Sports and Society Critical Analysis Paper

Sports and Society Critical Analysis Paper

On December 22nd of 1999 a Sports Illustrated interview forever altered the life of John Rocker. Earlier that year, the New York Mets had eliminated the Atlanta Braves in a hard fought National League Championship Series. As the closer and star reliever for the Mets biggest rival, the New York fans did not pull any punches in their treatment of Rocker, allegedly hurling batteries and insults in his direction. During the Sports Illustrated interview, Rocker opined on why he would never play for a New York team. "It's the most hectic, nerve-racking city. Imagine having to take the 7 train to the ballpark, looking like you're riding through Beirut next to some kid with purple hair, next to some queer with Aids, right next to some dude who just got out of jail for the fourth time, right next to some 20-year-old mom with four kids. It's depressing." Rocker continued the interview by calling teammate Randal Simon a "fat monkey" and insulting Asian women. By analyzing the the events that followed the interview along with a glimpse into sports past, the impact of this interview can be analyzed in two different ways. First one can use the different theoretical approaches to analyze the impact of John Rocker's quotes on the media. And second, the effect of John Rocker's quotes on the values sports uphold in society.

The Aftermath

John Rocker's quotes left few groups without insult. Rocker comments managed to insult minorities; notably African Americans and Asian Americans, young mothers, and homosexuals. Among the first to speak out following the interview was Atlanta Braves legend Henry "Hank" Aaron. A vice president with the Atlanta Braves, Aaron said that he would strongly consider getting rid of Rocker in light of his comments. Three weeks after the Sports Illustrated interview, Rocker appeared on ESPN to apologize for his comments. After much challenge and deliberation, Rocker eventually received a 14 day suspension and a 20,000 dollar fine from Major League Baseball for his comments. Although Rocker received a standing ovation upon entering the game for his first spring training appearance, the pressure placed on him by fans was overwhelming. In the 1999 season, Rocker had emerged as one of baseball's best relievers. However, following his comments, his career began to tail off. After pitching two games in 2003 for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Rocker was released and he has been out of Major League Baseball ever since. After sitting out the 2004 season to rehabilitate an arm injury, Rocker attempted a minor league comeback in of all places, Long Island. Following a sub par season and a spat with a fan, John Rocker's baseball career came to and end.

Theoretical Analysis

The story of John Rocker is best analyzed using Fisher's narrative approach. Human beings are storytelling creatures. We use these stories to create meaning in our lives. Of all human stories, the classic saga portrays the battle between good and evil. Although watching a sports event may be entertaining, it is the storyline that provides passion. For example, the local media portrays the home team as the "good guys" and the opponents as the "bad guys". Another example of this can be found in the pseudo sport of professional wrestling, some wrestlers are written as good characters and others as evil characters in order to amp up interest in the sport. By offending several different groups, the media was able to portray John Rocker as the villain in all match-ups which increased the national interest in Atlanta Braves games.

In Fisher's analytical approach, coherence is the internal consistency of the story. Coherence is defined by the characterological coherence which asks if the characters act consistently. In the case of John Rocker, the media does its best to make the story as coherent as possible. Following John Rocker's apology on ESPN, a New York Times article attacked Rocker's sincerity. The article derided Rocker's apology as arrogant and further fueling the hatred of the nation towards Rocker. An article in the Los Angeles Times negatively portrayed Rocker and questioned his motives for fulfilling an obligation to show up at a charity event. Even now John Rocker's xenophobia is shown by his "Speak English' campaign which promotes the adoption of the English language among immigrants. Whether or not Rocker's story was coherent was irrelevant because the media portrayed the story as coherent. In the eyes of the media after his comments Rocker could do no right which allowed them to further promote the image of John Rocker the villain.

Fidelity is the external consistency of the story. In this case, the fidelity deals with the believability of the story. Is the story something that could happen? Is it consistent with other stories in its genre? Because this was not the first incident of xenophobia in baseball, the John Rocker story did not lack in fidelity. Past incidents involving Al Campanis and Marge Schott showed that racism was alive and well in baseball. Because the John Rocker story contained both coherence and fidelity, it perfectly suited the needs of sports fans and media.

Cultural Impact

America has struggled with racism and xenophobia since its inception. Although slavery and segregation are in the past, the problem has not been solved. All of our country's presidents with the exception of one have been White Anglo-Saxon Protestants. Also, a large part of the population still feels the effects of stereotypes and glass ceilings. Sports however, have thrived by not adhering to these parts of our culture. It is because of this that the John Rocker incident had such a wide affect on American sports culture, baseball, and his life.

In modern day American sports, race and gender take a backseat to talent and hard work. Because of this attitude, racial and gender barriers have fallen by the wayside. By playing on the men's PGA tour, Annika Sorenstam and Michelle Wei have shown that woman can directly compete with men. This however would not have been possible without Billy Jean King defeat of Bobby Riggs in tennis' "Battle of the Sexes" in the 1970's. Doug Williams defied conventional logic and proved that an African American quarterback can lead his team to a Super bowl victory. Tony Dungy, Willie Randolph, and Omar Minaya are just a few examples of minority