Racism is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits
and capacities and that racial difference produces an inherent
superiority of a particular race. Race has always been deemed important,
essential; whereas for some nations, perceived inferiority was not based
on race, but on other differences, such as linguistics. Thus, because of
this emphasis on race, and because whites held the power, white people
created a system in which they had all of the resources at their
disposal. Due to this historical conception of race, race relations have
always been unequal. Whites have subjugated black people for hundreds of
years, and whites have continued to prosper at the expense of blacks. The
prosperity of the United States is based upon the fact that Americans had
a source of free labor before the Civil War, and yet black people have
not received any of the benefits of their labor; whites continue to
oppress blacks even after their years of bondage legally ended.In my
opinion, racism in sports may not be quite as abundant as we think.
Although I do not deny racism exists in sports today. Also reports seem
to indicate that racism is more prevalent in women sports than in men.
Team sports are the most impacted by racism.Racism generally exists in
team sports like basketball, football, cricket, hockey, baseball etc. As
racism still exists, and its presence is in status quo, it is dangerous
to all people in the team, not just to minorities in the team. Because
there is no unifying force in the team, and so many dividing forces, such
as race, class, and religion, we as a people do not work together and
hence there is no concept of team work. This tends to weaken a team where
each player is playing only for individual glory. The individuals in a
team must learn to be tolerant because otherwise there will be no
cooperation, only competition. As the "group hypothesis" theorists claim,
a team/group want to protect their resources and status; however, if
resources are not shared, the economic disparity between rich and poor,
black and white will grow, which will lead to "economic strife" hampering
the causes of a team to win. Furthermore, the less we understand each
other, the more likely we are to continue to live in ethnic and racial
enclaves. This segregation will lead to culture clashes because people
are not socialized to understand and accept other cultural practices
Certain areas of American life are seen as transcending racism, and
sports has been one of these. While it is true that the admission of
blacks to the ranks of college and professional sports was slow in
coming, it is also clear from an examination of college and professional
teams today that blacks and whites coexist and work together on teams in
nearly every sport. Yet, a closer examination shows that racism has not
been eliminated from the sports world.