SPORTS IN SOCIETY: Issues & Controversies

Second Canadian Ed. Jay Coakley and Peter Donnelly

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Chapter

3
Looking at the Past: Does it Help Us to Understand Sports Today?
Understanding History while Studying Sports in Society / Sports Vary by Time and Place / Ancient Greece / Ancient Rome / Medieval Europe / The Renaissance, Reformation, and Enlightenment / The Industrial Revolution / Using History to Think About the Future / Summary
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General Historical Issues

Evidence suggests that physical activities and games have existed in nearly all cultures There are fewer contrasts between the games that different people play today Decreasing contrasts are due to cultural diffusion and the power and influence of nation-states and sponsoring corporations
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Historical & Cultural Variations

Variations exist because

Sports are cultural practices that can serve

a variety of social purposes People create sports within the constraints of the social worlds in which they live

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Characteristics of Dominant Sport Forms Today

Secularism Equality Specialization Rationalization Bureaucratization Quantification Records

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Table 3.4: Historical Comparison of Organized Games, Contests, and Sport Activities

Modern sports have seven characteristics that have not appeared together in the past
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Figure 3.1 Organized competitive sports are a recent invention. Physical games in ancient history were usually tied to religious rituals and ceremonies.

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Sports in Ancient Greece

Grounded in mythology Linked with religions beliefs Characterized by Gender exclusion Frequent violence Absence of administrative structures Absence of measurements & record keeping
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Of the thousands of evils in Greece there is no greater evil than the race of athletes Since they have not formed good habits, they face problems with difficulty. They glisten and gleam like statues when they are in their primes, but when bitter old age comes they are like tattered and threadbare old rugs. - Euripides, Greek dramatist (fifth century BCE)

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Roman Contests and Games

Emphasized spectacle, combat, and the power of political leaders Characterized by

Diversions for the masses Exclusion of women as athletes Absence of quantification and record keeping

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Figure 3.2 Dominant sport forms in society tend to celebrate forms of masculinity that emphasize aggression, conquest, and Dominance.

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Medieval Europe
Folk games played by peasants Tournaments played by elite for purposes of military readiness Gender restrictions grounded in religious dogma and beliefs Games lacked specialization and formal organization

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Renaissance, Reformation, & Enlightenment

Increasing control over peasants

Peoples lives often restricted by labor

Calvinist and Puritan beliefs did not promote or support leisure Sports constituted diversions for people
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Industrial Revolution: Early Years

Organized competitive sports emerged, especially among elite Time and space for games were limited in urban areas Slavery among Africans, and exploitation of other workers limited widespread involvement in sports

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Industrial Revolution: Later Years

Growing emphasis on rationality and
organization in society & sports Most sports were segregated by social class and race Womens participation in sports was very limited
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Capitalism and the industrial revolution were not organized to provide play spaces for anyone, including children. Play did not lead to profits. But there were children who found ways to play

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History Lessons: Origins of Distorted Views

Who tells the stories about what sports were like in the past? Whose perspectives are used to frame these stories? How is power related to whose stories are told and how they are told? Why are histories usually incomplete?
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Organized, Competitive Sports in Canada: 1880-1920

Sports often were used by wealthy people to reinforce status distinctions The organization of sports favored the interests of people with power and wealth Increased sports participation opportunities for workers, especially men
(continued)
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Organized, Competitive Sports in Canada: 1880-1920 (cont.)

Sport participation comes to be linked with character development Organized sports were tied close to ideas about masculinity and femininity skin color and ethnicity age and disability
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Girls and women did engage in physical activities during the early 20th century, but those activities usually emphasized grace and beauty as the basis for ladylike character

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1920 to Today: Struggles Continue Over Sports

Meaning (what do sports and participation symbolize) Purpose (to be fit and fair or to win and set records) Organization (what is official and who decides this) Conditions of participation (who can play when and where) Sponsorship (public, private, corporate, individual, etc.)
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1920 to Today:
These struggles are often related to issues such as: Entertainment, professionalization, and commercialism Masculinity and violence Nationalism and chauvinism Gender inequities and homophobia Racism and racial discrimination Physical abilities and access to participation Class dynamics and use of resources Media images and narratives
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The histories of sports are linked to ideologies in society.

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Meaning and Disability Through History

Disability has been associated with revulsion, shame, dread, resentment, sinfulness, and limitations Retard and gimp = terms that carry negative connotations, just as racial and ethnic slurs do People with disabilities have been defined as others, segregated, and treated by therapists and holy men in the hope of normalizing them
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Sports History does not just happen

Sports history has always depended on the actions of people as they construct physical activities in their lives Historical changes in sports have often occurred in connection with peoples visions of what sports could and should be like
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History and The Future

Sports history will forever emerge in connection with struggles related to the ideals that people use to organize sports in the present and envision them in the future Turning our visions into realities is a key basis for how we participate in social worlds. Sitting on the bench takes you out of the game.
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Question for Consideration:

Discuss these quotations in relation to chapter material: Do you agree? What kind of political meaning can sports have within a given time-period? Give specific examples from the text, outside knowledge, or personal experience.

Just as the dominant class writes history, so that same class writes the story of sport. - James Riordan, social historian and former soccer player (1996)

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Sports have been revered by fascists and communists, by free-marketers and filibusters. They have also been, paradoxically, reviled by all those political factions. Sports may be among the most powerful human expressions in all history.
- Gerald Early, Professor of Modern Letters, Washington University, St. Louis (1998)