Friday, April 8, 2016

Sport and Race: ESPN Analyst's Protest Shirt

In my American Sport in the 21st Century class on April 6th we discussed how race is still a relevant issue in todays sport world. On April 7th, 2016 Bomani Jones, an ESPN analyst, wore a shirt that was protesting the Cleveland Indians Chief Wahoo logo. His shirt as seen in the picture below says
Bomani Jones states that using the name Indians is wrong.
"Caucasians" instead of "Indians". It also shows Chief Wahoo as a white caricature with a money sign. As Bomani Jones states, in the video below, the money symbol applies to the people using Chief Wahoo as a way to obtain money from Cleveland Indians fans. Not only was he protesting the logo, but he was protesting the name of the Cleveland Indians because it is not a politically correct term. Bomani Jones states that "Indians" are actually the "Native Americans". In class we discussed how ethnic groups and minority groups are discriminated against. Bomani Jones states in his interview that sports teams are making a "mockery" out of Native Americans and it is not right. Bomani Jones also stated the name "Redskins" is a flat out racial slur. The prejudgments that we discussed in class are exploited through sports teams and Samer Kalaf shows this when he wrote this article on Deadspin.com. You can read the full article from Samer Kalaf on Deadspin.com here: http://deadspin.com/bomani-jones-wears-shirt-1769642578

For the Bomani Jones Interview watch here:

Are Native Americans discriminated against in the sport world? Yes
Should the "Redskins" change their team name and logo? Yes
Have slight changes been made to deter discrimination against Native Americans? Yes

Definitions for Discrimination, Minority Groups, and Ethnic Groups

Discrimination- Treating someone differently from others

Ethnic groups- a socially distinct population that shares a way of life and is committed to the ideas, norms, and things that constitute that way of life.

Minority groups- Members share common group characteristics and suffer from discrimination

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