Introduction
The question that I am investigating this year is how professional sports owners and the NCAA have attempted and often succeeded in controlling the social platform and economic bottom lines in the sporting industries while at the same time highlighting those brave enough to disrupt and challenge the systems that govern their sport.
Although sports often bring out the best in us, when an individual turns through the history books, they often discover the underlying scars of systematic oppression that come from an ownership mentality in big time sporting industries that are reliant on the performance of its athletes and not their personal or professional growth. For the number of African American athletes that perform on the field, very few have transitioned into the Owner’s Box or taken on administrative titles in the front office. When one examines the power dynamics that govern the sporting industries, they’ll unequivocally find a lack of minority representation amongst those who govern and coach at elite institutions. This reality is mirrored at the professional level too, as there is only one African American owner, Michael Jordan of the Charlotte Bobcats, who has a majority stake in one of the three most profitable sporting businesses: The National Basketball Association, The National Football League and Major League Baseball. Although it’s important to note that these franchises have made marginal strides in their front office hiring practices, they have made almost no progress when it comes to majority ownership stakes. The consequences of that lack of diversity at the ownership table has led to the modern- day tensions that have boiled over recently. These feelings of unrest didn’t simply start with a 49er’s Quarterback’s decision to kneel; they have been festering and emerging throughout the history of American sports, and the “The Puppet Masters” have been ready to enforce submission at every turn.
The content will continue to examine the judicial and political systems that have been used to oppress and financially bankrupt athletes who are out of step with the party line. Clay vs. The United States will serve as our case study regarding these systems and how they’re implemented. In this section of the unit we will look at the biographical history of Cassis Clay, who is later Muhamad Ali, the evolution of his mindset when it came to race relations, his rational for defying his call into the United States military and the lengths the government went to end his career. By the end of this section, students should be able to deconstruct the case using timelines, evidence and testimony from both sides to form their own conclusions regarding Ali’s handling. If instructed at a proficient level, educators should anticipate that their students will make connections between Clay vs. The United States and Colin Kaepernick’s case against the National Football League.
Moving forward to the NBA, we’ll look at the events surrounding Donald Sterling and the Los Angeles Clippers. Teachers will use the transcript of the tapes provided by V.Stivano to understand what Sterling really believed about his players and the power that his position as owner provided him. The unit will then look at how the Clippers, Player’s Union and media pressure would eventually lead to his exile from the sport.
Although the expulsion of Sterling could be considered a win for justice, it is a far cry from reforming the power dynamic of major franchises within “The Good Old Boy” network that governs their policies. In order to inspire students to become more active in movements, the final pages of the unit will underline organized movements that were successful and how specific athletes have helped to usher in reform within their professions through solo or unified action. If mastered, students should finish the unit with a better understanding of the evolution of sports and race, how sports can be used as a vehicle to effect change and how that change can sometimes be stifled by those with an opposing agenda.
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