I have been walking around what I call the athletic portion of campus, or the northern-most part of campus where many of the athletic facilities are located, a lot recently and have noticed that OSU has hung up dozens of banners on the light poles showing photos of athletes competing to promote a variety of sports. When I first noticed these, I was proud of how many sports they had included, especially because they showed ones that are typically not as popular or appreciated on our campus. But as I walked past these banners each day, I noticed how few pictures of non-white athletes there are. Despite the photos being black and white and not showing faces, it is incredibly obvious that most, if not all, of the athletes shown are white. I am not on campus currently, so I do not have photos of the banners, but the pictures below are of three of OSU’s sports teams in 2019 to demonstrate their lack of diversity.
OSU’s 2019 Baseball Team
https://theozone.net/2019/05/big-ten-champs-buckeye-baseball-headed-ncaa-tournament/
OSU’s 2019 Men’s Tennis Team
The Seniors of OSU’s 2019 Women’s Lacrosse Team
https://ohiostatebuckeyes.com/honoring-the-11-seniors-from-womens-lacrosse/
Although there is a lot of diversity in some of the major sports, like basketball and football, many of the other sports are almost or entirely white. Many of these sports require a lot of training and money to become competitive, beginning at a very young age. This can include having to buy large amounts of equipment, to paying for lessons and travel teams that are often times very expensive. This leads to a disparity in the ability for some children to participate in sports that require high degrees of specialization and practice outside of school settings. Due to the economic challenges that unequivocally affect non-white families, their ability to afford these sports is significantly decreased, and leads to a lack of representation and diversity.
The economic disparities that minorities face is just one of a multitude of barriers that minority players face in their respective sports. There are many studies that show that a lack of representation can have powerful negative effects on young people and even be the reason that they do not chose to play a certain sport. When this is combined with the hate and bigotry that many athletes have to face from fans, parents, and even their fellow players, it is clear why many athletes do not play these sports. Not only should OSU be actively working to make all sports more diverse and attainable for people from all backgrounds, but they should also ensure the inclusion of a variety of races and ethnicities in the banners.
Additional Resources:
http://dailyorange.com/2019/04/inside-lack-racial-diversity-lacrosse/
Economic disparities are always one of the most serious problems in the world. I did research on this topic two years ago. The sources I found told me that economic disparities exist in both developed and developing countries. South Africa, China, India are the top three countries that have the widest gap between the rich and the poor. Economic disparities always lead to educational inequality. As you stated, playing sports usually cost a lot that many families cannot afford. Therefore, the rich will get better training and resources than the poor.
I like how you found this example at our own school to show how ways even we can help with systematic injustice even though Ohio State has already done so much. It is really good you showcased the economic disparities play a big factor in these sports and who is able to play these sports when younger and be able to get good enough to play in college. Very good read and good work!
It is very insightful how you pointed out the origin of this systemic injustice as economic disparities among minorities. While this issue may appear to be surface-level, in reality it stems from a variety of factors that are not typically considered in this context. Great post!
Thanks for your share of Systemic Injustice. This kind of issues certainly happens while the current situation is definitely becoming better. I believe it will be eliminated sooner or later.
Thanks for sharing this post. You brought this matter to light because I never have noticed this because as you said, the popular sporting teams do display a fair amount of diversity. However, it is also important for that to be included with the rest of the sports teams as well.
I appreciate your insightful post. I never thought of how economic mobility could present its effects in the sports world. Economic mobility to me always played a role in jobs, housing, and schooling. But it really does make sense that it would affect diversity in sports. Considering that often to be competitive in a pool of other athletes you have to play your sport year round and on more than just your schools team. With that most travel sports or AAU teams are not inexpensive.
I agree with the economic disparity causing an impact on student athletes futures. Ultimately the way to help these athletes is recruiting in these areas and countries, potentially leading to a more diverse team. It is hard to coin these teams though as not diverse. Ultimately there goal is winning, so they are going to pick the best student athlete regardless of race or economic background. We see many disparities in race in sports, as you mentioned and the pictures show a predominant white roster. The basketball and football teams are predominantly African Americans along with the NFL and NBA. I wouldn’t say either is necessarily not diverse. Ultimately it just matters how well you do your job or play that sport, coaches recruit to win because that is their job and their career depends on it.
I really liked how you showed this injustice. Many people would had walked past those banners and not thought twice. Im glad you are brining light to this important matter. I think that it’s sad that even at our university there are clear sign of injustice. Im so glad that you saw this and are telling others.
This is a great example of a systemic injustice that was unnoticed by many. I agree that many of the major sports here at OSU have very diverse teams, whereas the smaller sports do not include as much diversity, if any. You did a great job bringing up how the expense is a major factor in this injustice. Overall, great job bringing this up and explaining it very well.
Great post! You did a great job highlighting in injustice in sports. That is something I never thought of so I am glad you wrote about it!