1920 to Today

On September 10, 2013 the title of the Lecture was a look at the Past. We interviewed several topics but, one in particular I’d like to relate to is how the struggle continues around the world which is the 1920’s to today.  Information discussed in this topic includes:

·        Entertainment/ Commercialism

·        Violence

·        Professionalism

·        Gender Inequalities

·        Racism, racial discrimination

·        Class dynamics

All of these trends show how modern sport has been shaping since the 1920’s. Kelly Whitseild wrote an article on October 9^th 2013 in USA today stating that the father of an American gymnast says there were racial remarks out of line. 16 year-old Simone Biles was the first Black African American women to win an all-around title. Italian gymnast Carlotta Ferlito said in a video interview, "I told (teammate Vanessa Ferrari) that next time we should also paint our skin black so then we can win, too.” I feel as though this comment was not appropriate to say but, you do have people who have their own opinions and you can’t change that. Racism today is not nearly as bad as it was in the past. This episode kind of reminds me of how 2 African American athletes put their hands up to protest black discrimination. Even by doing this at the Olympic Games they were later killed, further on they were recognized as heroes. In the article about Simone Biles, Ferlito later wrote on twitter "I want to apologize with the Americans girls. I didn't want to sound rude or racist. I love Simone and I'm a huge fan of USA gymnastics." She added, "I've made a mistake, I'm not perfect … I didn't think about what I was saying. I'm just a human. I'm so so sorry." This statement shows me how racism today has change significantly from 1920’s to today. The fact that Ferlito apologized to Simone after she realized what she said was inappropriate shows how people have changed from the 1920’s until now. Coakley’s text states that “Sports usually have multiple meanings in social worlds, and these meanings change over time (Pg.78).” Ferlito wasn’t trying to be rude in what she was saying she just, said it in the wrong way. Since the game was held in Antwerp, Belgium whites weren’t expecting a young black girl to win so of course they were going to feel some type of way. Despite the dispute in Belgium when Simone arrived to her hometown the little girls praised her. I feel as though no matter how far in age we go the world will continuously struggle with violence, entertainment, nationalism most of all racism and racial discrimination .I believe this is a process of socialization in which the process of learning the culture of society is ongoing. In most cases this is not true though.

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