To the student:
Classes are more interesting when discussions are lively and deal with topics that you
are prepared to discuss. The students in my classes appreciate knowing about class
discussion issues in advance so they can take notes related to the issues as they read
the chapter that has been assigned. When they bring their notes to class, they find it
less intimidating to join the discussion. They use their notes as a guide and they are
more likely to participate because they have thought about the discussion questions in
advance. I hope you have a similar experience if these worksheets are used in your
course.
Sport in Society: Issues and Controversies
Student Discussion Worksheet
Name: ________________________________________________Due date: ______________
Reading: Ch. 1, “The Sociology of Sport: What Is It and Why Study It?”
1. As you discuss you course schedule for this semester, one of your friends asks you, “Why are
you taking a sociology of sport course? I don’t see how sport is related to society. What’s that
class about?” How would you respond to your friend?
Your response:
2. Street roller hockey is growing in popularity among middle class boys and girls in many
suburban communities around the country. Jump rope is growing in popularity among low
income, African American girls in many large cities. Which of these two activities is most
likely to become a sport according to the criteria and definition outlined in Ch. 1? Give at
least two reasons for your choice. (The purpose of this question is to identify the factors that
influence what comes to be considered a sport in a society).
CHOICE: __________________
REASON 1:
REASON 2:
3. In Ch. 1 it was explained that sports are “contested activities” and that people sometimes
debate and struggle about "Who will participate in sports and under what conditions will
their participation occur?" Identify two issues over which people have debated and struggled
when it comes to the meaning and organization of sports.
Issue/example #1:
Issue/example #2:
Sport in Society: Issues and Controversies
Student Discussion Worksheet
Name: ________________________________________________Due date: ______________
Reading: Ch. 2, “Using Social Theories: How Can They Help Us Study Sports in Society?”
1. You have just been appointed to a committee that has been asked to develop a set of policy
recommendations for changing organized youth sport programs in your town. There are three
other people on the committee. One analyzes sports in terms of functionalist theory, one uses
conflict theory, and one uses critical feminist theory. List at least one recommendation that
you would expect from each.
Functionalist recommendation:
Conflict theorist recommendation:
Critical feminist recommendation:
2. You have been assigned the task of writing a paper on the growth and popularity of
professional football in the United States. Which two of the theories described in the chapter
do you think might be helpful to you as you write your paper? Give explanations for your
choices
Helpful theory #1: _________________________
Explanation:
Helpful Theory #2: _________________________
Explanation
Sport in Society: Issues and Controversies
Student Discussion Worksheet
Name: ________________________________________________Due date: ______________
Reading: Ch. 3, “Studying the Past: Does It Help Us Understand Sports Today?”
1. Throughout history, sports have generally been constructed in connection with the values and
experiences of men with power in society. Using the historical materials presented in the
chapter, give at least two examples that illustrate this.
Example #1:
Example #2:
2. The author makes the case that organized, competitive sports today are different in important
respects from the sport forms that have existed in pre-modern cultures. What are the two
most significant differences between sports today and the sport forms in any one of the times
and places discussed in the chapter?
Time and place (pick one from the chapter): ____________________________________
Difference #1:
Difference #2:
3. The U.S. Post Office wants to print two stamps commemorating the two most socially
significant sport moments in U.S. history since 1920. They’ve hired you to identify the two
historical moments. What are they and why did you choose them?
Moment/event #1:
Moment/event #2:
Sport in Society: Issues and Controversies
Student Discussion Worksheet
Name: ________________________________________________Due date: ______________
Reading: Ch. 4, “Sports and Socialization: Who Plays and What Happens to Them?”
1. Through the main sections of the chapter there are 14 different studies summarized. If you had
to choose one of the studies to read and summarize, which one would you pick and why would
you pick it?
2. Ask a person who regularly plays in a power and performance sport to describe his or her
experiences in the sports and what it is that he or she likes the most about playing. Then ask a
person who regularly plays a pleasure and participation sport to describe his or her
experiences and what it is that he or she likes the most about playing. Identify any
similarities or differences in the descriptions of their experiences or what they like the most.
Similarities:
Differences:
3. The author argues that Coca-Cola and General Motors sponsor sports for reasons that go
beyond the desire to boost short-term sales. He says they are interested in using sports to
deliver cultural messages. What are these messages, and why are they interested in delivering
them?
Sport in Society: Issues and Controversies
Student Discussion Worksheet
Name: ________________________________________________Due date: ______________
Reading: Ch. 5, “Sports and Children: Are Organized Programs Worth the Effort?”
1. The author outlines findings from research that compared the experiences of children playing
in informal player controlled games with the experiences of children playing in formal, adult
controlled games. Are these findings consistent with your experiences? In what ways are they
consistent, and in what ways are they inconsistent?
Consistencies:
Inconsistencies:
2. As an elementary school basketball coach working with 4th graders it is your job to create a
basketball program for your school and three other schools in your league. When you go to
your first meeting you make 2 suggestions for changes in the current traditionally organized
program. What are they and how do you explain and justify them to the coaches from the
other schools?
Suggestion #1:
Suggestion #2:
3. One of your friends argues for the elimination of all tax supported youth sport programs. He
says that youth sports ought to be privatized. In your conversation do you agree or disagree
with him? What is your main reason for agreement or disagreement?
Agree or Disagree (circle one)
Reason:
Sport in Society: Issues and Controversies
Student Discussion Worksheet
Name: ________________________________________________Due date: ______________
Reading: Ch. 6, “Deviance in Sports: Is It Out of Control?”
1. You have a 20-year old friend who is an excellent distance runner on her college track team.
She has decided that if she wants to reach her potential next season she should lose a few
pounds as she trains. You know she is using prescription weight loss drugs that she obtained
illegally. Which of the three theoretical approaches explained in the chapter would you use to
explain her drug use? Why would you choose this approach over the other two?
Theoretical approach: ______________________________
Reason for choice:
2. After reading the material on deviant overconformity, use your own experience (as an athlete
or spectator or friend of an athlete) to identify a form of deviant overconformity in sports.
Explain the origins of the deviance and a course of action a coach might take to control this
form of deviance among his/her athletes.
Example of deviant overconformity:
Origins of the deviance (i.e., how and why is the athlete overconforming to one or more of the
norms in The Sport Ethic?):
Strategy to control the behavior:
3. You are giving expert testimony to a President’s Council on Drug Control in Sports. The
council members want to know why substance use among athletes is widespread and
whether they should sponsor a new drug testing agency to conduct tests in an effort to
eliminate “doping” of all kinds in all competitive sports. What is your testimony?
Reasons why use is widespread:
Should they test? (Explain):
Sport in Society: Issues and Controversies
Student Discussion Worksheet
Name: ________________________________________________Due date: ______________
Reading: Ch. 7, “Violence in Sports: How Does It Affect Our Lives?”
1. On the field violence is related to a number of things including overconformity to the norms
of the sport ethic, commercialization, and masculinity. Which of these factors do you think is
most likely to account for the level of brutal body contact that occurs in professional football
in the United States? Explain your choice.
Choice: ________________________________
Explanation:
2. After reading a report of a male athlete who has assaulted a woman, one of your friends says,
“Playing sports causes men to be violent.” She knows you are taking a sociology of sport
course, and she wants you to respond to her conclusion. What do you say?
3. You are the new principal of a school that is hosting a game between your #1 ranked football
team and the #2 ranked team in your division. There is a deep, longstanding rivalry between
the schools and a history of player and spectator violence during games. After reading Ch. 7,
what measures would you take to control player and spectator violence on and off the field?
Sport in Society: Issues and Controversies
Student Discussion Worksheet
Name: ________________________________________________Due date: ______________
Reading: Ch. 8, “Gender and Sport: Does Equity Require Ideological Changes?”
1. The author suggests that there are at least 7 reasons to be cautious when predicting future
sport participation increases among women. Which of these reasons do you think will have
the most negative affect on participation among girls and women in the future? Give an
explanation for your choice.
Reason: ________________________
Explanation:
2. Do a quick assessment of gender equity in the sport programs at your school. Do you think
your school could meet the legal definition of equity as spelled out in connection with title
IX? How would the school meet the definition or fail to meet it?
3. One of the indicators of ideological changes related to sports is the extent to which
teammates and fans accept gay men and lesbians on athletic teams. Use a 1-to-10 scale (with
10 being total acceptance) to indicate the degree of acceptance that might be experienced by
a gay man on your school’s football team and by a lesbian on the volleyball team.
Gay man on football team: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Lesbian on volleyball team: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
If the ratings differ, explain why:
Sport in Society: Issues and Controversies
Student Discussion Worksheet
Name: ________________________________________________Due date: ______________
Reading: Ch. 9, “Race and Ethnicity: Are They Important in Sports?”
1. Your 14-year old brother comes to you and asks why he sees so many black athletes in
certain sports, and so few or none in other sports. What are 3 of the main points you would
talk about in your discussion with him?
Point #1:
Point #2:
Point #3:
2. Your 16 yr. old son attends a U.S. high school with the sport team nickname of "Redskins."
The team mascot is a caricature of a Native American in war paint and feather headdress
carrying a tomahawk. Your son wants to apply to be the mascot for next year. He wants to
know if it's okay with you (by the way, you live close to a reservation where 1 in 6 teens
attempt suicide, the unemployment rate is 30%, and 70% of the households are under the
poverty level). You want your son to make an informed decision about what to do. What
points do you emphasize in your discussion?
3. As the principal of a new racially and ethnically mixed high school you want to use the
varsity sport program as site for highlighting positive intergroup relations in your school.
What challenges will you face as you try to do this? What challenges will be the most
difficult to deal with?
Challenges:
Most difficult challenge:
Sport in Society: Issues and Controversies
Student Discussion Worksheet
Name: ________________________________________________Due date: ______________
Reading: Ch. 10, “Social Class: Do Money and Power Matter in Sports?”
1. Think about sports in your community, including pleasure & participation sports and power &
performance sports at all levels from youth leagues to college or professional levels. List four
ways that sports in your community (including sports in the media) are connected with class
relations and class inequality.
Connection #1:
Connection #2:
Connection #3:
Connection #4:
2. You are with a group of friends who play sports at your college. They are discussing career
opportunities and arguing about whether playing varsity sports in college will promote or
interfere with their career success in the future. The group is split on this issue and they ask
you to identify the three most important factors to consider when arguing one position or the
other. Which three would you say are most important (and why)?
Factor #1:
Factor #2:
Factor #3:
Sport in Society: Issues and Controversies
Student Discussion Worksheet
Name: ________________________________________________Due date: ______________
Reading: Ch. 11, “Sports and the Economy: What Are the Characteristics of Commercial Sports?”
1. The commercial growth and popularity of many sports seems to be fueled by a combination
of media coverage and corporate sponsorships. Why would corporations use their money and
resources to sponsor sports and to brand sports with their names and logos?
2. Heroic values are often emphasized in commercial spectator sports. Choose a sport and show
how commercialization has accentuated heroic values and orientations emphasized by
athletes, coaches, sports commentators and journalists, and spectators.
Sport: ___________________________
Examples of Heroic Values:
3. Some of the business leaders in your city are proposing that public money be used to build a
$600 million state-of-the-art domed sport stadium for the local NFL team. There will be a
vote on this issue in the next election. Will you vote for or against the proposal? Explain why
you will vote one way or the other.
Vote Yes_____ or Vote No______
Explanation:
Sport in Society: Issues and Controversies
Student Discussion Worksheet
Name: ________________________________________________Due date: ______________
Reading: Ch. 12, “Sports and the Media: Could They Survive Without Each Other?”
1. When it comes to sports in your life, which media do you use for entertainment and
information? Which medium do you use the most? Do you use the Internet in connection with
sports and, if so, how do you use it?
Media I use:
Medium I use the most:
How I use the Internet:
2. Talk with 3 people who play video sport games. Which game is their favorite and why? Ask
them if they would rather play a video game or watch an elite sport event in person or watch
the same event on television. How do they explain their choice?
Favorite games:
Why is it their favorite:
Choice – Play video game or Watch in person or Watch on TV:
Explanation of their choice:
3. Research has identified a number of ideological themes that underlie the media construction
of a sport event. Watch a major television sport event, identify any of the themes listed in the
chapter, and explain how they are included.
Theme(s):
Sport in Society: Issues and Controversies
Student Discussion Worksheet
Name: ________________________________________________Due date: ______________
Reading: Ch. 13, “Sports and Politics: How Do Governments and Globalization Influence Sports?”
1. Governments can be involved in sports in a variety of ways. Identify three of those ways in
connection with any of the organized sports played in your town or metro area (give specific
examples).
Example #1:
Example #2:
Example #3:
2. Some people say that the Olympic Games must be reformed because they no longer represent
the spirit of Olympism. You have been asked to identify the aspects of today’s Olympics that
are not consistent with Olympism and make two recommendations for changing the Games
to fit more closely with the spirit of Olympism. How do you respond?
Aspects of current Games inconsistent with Olympism:
Two strategies for reform:
3. What are three ways that politics have been a part of the sports that you or your friends have
played? Use the list in the chapter as a starting point and give examples from your
experience.
Sport in Society: Issues and Controversies
Student Discussion Worksheet
Name: ________________________________________________Due date: ______________
Reading: Ch. 14, “Sports in High School and College: Do Varsity Sport Programs Contribute to
Education?”
1. Using material from the chapter and your own experience identify the biggest problem in
high school sports and in intercollegiate sports. What would you do to correct the problems?
Biggest problem in high school sports:
Remedy:
Biggest problem in intercollegiate sports:
Remedy:
2. Did varsity athletes in your high school receive special privileges or breaks from teachers,
administrators, or other students? If so, what were they and how did this affect the
relationships between varsity athletes and other students in the school? If not, explain why
this did not occur?
Special privileges: yes _____or no _____
Explain:
3. Imagine your school (old high school or current college) without varsity sports? What would
be different and how would students respond to the absence of varsity sports? Would the
responses be positive or negative? Would the educational mission of the school be helped or
harmed? Explain.
Sport in Society: Issues and Controversies
Student Discussion Worksheet
Name: ________________________________________________Due date: ______________
Reading: Ch. 15, “Sports and Religions: Is It a Promising Combination?”
1. People in sports have used religion a number of ways, such as athletes using religion to help
them cope with uncertainty associated with participation in sports, or coaches using religion
as a basis for cohesion or social control on teams. What are two examples of how religion
and sport have been combined in your experience or the experiences of your friends?
Example #1:
Example #2:
2. Many athletes (in the U.S.) today combine Christian religious beliefs with their sport
participation. The author suggests that this may create tensions or dilemmas for those athletes
who play sports that require brutal body contact or strategies that may harm other players.
Talk to a Christian athletes and ask him or her if this is a problem. If not, why not. If so, in
what ways and how do they deal with the problem?
3. Some people believe that religion in sports is good because it can lead to the elimination of
major problems in sports. Is this belief supported by your experience? Explain why or why
not.
Sport in Society: Issues and Controversies
Student Discussion Worksheet
Name: ________________________________________________Due date: ______________
Reading: Ch. 16, “Sports in the Future: What Can We Expect?”
1. The author makes predictions about the growth and popularity of both pleasure and participation
sports and power and performance sports. In terms of your experiences in the future, which of
these two sport forms will be most important in your life as a participant and as a consumer of
media sports? Explain why.
Pleasure and participation sports ______ or power and performance sports ______
Explanation:
2. Your job at a U.S.- based "think tank" has led you to become a consultant on a project that is
trying to predict what sports might look like from a global perspective in the year 2030.
Using material from this chapter the rest of the book what two things would you predict
about sports in the US and around the world between now and 2030.
Prediction #1:
Prediction #2:
3. If you could make one change in how sports are defined, organized, and played in the future,
what would it be? What theory would guide your selection of the change, and what vantage
point (see the chapter) would be best for making the change?
The change:
The theory:
The vantage point: