Focused Discussion (Asynchronous Session)
Virility on Wheels: Bicycles, Gender, and Memory in French Heritage View Digital Media
Focused Discussion Philip Whalen
As France evolved from being primarily a rural to an industrial nation, the bicycle served as a marker for modernization and a mechanism for social development. My essay discusses the conditions and contradiction under which men and women participated in this national sport and pastime. I examine the symbolic centrality and social importance of the bicycle in early twentieth-century France ranging from early discussions of the appropriateness of women riding bicycles and the origins of the all-male Tour de France, to the hey-day of tandem bicycles during the Popular Front and the emergence of all-women’s races. Recurring images of organized races - both amateur and professional - initially produced exhilarating and powerful images of men competing for their nation. While women took longer to participate in such competitions, they were just as quick to appreciate the opportunities for transport, independence and leisure that cycling provided. Women’s columns in cycling magazines reveal their interests in touring, vacationing, and sportive attire. Indeed, some of the most virile representations of French identity from the 1930s depict working-class couples energetically enjoying their first paid vacations astride tandem bicycles. Exploiting three remarkable first-person cycling accounts taken from regional cycling magazines, I discuss how men and women took advantage of new tourism opportunities on bicyclers to visit provincial France and emerge transformed by surprisingly divergent experiences while riding side by side.
The Value of a Division I Football Player: Is the Student-Athlete Scholarship Fair Value or Athletic Participation at the Highest Level? View Digital Media
Focused Discussion Robert Romano
The Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) is the top level of college football in the United States. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the 10 FBS Conferences, and the approximately 130 colleges and universities who host FBS football programs receive billions of dollars annually from broadcasting rights fees, ticketing and gate, merchandising and branding, sponsorships, and other revenue generators from the hundreds of regular season and FBS bowl games played on various college campuses throughout the fall and early winter months. There are over 15,000 young men who play FBS football. Of these 15,000 young men, approximately 11,440 receive a student-athlete scholarship to play for their respective college or university, with the typical student-athlete receiving, on average, a scholarship valued at approximately $36,000.00. Since the NCAA, the Conferences, and its member institutions derive billions of dollars annually from the game of football, are the approximately 15,000 young men who play and receive no financial benefit, and the 11,440 young men who receive FBS football scholarships receiving a fair value for their skills to participate at the highest level of college sports? If not, what would be a fair value for the student-athlete? This study explores and attempts to answer these questions.
Women are Not Monolithic: Challenges and Barriers for Women with Physical Disabilities in Sport View Digital Media
Focused Discussion Heather Van Mullem, Sharon Kay Stoll, Aubrey H. Shaw
More girls and women are playing sport than ever before. If athletes participate in safe and healthy competitive environments, they can reap psychological, social, physical, and physiological benefits. Additionally, opportunities to learn and improve socially valued skills like hard work and teamwork are plentiful. Unfortunately, not all girls and women experience equitable access and participatory experiences. Ideologies associated with aspects of identity, including, but not limited to, gender, race, sexuality, ethnicity, socio-economic status, religion, and ability, challenge equitable access and experiences for girls and women in sport. Women are not monolithic. As such, different aspects of identity intersect creating unique barriers for some girls and women. Drawing from the literature, this study identifies and explores the multitude of ways ableist and gender ideologies influence the creation and support of barriers faced by female athletes with physical disabilities. Additionally, the paper explores how laws including Title IX, the Rehabilitation Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act have contributed to improving access but have yet to meaningfully influence sport to become truly inclusive. Finally, suggestions for positive change in participation experience at the youth, interscholastic, and intercollegiate levels are suggested.
The Role of Integrity in Addressing Abuse in Sport View Digital Media
Focused Discussion Katherine Starr
I started Safe4Athletes over 10 years ago and have since built a reputation as an expert on sexual abuse in sport and more precisely coach-athlete dynamics. After tirelessly addressing the issue while working with athletes and teams over the years, patterns started to appear that were common to every athlete, coach or parent that came to me for help. The issue almost inevitably boiled down to “integrity.” What do I mean by that, if an athlete isn’t speaking up, isn’t that in itself is being out of integrity? If a coach is driven based on accomplishment at the cost of overlooking the athlete, is that not being out of integrity? If a parent is driven to make sure their kid gets a scholarship or equivalent while overlooking the child’s well-being, is that not being out of integrity? Those are just a few examples where a stakeholder in that scenario is out of integrity. When one part of the system is out of integrity then the whole system breaks down. A broken system is vulnerable to abuse. After seeing these patterns consistently in sport, I felt it was prudent to the address the issue where the issue ultimately resides with the a stakeholder whom is out of integrity. With that in mind a formula started to develop, to move integrity through the system. The important part is the structure as to how integrity is found and maintained creates an equitable environment for all stakeholders.
Collegiate Athletics, Sexual Harassment, and Regulations: Do We Need a Broader Definition? View Digital Media
Focused Discussion Zhou Zhang
The abuses happened in Baylor University and the Larry Nassar scandal have brought sexual harassment in American collegiate athletics under the public scrutiny. Bitter debates on the legal conundrum and hurdles facing campus sexual misconduct cases also arises, in light of the regulation changes. The overarching question presented in this essay, is whether the mechanism and social context of collegiate athletics should be considered when enacting the laws against sexual harassment. This review uses secondary research and has examined both sociology works and law scholarship regarding college sport and sexual harassment. The study argues that, the two traits of college athletics calls for broader legal definition, in order to crack down the rampant sexual harassment in this field. It concludes that the narrower definition adopted by the newest regulation under Title IX, together with the lack of definition from NCAA, has created legal hurdles for combating this epidemic.
