Unlevel Playing Field

A sports-related blog curated by final year Sports Education students at Nottingham Trent University

[unlevelplayingfield]

Is it time to think about your team mates off the pitch?

It’s not a secret nor should it be. 1 in 4 people in the UK will experience a mental health problem each year and 1 in 6 people report experiencing a common problem such as anxiety and depression in any given week.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/video/2018/oct/10/its-ok-to-not-be-ok-what-top-athletes-have-said-about-mental-health-in-sport-video

Mental health can affect anyone, however more footballers are experiencing problems whether it has stemmed from not making the cut in the academy team, to those that have sustained a long-term injury or even professional’s not adapting to retirement. However, these aren’t the only experiences to affect mental health. Football can be a huge mental and emotional demand on players and if more players and individuals are open and understanding towards this ongoing issue then more people can be helped day to day.

According to the Professional Footballers’ Association footballers seeking help has risen over the past two years with records showing that in 2016 just 160 cases were known of, compared to 403 cases in 2017 and already 250 players have asked for help in 2018.      

Danny Rose has recently revealed that he suffers from depression caused from an injury and other traumatic experiences in his life and is thought to be the first England player to openly admit his suffers and has taken medication to help him. In previous years, Clarke Carlisle and Aaron Lennon have attempted to take their own lives and are now seeking professional help, but where was the help when they were playing?

From the start of the 18/19 football season Mind become the official charity partner of the EFL. They have teamed up to support, promote and enhance the way footballers, coaches and fans approach mental health. The EFL will work within 72 clubs and community trusts to promote Minds service nationwide by focusing on support of all those within the club, from players to staff. Raise awareness to the fans, raise funds to help with life changing support and improve the approach to mental health in football and wider societies. I for one think this is an incredible step forward for raising awareness and stopping the stigma related to mental health.

“In choosing to partner with Mind, the EFL is showing a real commitment to an issue that affects players, staff and fans alike” - Paul Farmer, Chief Executive for Mind

“We know that improving mental health is a huge challenge in society, especially for men, but through this partnership we will be proud to help raise awareness about mental health, reduce stigma and hopefully have a positive impact on the lives of millions of individuals who currently suffer in silence” - EFL Chief Executive, Shaun Harvey.

Changing sports culture, should we be focusing equally on an athlete’s competitive side to their mental health? If more and more athletes are admitting they suffer from mental health problems due to the pressures to perform and win in such intense competitions, then why are coaches and managers still pushing their athletes to succeed no matter what. Failing to take into consideration the strains that this may have on their wellbeing, is failing to look after the athlete at any levels.

If it is so common and more people on and off the pitch are openly admitting they have experiences with mental health problems, then why is there still a stigma about mental health?

If you are experiencing or need some advice, then have a look on the Mind website.

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References:

Bauman, James N. 2016. The stigma of mental health in athletes: are mental health seen as contradictory in elite sport? 

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Bigger is NOT Better

Across all sports, from elite to amateur, it is prevalent that athletes are using and abusing performance enhancing drugs for reasons we presume are to do with enhancing sporting performance, or for ultimately financial gain and sporting status. However in rugby, this is not the case.

A quick google search including the words, ‘rugby’ and ‘doping’ will present you with millions of results expressing the fears of the rise in doping within rugby, how common doping is within the sport and what seems to be a never ending amount of articles about players who are now banned after getting caught. It has even been said that Rugby Union is the dirtiest sport in Britain due to the rise in doping cases. In 2015, Rugby Union had the highest number of banned athletes on the UK Anti-Doping sanction list, with 16 out of 47 people on the list competing in rugby union and 12 from rugby league. Between the two sports, they accounted for over 80% of the bans announced that year. But why? What is it that is encouraging rugby players to use performance enhancing drugs?

We can all picture the stereotypical ‘rugby lad’ who loves to drink, is full of charisma and charm, and is muscular. However is the idea that rugby players should look massive and have high muscle mass feeding into the ultimately damaging idea that ‘bigger is better’?  

An anonymous interview was conducted with a rugby player who was caught doping in sport, and he explained his reasons for doping had very little to do with his sporting performance. But in fact coaches had told him that he would not even be looked at as a performer unless he got bigger over the summer, a recurring theme within rugby. There is a huge emphasis on how you look and physically compare to others, before your skills as a player have even been seen. This attitude only reiterates to performers that their skills are less important than the size of their arms. And with this, doping can seem like the best option for someone who wants to look bigger in a shortened time frame.  

It isn’t just men who are doping, it has spread beyond a few tiers below the Premiership and is now occurring at school level rugby. In South Africa over 12,000 students in 23 rugby-playing schools were asked what they were taking and why. It showed that 1 IN 10 18 year-olds had tried steroids, and the rugby players were the most likely to do so. However, their reasons were all around vanity. The use of drugs had become a part of their lifestyle, revolving around gaining muscle with many of the boys not even seeing it as cheating. At University level in the UK, the men who enjoyed ‘lads holidays’ to Ibiza and powerlifting in front of an audience in the gym and also expressed no desire to play beyond their present level were the guys who were regularly doping.      

The increasing amount of young rugby players who are doping for reasons as simple as to look good, should be great cause for concern. We are a generation that are obsessed with comparison and looks, and are now putting our own bodies and health on the line to fit into a culturally constructed ‘ideal’. Rugby should be held accountable for their part in the rise of doping within the sport and spend more time and resources tackling this issue at lower levels, using education interventions across clubs and schools to tackle this issue within lower tiers… and maybe give up the bigger is better culture for good.

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References:

BBC News. (2018). ‘Bigger is better’: The rugby player. [online] Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/newsbeat-43995772/bigger-is-better-the-rugby-player [Accessed 10 Nov. 2018].

Schofield, D. (2018). Rugby uncovered: Union is the dirtiest sport in Britain, and its doping problem is growing. [online] Telegraph.co.uk. Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/11859913/Rugby-uncovered-Union-is-the-dirtiest-sport-in-Britain-and-its-doping-problem-is-growing.html [Accessed 12 Nov. 2018].

Sekulic, D., Bjelanovic, L., Pehar, M., Pelivan, K. and Zenic, N., 2014. Substance use and misuse and potential doping behaviour in rugby union players. Research in sports medicine, 22(3), pp.226-239.

Till, K., Jones, B., McKenna, J., Whitaker, L. and Backhouse, S.H., 2016. The search for size: a doping risk factor in adolescent rugby?.

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Sports: a human right without human rights

The fourth fundamental principle of the Olympic Charter gives us the right and IAAF takes it away. They include everyone, except anyone who is not a male or female. Sports has the right to ask but also have a duty of care for confidentiality and respect. Following new regulations that single out events 400m to a mile, the bar has been raised but, Semenya is fighting to stay competing in her women events.

She wants to run ‘naturally the way god made her!’ She dreams to break world records with continued hard work, determination and opportunity. Always being asked questions she can’t answer, she simply states, ‘I am a woman and I am fast…running or not running it's the same story’.

It’s hard for athletes to fight to stay true to their identity. Let’s take into consideration Semenya. She could be marginalised identifying as tomboy, lesbian, black, South African, deep voice, strong build, ‘masculine’, uses English as an additional language and that's while being judged as a female in the races she runs in terms of athletics. She is not better than the best but a talented elite athlete. Judged on looks her gender was questioned. However, appearance is not valuable enough to determined gender anymore.

Sex testing within the Olympics, ambiguous they are, subjects athletes to prove they are male or female (Previously determined using nude parades). Or these days, that you’re not but prepared to do what it takes to fall in line with either label. Testing results in invasive medical treatments, artificially altering physiology, taking hormones which could impact body, Secret tests before competitions, violation under false pretences, pre-race tests, chromosome checks and, testosterone checks although proven to be present in both women and men. Mabey another male dominated intervention to remain in control of the standards of the appearance of a woman?

In a war over her apparent “unfair advantage,” Semenya has spent over a decade in limbo. Living In fear of her financial future, having medical history exposed to public scrutiny, received suspensions and bans, hate, loss of motivation, IAAF also publicly commented on private findings. In 2010 IAAF excepted findings from medical experts and made no further comments. Going back she lost 10 seconds of her PB and now she’s been given this ultimatum. Take medication to change testosterone levels or give up her main event.

Gender is Grey on a spectrum. Sport is black and white. Male or Female.

Combined, results with misleading and deceptive expectations. There have been 8 other known similar cases since 2005 but none to the extent of Semenya’s. They were stripped of their titles, asked to end careers and fake injury’s. Semenya had accepted a grant to build a family home but not the bribe.

So what makes you male or female is nature or nurture? what if you have both or none? Facebook has over 50 gender categories! This alone highlights the upcoming need to speak about the evolution of gender. Its fluidity and spectrum is expanding and the need to understand is fast emerging especially in the sporting context. For an organisation that is supposed to endorse inclusivity, they exclude anyone who is not male or female.

Science is just not enough. Human rights protect everyone including the accusers.

Genetic variations make unfair advantages in top elite athletes. Bolt! Phelps! O’Neil! But, will athletes be prepared to run against Semenya 400m to the mile?

In life we question everything but have to acknowledge, the answers create more difficult questions. Is there such thing as a level playing field?

Figure 1 - Photograph: Antonio Lacerda/EPA

#HandsOffCaster #sextesting  #violated #whatisgender #Olympicgames

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References: 

Buzuvis, E. (2010). Caster Semenya and the Myth of a Level Playing Field. Modern American, [online] 6(1), p.36. Available at: https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/moderam6&id=1&collection=journals&index=# [Accessed 9 Nov. 2018].

Cooky, C. and Dworkin, S. (2013). Policing the Boundaries of Sex: A Critical Examination of Gender Verification and the Caster Semenya Controversy. Journal of Sex Research, [online] 50(2), pp.103-111. Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00224499.2012.725488?needAccess=true [Accessed 9 Nov. 2018].

Nyong'o, T. (2010). The unforgivable transgression of being Caster Semenya. Women & Performance: a journal of feminist theory, [online] 20(1), pp.95-100. Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07407701003589501?journalCode=rwap20 [Accessed 9 Nov. 2018].

YouTube. (2015). Too Fast to Be a Woman The Story of Caster Semenya. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-UX0LE_tCg [Accessed 9 Nov. 2018].

Acknowledgements:

After the Olympic 800m final, won by Caster Semenya, right. Photograph: Antonio Lacerda/EPA (2016) Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/aug/21/lynsey-sharp-caster-semenya-rio-2016-olympics?CMP=share_btn_tw [accessed: 9.11.2018]

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Fitness Generation of Technology is a Step in the Right Direction

The concept of physical fitness is the idea whose time has come. The finding an intrinsic motivation to pursue a fitness journey may prove tough but thanks to the modern technology which has induced ease and efficacy on its accessibility. A general population largely characterised by overweight and unhealthy people are tirelessly seeking to reverse the condition. Perhaps this is the main reason which induces urgency and appetite for training and exercise. we get left with no options but to grab the innovations as a profound solution in our convenient time and place. Whether the technology of these app’s are accurate and safe is still yet to decide.

Four Fitness Trends you didn’t know about in the Current Generation of Fitness Technology

Beko Stainless Steel Vacuum Blender

No one can deny the fundamental truth that this electric blender is ahead of its time. It is manufactured in a manner that it eliminates all air inside while blending your fruits, therefore reducing the oxidation and thereby retaining more nutrients present intended soup. However, we don’t know if the vacuum blender is providing us more nutrients for our bodies or by just eating an apple for example this could give us more or the same amount of nutrition.

Watch Beko Stainless Steel Vacuum Blender at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPT3wlh0jj0

Fiit App for Personal Training

Personal training has risen to become a trend for the year 2018. This interactive App allows the user to train from the comfort of his/her home with the outstanding personal trainers in the country. The device functions as a computer game which denotes performances attained by the trainer, #FiitAppMyChoice. Personal training of course is not the only corridor leading to individualised training routine. Some users may find it unrealistic and expensive to secure it at your home, but it is worth both the price and convenience. How do we know that the App is accurate to help improve your fitness levels and what you can achieve if using the App on a constant basics.

Watch Fiit App athttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XkVyzWQdEA

Wearable Technology

Wearable technology encompasses activity trackers, heart rate monitors, and smart watches which has become popular as never before. Play smart coach is special and is the only approved FIFA approved GPS tracker. It is useful to put on while playing in the field. #MakeUseOfYourPlayrCoachToAchieveFitness. Wearable technology is graduating from Apple Watches and Fitbits which people wear on their wrists. The question is with the wearable technology is how comfortable they are on the human body and how actuate they measure the distance of how much you’ve covered and the price you are paying for the GPS you will still have to buy other devices to see the distance covered. For the norm human and young amateur athletes who would want to better their performances it will be very expensive to purchase these items.

Watch playl smart coach at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBZrj6OpYoA  

Samsung Galaxy Watch

This specialized watch can track down up to 40 different exercises, hence maximising the trainer’s ability to attain the fitness objectives. The integrated #SamsungHealthApp assists in the monitoring of heartbeat rate, nutritional goals, health status, and sleeping patterns.  The device thus is essential in the delivery of a generalized overview of oneself concerning health.

Why would you spend so much on a watch telling you about your goals you need to complete and also about your nutrion intake when you can take note by just reading on the back of the ingreidents to save you money and with goal setting just writing down things you want to achieve short and long term.

Watch Samsung Galaxy Watch athttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiEClfe1SN4

The new dawn of modern technology has illuminated the pathway for fulfilling training. In my view, keeping track about fitness is a sure way of identifying the results as to whether you are extracting the intended aptitude. Such innovations described above, I believe are stylish and can be integrated as a daily dosage for the sake of your health. But having all these technology and fitness app’s we question if they are accurate as if you we were to upload date from the technology App’s onto social media how will we know that people that are using these app’s are safe, due to uploading where someone runs if you were to upload your progress you can also be exposed to where you run at all times when using the App that tracks your data intake.

References:

Bhowan, U., Johnston, M. and Zhang, M., 2012. Developing new fitness functions in genetic programming for classification with unbalanced data. IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, Part B (Cybernetics), 42(2), pp.406-421.

Boulos, M.N.K. and Yang, S.P., 2013. Exergames for health and fitness: the roles of GPS and geosocial apps.

De Lyon, A.T., Neville, R.D. and Armour, K.M., 2017. The role of fitness professionals in public health: a review of the literature. Quest, 69(3), pp.313-330.

Quinn, F., 2018, February. Reflections on promoting physical activity and the fitness industry: Conference report for Elevate 2017, 10th to 11th May, ExCeL, London. British Psychological Society.

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Is Social Media more bad than good?

For many girls, conforming to the Westernised culture of ‘thin’ body ideals are pressures many girls and Women try to achieve. But what if you don’t fit into that body type? Body shaming towards women in the public eye is increasing as technology becomes more advanced. Body shaming can be defined as negative messages that may be inappropriate towards an individual’s size.

For many people, social media is a critical component of online visibility. Social Media apps are used by billions of people each day, with apps like Instagram attracting more than 700 million monthly users. Social media can be seen as a way to communicate, socialise, and make friends, with sites like Instagram giving many positives. But it can also provide negatives, especially to athletes in the public eye.

Olympic gymnast Simone Biles faced much criticism on her social media account about her looks and body image. The gold medal winner posted a picture on the site “I had such an amazing experience cheering at the Texans Game <3 Definitely a memory to last forever.”

The comments attacking the athlete’s body image is becoming a regular occurrence on her social media account. The multi- medal winning athlete with the muscular body type isn’t proving to be ‘good enough’ for Cyber Warriors of social media.

Instagram is becoming more of a place to monitor women then to keep in touch as a 19-year-old was kicked off her Volleyball team for sharing a ‘revealing’ photo of her ‘big chest.’

Shalom Ifeanyi was also subject to body shaming when her coach asked her to take a picture down for being “too sexy.”

 Is the case of internet trolling to do with the fact people behind the screens become more substantial when they’re ‘hidden’ and in a cyber World? The cases of body shaming seem to be from individuals of the same gender so is it through jealousy and the fact that they feel protected hiding behind the screen? An Australian study on 276 Women in Australia found that going on Instagram for 30 minutes a day can change the way you view your body and that using Instagram can promote self-objectification.

But why don’t male athletes receive the same kind of feedback on their Instagram posts? Instead, male boxer Anthony Joshua receives complete opposite responses to his posts.

The transition in comments from what Simone Received compared to Anthony Joshua highlights the Unfair treatment women in the public domain are receiving.

Body shaming on social media doesn’t just happen to individuals in the public eye highlighting issue might not be technology as a concept, but the fact that children using technology like Instagram are growing up into the culture where body shaming on social media is deemed acceptable. If seeing negative messages towards others is constantly being highlighted on social media, the social norms of what is acceptable in society will change and it will become the norm to body shame on social media platforms so will keep happening.

Instagram is a social media platform that highlights visual representations of body ideals and because it only uses photos, peers tend to judge others on photos they have posted becoming a secluded platform of comparing others. People following social media platforms like Instagram can become so dependent on other perceptions of their posts and how many ‘likes’ they are getting. Along with body shaming and body objectification, social media can lead to negative mental well-being. This can aid from if you’re receiving such negative comments about the way you look and body image, in the end, an individual can try everything to change the way they look.

The common perceptions about social media are to keep in touch with friends and as a form of communication with others but when people become too involved, can it be more bad than good?

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References:

http://runwayriot.com/2016/09/01/what-the-hell-is-up-with-the-body-shaming-instagram/

https://www.bulimia.com/topics/body-image-empowerment-on-instagram/

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Should athletes be allowed to take performance enhancing drugs in sport?

From Thomas Hicks use of drugs during sporting events to Tyson Gay’s failed drug test. The question is should athletes be allowed to take performance enhancing drugs in sport?

Performance enhancing drugs (PED) are substances well known to improve the performance and form of athletes.

An obvious example of this would be doping. Doping is when athletes take illegal substances to improve their performance.

There are several types of performance enhancing drugs such as; Androgenic agents like Anabolic steroids, Stimulants and Diuretics. 

Stimulants usually improve athlete’s alertness and aggressiveness. Anabolic Steroids are known to increase athletes muscle mass and strength, which allows athletes to perform and train better. Diuretics are substances that help change the body’s natural balance of fluids and help remove fluids from the body which can disguise other drugs which have been consumed.

So, should athletes be allowed to use PEDs?

Drugs in the Olympics

The use of performance enhancing drugs in the Olympics is nothing new. The first case of strychnine doping dates back to the 1904 Olympics Games, where athlete Thomas Hicks won the marathon after being injected with strychnine in the middle of the race.

The first official ban on ‘‘stimulating substances’’ by a sporting organisation was introduced by the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) in 1928. It was not until 1967 when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) banned the use of performance enhancing drugs and created a list of substances which were banned.

Since the banning on PED’s, more natural talented athletes such as Jamaica’s Usain Bolt have broken world records and ran in faster times than athletes who have consumed PED’s. This shows that athletes don’t need to consume PEDs in order to succeed and training hard is more effective than using illegal substances to create an unfair advantage and improve performance.

If Bolt can create history more than once without the use of PED’s, then all athletes are capable of reaching their maximum potential without the use of PED’s.

In 2013 USA’s Olympic athlete Tyson Gay pulled out of the 100M Sprint at the Moscow World Championships due to testing positive for a banned substance. Gay failed three drug tests which led to the athlete being stripped of his silver medal won at the London 2012 games along with his fellow relay teammates and Gay being banned for a year.

Likewise, in 2010 Tour de France winner Alberto Contador was found guilty of doping. After two years of investigating he was found guilty of consuming Clenbuterol, which is a fat burning and muscle building supplement. This led to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) banning Contador for two years and being stripped from his 2010 victory.

A more up to date and relevant issue surrounding drugs in sport was in 2014, where The International Olympic Committee stated “Russian athletes are considered to be affected by a system subverting and manipulating the anti-doping system.” This resulted in The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) banning the entire Russian Federation from competing at the 2016 Rio Paralympics.

To summarise, I believe that athletes should not be allowed to use performance enhancing drugs. Why? Other than the fact that it is cheating and creates an unfair advantage over natural athletes, there are also too many incidents where athletes’ careers have been ruined and medals being stripped due to the use of PED’s and even incidents of death caused by PED’s.

However, what about athletes with Therapeutic Use Exemption’s (TUE’s) and may have to use drugs to help control their testosterone levels? Should they be an exception?

References:

Savulescu, J., Foddy, B. and Clayton, M. (2004). Why we should allow performance enhancing drugs in sport. [online] Available at: https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/38/6/666.info [Accessed 7 Nov. 2018].

BBC Sport. (2015). Doping in sport: What is it and how is it being tackled?. [online] Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/33997246 [Accessed 7 Nov. 2018].

Uyeno, G. (2016). 10 Biggest Doping Scandals in Olympics History. [online] Available at: https://www.livescience.com/55779-biggest-doping-scandals-in-olympics-history.html [Accessed 6 Nov. 2018].

Mayo Clinic. (2015). Doping: Do you know the facts about performance-enhancing drugs?. [online] Available at: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/performance-enhancing-drugs/art-20046134 [Accessed 4 Nov. 2018].

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Are new technologies and health apps taking over our lives?

On average in Britain we check our phones every 12 minutes and spend over 24 hours a week online. Rapid development in technology and apps are creating more and more ways for us to use our phones and devices; the concept of increasing physical activity through the use of a game being a relatively new phenomenon and Pokemon Go was one of the first to boom with millions downloading the app when it was released in July 2016. The premise of Pokemon Go was to wander around the real world and catch Pokemon on your phone along with the step counter that was included in the game that helped to hatch eggs.

In game VS Reality

Picture by Gift out on flickr                              

Photograph by Eduardo Merille on flickr

The impact of Pokemon Go had a big effect on people going outside and being active but did all this do was encourage people to be stuck to their devices and walking without looking up or around them and just focusing on what's on their screen? A study carried out over a 10 day period in July 2016 found serious incidents were occurring through the dangers of participants playing Pokemon Go, including Car crashes and people walking into things/roads, the total incidents which were caused by Pokemon Go reached over 100,000! Some people were playing by driving around in cars to catch Pokemon which defeated the whole point of the game. Why are we allowing these games to control what we do, creating anti-social behaviours by just focusing on what's on our screen, surely we do that enough as it is?

But what about devices such as Fitbits? Surely, as they don’t require you to be staring at a screen for them to work, are far better for you and only something to be praised about… but what if your set target was not reached? If the calories expenditure count is lower than your intake for the day? Being able to so easily monitor your calories and activity levels can be a risky idea, particularly for teenagers where the pressure of needing to look good and the use of social media being so widely used to document every aspect of your life can lead to obsessive behaviour over body images.

One school decided that they had seen enough and banned the use of Fitbits and fitness trackers at their school due to too many teens skipping lunch because they had not reached their step target. This is something which I believe should be pushed forward throughout schools, students should be being encouraged to get Physically Active in something in which they enjoy and involves socialising with others, learning an activity or sport in which they can continue to participate in outside of school and later in life, not a device or app that is a craze at the current time that encourages our addiction to checking phones and using electronic devices in everything we do. Motivating students to take part in physical activity can be a challenge but these short term activity increases are not the answer. They soon go out of fashion leaving, us with a generation who do not know how to motivate themselves to be active without the use of technology.

Do we really need all these apps and games that “promote healthy living” or is it just another excuse to be using our electronic devices?

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Recommended reading:

Althoff, T., White, R.W. and Horvitz, E., 2016. Influence of Pokémon Go on physical activity: study and implications. Journal of medical Internet research, 18(12).

Hymas, C. (2018). A decade of smartphones: We now spend an entire day every week online. [online] The Telegraph. Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/08/01/decade-smartphones-now-spend-entire-day-every-week-online/ [Accessed 11 Nov. 2018].

Martin, M.R., Melnyk, J. and Zimmerman, R., 2015. Fitness Apps: Motivating Students to Move: Editor: Brian Mosier. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 86(6), pp.50-54.

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The grass isn’t always greener

Undoubtedly, abuse within sport is one of, if not the most important issue that has to be brought up and investigated, right?

Athlete abuse is not just about the physical circumstances of which can occur, but also psychologically, it can really do some damage to an individual’s health and well being. Abuse is not just a case of physicality, but also speech and in sport, there may be times were one comes across some sort of abuse from their coach without hypothetically realising. Sure, it is fair to say that in comparison to a couple of decades ago you do not come across newspaper headlines about existing abuse within sport, but to this day you still have people/former athletes coming out and expressing to the media about their unfortunate experiences within this factor and because of factors like this, we still need to take such an issue with a serious manner.

The people in this world who have regrettably had to go through some sort of abuse within sport whilst growing up have, without a doubt, been damaged mentally and emotionally which may potentially stick with them forever, whether they have opened up about their abuse or not. The athletes, or former, that have opened up about their experiences have really done a powerful job in doing so. This isn’t just in being brave and stepping forward to tell the world something which has forever dented them, but they are also helping the lives of others who may have been through something similar, but just haven’t had the ‘guts’ to speak out. This brings me to my argument. How many people out there are yet still to speak out about abuse? How many exactly are we talking about? Are there individuals out their within a sport that are a dangerous threat to society but we have no idea about?

Let’s focus more towards football and its grassroots level. Children under the age of eighteen tend to be the most vulnerable and in football, children start to develop their football skills from as young as four years of age. The football clubs which run to develop the standard in their respective community habitually have coaches working (or volunteering) of who normally is one of the athletes fathers. Football clubs should require all coaches to have FA Coaching Badge Level One in order to coach children under the age of eighteen. But how can we be sure that every ‘coach’ in the country has this requirement? This has to be a worrying factor for those involved in Grassroots football. ‘Coaches’ who have access to the children arguably have easy access to the younger ones and this in itself leaves a huge problem.

Furthermore, how do we even start to look further into clamping down athlete abuse at this level? Can it really be as easy as an organisation visiting football clubs around the country and examining the insights at their respective clubs in case there is abuse? Children can be so, so sensitive and such topics like this may not always bring out the truth. Children can be fearful or may be to ‘scared’ to speak out about something that may have occurred with them. Can you blame them though? If you look further into the picture, there are very few adults that have spoken out about their issues that occurred many years ago and this itself must of took them a lot of courage. So what right would we have if we were to just ask children directly about abuse? What would be the right way to go around this?

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References:

Gervis, M. and Dunn, N. (2004). ‘The Emotional Abuse of Elite Child Athletes by their Coaches’. Child Abuse Review. Vol.13: 215-223

Brackenridge, C., Bringer, J. and Bishopp, D. (2005). ‘Managing Cases of Abuse in Sport’. Child Abuse Review. Vol.14: 259-274

Acknowledgements:  

https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-crying-on-field-1277396/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/143386750@N08/44953346054/in/photolist-2bunDCA-dUFUDr-X4GSMj-k9gwi9-ZKYtFS-ffDvxR-fdcJq6-4TgHXm-shC16X-TF36PH-227pdSd-26pB7rg-NKgwRB-29xg1Mn-hccRQj-gfEqiy-diXnjF-bEd8tf-fmBt2g-eShYd5-Qfq9jh-eR5HaB-dkYPD6-6xJWsR-23A17af-8rit4i-261jT9L-dS9k9x-24nmmUW-fgeSF4-azCfJh-TSmwsL-dWdQYS-24kuhY5-7hMcG4-cPfUfj-hzieFc-QpndrC-NhJ4YR-5AW1vL-XzYiwP-2b1wnFn-a3vyCZ-XiwNPp-5XQcGK-Vqjwt2-29wSegL-bqN9eB-m1nsRg-6YZyNH

[unlevelplayingfield]

Does sport utilise social media platforms to evoke specific sporting messages in attempt to increase sporting participation?

Throughout the years, the commercialisation of sport can be used to interpret Sport and thus show events in different lights. This is why I believe that the Media can be utilised in various ways to either encourage participation or to consequently be an influential platform as it can alter the perceptions of the viewer regarding certain agendas.

However, this depends on the specific issues the media is emphasising through their coverage. Media is one of the most important social factors regarding influencing its audience’s attitudes regarding certain topic matters. That’s why I think that the Media can easily alter an individual’s perception as it emphasises certain viewpoints more than others. An alternative viewpoint is often reinforced by many academics such as Chandler and Harris, who evoke that children’s want to become involved in sport is heavily influenced by the significance of their sporting role models, which aim to encourage participation and the adoption of an active lifestyle.

Recently, Sport has become more embedded within schools. This has become clear through the usage of the Media, which often highlights the importance of the integration of all in Sport, as it encourages active lifestyles. Billings substantiates this when he states that since the institutionalisation of Sport, it has become a much more well-entrenched product of social media, as it can be efficiently used as a tool to encourage children to be more involved in physical activity. I believe in doing so, this opens more opportunities for the development of young sporting athletes once they are engaged at the grassroots level.

Sport has become readily available to individuals from all social backgrounds. Sport attempts to emphasise specific characteristics for kids to adopt such as fair play, teamwork, self-discipline and responsibility. The media’s more positive efforts of encouraging children to adopt useful social skills through Sport, that can be utilised throughout life, it additionally may encourage individual’s who would not normally live an active lifestyle to take part. This, in my opinion, is one of the ways the Media can positively reinforce children’s engagement within Sport. As a result, Baggot states that media can be used as a beneficial tool to successfully motivate more young people to be motivated into participating in sport, and simultaneously will spark their progression in maximising their capabilities through building upon their motivation and goal setting.

Harris insists that regular partaking in Sport is significantly linked to the likelihood of obtaining higher grades, reducing the school dropout rate, as well as reduced truancy and lowered crime rates. This is because Media is additionally used to evoke the importance of sport on those who participate. All sponsors are prone to securing substantial media exposure through all sources of media, the most desirable being television, as many are using subliminally specific communicative messages which can be embedded and promoted via media coverage.

However, it can be argued that through the provision of online Sport, it allows children to be engaged within their sport from home, and therefore encourage sedentary activity. The Media also successfully exploits the public’s constant need for sporting entertainment, through ensuring the coverage of major events is available worldwide through channels such as ‘SKY SPORTS’ and ‘ESPN’.

Finally, the mass media’s most significant role is regarding the structuring of successful developmental awareness through transferring information to the relative audience effectively. Over time, I have discovered that the Media attributes many concepts and often highlights relevantly significant agendas and utilises coverage to bring these issues into the light.

References:

Baggot. R., 2015., Understanding Health Policy., Understanding Welfare: Social issues, policy and practice., 2nd Edition., Great Britain: Policy Press and the Social Policy Association.

Billings. A. C & Hundley. H. L., 2010., Examining Identity in Sports Media., London: SAGE Publications.

Chandler. T & Cronin. M & Vamplew. W., 2002., Sports and Physical Education., London: Routledge.

Harris. S & Bell. B & Adams. A & Mackintosh. C., 2012., Sport for Sport? Theoretical and Practical insights into Sports development., Eastbourne: Leisure Studies Association.

Acknowledgements:

Image one - https://www.adworld.ie/2018/01/05/irish-media-market-set-decline-2018-according-groupm-forecasts/

Image two - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nottingham_Trent_University

[unlevelplayingfield]

How far is too far when it comes to trash talking in combat sports?

Trash talking is not a new phenomenon in combat sports. The legendary American boxing champion of the late 1800’s, John L. Sullivan, used to boast that he could “lick any son-of-a-bitch alive".

The most famous trash talker of them all, Mohammed Ali (then Cassius Clay), vowed that he would "whup the Big Ugly Bear" Sonny Liston, before beating him for the Heavyweight World Championship at the age of 22.

Rather than personal insults to gain a psychological edge over their rivals, vulgarity is a new concept that has crept more and more into combat sports over the last thirty years.

Examples include Mike Tyson threatening to eat Lennox Lewis’s children in the build up to their fight, to the very recent incident of Conor McGregor throwing a dolly through a bus window, aiming to hit Khabib Nurmagomedov, which missed it’s intended target, injuring several other fighters, and led to McGregor gaining a criminal conviction.

McGregor is like Marmite to combat sport fans, you either love or hate him. His trash talking and other self-assured antics, both in and outside of the Octagon, have gained him his ‘notorious’ moniker, and standout wins over Jose Aldo in 12 seconds, and becoming the first UFC two-weight world champion with his win over Eddie Alvarez, amongst others.  

He has now headlined the four highest PPV’s in UFC history, including a record 2.4 million buys for the UFC 229 bout against Khabib, in turn becoming the highest paid fighter in UFC history.

The post-fight melee involving both fighters’ teams has blackened the reputation of combat sports. However, the Nevada State Athletic Commission are currently investigating the incident and will be handing out fines and suspensions to all involved.

It’s my opinion that no parties have come out of this without blame. It was Khabib who started the feud by calling McGregor a ‘chicken’ for not being an active fighter.

McGregor’s Russian gym mate Artem Lobov, took great exception to this, claiming that Khabib knew (with being from former Russian state Dagestan) that this was a highly offensive insult.

Further insults between both parties led to a heated meeting between Lobov and Khabib in an hotel corridor, in which Khabib slapped Lobov across the face, which in turn led to the ‘dolly through the bus’ incident.

With the fight now made, McGregor then turned up the insults towards Khabib in the pre-fight press conference. He launched into a tirade about Khabibs courage, his country, his religion and his family, amongst other things.

With McGregor being the UFC’s biggest box office draw, it is the opinion of some that his bosses have let him get away with things that no other fighter would, with president Dana White exclaiming that “he’s worth it”. He has also pushed a referee at the end of a Lobov fight at another companies’ event, as well as criticising his bosses and constantly being late for press conferences.      

The UFC’s use of these combustible elements within the official promotion video was also a major factor in what happened after the fight. To include what was essentially a criminal act, crosses the line in my opinion.

I appreciate that the fighters and their companies need to promote their fights to make money, but they also should ensure that there is a moral and ethical line that shouldn’t be crossed. I understand that some might say that my ideas are somewhat utopian, however, I agree with Dixon (2007), in that any sporting contest should be about who is the better athlete, and not about who is better at getting under their opponent’s skin.  

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References:

Barrett, R. (2018). Explained: Every McGregor Insult from UFC 229 Press Conference - Pundit Arena. [online] Pundit Arena. Available from: http://www.punditarena.com/mma/rbarrett/mcgregor-insult-press-conference/ [Accessed 8 Nov. 2018].

Dixon, N. (2007). Trash talking, respect for opponents and good competition. Sport, Ethics and Philosophy, 1(1), pp.96-106. Available from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17511320601143025?scroll=top&needAccess=true. [Accessed 8th November 2018].

Tapology. (2018). MMA Event Figures. Pay Per View Buys. Available from: https://www.tapology.com/search/mma-event-figures/ppv-pay-per-view-buys-buyrate. [Accessed 8th November 2018].

Image shown available from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/hmk/27172391360/

[unlevelplayingfield]

Why women with high testosterone levels should compete

Who are we to stop able bodied humans to compete? Who are we as society to stop humanity from pushing each other to their best ability? Who are we to say because you’re born a certain way you can’t do certain activities? In the Rio Olympics 2016, a female running superstar known as Caster Semenya who had been sex tested numerous times, before and after all her track events by IAAF was famously bought to the public attention.

https://www.outsideonline.com/2198906/caster-semenya-debate

A regular female athlete who is competing and just because she’s winning by a land slide in track, why are society quick to judge that there must be some help for her to beating these other women by 10s of seconds. An argument raised that Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps, male athletes who are born genetically bigger and more developed go through tests and just because their testosterone levels are double than a normal male they are still allowed to compete.

That is what I find baffling, how we want to see superstars without any drug use to be at their highest peak in their sport. Usain Bolt, born with longer leg muscle and height giving him an advantage to be the fastest man on earth. Michael Phelps who was born with longer arms and a bigger lung capacity for him to have higher stamina than others. This can be argued that these gladiators of athletes are born with more of an advantage, so why aren’t women who are BORN with higher testosterone levels allowed to compete?  Men who are born with what they have, work to their best ability to become one of the greatest so why are women banned when born with high testosterone levels?  

I won’t go into the biology side of testosterone but Dutee Chand another famous female athlete who is an Indian record-breaking sprinter is one of many who has come under fire by the media and the IOC for her high level of testosterone in her blood.

‘Some women naturally produce excess levels of male hormones, a condition known as hyperandrogenism.  And Dutee Chand, an Indian athlete with the condition, successfully challenged the IAAF regulations before the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS). (BMJ, 2018)

Now why are male athletes who are born with high level of testosterone or above normal are told ‘to strut their stuff off on the track’. But women with above average levels of testosterone can’t compete and/or take supplements to lower their levels. Many say this is unfair with women born with above normal testosterone shouldn’t compete, but we look at males who are winning all the golds are looked up to like Gods. So, I ask you readers, keep an open mind for when it comes to seeing female athletes on TV and why If you look on twitter under the hashtags #HandsOffCaster you will find this issue to be still around today

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References:

Bloom, B. (2018). The beginning of the end?  Caster Semenya prepared for final season before controversial rule set to  halt her domination . The Telegraph .

BMJ. (2018). Naturally produced testosterone  gives female athletes “significant” competitive edge. Retrieved from BMJ:  https://www.bmj.com/company/newsroom/naturally-produced-testosterone-gives-female-athletes-significant-competitive-edge/

Haltinner, K. (2016). Teaching gender and sex in  contemporary america. Switzerland : Springer .

[unlevelplayingfield]

How the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) has ruined the ‘beautiful game’

For a number of years sports governing bodies have put pressure on FIFA to introduce the use of video assistant referee to improve decision making and accuracy. But is it ruining the ‘beautiful game’ of football?

The introduction of VAR was supposed to remove the debate surrounding referee’s decision making, despite this, the new technology has raised more issues and controversy over officiating than normal.

What is VAR? (For those that don’t know)

Video assistant referee (VAR) can be reviewed in 3 different ways: 

The referee that oversees the game will speak through an ear piece to the referee that is sat in front of a video of the game (picture on the left), who will then notify the players that a decision is being reviewed and to stop play. If he finds that there is nothing wrong with the incident, he will signal the in-play referee to re-start the game. (Video referee)

VAR makes the decision. In this example the referee will make a signal and draw a rectangle box with his hands to replicate a TV screen suggesting he is going to VAR. The video referee will look at the incident and the referee will replicate the signal if he wants to remove his decision. (VAR decides)

The last option is an ‘on-field review’. The video referee will order the in-play referee to watch a replay of the incident (picture on the right) through a television screen on pitch side. From there the referee will make his decision whether to award the incident. (On-field review)

VAR decisions

On the 17th February 2018, Manchester United were playing against Huddersfield town in the FA cup. After a review of the incident where Juan Mata was in an offside position, the goal was disallowed. On the VAR system it is clear he is onside, but fans at home were shown a different screen. How can people trust the system when they are being shown two different images?

FIFA President Infantino comments:

"From almost 1,000 live matches that were part of the experiment, the level of the accuracy increased from 93% to 99%. It's almost perfect" (Telegraph sport, 2018). Hard to believe after seeing so many bad decisions.

Sepp Blatter, the previous president of FIFA, although disgraced and thrown out of FIFA, he argued that delay in approving VAR was due to things moving too fast and not giving enough time for implementation and training of the system. This has since been criticised by numerous countries in the run up to, and during the world cup, 2018.

Following on from the decisions that have been reviewed by VAR, the system made its first ever appearance on the biggest stage in football at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. On the biggest game of the World cup, the final between France vs Croatia the on-field referee made a huge decision. The ball clearly hit the hand of Croatian player Ivan Perisic but the official ruled this out, he was then contacted through an ear-piece by the video referee that reviewed the incident. This is now obvious that the referee’s thinks he has made a mistake. The pressure and expectation on the referee is too much, which leads him to overturn his original decision because they are told it could be the wrong despite thousands watching in the stadium and at home who saw it. This pressure could end referees careers or make them victims of hate crime from extreme fans.

The criticisms

Criticisms being made by football fans, players and coaches include:

Fans that attend the matches in the stadiums are not being informed when the system is in use. FIFA have commented saying “We are working on a system to keep supporters informed”.

When reviewing the VAR, it takes time for the correct decision to be made which will interrupt the flow of the game. There have been several games when VAR is being used that have built up to six minutes of added time.

References:

Hackett, K. (2018). Decisions in the World Cup final showed, again, VAR's fatal flaw: the on-field referee making the final decision. [Blog].

Ronay, B. (2018). VAR fails the football test in more ways than we could have imagined. [Blog].

Telegraph Sport (2018). What is VAR, what are the rules, and how is it being used by FIFA for World Cup 2018 in Russia?. [online] Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-cup/0/var-rules-used-fifa-world-cup-2018-russia/ [Accessed 19 Oct. 2018].

[unlevelplayingfield]

Can legalisation of drugs in sports be fairer and safer?

We all know, recently there has been an increase of talk in the media with drugs associated in sports but the reoccurring question is should drug users in sport be punished at all? There are many cases where not only questioned about drug use in sport but to the extent where the public think the athletes should be exposed and even their reputation ruined.

It would be beneficial/ to eliminate the drugs in sports rules rather than generally eliminating drugs in sport. It is problematic to measure how much illegal performance enhancing drugs occurs behind the scene at elite level. We hear many misconduct behaviours related to “drugs” at elite level despite the amount of policies around them. In 1992 Vicky Rabinowitz interviewed small group of athletes, from the interviews she gathered that Olympic athletes in general believed that most successful athletes were using banned substances.

If an athlete has cheated, we immediately label them as ‘cheaters’ and view them with less respect but hypothetically speaking if drugs were legalised will it potentially make it more enjoyable and create more excitement for the audience? We can argue that it puts the oppositions at a huge disadvantage, but can’t we argue already that exists? Richer teams already have better facility, equipment etc. So, is there any difference when an athlete is taking drugs to enhance their performance? Thing is we never will be able to stop athletes from taking drugs, they know the consequences and health risks however many of banned substances have not been proven to improve performance so in a sense taking them is a waste of time but so is banning these substances.

In 490 BC, An Athenian runner named Pheidippides was sent to run from Athens to Sparta to ask for `assistance before the battle. He ran 140 miles (225 kilometres) arriving in Sparta the day after he left, this makes me think was there potentially performance enhancing drugs already implied into sports?

Performance enhancing drugs in sport have been recorded by the Olympics as early as 1904. A prime example is an English runner who competed at the 1904 Summer Olympics, Hicks should have been disqualified for using strychnine, his assistants gave him a dose of roughly around 1 mg of strychnine and some Remy Martin (Brandy) because he seemed very fatigue during the race. The first dose of Strychnine wasn’t strong enough for the competitor therefore he was given another shot however as a result once he crossed the finish line he immediately collapsed.

We can all agree drugs are against the rules in sport but if we made drugs legal and freely available, there would be no cheating.

Comparing an elite level sport of taking drugs is classical musicians commonly using Beta Blocker’s to help control their stage fright, these drugs specifically lower heart rate and reduce physical effects of stress. For generations it has been shown the quality of musical performances improve once they have taken drugs. A study found in 1987 51 largest of orchestras in America that one in four of the musicians were using Beta Blockers to significantly improve their performances.

Performance enhancing drugs are harmless if limited to consumption etc, if the drug does not expose the athlete to significant health risks then why should we ban it? We should allow it even if it enhances performances. Athletes are given the choice to whether to take them or not but within rules of sport they are unable to, taking drugs is not necessarily cheating. Perhaps legalising them would make them safer.

References:

Rabinowitz V. (1992) Athletes and drugs: a separate pace?

Savulescu J, Foddy B, Clayton M (2004). Why we should allow performance enhancing drugs in sport

Stewart. B and Smith CT. A (2018). Why the war on drugs in sport will never be won - On Health.

WQXR. (2018). Musicians Use Beta Blockers as Performance-Enabling Drugs

[unlevelplayingfield]

The body as a weapon in Rugby Union. Is it really worth it?

To the inexperienced and unaware, rugby can appear to be several things at once, An English version of American football; a sport more concerned with after-party etiquette than the game its self and lastly an athletic battle that is bound to leave players left injured after every match. While some of the above might be true to a certain extent, the physicality of the game is what draws most of the so-called ‘thugs’ to play the game. This again is what sets rugby apart from other sports, you battle it out for 80 minutes throwing everything you have into each bone wrenching hit to try and get on top of your opponent but as soon as the final whistle blows the respect each team has for each other is unmatched.

We have all heard the old cliché before ‘sport is good for you’ and the same is said about rugby. Its suggested that rugby teaches you many different values: Discipline, respect, teamwork, perseverance. But is it really good for you? What about the broken bones, the early retirements, the concussions, the long-lasting health effects that can occur?

There are persistently growing concerns over how physical the game is becoming. Players smashing into each other with an excessive force which if it was to happen in the street would land you in a juvenile institution. But people will argue it’s still the gentleman’s game it has always been. However, the statistics would argue that the game is starting to become out of control as the injury lists at clubs start to grow.  

Many academics and professionals would suggest that rugby is a risky body culture and that players use their bodies as a weapon to gain an advantage over their opponents on the field. People would compare the game of rugby to war just without the death toll. The body is the weapon, the pitch is like the trenches and you’re trying to get from one side of the battleground to the other, stopping at nothing in the way.  

One theory that could shed some light on why people choose to sacrifice their body for pleasure is by Stephen Lyng and his idea of ‘edgework’. He suggests that people partake in extreme sports as an escape from the stultifying conditions of work life and bureaucratic life.

Another justification to why people risk their bodies is by the late work of Michael Messner. Messner suggested that the athletes use their bodies as a weapon. He suggests that players push their bodies to the extreme in order to gain praise from peers, coaches, and the community. It is thought that players thrive of being a big name in the rugby world and having a sense of identity. Players want to be known for being the ‘big hitter’ and the player that makes the colossal hits that sounds like two arctic lorries having a head-on collision.

 Given the high stakes, it’s clear to see why some players would push their body to extreme limits. However, what happens when you push your body so hard that your body can no longer do it?  Your masculinity is often called into question. Words such as ‘soft’ and ‘weak’ get thrown around when players can no longer give up their body for the team and comply with or against the idea of the ‘pain principle’.

Is risking your health for sport really worth it?

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References:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/41544641

Lyng, S., 2004. Edgework: The sociology of risk-taking. Routledge.

Messner, M.A., 1990. When bodies are weapons: Masculinity and violence in sport. International review for the sociology of sport, 25(3), pp.203-220.

Acknowledgements:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/rowanbank/6778175855/in/photolist-bjXVwX-7mrxKM-dNLLQy-6f2Qsa-7Bn8Pe-buS73q-92fnNd-8z41FR-W5xyRq-pZbdwh-8z78bG-8z76dN-7Bn6Y4-7fH5sh-7fD9mT-62rkse-7P3ZPR-8SPtoX-aayAFf-8z7aeS-8SSy4L-7fH29S-8C2G8j-8z3ZxT-7BqWVq-8SPteR-78K8wh-8z43wx-62vyrA-7fD9Jk-7P3ZXz-8Taj7q-7P81md-7P7ZB3-7mvscf-79JtH1-7fD5Mg-67zwuz-8z77fA-7Bn78i-bnfA9q-7Bn85c-7gD9h4-7fD8LR-4h8VWw-67zvsB-7mvs9Y-7Bn7v6-7mrxvD-4kug8F

https://www.pexels.com/photo/two-athletes-standing-in-a-field-1238733/

[unlevelplayingfield]

PE Lessons are Racist: Will Racism every stop in PE lessons?

Will racism ever stop in the sporting world? Will it ever stop occurring in schools and in lessons?

Racism in the sporting world still exists. The fact that it is still a problem in schools and stopping students from taking part in lessons and making some students feel uncomfortable is something that we should be concerned about.

There are various studies that have been conducted to try and find a reason why racism still occurs in Education, and why it is stopping students from taking part. Alongside this, I also witnessed this on my placement last year. Whilst working in a Physical Education department I saw various encounters between students. This is where conflict occurred in relation to racism. When I witnessed these events, I was shocked to see to see that it stopped some students from taking part in physical activity.

The ultimate question is why? Why is this still happening and what is being done about it, that is if there is anything being done.

Firstly, thanks to an academic paper ‘Sport, Ethnicity and Racism: The Experience of Asian Heritage Boys’- we now know for certain that students of different ethnicities are regularly being picked on in Physical Education Lessons. The authors in this talk about how Fleming in 1993 says that he noticed two types of racism towards Asian Heritage boys. This was personal racism and Institutional Racism.

Furthermore, the paper gave example of both types. One was direct abuse towards the students that was not picked up on by the teachers and also, excluding them during games in lessons.

This study may have been conducted a few years back, but it is sad to think that incidents like this are still occurring and this is not just towards Asian heritage students.

Two main questions are asked when this topic is being spoken about.

Why is this happening?

How can it be stopped?

Moreover, I feel like there is not anything specific that can be done to stop this. I feel like it will always continue to occur in schools. There is so much being done by schools to make students aware of different ethnicities, race and implementing diversity into their everyday life. If it is still occurring whilst this is being done, then there is not much that we can do.

As well as this, I believe that with time it will pass, as students grow older they will hopefully become wiser and, in the future, when they are parents they will explain to their children that this is not the way we should act within society and everyone is equal no matter where they come from. Hopefully this will all stop, and the social norm will be that everyone is treated equally no matter their race or ethnicity.

Finally, having been racially abused whilst at school I can confidently say I know exactly what some of these students are going through and this is something we as a society should be concerned about. Even if my opinion may not be the same as yours I feel like we should all try and attempt to find a way to make sure this stops. This is for the benefit of ourselves and our future families. Do we really want our children to grow up in a society like this in the future?

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References:

Brendon Mcguire & David Collins. (2006). Sport, Ethnicity and Racism: The Experience of Asian Heritage Boys. Available: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1357332980030105. Last accessed 11/11/2018.

Anne Flintoff & Fiona Dowling . (2017). ‘I just treat them all the same, really’: teachers, whiteness and (anti) racism in physical education.Available: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13573322.2017.1332583. Last accessed 11/11/2018.

Acknowledgements:

https://stock.adobe.com/images/cross-out-racism-on-a-smudged-blackboard-background/42602555?tduid=bafbbc59f9f716cf6ee3da7d05f4ae39&as_channel=affiliate&as_campclass=redirect&as_source=arvato

[unlevelplayingfield]

Social Media and the pressures it has on a women’s body image

The topic of negative body image and what women are ‘supposed’ to look like is an extremely talked about subject in the media at the moment. The lengths that social media influencers and marketers go to, to either sell a product or gain more likes and followers is drastic- lighting, professional photographers and makeup artists just to name a few. The internet is highly accessible and young girls are exposed to a ludicrous expectation of what they think they should look like from social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook. Therefore, a negative body image is apparent at a very young age. Research shows that 50% of girls between the ages of 9 and 10 feel better when they are on a diet. I find this is an incredibly upsetting statistic and that you could say is highly lead by social media in today’s society.

Image From Pexels- Social Media

Social media is a huge part of our lives, studies show that 18 percent of children and teenagers aged 11-21 spend 6 and a half hours a day in front of screen each day, whether that being a mobile phone, iPad or laptop. In regards to social media influencers, the popular platforms such as, Instagram and Youtube are viewed by millions of people on a daily basis. A popular UK based fitness and health account that I personally follow on many social media platforms, GraceFitUK, has close to 500,000 subscribers on YouTube and 900,000 followers on Instagram, where she posts fitness tips, gym exercises and for example, what she eats in a day to promote healthy eating. What I would like to know is, is what she says she eats in a day, actually what she eats most days? And are the exercises and gym sessions that she promotes so highly what she actually does in her gym sessions? Or is she sneaking in late night crunches and on a strict diet to get the body that she posts all over social media for thousands to see?

Image form Pexels-Body Image  

I visited Graces YouTube channel and clicked on a video with 150,000 views entitled ‘What I eat at uni’. I took a sample of 100 comments on the video and discovered that 90% of those comments were female and of those 90% of girls I saw the ages range from around 14-40 years old (YouTube, 2018). What scares me is the fact 14 to 17 year old naive girls who are highly influenced are commenting things like ‘I wish I looked like you!’ and ‘how is your life so perfect?’.

I’m also aware that these days, being a social media influencer is a competitive fast growing industry, and by posting pictures and gaining followers earns you money. My concern is are these influencers, who teenage girls look up to and aspire to look like, in the social media industry for the right reasons? Such as, to promote healthy lifestyle and body image? Or did they gain a few followers on Instagram, become discovered and now get told what to post each day and subsequently get payed for it? Girls comparing themselves to others on social media who most likely have taken 20 other photos and simply picked the best one with the best angle and lighting to post. Is this the correct way to use such platform? They are called social media influencers for a reason!

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References: 

Mirror-mirror.org. (2018). Body Image of Women ......Depression, Eating Disorders, Self-Esteem. [online] Available at: https://www.mirror-mirror.org/body-image-of-women.htm.

YouTube. (2018). WHAT I EAT IN A DAY: OXFORD UNI VLOG | GSFS Ep.14 | AD. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H16VSz8prcM.

[unlevelplayingfield]

Is gaining a positive social status and norms within society worth risking your own health?

As many of us are aware, within sport athletes get praised by fans as much as they get criticised. This is linked to social status, norms and stigma that are associated with becoming a professional footballer.

Gaining social status as a footballer is harder than we think and it’s not just all down to talent. It is reliant on their mental strength because they need to perform on regular basis in front of a large crowd. From a young age of 18, we are forced to make a life choice; whether to go to university or get an apprenticeship. There is a huge amount of pressure on this choice. However, a footballer of the same age has perhaps more pressure, since they play surrounded by 50,000 fans; they are being observed and vulnerable to criticism which is based on every move that they make.

Therefore, most players that aim high and are willing to pay the price of putting their body on the line in order to gain their aspirational social status within the sport. Many football players who are willing to carry on playing with an injury are viewed the most courageous of players. Similarly, a returning from a serious injury is perceived as dedicated to their career and the sport.

On the other hand, under conformity is where a player will prioritise the health of their physical body and place that before the sport. As you can imagine ‘under conformity’ is stigmatised not just within football but within most sports.

Is it worth risking your own health just to gain ‘social status’?

Let’s say it’s not uncommon to suffer an injury and continue playing.

These are some examples:

Bert Trautmann was a goalkeeper who suffered an injury and continued playing. After the game, they found out that he broke his neck.          

Stuart Pearce was a player that broke his leg in the first half of a game and continued playing, even refusing to take his boot off because he was determined to play the second half. Six months after, he broke the same leg and refused to be stretchered off.          

Vincent Kompany sustained an injury after a collision with a goalkeeper. Even though the medical team examined him, he chose to continue the game. Afterwards, reports disclosed that he suffered a broken nose, a cracked eye socket and concussion.

Wilfried Bony, after being substituted on in the second half, landed awkwardly resulting in a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Consequently, he was forced to miss the rest of the season.

Even though there are rules that have been enforced to guarantee players safety, most players won’t stop playing due to their aspirations of gaining a high social status within the sport. Stuart Pearce (shown in the example) was nicknamed ‘Psycho’ by his fans which I believe proves that even though he was talented, his social status was gained by being madly courageous in the face of injury.

Would they have continued playing if it was a less pressurised match? Perhaps, a game in which there is a smaller audience and less pressure, a footballer may not have felt the burden to continue playing.

To conclude, injuries happen on a regular basis in sport. However, it seems that particularly in football, injuries are extremely common with players often making the injury worse by continuing to play. I believe that, the gambling phrase ‘when the fun stops… STOP’ can be taken on board in the football community.  Footballers should not gamble with their bodies, just to gain social status.

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References:

Bailey, M. (2018). Seeking perfection in front of 50,000 people: why football is a pressure cooker for mental health issues. [online] The Telegraph. Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/seeking-perfection-front-50000-people-football-pressure-cooker/ [Accessed 7 Nov. 2018].

Eurosport UK. (2018). The football hard men who played on through horrendous injuries. [online] Available at: https://www.eurosport.co.uk/all-sports/the-football-hard-men-who-played-on-through-horrendous-injuries_sto4708599/story.shtml [Accessed 6 Nov. 2018].

Hughes, B., and Coakley, J. (1991). Positive Deviance among Athletes: The Implications of Over Conformity to the Sports Ethics. Sociology of Sport Journal 8 (4), 307-325.

Young, K., White, P. & McTeer, W. (1994). Body Talk- Male Athletes Reflect on Sport, Pain and Injury. Sociology of Sport Journal, 11, 175-194

Acknowledgements:

https://www.pexels.com/photo/adult-athlete-cramps-field-460550/