Undoubtedly, sports and the national media are uniquely intertwined and play an intricate role in our society. According to Gallup, 59% of American say they are avid sports fans (Jones, 2015). Moreover, according to a 2014 poll by TV show "60 Minutes" and Vanity Fair magazine, “90 percent of Americans watch sports” (CBS News, 2014) The national media is able to introduce controversial topics such as racism, to spectators through stereotypical messages, which make up the Televised Sports Manhood Formula. The following essay will examine what young boys are exposed to when watching sports programs and how programing affects their beliefs, attitudes and opinions.
What exactly is the Televised Sports Manhood Formula? It can be defined as televised sports and their accompanied commercials that present boys with a narrow portrait of masculinity (Etizen, 2012). The following ten themes make up the Televised Sports Manhood Formula: white males are the voices of authority, sports are a man’s world, men are foregrounded in commercials, women are sexy props or prizes for men’s successful sport performances or consumption choices, white are foregrounded in commercials, aggressive players get the prize as nice guys finish last, boys will be (violent) boys, give up your body for the team, sports are war and show some guts! (Etizen, 2012). These themes are present in nearly all sports programming and young boys are exposed to these different images daily. Racism is present in all programming due to the fact that white men are predominantly the voice of authority and commercials are primarily composed of white men, excluding other ethnicities. In sports such as professional basketball, African Americans make up the majority National Basketball Association (NBA) and it is hard to fathom why there are not many African American broadcasters. …show more content…
One can only assume that they, along with other ethnicities, are not allowed or seen as too incompetent to hold such a position. Major League Baseball (MLB) also suffers from a lack of diversity when it comes to its broadcasters. In article by Fusion news, reportedly, 90% percent of MLB broadcasters are white (Hesson, 2015). According to Hesson (2015), more diversity could be a better business strategy for baseball as diversity in fans could help the sport continue to move forward. Etizen (2012) states, “he will know if and when he has arrived as a Real Man when the voices of authority, white males, say he is a real man”. In essence, the message sent to young black boys and other ethnicities, is that they are still inferior to the “white man” and unless “the white man” approves, they can never successful. Daily exposure to such programming can only take away hope and instill in young black, Hispanic and Asian boys that successful will always be out of reach. A new form of racism and discrimination exist in the mind of ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith. When asked how he felt about NASCAR’s indefinite suspension of driver Kurt Busch for domestic violence, Smith had this to say: The reason why this story resonated with me, Skip Bayless, is because I wanted to highlight something that needs to be mentioned that black folks, myself included, have lamented for many, many years. Kurt Busch gets cited for domestic violence by a judge. OK, yes, he gets suspended by NASCAR. We appreciate that. Where’s the public outcry? Ray Rice, Greg Hardy, McDonald in San Francisco, even though that case ultimately was dropped … America needs to understand that if you happen to be black, when stuff like this happens, and you see how it just gets mentioned in the news and it’s pointed out there and it’s discussed because ESPN clearly did its job. The other networks clearly did their job in highlighting it. When you talk about public …show more content…
According to Etizen (2012), the quality of the portrayals of Blacks, Latinos, and Asian Americans in multiracial commercials more times than not shows that people of color in minor roles. Again, white people are the dominant figures and their superiority is highlighted in the simplest of commercials. The message is similar and clear cut to blacks and minorities, you do not belong in commercials nor are you capable of a leading role. This once again shows black boys and minorities that they are inferior to whites and they have no place in the world of
What exactly is the Televised Sports Manhood Formula? It can be defined as televised sports and their accompanied commercials that present boys with a narrow portrait of masculinity (Etizen, 2012). The following ten themes make up the Televised Sports Manhood Formula: white males are the voices of authority, sports are a man’s world, men are foregrounded in commercials, women are sexy props or prizes for men’s successful sport performances or consumption choices, white are foregrounded in commercials, aggressive players get the prize as nice guys finish last, boys will be (violent) boys, give up your body for the team, sports are war and show some guts! (Etizen, 2012). These themes are present in nearly all sports programming and young boys are exposed to these different images daily. Racism is present in all programming due to the fact that white men are predominantly the voice of authority and commercials are primarily composed of white men, excluding other ethnicities. In sports such as professional basketball, African Americans make up the majority National Basketball Association (NBA) and it is hard to fathom why there are not many African American broadcasters. …show more content…
One can only assume that they, along with other ethnicities, are not allowed or seen as too incompetent to hold such a position. Major League Baseball (MLB) also suffers from a lack of diversity when it comes to its broadcasters. In article by Fusion news, reportedly, 90% percent of MLB broadcasters are white (Hesson, 2015). According to Hesson (2015), more diversity could be a better business strategy for baseball as diversity in fans could help the sport continue to move forward. Etizen (2012) states, “he will know if and when he has arrived as a Real Man when the voices of authority, white males, say he is a real man”. In essence, the message sent to young black boys and other ethnicities, is that they are still inferior to the “white man” and unless “the white man” approves, they can never successful. Daily exposure to such programming can only take away hope and instill in young black, Hispanic and Asian boys that successful will always be out of reach. A new form of racism and discrimination exist in the mind of ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith. When asked how he felt about NASCAR’s indefinite suspension of driver Kurt Busch for domestic violence, Smith had this to say: The reason why this story resonated with me, Skip Bayless, is because I wanted to highlight something that needs to be mentioned that black folks, myself included, have lamented for many, many years. Kurt Busch gets cited for domestic violence by a judge. OK, yes, he gets suspended by NASCAR. We appreciate that. Where’s the public outcry? Ray Rice, Greg Hardy, McDonald in San Francisco, even though that case ultimately was dropped … America needs to understand that if you happen to be black, when stuff like this happens, and you see how it just gets mentioned in the news and it’s pointed out there and it’s discussed because ESPN clearly did its job. The other networks clearly did their job in highlighting it. When you talk about public …show more content…
According to Etizen (2012), the quality of the portrayals of Blacks, Latinos, and Asian Americans in multiracial commercials more times than not shows that people of color in minor roles. Again, white people are the dominant figures and their superiority is highlighted in the simplest of commercials. The message is similar and clear cut to blacks and minorities, you do not belong in commercials nor are you capable of a leading role. This once again shows black boys and minorities that they are inferior to whites and they have no place in the world of