Author: mcnamara.371

Text Review Assignment: “Disclosure: Trans Live On Screen”

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“Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen”

In 2020 a film by the name of Disclosure: Trans Live On Screen, debuted to the world, first being shown at the Sundance Film Festival, then later the same year was put on Netflix for more to see. This film was produced as an attempt to help others understand how transgenders have viewed their representation in Hollywood by examining various clips that show how they have been Othered by the industry. “Othering” can be defined as when certain individuals or groups are made to seem like they do not belong within the majority. They are considered different and inferior to those within the social “social norm”. Disclosure exposes how the entertainment industry has labeled transgender actors/actresses Others by showing the stereotypical roles that they have been placed in and the negative impacts it has on how society views transgenders. The film includes interviews from various popular trans persons in the industry such as Laverne Cox, and Rain Valdez. These interviews gave insight on how struggles in media history have shaped the way they even view themselves. One specific story that stood out in particular was one told by Laverne Cox. Laverne Cox, the first Emmy nominated transgender actress,  is widely known for her performance in Orange is the New Black. She mentioned how during her early stages of transitioning, people often laughed at her and viewed her existence as a joke. Laverne Cox deciphers that this is a trained traction that stems from poor trans representation in television and movies. It is no secret that majority of the time transgenders/gender non-conforming roles in television and movies are used for the butt of the joke. This type of portrayal on the screen translates into real life, teaching audiences how to react to transgenders. This is just one example that Disclosure gives that exemplifies how transgender actors/actresses have been Othered by Hollywood. There is plenty of tom for growth and advancement in the form of positive representation. Disclosure did a great job bringing the emotion and the perspective of the transgender community in regards to how the media help others and even the actors/actresses perceive them.

“Yo, Is this Racist?” Racial Inequality in College Sports

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“Yo, is this racist?” 

Introduction: 

Welcome to my “Yo, is this racist?” advice column. Today I will be focusing on racial inequality in college athletics. Inequality plagues college athletics on various different levels, but my main concern is specifically for members of revenue-generating teams, mainly football and men’s basketball, that are not even close to accumulating benefits they deserve. While what is going on within college athletics may not be apparent, studies have shown that the NCAA are not only violating labor rights, but that it may be perpetuating racial inequality. Racial inequality can be defined as a disparity in opportunity and treatment due to the individual’s race. The NCAA refusing to pay their athletes is an inequality overlooked by the majority. I think this is partly due to the fact that people like to put college athletes, especially those in football and men’s basketball, on a pedestal and almost treat them like they are reaping the same benefits as professionals. Ever since July of 2021, athletes were granted the right to make money on their name, likeness, and image, so there has been positive movement in this, but the NCAA refusing to pay its athletes is resulting in athletes losing out on potentially billions of dollars that they work tirelessly to generate for their institutions.

Athletes Speaking Out:

In the past plenty of athletes have come forward to talk about how they feel like they are being used by the NCAA. Hearing from their perspective has helped further the conversation and those who don’t know what being a collegiate athlete entails understand. On January 30, 2021, a Rutgers basketball player named Geo Baker went to twitter to explain his stance. He started off his tweet with: “I have to sign a paper that says my name and likeness belong to the school. Modern day slavery.” An athlete was comparing playing a sport he loves and works hard to succeed at to modern day slavery. They play for our entertainment, but for so long were not able to make anything from it. In the 2018-2019 academic year 65 of the Power Five schools generated $8.3 billion through athletics and the athletes see none of that apart from scholarships. Some may argue that some athletes get to go to school for free if they receive a scholarship, but the amount received for a scholarship on average is around $10,400 per year. That amount doesn’t even come close to what athletes could be earning. An economist, David Berry, calculated the amount athletes would make if they were to receive a share and it was between $145,000 and $4.13 million per year. The very decision to accept a scholarship is actually a form of racial structuralized coercion itself. There is a gap produced by racial capitalism in the United States and the access to higher education as well as high paying jobs. These disparities make it almost a necessity for Black athletes to be on scholarship to play in college sports. Systematically these athletes are being denied revenue that they cultivate and a high proportion of these athletes are Black. The revenue that is accumulated by Black Power 5 athletes go straight to predominantly white coaches, sports, and even researchers.  

 

Nigel Hayes, a former University of Wisconsin basketball player, shared his view explaining, “It’s always been an interesting situation and dynamic. Black athletes, but white school, white coaches, white fans…minimal Black people. “Most are aware these university teams, primarily men’s basketball and football, are filled with Black players. Making money for usually white people and not being able to have their share of a billion dollar plus industry. So the visual you get is white institutions recruit Black talent to make millions. While dealing with all the other hurdles of being Black.”  The labor that is put in by the predominantly Black basketball and football players is benefiting those in roles that are overwhelmingly White. After achieving success and bringing in value to their universities, are the same people that profit off of them, label them as amateurs to avoid paying them their fair wage share. Black athletes work incredibly hard, especially with some of the adversity they face to get where they are. It is unfair to ask so many of them and give them the bare minimum in return.

Is There a Solution? 

In July of 2021, athletes were granted the right to make money off of their name, image, and likeness. The NCAA was forced by the U.S. Supreme Court ruling to let athletes profit off of endorsement deals. While this gives athletes another potential source of income, it doesn’t give all athletes the same opportunity, adding another layer of inequality within college sports. However, the NIL deal is progress into the journey of athletes getting the benefits they deserve. There are many problems that come along with this new deal and that are trying to be resolved while athletes are competing. There are no clear guidelines yet, so the rules are all still up in the air. Schools and athletes have yet to be reprimanded by the NCAA in a major way, but it’s only a matter of time before the rules become stricter and athletes eligibility become more at risk. Based on the stubbornness and lack of desire for the NCAA to pay their athletes, I don’t think athletes will get paid by their school or the NCAA anytime soon. So institutions will continue to profit heavily off of athletes and make numbers that even the biggest NIL deal won’t reach. The NIL deal will continue to act as a blanket for the real problem that lies within the actual system that are the schools and the NCAA. Former University of Tennessee and NBA player, CJ Watson, said: “ I think NIL is just to keep kids from going overseas, especially in basketball, to keep them in college. They’re not getting the cut they deserve. I think it’s still a slave mentality.” Athletes will continue to be exploited for their talents as they are not being paid to play. The only thing that they can make money on is their name. Former UCLA and pro soccer player Kaiya McCullough, believes that NIL hasn’t fundamentally changed anything. She explains, “I think some of the same racial dynamics are replicated in NIL. Black athletes have the potential to generate large amounts of personal profit with their NIL, however, in most cases these athletes have little to no help on how to properly market themselves … individuals with resources and access will be able to fully reap the benefits of NIL, while those who come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds with less professional connections may not.” So there are still concerns within the NIL that it also could support racial inequality. 

Personal Experience: 

I have been a part of the Ohio State women’s soccer team for two years now. Coming from a program that is not as popular as football or men’s basketball and definitely does not generate nearly as much revenue, I can tell you that athletes deserve  to be paid for the work they put in, especially when they bring in as much money as they do. I play a sport that is predominantly known to be a white sport and doesn’t have a lot of diversity within it. Sports like football and basketball do. These teams recruit athletes that will bring up the school and athletic staff’s revenue. I cannot imagine being the entertainment on that large of a scale and not seeing any of the benefits. I typically think about this around March Madness time, where thousands of athletes have an entire country invested in them for a whole month, but those monetarily benefiting from it are their coaches and major media corporations such as ESPN. I think the NIL deal was definitely a great breakthrough, but I think there is more that can be done because the numbers just simply do not match up. I personally have seen athletes get offers as low as $15, when they could be making 10 times that from the revenue that they bring in. It makes me think that people do not care about these athletes as people, but just for their athletic ability. Ethan Thomas, Guardian Columnist and former NBA Star, put in a context that I find to be absolutely eye opening: “You know when a company goes into an underdeveloped country and sets up shop there, and hires the locals there for pennies while the company makes billions of dollars. Then pretends that they are doing the locals a favor by providing a job opportunity for them that they otherwise wouldn’t have, and [provides] other benefits – maybe food and clothes and some form of healthcare – so they can stay healthy enough to continue working. That’s basically the system the NCAA has.” I have talked to some close friends from Ohio State football and this is similar to how they feel, even with the new NIL deal. 

 

Works Cited: 

Kalaman-Lamb , Nathan, et al. “Race, Money and Exploitation: Why College Sport Is Still the ‘New Plantation’Nath.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 7 Sept. 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/sep/07/race-money-and-exploitation-why-college-sport-is-still-the-new-plantation. 

Kalman-Lamb , Nathan, et al. “’I Signed My Life to Rich White Guys’: Athletes on the Racial Dynamics of College Sports.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 17 Mar. 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/mar/17/college-sports-racial-dynamics. 

Lindsay Kalter. “How Name, Image, and Likeness Deals Are Changing College Sports.” Hour Detroit Magazine, 4 Nov. 2021, https://www.hourdetroit.com/sports-topics/how-name-image-and-likeness-deals-are-changing-college-sports/. 

Anderson, Greta. Knight Commission Publishes Recommendations to Address Systemic Racial Inequity in College Sports, 13 May 2021, https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2021/05/13/knight-commission-publishes-recommendations-address-systemic-racial-inequity-college. 

 

Diary of Systematic Injustice Showcase: Protecting Female Athletes

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In early October former NWSL head coach, Paul Riley, was accused by former players of coercing them into having sex with him at various different teams since 2010. Riley was one of the most decorated and well respected coaches in the league, so this story initially came as a shock to many. Many former players were courageous enough to step up and share their stories. One of the most heartbreaking stories came from Midfielder Sinead Farrelly who played for Riley at three different team across the league since 2011. In her own words she felt “claimed” by Riley, as she shared personal stories with him, was inappropriately touched, a and coerced into having sex with him. This continued in the off season and whenever he moved clubs he continued to seek her out, finding a way for her to join the club as well. He took a toll on her emotionally and mentally, even leading her to collapse in a game in 2014 due to the high stress levels it caused her. Meleana Shim, a teammate of Farrelly also came forward with accusations against Riley, giving a specific example of how Riley used his position of power to make to two women participate in sexual actions. In this example she explained that her and Farrelly ended up in his hotel room after a night out with the team, where Shim asked the two to kiss if they didn’t want the team to run a suicide mile drill that week.

These players, along with many other coming forward not only exposed how Riley used his position to take advantages of players, but also exposed how the NWSL was quick to cover the accusations. The accusations against Riley first came to light in 2015, when Shim, with the help of teammate Alex Morgan, e-mailed a complaint to both Portland Thorns owner Merritt Paulson and the HR rep Nancy Garcia. They told her without any evidence she did not have a legal claim. While the Thorns released Riley later that season, they covered it up making people think it was do to their poor results and record. Riley was still allowed to coach and became the head coach of the North Carolina Courage where he continued to prey on more players. Former United States Women’s Soccer player and three time Olympic gold medalist, Heather O’Riley, spoke up about the current allegations explaining that “we want to continue our personal careers and there’s not as many opportunities for players to be professional footballers so I think that’s a reason why a lot of things are just dealt with. As a player you just take it.” This one statement here from a former NWSL player goes to show how vulnerable these female athletes are when it comes to wanting to live out their dreams of being a professional soccer player. It is easy to take advantage of these players who believe this is the only way they can make it to where they want in life. The NWSL’s lack of accountability and thorough investigation enables behavior like this and leaves future female soccer players concerned about their safety rather than competing in their sport. 

 

https://theathletic.com/news/former-players-accuse-north-carolina-courage-coach-paul-riley-of-sexual-coercion/pEkYF3H4gsHf/

https://www.insider.com/nwsl-sexual-abuse-accusations-against-coach-paul-riley-2021-10

 

Week 5 Context Presentation: “Recitatif”

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Toni Morrison’s “Recitatif” was originally published in 1983 in Confirmation: An Anthology of African American Women. Her short story explores a friendship between two young girls, one black and one white, formed at shelter called St. Bonnys. When they first meet  Twyla, the narrator, openly admitted that she “got sick to her stomach” because she “was stuck in a strange place with a girl from a whole other race (Morrison, 1983).” Twyla refuses to share the room with Roberta, but ultimately end up staying in the room because the owner, Ms. Itkin who Twyla refers to as Big Bozo, would not let her switch. Roberta disregarding everything Twyla said upon entering the room, begins conversation with trying to understand why Twyla is there. This is when their friendship begins to form as Twyla is starting to become more open to Roberta because she believes she understands her. They are both rejected and teased by the other children at St. Bonnys because they were not considered “real orphans”(Morrison 1983). Roberta is the first to go home. Before she leaves the girls are upset they will be splitting up and Roberta promises to write Twyla everyday. Later in life when they run into each other.  Both are in different places in life in regards to social class. Roberta lives what seems to be a lavish, wealthy lifestyle and Twyla not so much. They have a huge falling out over details of their past and how it relates to their future. The racial tension in the world at this time picks away at their friendship leaving Roberta to realize that Twyla never changed since their time at St. Bonny’s. The two eventually meet up again and discuss things over apologizing to each other and attempt to understand their differences.

One of the main themes that was present in this short story was how youth and innocence affected their friendship. I prefaced the theme with a short summary because I think it is important to know the details of their friendship. It was set to fail from the beginning as Twyla immediately didn’t like Roberta based off her race. This was the first impression she made in the story and it was clear this behavior was taught from her mother. However, Roberta having the decency to look past this and get to know Twyla is what began to build their connection. While they were young it was evident they were able to look past race and find more things they had in common rather than their differences. They both were rejected by everyone else, including their own mothers, so they really only had each other. Their friendship casts a shadow on the fact they were taught not to like each other, almost making you forget for a moment that race was a problem at the beginning of the story. As they grow up and lose their innocence, we can also see them start to lose their ability to accept others for their differences. This is seen in regards to both race and social economic class. At the end of the story when Roberta and Twyla are discussing the details of what happened to Maggie, the lunch lady at St. Bonny’s. Roberta explains that she wanted to see Maggie get hurt and thought that she was black. Twyla makes a somewhat  profound comment saying “we were kids (Morrison, 1983).” The timeline of the story suggests that youth and innocence can help hide your prejudice views, but they can and will be exposed at some point.

Sources:

Morrison, Toni. “Recitatif.” 1983, https://osu.instructure.com/courses/106813/files/33418722?module_item_id=6554301