In 1947 Jackie Robinson became the first African-American professional baseball player, breaking a huge barrier towards racial equality. But the desegregation of baseball did not eradicate the inequality and racism in professional athletics that exist today. Racial discrimination and bias have tainted the significance and importance athletics have on the population and are still prominent currently. Desegregation has not eradicated racial intolerance, which is still negatively impacting the sports world. Racism remains in sports today because of racial inequality outside of athletics. Sports impact the general public, but the general public also impact sports.
In sports, it greatly matters who is chosen to lead and coach the team. One would wonder why when there are significantly more players of color, that the majority of managers and coaches are Caucasian. While football has been racial diverse for its longevity, the first African-American coach to win a Super Bowl was Tony Dungy of the Indianapolis Colts in 2007. The reason, there had only been a handful of African-American coaches before him. Minorities have not received adequate opportunities to coach. In the example of the Auburn Tigers head football coaching vacancy, the leading candidate for the job was Turner Gill, a black coach trying to make it into an all white coaching conference. Auburn eventually hired Gene Chizik, a white coach with far less experience and credibility as Turner Gill – (It should also be noted that the entire Auburn committee making the coaching choice was white). Avid fan and alumni Charles Barkley believed that Gill was not hired because of skin color solely. “I think race was the No. 1 factor,” said Barkley, who played basketball for Auburn. “You can say it’s not about race, but you can’t compare the two résumés and say he [Chizik] deserved the job.” Other Auburn fans and alumni were shocked and outraged by the decision and believed it was a case of racial prejudice. Barkley also claimed that it was the board of directors’ fear of being represented by a black coach in a conference with all white coaches. Race does matter still when making executive decisions. It was likely the pressure of societal norms that influenced their hiring. The fact that such an overwhelming number of coaches are white cannot go unnoticed and without further inquisition into the lack of diversity.
Another current issue blemishing the face of sports is the scandal of racial insensitive team names and mascots. Most Americans generally don’t worry or care about team names in the states offending Native Americans, because it has been a common theme of sports for years. Teams like the Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Chiefs, Florida State Seminoles, and the Washington Redskins have tactless and derogatory names, mascots and rituals that demean Native American cultures. Both Seminoles and Chiefs fans are known for their infamous “Tomahawk Chops,” representing an Indian throwing a tomahawk. The act is racist and is not graciously accepted by many Native Americans and those that sympathize for Native’s rights. Florida State has a football pregame ritual involving a Native American fully dressed in a typical garment with war paint riding a white horse; he does a spiritual dance and finishes by throwing his spear into the ground. These stereotypical and flat out racist acts however are allowed to continue because there is little to no public outcry. Hardly anyone would openly admit to being racist, but society has become entirely accustomed to prejudice and slander towards Native Americans that the issue is generally dismissed and not brought back up again.
Ward Churchill in his article “Crimes Against Humanity” also believes that while people are not intending to be racist, the standards of society ignoring the prejudice is what allows fans to disregard the blatant racism. Acknowledged by Churchill, American Indian and Anti-Defamation founder Russell Means has compared teams like the Indians to Germans naming soccer teams the “Jews,” Hebrews,” and “Yids” while adorning stereotypical portrayals from the Nazi’s propaganda campaign during WWII. And while most people would be appalled by the concept of labeling a team by racial slurs and promoting stereotypical demonstrations, does American sports do any different? Teams are unconsciously promoting derogatory representations of Native cultures. I’m not suggesting that Americans hate or look down upon Native Americans and their cultures; they just have become so accustomed to the racism that they don’t recognize when it’s in front of them. Many however would counter my arguments saying that racism is not evident in sports today.
My first point was the issue of the large number of white coaches in sports today. My argument could be viewed that because there are fewer minority coaches, racism must therefore still be present; this being a logical fallacy: Because A, Therefore B. I argue that there shouldn’t be any obligation to hire a coach of racial minority, for that would be reverse racism towards Caucasians; coaches should be entirely judged by their merit and record, not by the color of their skin; and that there is no proof tying the connection between racism and coaching decisions. Some would argue against my thesis that desegregation in fact put the tarnished history of American sports in the past to forever stay. The second issue of racism in sports being arguably prejudicial team names, mascots, and team rituals. A counter to my argument would be that teams are not intending to be racist in their name selection; some believe they are even honoring who they have selected. Also that it is only those trying to propagate racism that take a negative side of the name, i.e. Ward Churchill who has been criticized by many Natives for trying to profit off of their campaigns. A team itself cannot be a racist entity, only those representing the team that can be racist. But to these counter arguments I would argue differently.
Both of my arguments however were incorrectly viewed and manipulated to avoid facing the obvious issues. In my first point, I did not suggest that simply because there are fewer colored coaches, than obviously racism exists. My point is that with a significant number of colored players, it is natural to assume that there should be an equal representation as coaches. I am in no way accusing anyone of being racist or profiling, but the overwhelming number of white coaches cannot be overlooked. But many great African-American coaches like Buffalo’s Turner Gill, have not had the opportunity to prove themselves at an established school. Only a fool would overlook the fact that all most every major sports program is lead by a white coach. I am not arguing that every team with a white coach is racist or prejudice, that the numbers cannot go without some wondering as to why there are so few coaches of color in sports like basketball with the minority of athletes being white.
And with my second argument being racism in team names and actions, it is not the intent of the producer that is important, it is the interpretation of those objectified that matter. Regardless if the Redskins front office is not offended by their slanderous Native American renditions, if it is insulting and deemed as hate speech than the race issue is alive and not to be disregarded. Professional and colligate organizations with racially offensive demeanors need to seriously reflect on the potential harm racist propaganda can have. While America has come a long way from its dark days of racial inequality, the issue of racism in sports still exists. Certain teams and organizations are doing their part to help in the fight to permanently abolish discrimination in sports.
Before you can expect another to change their ways, you must change your own. Many are beginning to recognize the hate in sports and are making an effort to change their ways. Stanford University, formerly the Stanford Indians, has adopted the title of Cardinals in order to remove the prejudicial name associated. Also a Portland area newspaper is now refusing to reference the names of prejudicial teams, i.e. the Redskins as “The Washington team” instead. In response to these changes, Ward Churchill applauds their efforts, “Such examples are to be applauded and encouraged. They stand as figurative beacons in the night, proving beyond all doubt that it is quite possible to indulge in the pleasure of athletics without accepting blatant racism into the bargain.” (Churchill 6) Also, several years back (conspicuously a few weeks after the Turner Gill Auburn coaching scandal) the NCAA enforced a rule requiring that every head coaching position have at least one coach of color be interviewed for their vacant position.
It’s truly inspiring to see organizations taking a stand for equality. However the rights steps are being taken to try to take some of the racism and inequality out of sports. Professional and colligate athletics will unfortunately deal with the prejudices of societal norms until society moves past inequality first. While I argue that racism remains in sports today because of the racial inequality outside of athletics, the movement is growing and will hopefully change the tarnished outlook on sports.
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