in to the causes of what happened would be the Ray Rice case. Although it has been mostly studied as a simple case without much tie to the stereotypes that could be at play, I would be interested to know more about Ray Rice's background to see if there is any history to what he did, or if it has any ties to a disadvantaged background. Also, it will be interesting to see if the media eventually does portray it as such.
Joey,
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that you bring up the Ray Rice case because we will be discussing that in class today.
Thanks,
Dr. Spencer
Joey,
ReplyDeleteBecause Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were white, you could possibly say that it was an act of racism if she had killed her husband with the assistance of Mr. Goldman. The media could place a spin that Goldman and Brown-Simpson wanted to completely eliminate O.J. Simpson from their lives. I feel as if there would be complications with the story if it was reversed, and O.J. didn’t have the “positive” image he once had. If he had a tainted image, and the public was against him, then racism could possibly play out in the way that portrayed him as being at fault and Brown-Simpson and Goldman acted out of self-defense.
The axis of racism could allow this story to spin into multiple directions. The image of an individual despite their race plays a major role in how they are treated in certain circumstances. Another example is that if O.J. was not admired by the public so much prior to allegations then I personally feel as if he would have been considered guilty. Also, like the video we watched in class today discussed, I believe that if the media was the way it is today back when the incident first occurred it would be a “no brainer.” Yes, he was considered loved by many, but the media would thrive on this story, and would portray the story in such a light that he would be considered guilty based on public opinion along with the jury. The use of social media would not only spread the story like wildfire, but would reach all age groups.
Joey,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you brought up Ray Rice and how he is being portrayed in the media. It is also interesting that you bring up race as a major factor. Yesterday, in class, my group brought up the the issue that is this a big deal because Ray Rice is black? We mentioned that Jason Kidd also has had issues with domestic violence yet it was not as big in the media. I am glad that you also looked at hypothetical situations and questioned whether or not the outcomes would be different if race was changed.
Maddy Amon September 24
Thank you for sharing, Joey. The portion of your post touching on personal background has moved my thought process to the ongoing situation involving Hope Solo.
ReplyDeleteBy no means am I condoning his actions, but I believe one could argue that race and gender— of course in addition to a very telling video—have worsened the circumstances in which Ray Rice currently finds himself.
On the other hand, the U.S Women’s National Soccer Team’s star goalie has been charged with two counts of domestic assault stemming from an incident involving her sister and nephew but we’ve scarcely heard anything about her situation in the media.
She is not only still a member of the national team and her club team, but her on-field accomplishments continue to be celebrated.
In my opinion it’s fair to question if Solo would be treated differently by the media and public were she not an attractive Caucasian woman.
JD,
ReplyDeleteGreat post. As far as the Ray Rice case, I agree with everyone that the major axis of power that is being operated through the media is race and gender. I believe gender is the stronger power in this situation. If Rice was white, I think the media would have have played out the situation exact same way. The key factor is the surveillance tape. Race is suppressed because of the video evidence. Now, if there was no video involved, I believe that black Ray Rice would be more scrutinized than white Ray Rice. My opinion comes from previous incidents (ex.Ben Roethlisberger) It’s interesting to read things in the media that focus on commonly agreed upon powers and debatable ones. Good job Joey.
I agree with a lot of what you said. Every celebrity is under such a microscope today and events that have happened in the past would definitely not be handled in the same way as they were. Every time a new scandal is brought to the public’s attention I cannot help but think about how silly it is that the public gets so much input into their lives. On the other hand I also do not know why celebrities cannot understand that they are under a microscope. They act so surprised when people get all up in their business, but it is a reality of today. This is also something that I think is only going to get worse. That's why I think it would be so interesting to analyze OJ and Bill Clinton in today's society. I think that they would get torn to pieces in today society. Stereotypes I think also play a huge role in how society handles each new scandal.
ReplyDeleteYou bring up a good point with a potential Barak Obama sex scandal, because I once thought of that myself. Would it be more severe than what happened with President Clinton and Monica Lewinski? I’m not sure, I would like to think it wouldn’t be, however with today’s society, you never know. The media does like to portray things the way they believe it should be seen; so regardless of what you’re reading, it always seems to be biased in my opinion. When I was researching the Ray Rice case initially, I was wondering what his background was as well, I don’t typically follow athletes, but I’ve been trying to be better about that now. Does he have a history of domestic violence? While the video was very evident as to what he did, I find it interesting that his charges were what they were, when this has happened in the past and the charges were not as severe.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting!
Jackie