Business

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

This study will examine the overall affect on society, as well as the historical aspect of the integration of African-Americans, into sports in the United States of America. This study is also designed to discuss and or break down any racial stereotypes involving African-American athletes. Most importantly, this study will also examine the progression that African-Americans have made on the field as athletes and in corporate America as well.

The overall affect that integration had on society will be discussed first. The acceptance and the scrutiny of the African-American athlete will be examined. Secondly, the researcher will discuss some of the many racial stereotypes that African-American athletes have to live up to or even hold their heads in shame because of. The third and final area of research is to discuss the progression that African-Americans have made in the world of sports during the years after integration.

The majority of the literature for this study was obtained from various websites and written material discussing the aforementioned topics. This study will not be the first of kind, however the information that was discovered is different than previous studies that have been done on this topic.

Since the birth of the United States, this society has been capitalistic in nature. The basis of capitalism is competition. The business that is the best will win or make the most money. This is also the true nature of sports as well. Even though sports took on this mentality, it is still leaps and bounds ahead of society when it comes to equality. After- all Jackie Robison was a Brooklyn Dodger five years prior to the Brown vs. Board of Education case in 1954. In many ways sports in America have become a microcosm of what society should be.

Although Jackie Robinson's barrier breaking entrance into the Major Leagues was probably the most important event to take place in sport history, it is not the first time African-Americans were involved in sports. Early records have shown that African Americans were involved in these sports whenever given the opportunity to participate. On the other hand, American sports are filled with records of African American athletes capable of participating in the broad sports arena but not given the chance due to their race. Therefore, as sports grew into an American popular pastime, it also grew along on separate fields with race as a dividing line. Most sporting events were separated by race up until the 1940's. For the few African Americans who were ready and able to cross that line, they had to pay a heavy price. They became the prime symbol of their race in that individual sport. They were, at times, teased, harassed, and belittled while demonstrating their skills in the sports arena (Sylvester, 1997).

The integration and stardom of blacks in sports were major turning points in history. Not only did these events revolutionize those sports but people's minds as well. The struggle of these athletes helped people to realize the truth in the notion that all men are created equal. As time went on society began to realize that African-American athletes and the entire race as a whole, could do anything if only given ample opportunity. The great work that Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King did was exemplified on the filed of play by great athletes such as Althea Gibson, Jack Johnson, and Jessie Owens.

Presently, the African-American are at the forefront of success in relation to the level of play. Many people believe that African-Americans are far more athletically advanced when people compare them to other races of people. The popularity of the African-American athlete has reached a plateau that was unimaginable just 70 years prior to today. There was survey done on Michael Jordan's comeback during the 2001-2002 NBA season. The survey was done people who were just walking along Venice Beach in California. The people were given two pictures. One was a picture of Michael Jordan and the other was a picture of Jesus Christ. They were then asked which did they recognize first. The fact that the majority of the people said they recognized the photo of Michael Jordan tells us a lot about our society and the role the African-American plays in our society (Lapchick, 2003).

Of course, with great success and popularity, brings greater privileges, which ultimately leads to a greater responsibility. Many people feel that athletes can literally get away with murder simply because of their stature. There is an ugly stigma that says athletes are judged differently. This has been witnessed in the media for decades. With this being said, African-American athletes are still judged differently than their Caucasian counterparts. This inequality comes from an ugly stereotype that suggests the only thing that African-American athletes can do is play sports, and that they are nothing but criminals outside the arena of play.

Lapchick (2003), a write for Sport in Society, writes that people quickly remove African-American athletes from their pedestal when they read stories about athletes who get into trouble with the law. He also questions the fact that basketball and football players are constantly in the news, whereas hockey and