Sports and the First Amendment

 

Today's blog post was written by Kelly Scholl. Kelly is a senior Spanish major at the Univeristy of Notre Dame and a student in the Social Foundations of Coaching course taught by Professor Clark Power and Kristin Sheehan of Play Like a Champion Today.

Freedom of Speech in the United States is one of the most honored and respected rights that we have in this country. One is free to express their opinions, no matter what they might be, and unfortunately also no matter whom they might offend. Freedom of Speech has recently come into discussion in the sports world with the issues that have surrounded Donald Sterling and the Los Angeles Clippers in the last few weeks. The blatantly racist remarks that were made by the owner of the Clippers were recently publicized, and it resulted in a lifetime ban from the NBA. There is obviously no room in the NBA for those with racist opinions, especially being that African Americans make up 76.3 percent of all NBA players, and eighty-one percent of players were of color (NBA RGRC). As an owner you have a responsibility to your players to make them feel appreciated, and especially respected in the workplace. Donald Sterling did not fulfill his obligations as an owner, or even a member of the NBA community.

I have heard some say that a lifetime ban was too harsh of a punishment, and that Donald Sterling has the right to express his opinions in his own home to his own friends and family. And while I agree that he has the right to express his opinions, however insulting and hurtful they might be, he is not free from the consequences of his actions. He has the right to say what he said, just as the NBA has the right to hold him responsible for his words. The players involved in his organization deserve to be treated with respect and feel safe in their working environment. A hostile working place based on race, such as the one created by the statements of Sterling, should not exist in today’s world. And I believe that the decision by the NBA to ban Donald Sterling was appropriate given his role in the organization and the way in which he was representing himself.

Many people are asking questions about where the NBA will go from here. Will a lifetime ban because of racist statements lead to a ban for others who are outspoken about homosexuality or other hot topics  in society?  Does this mean that anyone that has a controversial (or minority opinion) should be banned from the NBA? I do not believe these things are comparable, however, and anyways, we cannot predict the future.   The statements made by Donald Sterling were ignorant and offensive, and there needs to be a standard set for those that represent the organization. The NBA sent the message that such ignorance will not be tolerated, and if one desires to have opinions such as this they will not be a part of the community; especially not in a position of power. Donald Sterling was free to express his opinions in this country; the NBA is also free to hold him accountable for his actions.

 

 

 

 

Love of the Game, and the Other Players

Today's blog post was written by Michael McFadden, a sophomore sociology and psychology major.  Michael is a student in the Social Foundations of Coaching, a course taught by Play Like a Champion founder and director Professor Clark Power and Kristin Sheehan.

Although I was born and raised in Indiana, specifically South Bend, I grew up only spending a few gym classes a year on a basketball court. I became very interested in hockey before the age of six, and this interest developed into a twelve year hockey career. Growing up, I spent virtually no time playing basketball, the stereotypical, Hoosier sport of choice, because of the conflict between basketball and hockey season. It wasn’t until last year, my freshman year in college, that I spent significant amounts of time playing and loving the sport of basketball.

Unfortunately, hockey is not a sport that most people can easily play. There are many socioeconomic barriers to entry and this makes it a fairly exclusive sport; equipment and ice time are both expensive and difficult to come by in most parts of the United States. Hockey will forever have a place in my heart, but my recent interest in it has dwindled. Of course, Hockey itself has not become worse or lesser in my eyes. The feelings of a crisp, across-ice pass, a hard wrist-shot, and a defender-evading deke are ones that are irreplaceable. No newly-developed fascination with another sport could reduce the love I have for my years as a hard-hitting forward on my four-time city championship-winning and four-time state championship-losing high school hockey team. The memories and friends made along the way will forever be cherished. In spite of my love for hockey, basketball has truly become my recent passion.

I turned the TV on the other day with the hope that I’d be able to watch some sports. Sure enough, I had the choice between the NHL Playoffs and the NBA Playoffs. Without thinking, I immediately switched to the NBA Playoffs. My involuntary decision left me awestruck. It was just two years ago that I would have considered basketball to be an uninteresting and jejune sport that was infinitely inferior to hockey. Today, however, my immediate choice of sport is basketball. With the sound of Kevin Durant’s monstrous dunks and miraculous three-pointers in the background, I began thinking about the TV channel decision that I had just made.

Delving into my recent, involuntary decision yielded some interesting revelations about my social experience at Notre Dame as well as my past social experience in hockey. When I began meeting most of my current friends, we spent most of our time playing basketball together. Basketball served as an easy way to socially integrate; naturally, it wasn’t feasible to use hockey as a means to interact and get to know each other. Basketball, which meant anything from shooting around to full, five on five games back behind Keenan, started as fun, indirect ways to get to know fellow dorm members. Shortly, it became more than just an introductory rendezvous. Basketball transitioned into my friend group’s way of escaping reality, if only for a short amount of time. It became a way to enjoy our time with one another and to grow closer. Naturally, not only did I grow to love my friends, I grew to love basketball.

I finally realized that my recent love for basketball was not only a response to the sport of basketball itself, which I find to be extraordinarily brilliant, but also to the experiences that my new friends and I have shared and continue to share together. I developed a deep-rooted love for hockey after years of shared experiences with my hockey buddies. It wasn’t merely the sport that captivated me, it was also the relationships that grew over time. While I’ve learned a lot in two years of college, my new perspective on sports and their social roles in people’s lives is indispensable insight that I will never forget. Hopefully, I’ll avoid judging the worth or excitement of a sport based on the apparent amount of “fun” it provides. The value of a sport is not found in its rules and general gameplay, it is found in its instrumental social importance.