Racial Discrimination in Sports
Racial Discrimination in Sports
The treatment of minority athletes, particularly African Americans has been an issue in sports for decades. When a colored person played a so called white sport 50 tears ago they had to overcome many challenges from the public. Many people believe that discrimination is not a problem anymore, but many disagree and say it is.
In 1947 Jackie Robinson walked out on a baseball field to play with the Brooklyn dodgers as the first ever African American to play in a major league baseball game. He was considered the person that broke the collar barrier in professional sports (50 years later the same team had the fewest minority players in the MLB. (Sports and Athletes.pg.129) Jackie wasn’t the only black person that had to overcome these racist problems in the 1900s but he was the first to actually do it. Athletes from Hank Arone to resent day Ricky Waters have to deal with the same stuff, just not as harsh.
Racist conflicts still exist. 1997 was the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the collar barrier in major league baseball back in 1947. So what is being to done to try and stop discrimination in sports? Well president Bill Clinton inaugurated a national discussion of race in America in 1996, and as time goes on there will be more and more laws and other actions to try to stop the racial war from getting worse in are future. Many people say that the only way to get ride of racism is for the people of America to stop being racist. Surveys show that more then 65% of Americans have said something racist about a black athlete in there life.
The percentages of minority’s in professional sports vary from sport to sport. In Major league Baseball the percentage of blacks is at a two decade low at 17 percent. The percent of Latinos in major league baseball has been rising for the last 20 years and is now at about 20 percent with a 4 percent increase from lat year. These days the NBA seems to have the largest percentage of blacks. In the 1996 season the NBA was at an all-time high of about 80 percent black and about 10 percent Latino making them dominate over white athletes. When you think of all the big names in the NBA who do you think of...