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< | Sports in the 21st Century, according to Veblen |
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> | Professional Sport as a Tool of White Supremacy |
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< | -- By RobertCorp - 13 Feb 2008 |
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> | -- By RobertCorp - 11 June 2008 |
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Introduction |
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< | Organized sports surged in importance during the 20th Century. The proliferation of widespread participation in athletics, as well as the explosion in popularity of spectator sports, changed the role of sports in America. However, analysis performed in 1899 by Thorstein Veblen remains useful when considering the implications of sports in our society. Despite the changes, sports remain a mechanism used for purposes of conspicuous consumption and leisure, and through which the morals of the community are spread. |
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> | Professional sports are often offered as an example of racial equality in America. Young black men earn great fame and fortune and are adopted as “heroes”, all of which is used as evidence of a lack of racism. In reality, sport is a mechanism that reinforces and maintains white supremacy. |
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< | Veblen’s observations came at a time when only the leisure class and “lower-class delinquents” participated in sports. (237). While this has changed drastically, Veblen’s viewpoint allows for interesting insight. Involvement in sports, both as participant and spectator, reflect the emulative nature which Veblen attaches to all social functions. |
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> | Where is the Social Progress?
To characterize the prominence of African Americans among star athletes as evidence of an egalitarian society as is to greatly misinterpret the evidence; it is a result of highly limited opportunities for upward mobility in a racialized, capitalist society. |
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< | What Are We Teaching Through Sports
Veblen believed that sports taught predatory skills that were demonstrative of the morals of the elite. For the delinquents who participated, it reinforced their vulgar and rowdy nature. For neither of these classes were the skills learned useful for contribution to the collective well-being of society. |
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> | A lack of opportunity in other facets of life results in a great number of black youths dedicating their lives to success in sports. A small number of athletes achieve financial success, but a great percentage of those who pursue sports careers fail. |
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< | The lessons sports’ apologists offered to justify their practice did not impress Veblen; he believed the skills that were taught were “economically advantageous to the individual, as contradistinguished from the interests of the collectivity”. (262). |
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> | The claim is not that the sports industry is a conspiracy formed with the hopes of creating a cycle of failure predicated on pipe-dreams about sports careers within poor black communities, but rather to demonstrate that the economic effects that result from the cycle are bad for communities. |
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< | The working class, which did not have “a sporting habit” in 1899, is now just as apt to partake in sports as either the rich or the poor. (272). To this class, sports are seen as a useful means to develop a number of positive attributes. Teamwork, confidence, and leadership all are believed to be byproducts of athletics that are useful for development. The leisure class’ obsession with victory and the resulting ruthlessness is not as prevalent among this class. This can be seen in modern practice of not keeping score in youth games, so there are no ‘winners’ and ‘losers’. |
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> | Where are the Black Coaches and Owners?
The utility of sports as a means for social advancement is stunted by institutional racism. Discrepancies between the percentage of black athletes in a sport and the percentage of black coaches and executives appear in every major American sports organization. The most egregious example may well be college football, where 5% of coaches are black, compared to 45% of players. http://www.bus.ucf.edu/sport/public/downloads/2006-07_CollegeSportRGRC_PR.pdf . |
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< | Today, sporting events represent a significant portion of neighborhood interactions by the middle class. The class has placed an importance on community in recent times, and it uses youth sports to further this aim. The class has chosen to reinforce its community-based norms through the way which it treats sports (which Veblen described as the role of sports in a community). |
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> | Another statistic worth considering is that only one owner in all of major American sports is black. The ownership issue is more of a reflection of economic realities that are the byproduct of social forces far more powerful and perverse than sports, but the fact must be considered in any consideration of race in American sports. |
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< | This reality does not refute the difference in mentality between the middle class, and the rich and poor (whom he believed were more aggressive). The rich get personal trainers at young ages and are sent to competitive prep schools to hone their skills; the poor play on the same playgrounds as their elders and often are acclimated to sports in a rough and tumble atmosphere. For these classes, the emphasis on barbaric winning has not disappeared. |
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> | These facts refute the suggestion that sports are a vehicle for black empowerment. While many blacks have made fortunes in sports, the lack of ownership demonstrates the lack of power held within the very institution that would appear to be the best avenue to equality.
A lack of ownership results in a lack of autonomy. Black athletes work in settings where those of different backgrounds set the norms. The underrepresentation of blacks within coaching, executive, and ownership ranks is also demonstrated in the stands of sporting events; ticket costs largely price out the classes from which many athletes arise. |
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< | Conspicuous Nature of Sports
Veblen was critical of the institution of spectator sports, believing an “addiction” to sports to be a demonstration of barbarianism. (256). Spectator sports have taken on new dimensions since Veblen’s day. The payment of great sums for quality tickets, particularly season tickets, is a demonstration in conspicuous consumption. The ability to possess, and give away quality seats is conspicuous consumption in a society in which tickets to sporting events are highly sought after. Surely there are many people who derive entertainment from watching the competition, but the ability to attend an event represents a significant portion of its importance. |
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> | Blacks have very little potential to rise from employee to employer, a demonstration of the persistence of segregation within the system. The modern athlete is thus a servant, albeit a well paid one. The ability of professional athletes to have a voice in their workplace is weakened by the public outcry that comes with high salaries, making their cause an unsympathetic one. |
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< | Spectators also take part in conspicuous leisure. The luxury of spending hundreds of hours a year watching a team, perhaps even traveling around the country for road games, demonstrates a substantial freedom of time. Also, knowledge of sports, in some circles, is similar to appreciation for art and music as “past performance of leisure”. (45). |
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> | Where is the Consistency?
Racial undertones drive the love-hate relationship that the public has with professional black athletes. The public participates in self-righteous and duplicitous critiques of supposedly raucous behavior and outlandish lifestyles. The adoration for celebrity athletes occurs alongside a thinly veiled discourse depicting these stars as overpaid thugs, unable to handle the rewards of upper-class status. Their lives are characterized as an endless routine of drug arrests, assault charges and paternity suits. While this stereotype is common for black athletes, the term “character guy” often arises when discussing white athletes. |
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< | Ramifications for Sports
The structure of professional sports is such that leagues attempt to reflect their spectators, rather than vice versa. Revenue is beholden to the willingness of spectators to attend events. Sports leagues must compose themselves in a way that makes attendance at games something that is socially desirable, worthy of being emulated. |
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> | The subtext of discussion about character is important to consider from a racial perspective. Professional baseball has faced an onslaught of public criticism, and a congressional investigation, over a steroid controversy which may have involved 50% of the league. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/12/sports/baseball/12caminiti.html . Despite the scope of the abuse, the “character” of ballplayers has not been questioned intensely. While homerun totals are looked at skeptically, the scandal has been mostly compartmentalized. |
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< | The leisure class dictates the product that will be offered, as leagues cater to their demands. Through this leverage, the elite class attempts to utilize sports as a mechanism that espouses the virtues that it desires. |
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> | The league that endures the most damage as a result of its “image problem” is the NBA, the sport with the highest percentage of black athletes. The league has a generation of young, likable superstars, yet constantly struggles with the “thug” label. The NBA has embarked upon a successful charity campaign, NBA Cares, and has made a concerted effort to help in the recovery of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina (by ensuring the longevity of its NBA franchise and hosting the 2008 All Star Game in the city). |
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< | Consider the NBA. The league developed an ‘image problem’ in recent years due to the perceived ‘thuggery’ of its players (a result of tattoos, a few rap albums and an infamous in-game brawl). The leisure class felt threatened by what it characterized as the arrogance, immaturity, and lawlessness of NBA players. |
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> | The scorn the NBA faces seems to be a result of tattooed players, a perceived closeness with the rap industry, and an infamous in-game brawl. These issues within the league would seem far less egregious for the overall moral integrity of a sport than the unabashed cheating of up to half of its players, but this has not been the case |
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< | The reaction of the league was to heighten all disciplinary policies and to require all non-participating players to wear suits on the bench. Preventing basketball players from wearing jeans and jewelry during games does nothing to their behavior; it allows a certain class to feel comfortable with the product they are purchasing. |
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> | Where is the Autonomy?
The NBA’s reaction to increasing complaints about the identity of the league was to implement a dress code requiring all players to wear suits on the bench if not playing. Preventing basketball players from wearing jeans and jewelry during games does nothing to alter behavior; it allows a certain class to feel comfortable with the product they are purchasing. |
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< | Modern athletes are under the control of their leagues, which are controlled by the rich. Today’s athlete, from the Veblen perspective, is thus participating in vicarious leisure; a servant to the spectator. While there is certainly emulation of athletes today (see: “Be like Mike” advertising campaign), the conspicuous leisure and consumption of the elite class has resulted in leagues stunting the individuality of their athletes, attempting to force them into emulation of the image desired by the richest spectators. |
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> | It is the league’s right to enforce a dress code to uphold its image; however, the timing of the recourse demonstrates its purpose was to address the league’s “hip hop” image. Such efforts highlight the conformity that is forced upon black athletes through the norms of a class that they mostly do not come from. The empowered class, through such measures, rejects the culture of those athletes that the league depends on; this is alienation. |
| | Conclusion |
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< | There have been dramatic changes regarding the prevalence and importance of sports in American society since Veblen. His insight remains instructive in recognizing the utility, or lack thereof, of sports. Veblen hypothesized that the mentality of the middle-class precluded it from interest in athletics. Changes in social dynamics have resulted in the increased popularity of sports. The Veblen insight allows a unique perspective. Sports ultimately do not contribute to the economic well being of the society, and for that reason they fit Veblen’s characterization of human irrationality. The proliferation of sports has only resulted in more wasteful activity. Over 100 years later, sports remain a mechanism that induces emulation, in a more complicated and diverse way than Veblen could have imagined. |
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> | Through franchise ownership, league governance, and position as the leagues’ most valuable consumer, the upper class dictates the culture in professional sports. This leverage allows the elite class to use sport as a mechanism to assert white supremacy. Whether it is in the great discrepancy between percentage of minority players and minority coaches, or the veiled stereotypical commentary, there is a racist undertone that drives much of professional sports. This is a particularly disturbing reality when considering that sports are generally considered an egalitarian enterprise and instrument of advancement in race relations. |
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- It seems to me that this is a beginning, but that you need to consider shifting focus a bit. Obviously we are not living in 1899, so rather than trying to compress Veblen's social observations into adjacency with current social conditions, if you want to write on this subject the better way is to show how pecuniary competition has shaped the details of our current sports culture. The obvious point, unmentioned here, has to do with the money culture of professional sports, including the salaries and the media culture of complaint about salaries. The "sports bar" and "fan radio" elements might be worth looking at, as might the ESPN/Disney structure, or the militarization of our games in the course of the 20th century, particularly the development of US football, and the unique role played by sport in the maintenance of white supremacy.
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