ISSN: 1543-9518|Vol. 24

Age Requirement in Professional Sport

Submitted by: Greg Bianchi

Introduction

Young athletes should be able to turn pro so that they can make money.
This allows them to take care of themselves and their families. In October
2005, 15 year old golfer Michelle Wie turned pro Young basketball players
who have recently made the direct leap from high school to the NBA include
LeBron James, Dwight Howard, Korleone Young, and DeSagana Diop.. These
athletes were all able to take early advantage of their talents. Their
exceptional abilities enabled them to jump from high school directly to
the professional ranks, and to enjoy monetary gains through which they
could better their lives and the lives of their families.

The NFL age requirement bars young football players from turning pro
right after high school. This NFL rule withstood court challenge in 2004.
The NFL and NCAA claim that the NFL age requirement protects young athletes
by shielding them from physical injury and requiring them to mature emotionally
and receive an education before entering the world of professional sports.
In fact, the NFL and NCAA are capitalizing on young athletes’ entertainment
value and turning a profit for three years, without compensating the “performers”.

The higher courts should not treat the NFL age requirement as a valid
eligibility requirement under U.S. labor law. Rather, they should side
with the lower court, which found that this age requirement violates antitrust
law. The NFL and NCAA are the only game in town for young football players.
As the case of Maurice Clarett demonstrates, a football player who is
shut out of the NCAA and NFL is effectively prevented from pursuing a
career as a professional football player. It would be one thing for the
NFL to establish eligibility requirements that really were in the best
interests of young players and the sport of football. However, the current
age requirement exists solely so that two powerful sports organizations,
the NCAA and the NFL may benefit. . The NFL benefits because they have
used the collegiate ranks as a free farm system to develop future prospects
for the league. During this developmental period for the collegiate athlete,
the NCAA capitalizes on marketing the rising stars potential to make it
big in the NFL. Given these financial interests, it appears that the NCAA
and NFL have set age requirements in order to prevent young athletes from
profiting financially from their talents until they have served as an
unpaid source of marketable entertainment source for the NCAA and NFL.

Age requirements in professional football do not benefit young athletes,
nor do they improve the sport itself. They exist solely so that two powerful
and profitable athletic organizations can turn a profit, at the expense
of the athletes, the very individuals the NCAA was established to protect.
NFL age eligibility requirements should be struck down.

The NFL Eligibility Requirements

NFL rule requires a player to either be out of high school for three
years or have finished three college football seasons before joining the
league. (Lupica, M. 2004) The NFL is the only major professional sport
that prohibits the drafting of players who have not completed three college
seasons or who are not three years removed from high school graduation
(Gehring, 2004; Nieporent 2004). The NFL claims that this rule is in the
athlete’s best interest. The NFL argues that this rule protects player’s
physical safety. However, the NFL and the NCAA benefit by capitalizing
on amateur athletes

The NCAA Eligibility Requirements

The NCAA rule book states that once an individual declares themselves
eligible for draft status, they automatically loss loose amateur status
in the particular sport.

Other Sports Eligibility

Before the National Basketball Association collective bargaining agreement
of 2005, the minimum drafting age for the NBA was 18 years old. The LPGA,
NHL and PGA have a waiver option for athletes who are younger than 18,
which enables athletes an opportunity to turn pro before the age of 18
if they fulfill certain requirements. They have a minimum age requirement
of 18 years. Major League Baseball requires athletes to be 16 years of
age to tryout for farm teams. Tennis has been more lenient about teen
players, although they limit the number of events they can enter. FIFA
and the U.S. National Soccer team do not any have specific age requirements
for their athletes. (USA Today 2003)

Who Should Enforce Age Requirements

Organizations have justified why age requirements are necessary in professional
sports. These young athletes gain enormous notoriety due to media portraying
them as superhuman. When negative incidents occur, the media is there
to cover the athletes’ story. The people operating professional
sports assume one way to avert problems is to have age requirements. In
the past, many talented high school athletes made the jump to professional
ranks for monetary gain. Athletes such as Tara Lipinski, Lebron James,
and Oscar de La Hoya possess physical talents that supersede their social
and emotional maturity. (Toronto Star, 2005) One assumption about these
public figures is that they have been given too much, too young. When
problems arise, such as the Kobe Bryant or Mike Tyson rape cases, one
may question their perception of reality. These talented young athletes
have been forced to rely on the recognition gained from their athletic
talents, which leads them to perceive a false sense of reality. It is
also argued that the rapid jump from high school to the professional level
creates athletes that lack self control and who think they are invincible.
The Kobe Bryant rape case or one of the many Mike Tyson cases and accusations
are only a few examples of a young athlete with enormous star potential
that flailed under these false pretenses. The NFL states that having an
age requirement would help to prevent inappropriate situations for promising
young athletes due to lack of social development and maturity.

The government has set standards for minors to be employed only with
written parental consent under the age of 16. Should guidelines be set
by the government to control eligibility requirements for employment in
professional sports? Legislation has already stepped in to regulate drug
testing for steroids in baseball. Legislative control of drugs in baseball
has occurred because the government felt not enough has been done to regulate
steroid use in professional sports. They state that the problem lies with
the organizations controlling the sport professions. (Guthrie, 2004; Talev,
M. 2005)

The Problems with Age Requirements

The focus continues to benefit the organization. Little benefit has been
seen outside the organization. A few athletically gifted players who do
not have the academic abilities required to play in college have less
chances to play professionally. The age requirement would force young
stud athletes to wait a year or two before being drafted or trying out
for a professional team. Another issue with age requirements is the role
of the unethical agent looking to capitalize on the abandoned year of
an unfortunate athlete looking to capitalize on their talents. (Williams,
2001)

Players not able to Cash in on their Talents

The biggest area of concern for the college athlete is the potential
for a career-ending injury occurring before they are able to cash in on
the monetary value of their talents. The possibility of being hurt while
playing in minor leagues or college is of great concern. The athletes
do not make enough money in the minor leagues, and if they have a career
ending injury they may be unable to support themselves and their family
because they have no other training to fall back on. Also, financial compensation
for their injury may not be made available to them. In a collegiate athlete’s
case, no money is paid to financially sustain themselves or their families.
The NCAA continues to ignore the student athletes, who’se careers
areis cut short by injury, barring them from possible professional monetary
gains. (Huma, 2002; Hayden, 2001)

Literature Review

The Labor Law

The National Labor Relations Act of 1935 is the law that governs interstate
commerce. This includes the labor relationships between professional athletes
and teams (Bohlander, G., & Snell, S.2001; Resnick). Section 7 of
the National Labor Relations Act states: “Employees have the right
to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to
bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and
to engage in concerted activities, for the purpose of collective bargaining
or other mutual aid or protection, and shall also have the right to refrain
from any or all such activities except to the extent that such right may
be affected by an agreement requiring membership in labor organization
as a condition of employment.” (Bohlander, G., & Snell, S. 2001;
Resnick 2005)

Child entertainment laws in many of the states throughout the United
States require that the minimum age for minors to have work permits and
letters of release is 16 years of age. Out of 50 states, only four have
labor laws that specifically state that anyone under the age of 18 needs
a work permit. 31 states have laws that regulate minors working for entertainment
purposes, of those, 24 of these states have required an age limit for
minors to possess work permits.

Government Age Standards for Agriculture Employment

The U.S. government has set guidelines for the minimum age standards
for agriculture employment. Children under the age of 12 may work depending
on the prescribed conditions of the harvest. (Child Labor Requirements
1984) Employment is allowed if they are working at their permanent residence
under parental or guardian approval. “Twelve and thirteen year olds
may be employed with a written consent by the parental consent or a farm
where the minor’s parent or person standing in place of the parent
is also employed.” (Child Labor Requirements 1984) Fourteen year
olds seeking employment may be employed if they work around school hours
and are in no agricultural hazard declared by the Secretary of Labor.
(Child Labor Requirements 1984; Siddiqi, Faraaz; Patrinos, H.A.1997) Sixteen
years of age is the minimum age requirement for agricultural employment.
Sixteen year olds may work around school hours unless employed by their
parent or person standing in as their parent. (Child Labor Requirements
1984) The minor may work in any agricultural hazardous condition declared
by the Secretary of Labor. (Siddiqi, Faraaz; Patrinos, H.A.1997)

Written law by the Secretary of Labor enables minors to perform manual
labor for wages. These laws set guidelines that allow minors to be employed
and perform physical labor for pay. Laws are set according to age for
minors to perform physical labor for pay. Professional sports are just
as physically demanding as manual labor, yet young athletes, unlike young
laborers the same age are not able to capitalize on their work. A talented
15 year old that plays golf well may not play professionally because of
the organizational standards. These same minors are unable to capitalize
on their athletic abilities despite the fact that it is within the confine
of the law. Corporate institutions have the ability to control and direct
minors through stages that allow minors to develop into professional athletes.
For example, the NFL uses the NCAA system to determine who is best qualified
for the professional ranks. The NCAA is the organization that sets rules
and restrictions of what athletes can and cannot do. (Huma, 2002)

Definition of Professional Sports

The difference between amateur and professional athletes is that professional
athletes receive payment for their employment, where amateurs do not.
(Bohlander, G., & Snell, S. 2001) The system of professional sports
is a high performance work system. Athletes are placed in unique performance
systems that hone their skills, which enable them to achieve higher playing
levels. As athletes hone their skill and continue performing at a high
level, the organization builds their business from the success gained
by their sports teams.

The NCAA

The NCAA is a governing body that oversees amateur athletic participation
in its member colleges and universities. Its original purpose was to maintain
educational integrity for athletes and to protect their interests regarding
injuries from sport. Others I have thought it was originally formed to
regulate safety in college football. Several players were being killed
and there was a movement to ban the sports. Theodore Roosevelt, having
had football players on his team of “Rough Riders” during
the Spanish-American War, wanted to save the game so he called for formation
of the NCAA. (Hawes, K. (1999) Student athletes generate billions of dollars
for the universities and the NCAA year after year. Yet these same athletes
are left without the financial gains accumulated by the universities and
the NCAA. Athletes that participate in division I university athletics
are compensated with an athletic scholarship. The problem is that athletic
scholarships do not cover the full cost of going to school, thus leaving
the student athletes looking for employment while participating in sports
and going to school fulltime (Huma, 2002) Scholarship athletes are only
allowed to make limited amounts of money while participating in collegiate
sports.

The NCAA reaffirms the universities contention that collegiate athletes
remain as amateur athletes. Both the NCAA and the universities maintain
the stance that student athletes are not employees of the universities
or the NCAA. The NCAA and the universities contend that an education is
something that is invaluable; therefore, they are receiving worthy compensation
for participation in athletics. The NCAA argues that scholarships provide
athletes with a “free education” which is an invaluable payment
for their services. While no one can deny the value of an education, this
frees the NCAA and universities from paying a wage or salary (Sage 1998)

The athletic scholarship is a work contract that claims the rights of
ownership of the athletes for the university. The school (coach) owns
the athletes. (Sage 1998) Universities and the NCAA contend that they
conduct their business separately from student athletes, despite the working
relationships contracted between the student athletes and the universities.
Universities claim their business is to provide an academic education
to the students. The business of athletics is not essential to their purpose
of providing an education. (Huma, 2002; Hayden 2001) Within the past 15
years, the NCAA business decisions stray from their original purpose to
benefit student athletes. Former NCAA executive director Walter Byers
states that intercollegiate athletics is similar to the values of modern
corporations or professional sports than the basic values of amateurism.
(Sage, G.H.1998)

The NCAA original concept was to protect student athletes from injuries
stemming from football and other sports (Huma, 2002) The NCAA created
coaching clinics that informed coaches how to protect the athletes. Currently,
the NCAA does not have safety guidelines for practices to be correctly
administered to prevent injuries or death. (Huma, 2002; Hayden 2001) The
other problem is that NCAA does not provide workers compensation for athletes
who are injured while participating in athletics for universities. Coaches
have designated practices that are termed voluntary, but it is known that
lack of participation will result in the sacrifice of the student-athlete.(Huma,
2002) The NCAA continues to abandon athletes who are injured in so called
‘voluntary’ practices. (Huma, 2002; Hayden 2001) In order
for a student-athlete to qualify for workers’ compensation, they must
meet two requirements: (1) the student-athlete must be covered and (2)
the student-athlete must have been acting within the scope of his/her
employment when he/she was injured or killed. (Huma, 2002; Hayden, C.
2001) Courts have been at odds dealing with the employer/employee relationships
between the universities and student athletes. Courts have received criticism
for not taking a definitive stand regarding the employer/employee relationship
between the university and the student athletes. Previous court decisions
relating to monetary compensations for athletes whom have sustained career
ending injuries have not dealt with this problem. (Hayden 2001) If an
athlete were fatally injured, the NCAA does compensate the athlete’s
family with a $10,000 award. Courts refused to define the role of the
student athlete and their financial importance to the universities and
the NCAA. Universities and the NCAA continue to exploit collegiate athletes
for their financial benefit. Huma states that collegiate athletes only
receive a partial ‘full scholarship’, with the inability to
earn money from other employment, and no work compensation if severely
or fatally injured. This puts the athletes at great risk. Some of these
talented athletes risk a chance of generating millions of dollars for
themselves.

Unfair Labor Practices

U.S. Congress has defined 5 unfair labor practices, three of which solely
relate to professional sports.

  • The first unfair labor practice stated is interfering with, restraining,
    or coercing employees in the exercise of their rights guaranteed. One
    example of this is the voluntary practices made mandatory by restricting
    and threatening of the athletes’ position loss.
  • The second example is dominating or interfering with the formation
    or administrating of any labor organization, or contributing financial
    or other support to it. NCAA does not solely support the athletes participating
    in collegiate athletics. The NCAA has restrictions that prohibit athletes
    to work to support themselves and their families that would better their
    situation. (Huma, 2002)
  • The third example deals with discriminating in regard to hiring or
    tenure of employment or any term or condition of employment so as to
    encourage or discourage membership in any labor organization. The NBA
    setting a minimum age requirement within the collective bargaining agreement
    that basically prohibits young athletes from making the jump from high
    school to the professional arena.

The Ideal Professional Organization

Nieporent states that the National Football League recognizes their position
as a ‘profession.’ Therefore they have the ability to establish
the minimum age requirements for participation in the profession. The
NFL is one single business entity, creating one product: its season (Nieporent
2004). A pro sports league is a single business entity with multiple divisions.
The NFL is a league with a business entity of 32 divisions. All 32 divisions
have a shared interest in keeping product quality high. Because they have
a vested interest in the NFL, teams equally share television revenues,
their main source of income (Nieporent 2004). The NFL’s ruling on
the athletes being three years removed from high school is in the best
interests of the NFL, not the player. The NFL season is filled with quality
players through collegiate football. The NFL has induced their standard
of development through the collegiate system. Compared to all the other
professional sports, the NFL is the superior organization because of its
capability to externalize the source (collegiate athletes) to best benefit
their product (season) for the good of their organization.

In Summary

In 1925, Red Grange left college early to capitalize on his talents by
accepting a $50,000 salary offered by the Chicago Bears. Because Red Grange
left college early, the profit margin for the university and the NCAA
were negatively impacted. The NFL responded by establishing a professional
eligibility rule that prohibits athletes leaving college early. This rule
originally prohibited athletes from entering the NFL draft for four years,
but in 1990, this rule changed to three years (McCormick, Robert A., McKinnon,
and Matthew C.1984). This rule benefits the NFL by forcing athletes to
spend more time developing their skills to become more complete players.
The NCAA followed the NFL age requirement rule by stating that once an
athlete declares himself eligible for professional sport, he is no longer
eligible to participate in collegiate sports.

Maurice Clarett made headlines two years ago when he declared himself
eligible for the NFL draft. His declaration challenged the NFL rule that
stated an athlete had to be three years removed from graduating high school
to become eligible for the draft. Clarett only participated in one year
of collegiate football. This bylaw prohibits Maurice Clarett from capitalizing
on his talents in professional sport. The NCAA reaffirms NFL guidelines
in their bylaws by enforcing their rule that states once a player declares
himself eligible for the NFL draft, he may no longer play collegiate football.
Therefore, by Clarett declaring himself eligible for the NFL draft, he
became ineligible by both organizations. Maurice Clarett, NCAA, lawyers,
and the NFL viewed his talent as a huge commodity. Clarett’s desire
was to capitalize on his talents as soon as possible. Clarett filed and
won the suit based on the NFL being in violation of antitrust laws. The
Clarett attorneys argued that when Maurice Clarett wanted out of college
football, “the current rule perpetuated a ‘system’ whereby
college football serves as an efficient and free farm system for the NFL
by preventing potential players from selling their services to the NFL”(Gehring,
2004). The courts ruled in favor of Clarett stating that the “rule
must be sacked” due to violations of antitrust laws (Gehring, 2004).
The argument also raised questions about unfair labor laws. The first
unfair labor practice stated is interfering with, restraining, or coercing
employees in the exercise of their rights guaranteed.

The Court of Appeals reversed the lower courts’ decision, forcing
Clarett to sit out of football and preventing him from enhancing his skills
and talents. The NFL stated that the rule was part of the league’s collective
bargaining agreement with the players’ union. Section 7 of the unfair
labor practice exemplify refusal to bargain collectively with the duly
chosen representative of employees. Therefore, if this individual is to
be let into the league, then he would have to comply with the rules of
the collective bargaining agreement. To the NFL, this statement meant
that Maurice Clarett must accept and comply with the rules agreed upon
in the previous collective bargaining agreement. The reason for the age
requirement rule in the NFL bylaws is to allow athletes time to develop
and mature physically to take on the daily rigors of being a professional
football player. They did not want to have immature players drafted into
the league who might become a liability, athletically or personally.

This year, after sitting out two years from college football, he became
eligible for the NFL draft. Once he was free from both the NCAA and NFL,
he was unable to perform to expected levels of professional football,
which led to his release from the Denver Broncos.

Clarett’s case demonstrates the problem with athletes taking it
upon themselves to capitalize on their talents through professional sport.
The NCAA and the NFL have manipulated the football market in a manner
that prevents talented young athletes from entering the NFL. The NFL is
the only major professional sport to prohibit the drafting of players
who have not completed three college seasons or who are not three years
removed from high school graduation. (Gehring, 2004; Nieporent 2004) The
NFL claims that this rule is in the athlete’s best interest. However,
it was clearly not in the best interest of Maurice Clarett, who was forced
to sit out for two years after dominating the collegiate ranks. Clarett’s
objective was to capitalize on his intangibles on his terms, not those
of the NFL or NCAA. These two dominant institutions use their powerful
influence to manipulate their infrastructure in ways that best benefit
their organizations. Courts continue to ignore the fact that these athletes
are being exploited. They refuse to establish the working relationship
between the collegiate athlete and the university. Athletes continue to
produce high quality entertainment that universities and the NCAA capitalize
on without compensating the entertainers. Institutionalized needs are
based on the hegemonic order of the consumer society. (Worth and Kuhling,
2004). This is the reason the NFL has set itself up to be the ideal professional
system from an organizational standpoint. They have benefited most from
players being developed at the collegiate level.

The Trend Towards Age requirements in Professional Sport

Other professional sports organizations are beginning to adopt age requirements
for athletes. The movement towards age requirements in professional sports
is seen in the NBA. Recently, the National Basketball Association and
the NBA Players Association concluded their collective bargaining agreement.
One important issue dealt with the minimum age required to be eligible
to play in the NBA. The agreement requires that players entering the league
must be a minimum of 19 years to play professional basketball. This is
a one year increase in age to be eligible for NBA draft. One argument
for this change in eligibility is that the increase of high school athletes
entering the NBA draft need time to develop and mature while aiming for
a professional career. The argument against the agreement states that
the NBA is in search of building a relationship of a free developmental
farm system for professional basketball, similar to the relationship the
NFL and the NCAA..This would become a developmental system for the young
athletes to hone their skill and mature into professional athletes. (Brewer
2004). David Stern, commissioner of the NBA, understands that teenagers
are a part of the NBA. (Brewer 2004). Upward of 10 high school players
may enter the NBA Draft this summer. (Brewer 2004). Various opponents
view the NBA farm system as a financial gain for David Stern and a blow
to the economically deprived individuals who view sport as a way to improve
themselves. (Price, 2005) The NBA is vying for the most direct and secure
path to the NBA to best benefit the NBA.

Opportunities for the Young Professional

Opportunities for professional athletes at such a young age have been
possible with great success. Social stratification shown throughout the
world by globalization encourages people from underdeveloped countries
to aim for the American dream. One dominant mainstream American dream
is playing professional sports.

These candidates may have bright futures as NBA All-Stars. (Brewer 2004).
“The NBA is better at developing talent, teenage talent or any other
kind, than the colleges”. (Brewer 2004). Foreign leagues such as
NFL Europe, Euro league Basketball, and NBA Europe are becoming an alternative
route for athletes to get to the pros. Some athletes, who might not have
the academic capabilities to succeed in college but have the talent to
play professionally, are seeking these other alternatives as ways to collect
on their talents. These new leagues are slowly developing into talent
pools for professional teams to recruit new athletes for their specific
need. It makes good business sense for professional organizations to seek
out players who are more mature and have honed their skill. Teams may
pick up a player inexpensively in these world leagues that fulfills a
specific job on the team for a season. The organization does not have
to take the time to develop an individual or spend the necessary money
to ‘build the future.’

Conclusion

No One Argues the Benefits of Going to College

Players get the experience of growing as an amateur athlete being in
college. College expands education and enhances both social and public
relations skills, even if the athlete is in college for only a year or
two. Time spent in college will mature the athlete, enabling them to be
more prepared when they enter the NBA and even more importantly, when
their NBA careers are over. Knowledge gained from their collegiate experience
is important in the development of a teen becoming a responsible young
adult. The social and educational development may only be experienced
while in college. The athletic development is an area that is going to
develop regardless of the institution or coaching. However, when the collegiate
athlete has the opportunity to play in the NBA, the collegiate athlete
is older and more mature. The time spent in college allows athletes to
develop into a more complete player. The NBA as well as the NFL has used
the college ranks as the minor leagues for development of their players.
The athletes will learn and understand their position as an amateur athlete
while attending college. The professional league views that mature, established
veterans would have a more prosperous and robust career.

Sage states that big time Division One athletics goal is about capital
accumulation. Universities promote images of healthy, admirable, amateur
athletes, in the non-profit setting, but the underlying intentions of
universities is to organize athletics based strictly on marketing principals.
(Sage, 1998). Universities are non-profit organizations, which enable
them to continue to put monies gained back into athletic departments,
which in turn produce larger more attractive venues to produce a better
product. The dominant powerful influence will only increase with more
time because these institutions continue to grow. An age requirement in
professional sports enables these institutions to maintain a high level
of entertainment. Age requirements are good for collegiate sports. Sport
programs claim educational benefits between sport and the university because
of the money generated from contracts with advertisers, sponsorships,
and sporting apparel. Collegiate sports is big time business, therefore,
the trend to enforce age requirements in professional sports will continue
to be enforced. Sports are big business.

References

Brewer, Kevin (2004). Stern ready to agree on a minor concession. The
Washington Times

Bohlander, G., & Snell, S. (2001). Managing human resources. (13th
Ed.) South-Western

Child Labor Requirements in Agriculture under the Fair Labor Standards
Act (Child Labor Bulletin No. 102) (1984). U.S. Department of Labor Employment
Standards Administration Wage and Hour Division. WH Publication 1295 www.dol.gov/esa

Farrell, Perry A. (2005) Free press sports: NBA, players reach a deal;
Lockout avoided; minimum age for players rose to 19. June 22. Detroit
Free Press

Jasner, Phil (2005). Dawkins has no regrets in going pro after high school.
Philadelphia Daily News, Philadelphia Daily News, the (PA), Jun 06, 2005

Killion, Ann (2005). NBA makes a deal _ are you listening, NHL? San Jose
Mercury News (CA), Jun 21, 2005

Garrett, Leonard; McBrearty, Joe (2003) Lakeland, Tenn. (c) USA TODAY,
2003

Gehring, John (2004) Education Week, American Education’s Newspaper of
Record. Editorial Projects in Education, v. 23, 23, p 3.

Guthrie, Julian (2004) Congress Demands Action on Steroids Lawmakers
take a hard line with players and officials; Senator John McCain: They
Can’t Be Trusted
Congress may need to set baseball’s drug-test rules. San Francisco Chronicle

Hawes, K. (1999) History of the NCAA: The NCAA century series. The NCAA
News.

Lupica, M. (2004, February, 6) Judge’s flag is overdue. New York Daily
News

McCormick, Robert A., McKinnon, Matthew C.(1984) Professional Football’s
Draft Eligibility Rule: The Labor Exemption and the Antitrust Laws, 33
Emory L. J. 375, 377 & n. 12 (tracing the origin of the Rule to 1925).

National Collegiate Athletic Association (2005) Legislation and Governance
http://www2.ncaa.org/legislation_and_governance/

N.A (2003). NBA age requirement wouldn’t hurt teen athletes USA Today
Academic Search Premier SFX Sports President and CEO Arn Tellem’s recent
commentary in USA TODAY

Nieporent, David (2004, February 9) Easterhuh? Jumping to conclusions.
http://oobleck.com/tollbooth/archives/2004_02.html

Price, Dwain (2005) NBA needs a true minor league system, not a minimum
age requirement Fort Worth Star Telegram

Resnick, Bernard. (2005) Labor relations in professional sport. Published
Writings

Sage, G.H. (1998) Power and ideology in American sport. Human Kinetics
(2)

Siddiqi, Faraaz; Patrinos, Harry Anthony (1997) Child labor: issues,
causes and interventions.

Talev, Margaret (2005) Baseball under a Shadow; Steroid hearings send
sport a message: Clean up your act. Washington Bureau of the Sacramento
Bee

Planet, Too good, too young. (2005, March). Toronto Star (Canada), pg.15

Williams, Armstrong (2001) Basketball’s new breed. Tribune Media Services
townhall.com

2015-03-27T11:31:26-05:00March 3rd, 2006|Contemporary Sports Issues, Sports Management|Comments Off on Age Requirement in Professional Sport
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The Effect of Gender Opportunity in Sports on the Priorities and Aspirations of Young Athletes

Submitted by: Dr. Kelly E. Flanagan & The United States Sports Academy Undergraduate Research Team: Claudette I. Baker, Melissa Fortin & Derrick V. Tinsley

Abstract

The role and importance of athletics in the lives of today’s
male and female youth is analyzed in responses to a survey co-authored
by a professor and conducted by two undergraduate students at the United
States Sports Academy. Athletes at the middle school, high school and
junior college level were asked to rate the importance of sports in their
lives and the likelihood of advancement in athletics as well as careers
in sports. The two survey researchers, their professor and a third undergraduate
analyzed the results of the survey and how they reflect of the current
status of males and females in athletics today. The authors concluded
that female athletes have a different set of priorities regarding sports
because of the difference in athletic opportunities afforded them.

Introduction

The differences in opportunities and recognition in sports between male
and females have been well documented. Opportunities for female athletes
have increased in certain areas in the past 30 years, but females continue
to lag far behind their male counterparts.

The researchers in this project set out to find how that situation affects
the values and opinions of young athletes at the middle school, high school
and junior college level. How important are sports in their lives? What
is the likelihood they will play sports at a higher level? What is the
likelihood they will pursue a career in sports, either as a professional
athlete, coach or administrator?

The hypothesis is that the differences in opportunities and publicity
in sports for males vs. females would result in different answers between
the male and female athletes.

Background

The progress made in athletics for women and girls since the Civil Rights
act of 1964 was amended with Title IX in 1972 has been well documented.

Title IX was aimed at outlawing discrimination in schools that received
federal assistance. When opportunities for females in sports began to
be interpreted as “discrimination” and government-backed college
loans and grants began to be interpreted as “federal assistance,”
the expanded scope of the legislation allowed opportunities for females
in athletics to increase dramatically. The recognition of female athletes
resulting from increased opportunities parlayed into a larger place in
the professional sports market place as three professional women’s
basketball leagues, two pro softball leagues and a professional women’s
soccer league have existed since the passing of Title IX.

“When I was growing up, the only women you saw in professional
sports were in tennis and golf,” said Ann Meyers-Drysdale, ESPN
analyst who played in the first women’s professional basketball
league and was the first woman to try out for a team in the National Basketball
Association. “Those are sports not very many people can afford to
play, especially if you are in a family with 11 children (ussa.edu).”

The number of collegiate and professional opportunities in sports has
increased for females, as well as participation (NCWGE, 2002). While such
opportunities have increased, the differences between males and female
opportunities in the sports are still apparent. Of the aforementioned
professional leagues, only two continue operations today while the others
lasted less than five years each.

Recognition in the media has also increased, as ESPN televised all games
in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament for the first time in
2003. However, male sports figures still are far more prevalent in the
media. Television commercials with male athletes endorsing products overwhelmingly
outnumber those with female athletic endorsements. Seventy to 90 percent
of the articles in Sports Illustrated are about male athletes (Eitzen
and Sage, 2003).

An NCAA survey of Division One universities in 1992 revealed that men’s’
programs received 70 percent of all athletic scholarship funds, 83 percent
of the recruiting funds and 77 percent of the operating budgets (Eitzen
and Sage, 2003).

Women are underrepresented at all levels of sports, including coaching
and administration opportunities, which have proportionately decreased
since the passage of Title IX. In 1972, coaches in female sports were
about 90 percent women. By 1998, that percentage dropped to 58 percent,
44 percent in 2002. Only 18 percent of those programs were administered
by women (Coakley, 2004).

These facts are reviewed along with the results of the survey, to see
if there is a reflection of the gender climate in sports in the athletes’
answers.

Process

Two undergraduate students and their professor composed a survey that
asked the respondents to rate the values of sports and certain aspects
there of on a scale of 1-5, with “5” meaning “very important”
and “1” meaning “not at all important.” They were
also asked to use a 1-5 scale to rate the likelihood of having a future
in sports at various levels of college or careers in sports as a professional
athlete, coach, official or in an administrative function. A score of
“5” meant “very likely” and “1” meant
“not at all likely.”

The specific questions are in Figure 1. The hypothesis was that female
athletes were more likely to give accomplishments in sports a lower priority
in their lives and to have lower expectations about their futures in sports.
The researchers also believed that because the quantity and depth of athletic
opportunities for males exceeds that for females, female respondents would
give athletics a lower priority in their lives and have lower expectations
of their future in sports.

Figure 1: Survey Content
Figure 1

One student surveyed 16 girls and 18 boys who participate in sports at
Central Baldwin Middle School in Robertsdale, Ala. Another surveyed 17
girls and 13 boys who participate in sports at Murphy High School in Mobile,
Ala. The same student surveyed 15 women and 14 men who participate in
athletics at Bishop State Community College, also in Mobile.
After the results were computed, the professor, the two students and one
additional student analyzed the results and the gathered facts about opportunities
for females in sports to see if there was a difference in the responses
between males and females that could be attributed to the current sport
climate.

Results

Because opportunities in sports at a higher level are more prevalent
for males than for females, it was believed that the more serious aspects
of sports, — such as competition, scholarship potential and challenges
— would be more important to the male athletes than the female and the
more social aspects — experience, building friendships, fun and physical
fitness — would score higher on the female responses.

The friendship hypothesis held true on all three surveys. Among middle
school athletes, the average score of importance on “building friendships”
was 4.38 for girls and 4.17 for boys, although a comparable number (nine
girls and eight boys) gave that aspect a “5” score. The high
school girls gave friendships an average rating of 4.41, compared to 4.15
for the boys, and the number of respondents rating it a “5”
was 10 girls and seven boys. Community college athletes overall gave friendships
less weight, with the women averaging a 4.0 response and the men 3.36.
Only six women and two men rated friendship a “5.” Females
at the middle school and community college level gave physical fitness
a higher average score than males (4.75 to 4.61 middle school, 4.73 to
4.21 community college), but the high school boys gave it more importance
than the high school girls (4.69 to 4.47). However, 12 high school girls
and 10 high school boys gave physical fitness a “5.” The “experience”
answer was close in the middle school group (4.38 girls and 4.33 boys
with eight each rating it a “5”), but was clearly favored
by the boys in high school (4.54 to 4.24) and women in community college
(4.2 to 4.0). “Fun” produced mixed results, with girls giving
it a higher score than boys at the middle school level, just the opposite
in high school and about even in community college.

Scholarship potential rated a higher importance among boys than girls
in the high school (4.62 to 4.0) level but it is just the opposite in
middle school (4.38 girls, 4.17 boys). In community college, where some
already have scholarships but may aspire to transfer and play at a four-year
institution, the results were about even (4.6 women, 4.57 men). The scores
were about even between male and female athletes at the high school and
community college level in the area of “challenge,” but it
ranked higher in importance for middle school boys (4.44) than girls (4.19).
Competition was also an even factor between males and females at the high
school and community college level, but higher among middle school boys
(4.56) than girls (4.38).

The students were asked “How important in your daily time are the
following activities?” with the choices being socializing with friends,
time with family, practicing sports and time with boyfriend/girlfriend.
Practicing sports was the number one answer among middle school boys (4.61)
and high school boys (4.46) but number two for community college men (3.57)
who gave studying the highest average score (3.79). Six of the 14 respondents
gave studying a “5.” Middle school girls and community college
women made “time with family” their top answer (4.5, 4.6),
while high school girls found studying (4.41) most important. In all cases,
female athletes gave “studying” a higher score than the male
athletes.

The students were asked “How important are the following accomplishments
to you?” with the choices being winning sports, personal accomplishments
in sports and “good grades.” The results were often mixed
when it came to male vs. female athletes at different levels, but the
female athletes tended to be more serious about their studies as they
approached the higher levels. Middle school girls gave “good grades”
an average score of 3.44 with more than half giving it a “3”
or lower, while high school girls scored it 4.82 and community college
women 4.93.

The importance of sports in young athletes’ lives can also be indicated
by the sources of influence in decisions regarding athletic participation.
The athletes were asked “Whose influence is important to you in
your decisions about sports?” with the options being parents, siblings,
coaches, or teammates and friends. High school and middle school boys
were most influenced by their teammates and friends while coaching influence
was more important to the girls in high school and middle school (with
parents and coaches rating a 4.63 for middle school girls). Parents were
the biggest athletic influence among both men and women in the community
college sample.

The athletes were asked to rate the likelihood they would be accomplishing
each of the following: play sports National Association of Intercollegiate
Athletics (NAIA) or at a small National Collegiate Athletic Association
(NCAA) institution, play sports at a Division One NCAA college or university,
play professional sports and have a career in sports (coaching, administrative,
officiating, etc.) In each category at each level, the male athletes gave
themselves a higher likelihood score than the female athletes. The middle
school boys gave a 4.22 to the likelihood they would have a career in
sports and/or play sports professionally. The lowest average scores in
likelihood of a career in sports were entered by the female athletes (3.13
middle school, 2.47 high school and 3.07 community college).

Conclusion

One of the most telling results of this survey as it reflects the situation
of women in sports is the fact that female athlete at all levels gave
extremely low scores among the likelihood they would pursue a career in
sports, which could be a result of the declining number of women in coaching
and administrative positions in female athletics.

The lack of exposure and opportunities for women’s professional
sports is evident when it is noted that male athletes consistently gave
themselves higher scores than female athletes when assessing the likelihood
of playing professional sports.

Perhaps this also gives the female athletes a more balanced perspective.
While the likelihood scores on professional sports and careers in sports
were consistently low for females, the likelihood score declines in the
male athletes as they reach a higher level: 4.22 in middle school, 4.08
in high school and 3.0 in college. While middle school and community college
students gave high priority to study time and time with family at the
high school and community college levels, it did not become a top priority
for male athletes except in the community college survey.

These results call for future studies with more detailed questions and
larger, more regionally heterogeneous populations. The question to be
answered from future studies is whether the current gender climate in
sports only discourages female athletes from taking their sport accomplishments
to a high level or merely balances their priorities at an early age.

References

Coakley, Jay J. (2004). Sport in Society: Contemporary Issues. 8th edition.
New York,
N.Y. McGraw-Hill.

Eitzen, D. Stanley and George H. Sage (2003). Sociology of North American
Sport, 7th
edition, New York, N.Y. McGraw-Hill.

National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education (August 2002). Title
IX Athletic
Policies: Issues and Data for Education Decision Makers. Washington, D.C.

United States Sports Academy, Women’s Basketball Pioneer Earns
USSA Media Award,
retrieved March 28, 2006 from http://www.ussa.edu/news/2006/01/13/drysdale.asp

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Hazing in Sports: The Effects and Legal Ramifications

Submitted by: Alyson R. Peluso

All across the United States each year many individuals make the conscious
decision to try out for interscholastic athletic teams in the hopes of
being part of something great. These individuals also understand that
prior to the last cut; they will need to sacrifice time, energy and social
gatherings to make the team successful. However, what many of these individuals
do not recognize and understand is that try-outs don’t always end
when the last cut is made and the final team list is posted. In recent
years, an old, but very much alive problem has begun to resurface in sports,
and that is the issue of humiliating and victimizing rookie athletes through
hazing rituals. These horrible acts leave victims debilitated in many
capacities, and such practices break down the institution of sport which
has been noted for building such positive character qualities as strength,
discipline, and a strong work ethic.

Purpose

With that being said, the purpose of this paper is to identify, discuss,
and analyze how hazing rituals among athletes affect athletics at both
the high school and collegiate level. Using current research and statistical
information, I will attempt to explain how hazing affects both athletes
and the culture of the institution at hand. More specifically the following
topics will be addressed: what is hazing; types of hazing that exist;
when, where, and how does hazing occur; the legal ramifications of hazing;
problems presented for the victim; and lastly, the barriers that exist
to hazing.

Thesis

In what capacity does hazing play a role in athletics at both the high
school and collegiate level within a program? And, to what degree does
it affect the sport culture within the institution at hand? Both of these
questions deserve further investigation and understanding so that those
who work to maintain the integrity of sport can continue to do so.

Review of Literature

Hazing

What is hazing? To begin, because hazing is such a broad term
covering a variety of situations it is easily noted that an assortment
of definitions exist. However, for that same reason it is important that
one look to a definition that covers a variety of situations on a variety
of levels. With that being said, Mothers Against School Hazing (2005),
also known as MASH, has done a great deal of research to develop a definition
that attempts to cover all areas of hazing. According to MASH (2005),

…hazing is a broad term encompassing any action or activity which
does not

contribute to the positive development of a person; which inflicts or
intends to

cause physical or mental harm or anxieties; which may demean, degrade
or

disgrace any person regardless of location, intent or consent of participants…any

action or situation which intentionally or unintentionally endangers
a student for

admission into or affiliation with any student organization.

Although this definition does an excellent job at defining the acts that
constitute hazing, the problem lies in the fact that many believe that
initiation and hazing are two separate things, and that initiation is
okay even though in many situations it constitutes hazing.

Difference between initiation and hazing. While it may be true
that not all initiation involves hazing, all hazing is done as an initiation;
and because of this there is no real difference between the two terms.
According to the Webster’s Dictionary (1995) initiation is, “to
admit as a member into a fraternity or club, etc., esp. with a special
or secret ceremony.” Although basic in its definition, initiation
aims to accomplish the same thing as hazing does, admit a member into
a group. Unfortunately, the problem with this definition is that it limits
itself by omitting the fact that it does not say that the ceremonies are
good, nor are they bad. It is in that fact that many who agree with hazing
find their loophole. Those who choose to support that hazing is right
of passage because it falls under an incomplete definition of initiation
are allowing for inappropriate and violent acts to continue at staggering
numbers.

How often does hazing occur? With that being said, how often
do such acts of deviance occur? It would be nice to say that such behaviors
are few and far between, but unfortunately that is not the case. In research
conducted by Alfred University, acts of hazing were seen in high numbers
from the middle school level through the collegiate level (Bushweller,
2000). According to this research, eight out of ten athletes had been
subjected to hazing during college; more than four out of every ten athletes
had been subjected to some form of hazing during high school; and lastly,
at least one out every twenty athletes faced acts of hazing during their
middle school years. These numbers are staggering, but what is more staggering
is the fact that these numbers may not be the true depiction of how many
athletes are actually hazed. Many fail to report incidents of hazing because
of embarrassment, possible repercussions following a report, and feelings
of guilt that the incident was their fault. Therefore, it is very difficult
to understand why so many acts occur. However, through more detailed research
we may be able to get a better understanding why this behavior continues
at such high numbers by evaluating the characteristics and cultures that
perpetuate acts of hazing.

Characteristics of people who haze. In order to understand where
we are now with hazing it is important to understand where such behaviors
began. It would be nice to say that this is a new problem that needs to
be fixed, but unfortunately hazing is a problem that has been able to
endure centuries of time. Beginning in fourth century Carthage, it was
noted that students taunted and bullied incoming freshman as an initiation
into the ancient learning environments. And, later in the Middle Ages,
it was recorded that first year students at universities were forced to
drink urine and endure skin scrapings as the initiation into university
(Rosellini, 2000). So where are we today and are there characteristics
specific to those who initiate hazing rituals?

According to current research, hazing practices of today do not vary
much from the past and nor do the reasons why individuals haze. Often
times it can be theorized that the hazer will have an aggressive disposition,
struggles with power relationships and uses violence as an outlet (Nestor,
2000). In addition to this, a person who is involved in hazing other individuals
will often times lack self-esteem, is searching for meaning in their own
life, and lastly is seeking retaliation on someone else for their own
displaced emotions of hazing incidents that they may have had to endure
(Nestor, 2000).

Even though it is unclear why people may haze, it is very clear according
to research that the problem is getting worse. Whether hazing occurs because
of character traits or the surrounding cultures, hazing has been able
to reach grotesque levels and because of this, three types of hazing categories
have been identified.

Types of Hazing

Types of hazing. Since a variety of hazing rituals have been
recorded it is essential that such acts be categorized based on the severity
of the incident. According to research (MASH, 2005) three categories exist
to identify and define the different levels of hazing. The three categories
are, starting with the least debilitating: subtle hazing, harassment hazing,
and bodily harm hazing. However, to fully understand what each of these
categories represent we must look at each of them individually.

To begin, let’s first examine subtle hazing. According to MASH
(2005) subtle hazing is,

…actions that are against accepted and organization standards
of conduct,

behavior and good taste. An activity or attitude directed toward a student
or an act which ridicules, humiliates, and/or embarrasses.

When an individual is forced to endure subtle hazing, he or she is enduring
the least debilitating form of hazing. However, although the examples
found under this umbrella may seem childish, the emotional effects on
the victim can be very costly. Some examples of subtle hazing may include
and are not limited to, ostracizing an individual from the group, calling
an individual names and/or depriving an individual certain privileges.
Although this may seem insignificant, forcing an individual to endure
these behaviors or situations does, in fact, constitute hazing.

Next, is harassment hazing. Again, according to MASH (2005), harassment
hazing,

…is anything that causes anguish or physical discomfort to a student…any
activity or activity directed toward a student or activity which confuses,
frustrates or causes undue stress.

In the realms of hazing this is the midway point between non-aggressive
and aggressive forms of exploitation of individuals. In harassment hazing
the victim may be forced to endure verbal abuse, they may have to wear
ridiculous clothing, do stunts or skits of lewd and crude nature, and/or
answer questions while in a sexual stance with another individual. All
of these acts may result in emotional distress for the victim; they may
constitute sexual harassment if charges were to be filed. All in all,
this form of harassment can be very debilitating.

Lastly, is bodily harm hazing which is the most offensive of the three
categories of hazing. Bodily harm hazing is defined as,

…any form of action that may cause physical punishment, or any
action that may cause bodily harm and/or touching in private places and/or
de-clothing of a student (2005).

When an individual is forced to take part in a hazing ritual that uses
this form of harassment he or she may be subjected to such rituals as,
being hit/punched/kicked with or without an object, performing or pretending
to perform a sexual act towards another, being sodomized, or drinking
until they vomit or pass out. Of the three categories of hazing this category
is the most severe. Many of the rituals found in this category constitute
criminal acts which will hold up in court if the evidence is available.

The three categories of hazing leave no room for someone to say that
they are at all acceptable. No matter what category one examines, the
definition clearly shows that one individual is subordinate to another.
And, whether it is a male or female who initiates these rituals the reality
of the situation is that these rituals are wrong and hazing knows no gender.

Hazing: A male or female issue? As mentioned earlier hazing
knows no gender. Unfortunately many would like to believe that such barbaric
acts could not be committed by females, but the truth of the matter is
that hazing is seen with both males and females. According to research
done by Alfred University (1999), when looking at the variety of hazing
incidents that are conducted, women usually lag behind the men with the
same situation by about five to eight percentage points on the average.
For example, when examining acts that fall under harassment hazing the
amount of men involved constituted 68% while women involved amounted to
63%. This is proof that hazing is not a gender issue, but that it is an
issue that must be examined more closely as a sport issue on the whole.

Since we are able to conclude based on the research data that this is
a sport issue, we must further examine when and where such incidents are
able to occur.

Hazing in the Media

High school hazing. As we have noted throughout the paper,
hazing is not an issue to be taken lightly. It knows no boundaries as
to when and where it will happen and it is not gender sensitive. And,
for those reasons in recent years more and more headlines have surfaced
about hazing situations within academic institutions. So in order to fully
understand the dynamics of how much of an impact hazing has had on high
school athletics and individuals we must examine a few examples.

First, one of the most notable cases took place on Long Island, New York
at Mepham High School. This case involved the boy’s varsity and
junior varsity football teams where the defendants engaged in a category
three hazing incident, bodily harm hazing. In this situation three varsity
football players were charged with sodomizing three younger J.V. players
(Weir, 2003). The three boys who led the hazing attacks were later charged
as minors on counts of aggravated assault and involuntary deviate sexual
intercourse. In addition to this, the coaches were fired from their coaching
positions for allowing previously known behaviors to spiral out of control.

Although these individuals were held accountable and given a sentence
in juvenile detention, the sentence for the victims was far worse. In
this situation the boys who endured the acts of sodomy have life sentences.
For one of the boys, he will have to go through numerous surgeries, another
has had to face continuous taunting from peers, and lastly, all three
of them have to live each day knowing that this type of situation could
have been prevented if the coaches had listened to the warnings prior
to camp that harassment by older players towards younger players had begun.
All in all, if the warning signs were taken seriously this incident may
have been preventable (Smith, 2003).

Another example of hazing that received a great deal of publicity in
high school athletics took place in Northbrook, a small suburb of Chicago,
Illinois. Unlike the previous example, this one explores the hazing rituals
of females. In this situation approximately twenty-eight girls and four
boys were involved in the annual powder puff football game where senior
girls turned a fun event into a violent attack on junior females (Kelly,
2003). In this instance, the brutal attack was videotaped. The annual
Powder Puff game was an unsanctioned school affair where senior girls
initiate junior girls for reasons that were undisclosed.

The nightmarish incident was not part of a sanctioned event and the students
involved only received a ten day suspension; the harshest possible sentence
according to the superintendent (Heyman, Sandler, & Williams, 2003).
Again, much like the victims in the previous example above, the junior
girls paid the ultimate price. One female was sent to the hospital for
stitches, another left with a broken ankle and yet numerous others ended
up with concussions all because prior warnings about hazing behaviors
were not taken seriously (Heyman, Sandler, & Williams, 2003).

So, with that being said, it is not surprising that such incidents have
had a negative impact on school districts and athletic programs. In both
of these situations the school districts received a great deal of national
exposure for failing to prevent hazing incidents under their jurisdiction.
In addition to this, entire school reputations were smeared by the actions
of a relatively few. In no situation does hazing bring about positive
publicity whether it is in high school or college.

College hazing. Unfortunately, hazing does not only occur in
high school. According to a study by Alfred University conducted in 1999,
nearly eighty-percent of college athletes have been hazed on one level
or another (Cuvelier, 2005). A number that high means that this issue
is very much alive in college athletics and it deserves further attention.
One of the biggest college cases that sparked further legislative advancements
in the area of sport hazing was a case involving the University of Vermont’s
Men’s Ice Hockey Team.

During this case, freshman hockey player, Corey LaTulippe was forced
to engage in an extreme form of hazing. When the night concluded and the
players left, LaTulippe made his own decision about his future as a member
of the Men’s Ice Hockey Team. In the days following the incident
LaTulippe left school and filed a lawsuit alleging assault and battery,
invasion of privacy and violation of his civil rights, his lawsuit sought
damages in the amount of $275, 000 dollars (O’Hara, 2000).

Unlike the high school cases mentioned earlier where victims failed to
benefit from the incidents, this case extended more benefits to its victim
and to the institution. Although LaTulippe has been left to face emotional
and psychological scars he was able to leave the negative environment
and his case had a positive impact on how the University of Vermont handles
hazing incidents. As a result of his lawsuit the school now requires athletes
to sign hazing contracts; team captains must receive leadership training
and the hockey team has since turned their negative initiation practices
into a weekend trip of mountain climbing (Rosellini, 2000). However, making
changes at one institution is only one step in the process of making legal
strides in combating this issue.

Legal Ramifications

Hazing: A criminal case or civil case? While it may be true
that hazing is illegal in forty-three states, seven have no legislation
against it (Scott, 2004). As a result, in these seven states it is often
difficult to prove that you have grounds for either a civil or criminal
case. However, generally in the forty-three states that recognize hazing
as a crime, an individual can file both a criminal and civil case.

According to James Hart and Robert Ritson of the National Association
for Sport and Physical Education (2002),

…hazing can lead to not only state civil suits for negligence
but also to federal suits alleging deprivation of rights and criminal
charges…in hazing cases resulting in criminal trials and civil
suits that have been either decided at the trial court level or settled
out of court, few have been appealed…

With this being said, it is clear that those who are victim to a hazing
incident are able to hold other parties liable. However, depending on
the case will decide who and to what degree parties are accountable.

Who is accountable? Although both civil and criminal charges
can be filed, identifying who is to be held accountable can often times
be a difficult task to accomplish from state to state. For example, in
Georgia, public officers (including teachers) are entitled to immunity.
Thus, in regards to any cause of action declared against them in their
private capacity, when sued for discretionary acts taken within the scope
of their employment and without actual intent to harm they are granted
immunity and cannot be held accountable ( Hart & Ritson, 2002). In
this type of situation it is very difficult for a plaintiff to prove a
criminal case with legal grounds.

However, in the same situation if a victim is able to prove that the
duty of supervision was ministerial in function, which is not granted
immunity in Georgia, then grounds for a criminal suit may prove to be
much more successful (2002).

Unfortunately, laws vary dramatically from state to state when dealing
with hazing, and because of this, it is not only difficult to prove a
case but it is just as difficult to prove who is accountable a given situation.
As well, because hazing cases often settle out of court there have been
few cases that have been able to set a precedent in recognizing who is
accountable for cases that may eventually unfold.

What happens to individuals who haze others? Although many hazing
cases are difficult to prove there have been some that have been successful
at the judicial level. However, what happens to the perpetrators who initiate
the hazing incident depends greatly on the rules and laws of where the
incident took place. Research on successful cases shows the following
actions have been taken against defendants: removal from ones position,
juvenile detention, fines, monetary payment of punitive damages, termination
of athletic seasons, suspension from programs, and a variety of others.
All in all, when hazing cases are legally proven in court for the plaintiff
they carry heavy consequences for the perpetrators.

Problems for the Victim

What issues result for the victim? Soon after a case is closed
and the defendant receives his or her sentence, the parties are able to
go their separate ways. However, the case often times remains unofficially
open for the victim because the emotional and psychological issues that
result last long after any judgment has been finalized. According to Mothers
Against School Hazing (2005), hazing has the capacity to affect individuals
for the long term in the following areas: self-esteem, self-confidence,
feelings of self-worth, group unity, respect, friendship, trust, pride,
family interaction, trust with authority, and coping skills. All of these
are daily skills individuals need to survive. However, when a few of these
skills are compromised and are unable to flourish and grow as the person
matures, they are left to live in a state of confusion and turmoil which
leaves them reliving daily the horrors of the hazing incident (2005).
For that reason it is imperative that a victim of a hazing incident seek
the help and support necessary to make it through the difficult time.

Where to turn for help. When an individual suffers through a
hazing incident and is left to deal with the many emotional and psychological
issues that may result, it is important that the victim seek help. Therefore,
it is important that an individual seek the appropriate help from those
who can counsel them through the confusion and emotional scarring that
is left. Much like a victim of sexual assault, domestic violence, and
other hate crimes individuals of a hazing incident will feel the very
same emotions. However, it is important that even though painful the victim
seek help immediately. To begin, the first person a victim should seek
is an adult whom he or she can trust that will believe his or her story.
If that is not an option the victim should contact police enforcement
to file a legal complaint against the assailants. Once a complaint has
been filed the victim should attempt to seek emotional and psychological
support from a trained professional who specializes in crimes of this
nature. The victim needs to feel empowered to report the crime. They need
to seek help from individuals who are supportive and help them understand
that they, in fact, are victims and not responsible for what happened
to them (SUNY Cortland Residential Services Staff Training, Personal Communication,
Fall 2003).

Barriers to Hazing

Common barriers. As shown throughout this paper, hazing is a
very difficult issue to overcome. Whether you are dealing with the legal
issues, the definitions of each type of hazing, or the problems that exist
after a hazing incident occurs, you must realize that hazing is a difficult
issue. For these exact reasons, it is easily recognizable that a variety
of barriers exist. However, in order to understand how to overcome such
barriers we must first examine the top six barriers that exist in hazing.

According to Briar College (2005), the six most recognizable barriers
in hazing are: denial of the problem; dismissal that hazing is harmless;
silence among the victims; fear among the victims; insufficient support
for the victim; and lastly, cultural norms that perceive hazing as normal.
All of these barriers present a complex social problem. Therefore, because
of the resulting social problem, it is important that those who are empowered
to reduce or eliminate hazing do so.

Fixing the barriers. If one wishes to overcome the barriers
that exist within any situation, then a proactive approach must be put
into effect. According to a variety of researchers and non-profit organizations
who are looking to defeat the issue of hazing there are a variety of tactics
that can be put in place. According to the Brown University Child &
Adolescent Behavior Letter (2003), there are at least six steps that can
be taken in overcoming the barriers that hazing presents. These six steps
are:

“Educate yourself about state anti-hazing laws; know school anti-hazing
policies; collaborate with school officials and athletic departments in
developing anti-hazing policies; talk with your children or student about
the dangers of hazing; talk with other parents who may have had children
go through similar or the same athletic programs as your child or student
may go through; and lastly, be visible in the activities that your children
or students engage in.”

If the above steps are taken in correcting the problem of hazing, this
issue will soon be controllable, and fewer and fewer of the secret rituals
will be possible. It is important that we support our state and federal
governments in the formation of laws that prohibit acts of hazing within
the institution of sport.

Laws to break the barriers. Currently forty-three states have
laws that prohibit acts of hazing. Although anti-hazing laws have been
on the books since 1978, no state has been able to develop laws with as
much strength as those seen in Alabama. Within Alabama Law, there are
three separate main definitions to identify the three major types of hazing
that exist; the law accounts for bystanders who actively watch hazing
unfold; it identifies the offense whether misdemeanor or felony; it accounts
for individuals who do not report such acts; and it attempts to cover
all activities that happen both on and off premises of academic institutions
(StopHazing.Org, 2005).

Although hazing laws exist in forty-three states there is still much
to do in overcoming the barriers that exist. Schools must be willing to
work together in developing their own anti-hazing policies. As well, on
all levels local, state and federal laws must be enforced and zero-tolerance
must exist for those who deem hazing as an appropriate initiation. In
time the barriers will be broken, and this problem will be on the decline.

Summary and Conclusions

General Summary

Effects of hazing in sports. In conclusion, it is more than
clear that through discussion and analysis of this article that hazing
is detrimental to the institution of sport and its ability to build such
positive character qualities as strength, discipline, and work ethic.
Thus, if one commits to understanding the effects that hazing has on individuals,
teams, institutions, and sport on the whole, then we will eventually be
able to transform those who think that such initiation rituals are acceptable.

Alyson Peluso is pursuing her Master of Sport Science in Sports Management
at the United States Sports Academy. She teaches physical education at
LaGrange Middle School in LaGrangeville, N.Y. in one of the largest school
districts in the state.

References

Brewer, R., Neal, W. & McGhee, J. (1998). Hazing: The truth about
rites gone wrong. Retrieved November 11, 2005, from Briar College,
Office of Student Activities and Programming: http://www.ccl.sbc.edu/osap/scoursheets/hazing.PDF

Bushweller, K. (2000). Brutal rituals, dangerous rights: High school
hazing grows violent and humiliating. American School Board Journal,
8, 1-10.

Cornell University. (2005). Hazing. Retrieved November 19, 2005,
from Cornell University, Office of Dean of Students Web site: http://hazing.cornell.edu

Cuvelier, M. I. (2005). The rites and wrongs of sports hazing. Recreation
Services, Retrieved November 19, 2005, from http://umanitoba.fitdv.com/new/articles/article.html?artid=81

Dowshen, S. (2003, June). Hazing. KidsHealth for Parents, 6,
1-6.

Fierberg, D. E. (2000). High School, Where Hazing is Amazing.
Education Digest, 66 (no.4), 48-51.

Fritz, G. K. (Ed.). (2003). High-school Hazing: What a parent can do.
Brown University Child & Adolescent Behavior Letter,19(12),
9-10.

Hart, J. E. & Ritson, R. J. (2002). Liability and safety in physical
education and sport. Reston, VA: NASPE Publications.

Heyman, J. D., Sandler, B. & Williams, K. (2003, May 26). Rite is
wrong. People, 59.

Hoover, Nadia. (1999). Initiation rites and athletics: A national
survey of NCAA sports teams (Final Rep. No. ED 463713).
Alfred, New York: Alfred University.

Kelly, K. (2003, May 26). Parents in a haze?. U.S. News & World
Report, 5, n.p.

MASH, Mothers Against School Hazing. (2005, November). Hazing.
Retrieved November 19, 2005, from http://www.mashinc.org/resources-whatis.html

Neufeldt, V. & Sparks, A. N. (Eds.). (1995). Webster’s new
world dictionary (3 rd ed.). New York: Prentice Hall.

O’Hara, J. (2000, March 6). The Hell of Hazing. Maclean’s,
113, 50-52.

Rosellini, L. (2000, September 11). The sordid side of college sports.
U.S. News & World Report, 129(10), 102-103.

Scott, M. D. (2004, March 7). Childhood Hazings’ Legal, but it
Hurts. Detroit Free Press,n.p.

Smith, R. (2003, December 22). A rite gone terribly wrong. Sports
Illustrated, 99(24), 68-75

State Univeristy of New York At Cortland College, (2003). Residential
Life Hazing Training for Resident Assistants. Personal Training.

Stop Hazing Organization. (2005). Alternatives to Hazing. Retrieved
November 19, 2005, from http://stophazing.org/alternatives.html

Weir, T. (2003, December 8). Hazing issues rears ugly head across USA.
USA Today, n.p.

2017-04-18T08:56:29-05:00January 7th, 2006|Contemporary Sports Issues, Sports Management, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off on Hazing in Sports: The Effects and Legal Ramifications
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Are Physical Education and Sports Teachers in Turkey Trained Appropriately? : A Study of Basic Education Institutions

Submitted by: Hakan Sunay, Ph.D. and Surhat Muniroglu, Ph.D.

Abstract

Teaching physical education and sports activities are among the indispensable
occupations of our time. Sports, apart from being an occupation of entertainment
and free time, have also a function that develop health and contributes
joy and happiness to the participants’ daily lives. Physical education
and sports activities have become signs of contemporariness. In Turkey,
the average beginning age for children’s participation in many or
team or individual sport activities is between ages 8 and 12. This is
also the average age level that most children start to participate in
school Physical Education and Sport courses. Physical Education is not
an elective course. It therefore is a core course and Turkey has a national
physical education teaching program. Despite the fact physical education
teachers are educated in various public and private physical education
programs, the core of the curriculums are very similar. All of the Physical
Education Teacher Education programs for the eight-year mandatory elementary
schools are monitored and constituted through the ministry of education.
While entire P.E. curriculums for education teachers are administrated
centrally and monitored by the ministry of education, there are few special
programs that training and preparing quality physical education and sports
teachers to teach high level physical education and sports courses at
8-year compulsory basic education institutions. The effectiveness of the
current programs that applied at most of compulsory basic education institutions
of eight years is a significant concern of this study. The purpose of
this research is to determine to what extent the physical education teacher
training programs that are currently used by those universities are effectively
and successfully training preparing physical education teachers to teach
at compulsory eight-year elementary schools.

Introduction

Education can be described as a planned and programmed process which
is applied in order to attain the desired changes in a person’s
behavior. Two basic and indispensable elements of education are the student
and the teacher. Unlike the traditional perspectives, in addition to lecturing,
the role of a teacher should be geared mostly towards guiding and advising.
This is also true for teaching physical education and sports. Physical
education teachers should guide students according to their interest and
skills. In order to attain the desired mental, social, psychological and
psychomotor developments, teachers should be creative and develop important
student specific tasks to improve individual creativity of various age
groups. The significant importance should be given to the programs that
deal with children who are at the beginning level(s). This situation brings
into the agenda a modernization of the programs to improve both the ability
of teachers to teach effective physical education courses and the program
tools that are going to be used in this process. It is a common belief
that currently most physical education teachers are ill prepared to successfully
teach physical education courses at the eight year compulsory schools.

Historically successful physical education programs have one thing in
common: they all use history as a learning process. For instance, those
who prepared and developed the modern physical education programs in the
United States America have benefited from teaching philosophies of Europe
(Lumpkin, 1990). The first modern efforts in order to train contemporary
physical education teachers began in the 18 th Century in Europe and in
the USA (Friedman, 1983). In the Ottoman Empire, these courses entered
the Curriculum in 1846 under the name of Gymnastics which was brought
about by the Tanzimat decree declared in 1839 during the reign of Sultan
Abdulmecit (Kasap, 1992). Selim Sirri Tarcan attended the Heyet-I Ilmiye
which assembled in 1923 and succeeded in integrating one-year-long the
‘physical education teachers’ school” into the government
program (Terbiye-i Bedeniye DarUlmuallimini).

The efforts for training sports instructors continued by the assistance
of three instructors (one woman, two men; Inge Nerman, Ranger Jonson and
Sven Alezanderson) who were called from Sweden between 1926-1929 and with
the 3,5-9 months – lasting courses of physical education teachers
during the years 1929-1930. In the scholar years of 1932-1933 a –
three- year- long physical education department was started at the Gazi
Education Institution in Turkey in order to train teachers for secondary
and high school levels. This was the only institution until 1966-1967.
Since then several other institutions have been developed and have been
offering physical education teachers education programs such as Istanbul
Institute of Physical Education, and various other universities in Bursa,
Izmir and Diyarbakir. In 1992 most of these schools were transformed into
physical education and sports higher schools. In Turkey, youth and sports
academies contributed to the process for training physical education teachers
as well as education institutes. Youth and sports academies were founded
under the youth and Sports ministry and were put into service in three
cities. The basic objective of the youth and sports academies is “to
train coaches, youth leaders, managers, experts as provided for in the
Body Training law numbered 3530.” Although the primary goal of youth
and Sports Academies was not to train physical education teachers as demands
raised for more physical education teachers the Sports Academies started
to certify their graduates to also be physical educators without pedagogic
training. At the end the Youth and Sports Academies lasted for only 10
years and they were closed forever.

Methodology

In Turkey, there are 48 universities that offer teaching physical education
programs and a total of 411 instructors are teaching physical education
courses. 171 instructors from Gazi University, Hacettepe University, Middle
East Technical University (METU), Ege University, Akdeniz University,
Celall Bayar University, Marmara University and Ankara University were
surveyed. A survey questionnaire consisting of 57 questions was developed.
The reliability coefficient of the survey is r = .96. By taking this course
of method, the research was formulated and determined by those who participated
in the research, taking into consideration the order of importance of
the branches determined by the Higher Education Board (HEB). These values
were interpreted according to the arithmetic averages of the participating
instructors’ (subjects) views. In conclusion, some significant statistical
differences were observed among various programs in terms of application
of teachers education programs both at the administrative and academic
levels. The research was carried out in July, August and September 2000.

The data we got in order to fulfill the purposes of the research were
provided by the surveys created by the researchers. The survey form was
prepared by means of the programs of the 48 physical education and sports
teaching departments of universities. Within this context, firstly the
programs which are aimed at training physical education and sports teachers
were scanned and the related courses were determined for the physical
education and sports teachers who will be on duty at primary and secondary
schools. The determined courses were grouped and submitted to a group
of instructors for their opinions and as a last stage, they were revised.
Thus a survey of 57 courses was created which would be submitted to the
instructors for their views. The reliability coefficient of the survey
is a + 96. The proposal concerning 57 courses, which formed the basis
of the research, were subdivided and evaluated according to the branches
determined by HEB. These branches are:

1 – Coach and Movement Sciences

2 – Sports Management Sciences

3 – Sports Health Sciences

4 – Psycho Social Fields in Sports

5 – Sports Training

6 – General Culture

7 – Applied Sports Field

8 – Information on the Teaching profession.

The subjects were determined under 8 dimensions. The proposals for courses
forming the bases of the research were developed taking into consideration
the order of importance of these courses the fields of which have been
determined by HEB.

Statistical processes were realized according to the arithmetic averages
of the participating instructions views about the related courses. The
courses determined in the program Draft proposal were put into order according
to their importance. The arithmetic averages of each group of courses
involving their own fields were taken as basis. The courses, which were
found above the arithmetic averages of the 57 courses submitted, were
proposed as elective courses. Lastly, a program was created which was
based on these findings.

Findings and Discussion

The purpose of the research is to determine the appropriateness of the
programs at the schools that are aimed at training physical education
and sports teachers who will work at 8 – year – long compulsory
basic education institutions. Within this context the programs applied
in Turkey were investigated and an evaluation was made for each of the
common courses.

The need for training staff in the academic and professional fields of
the sports sciences that were brought about by the constant change and
development in sports has become evident. This change and development
continued with the transformation of some of these schools into higher
schools and with the acceptance of eight fields by HEB within the framework
of related domains (Acikada, 1991). Moreover, the distribution of the
eight fields within the curriculum was determined as followed:

 

1 – Applied Sports Field; this field entails the
definition of the applied sports branches and teaching techniques.

2 – Field of Information on the Teaching profession; this section
includes the courses which are compulsory for teaching profession according
to ministry of national Education and HEB. In our country as in other
parts of the world, it is not possible to be a teacher without having
the necessary information on the teaching profession.

3 – General Cultures; this is the information necessary for a
qualified teacher. These include some courses that are not compulsory
for teaching but which are about current issues.

4 – The Field of Movement and Exercise Sciences; it is to evaluate
sports within the fact of movement and to shape it according to exercise
dimension.

5 – Field of Sport Health Sciences; involves the health dimensions
of sports and the relation between sports and health.

6 – The Field of Sports management and Sciences; involves the
dimension of sports related to management sciences.

7 – Sports Education; emphasized the manner of teaching sports
and involves the introduction of sports field.

8 – Psycho-Social Fields in Sports; involves the psychological
and sociological dimension of sports.

The determined groups of courses were divided into the above-mentioned
fields and evaluated within this framework.

Related to this, the proposed courses are presented in the table of
Annex 1 according to their order of importance for training physical education
and sports teachers who will be on duty at the basic education institutions.

As understood from the table, the group arithmetic average of the courses
included in the applied group has been found as X = 3.02. In this respect,
the basic and team sports such as gymnastics, athletics, rhythmic gymnastics,
volleyball and handball have been found on the highest level, whereas
the sports branches such as bodybuilding, marksmanship, and weight lifting
have been found at the lowest values. When we investigate the education
programs of Wales and England, we could see that team sports such as football,
volleyball, basketball, handball, gymnastics and rhythmic gymnastics were
at the highest level in term of the values attributed to them (Anonymous,
1995).

The research of Acikada (1991), which was carried out of 22 physical
education teachers with the purpose of development of physical education
and sports curriculum, produced similar results. The arithmetic average
for the courses which were under the information on teaching profession
has been found as X = 4.16. Although the arithmetic averages of the views
of the instructors for courses such Education Psychology, Education Sociology,
Program Development, Introduction to Education Sciences and Education
management has remained under the group average, these courses are compulsory
for the teaching profession.

The arithmetic average of the courses under the group of general culture
has been found as X = 3.41. in this respect, Foreign Language and already
compulsory Revolution History of the Turkish Republic and Computer courses
have been attributed and it has been noted that the Courses of Physics,
Chemistry, mathematics and Statistics were not important according to
the instructors for the physical education and sports teachers who will
be on duty at primary secondary schools. The research of Acikada (1991
gives similar results (Acikada, 1991).

The group arithmetic average of the courses under the movement and Exercise
Sciences has been found as X = 3.83. in this respect, the courses of motor
Development and Exercise Information were at the highest level, while
the course of Biomechanics has remained under the group arithmetic average
(X = 3.52).

The group arithmetic average of the courses under the Sports health Sciences
has been found as X = 3.95. In this respect the courses of First Aid and
sports physiology were at the highest level, whereas the Anatomy course
has been found under the group arithmetic average (X = 3.67).

Two courses were determined under the Sports Management Sciences. The
group arithmetic average of the courses under this group has been found
over the group average (X = 4.11). We think this is significant.

The group arithmetic average of the courses under the Sports Training
Field has been found as X = 4.18. In this respect, the courses of Skill
Acquiring and Special Teaching methods have been found at the highest
level, while the course of Comparative Sports Education was at the lowest
level.

There were two courses under the Psycho-Social Field in Sports and their
group arithmetic averages has been found as X =3.73. The course of Sports
Psychology was over the group arithmetic average (X = 4.11), while the
course of Sports history has been found at the lowest level in terms of
importance attributed to it, not only in its own group, but also in comparison
with all of the proposed courses (X = 3.34). These results show similarities
with those of the study carried out by Ursprung and his colleagues. Ursprung
and his colleagues have grouped courses offered at the physical education
and sports departments as Personal and Teams Sports pedagogy, Movement
and Health Sciences, Social Sciences and Scientific method (Ursprung and
his colleagues, 1995). Moreover, the groups of courses that should be
offered are parallel to the courses determined by Harrison,
Blakemore (1992) and Nicholas (1990), (Harrison and Blakemore, 1992),
(Nicholas, 1990).

Results and Suggestions

According to the results of the research, the participating instructors proposed to include gymnastics (aerobics and rhythmic gymnastics), athletics, swimming and team sports such as basketball, volleyball, handball, football, and racket sports such as badminton in the curriculum of the eight-year-long compulsory basic education institutions, especially during the periods covering 1-5 (ages 6-11). On the other hand, courses such as First Aid and Sports Physiology under the Sports Health Sciences, Motor Development and Exercise Information under the movement and Exercise Sciences, Recreation under the Sports Management Sciences, Skills Acquiring and Special Teaching method under the Sports Training Fields, Sports Psychology under the psycho-Social Fields in Sports were also proposed by the instructors. Within this context, the compulsory and elective courses that were determined in the draft program with the purpose of training physical education and sports teachers are as follows:

1. Semester T P CH
Gymnastics
1
4
3
Athletics I
1
2
2
Foreign Language I
2
0
2
Rev. History I
2
0
2
Intr. To Teaching Prof.
3
0
2
2. Semester
Foreign Language II
2
0
2
Rev. History II
2
0
2
Turkish II
2
0
2
Basketball I
1
4
3
Handball I
1
4
3
Athletics II
1
2
2
Rhytm T. and R. Gym
1
4
3
First Aid
1
2
2
3. Semester
Foreign Language III
2
0
2
Gymnastics II
1
4
3
Athletics III
1
2
2
Volleyball I
1
4
3
Gen. Teaching Meth.
3
0
2
Motor Development
2
0
2
Football I
1
4
3
Program Dev. (Elective)
3
0
2
Edu. Sociology (Elective)
3
0
2
4. Semester
Foreign Lang. IV
2
0
2
Table Tennis
1
2
2
Aerobic Gym.
1
2
2
Swimming I
1
2
2
Scouting
1
2
2
Learning Skills
3
0
3
Basketball II
1
4
3
Edu. Psychology (Elective)
3
0
3
Edu. Management (Elective)
3
0
3
5. Semester
Foreign Language V
2
0
2
Exercise Information
3
0
3
Sports Psychology
2
0
2
Handball II
1
4
3
Football II
1
4
3
Psych. Counseling
3
0
3
Sports Management (Elective)
2
0
2
Sports history (Elective)
2
0
2
6. Semester
Foreign Language VI
2
0
2
Volleyball II
1
4
3
Swimming II
1
2
2
Test. Evaluation
3
0
3
Badminton
1
2
2
Anatomy (Elective)
3
0
3
Biomechanics (Elective)
3
0
3
Anthropometry (Elective)
3
0
3
7. Semester
Foreign Language VII
2
0
2
Recreation
2
0
2
Teaching Application
2
4
4
Natural Sports
1
2
2
Research Techniques (Elective)
2
0
2
Campa. Sports Teaching (Elective)
2
0
2
8. Semester
Foreign Language VIII
2
0
2
Sports Physiology
3
2
4
Optional Specialization
2
4
4
Teaching Application
2
4
4
Sports Sociology (Elective)
3
0
3
Sports Health (Elective)
3
0
3
Total Credit Hours: 145

T = Theoretical Courses

P = Practical Courses

CH = Number of Credit Hour Values

Table 1: The distribution of the courses that are proposed to be included in the main program, which trains physical education and sports for eight-year-long basic education institutions (according to the field and order of importance).

Fields Courses N Median SD Order of
Subjects Median Standard Importance
Deviation
Applied Sports Field Gymnastics 171 4.6056 0.64 1
Athletics 171 4.5352 0.88 2
Rhythm Training 171 4.2113 0.97 3
Volleyball 171 3.9014 0.93 4
Handball 170 3.9 0.98 5
Basketball 171 3.8592 0.96 6
Swimming 171 3.662 1.29 7
Scouting 171 3.662 1.08 7
Football 171 3.5775 1.13 8
Table Tennis 170 3.4 1.1 9
Natural Sports 170 3.1857 1.15 10
Aerobics 171 3.1127 1.29 11
Badminton 170 3.0571 1.14 12
Tennis 169 2.9275 1.12 13
Wrestling 171 2.7324 1.3 14
Cycling 170 2.7286 1.18 15
Skating 171 2.5352 1.21 16
Fencing 170 2.1714 1.06 17
Archery 171 2.1408 1.06 18
Rowing 171 2.0704 1.11 19
Underwater Sports 169 2.0435 1.04 20
Far Eastern Sports 170 1.9714 1.09 21
Weightlifting 170 1.9571 1.12 22
Marksmanship 171 1.9155 1.04 23
Bodybuilding 170 1.8286 1.15 24
Info. On Teaching Teaching Application 170 4.6286 0.76 1
Gen. Teaching Methods 171 4.4225 0.8 2
Psychological Counseling 169 4.2609 0.92 3
Testing Evaluation 171 4.2113 0.92 4
Educational Psychology 171 4.1408 0.97 5
Educational Sociology 171 4.1127 1.02 6
Program Development 171 4.0428 1.06 7
Intro. To Educ. Science 171 3.9296 1.11 8
Education Management 171 3.7465 1.04 9
General Culture Foreign Language 171 4.0141 1.13 1
History of Turkey 171 3.6479 1.32 2
Computer 170 3.5286 1.15 3
Research Techniques 171 3.4085 1.3 4
Statistics 170 3.0143 1.2 5
Basic Services 170 2.8714 1.14 6
Movement/Exercise Motor Development 170 4.4714 0.96 1
Exercise Info. 170 4.0857 1.13 2
Antropometry 170 3.5286 1.16 3
Biomechanics 170 3.2676 1.23 4
Sports Health First Aid 169 4.2609 0.83 1
Sports Physiology 170 3.9571 1.26 2
Sportive Health 117 3.8286 1.08 3
Anatomy 171 3.7606 1.2 4
Sports Management Recreation 170 4.1143 1.08 1
Sports management 170 3.4714 1.14 2
Sports Education Learning Skills 169 4.4348 0.78 1
Special Teaching Methods 169 4.3913 0.93 2
Intro to PE and Sports 170 4.0714 1.13 3
Comparative Sports Education 170 3.5857 1.2 4
Psycho- social field Sports Psychology 170 4.1143 1.15 1
Sports History 169 3.3478 1.23 2
2016-04-01T09:59:08-05:00January 5th, 2006|Contemporary Sports Issues, Sports Coaching, Sports Management|Comments Off on Are Physical Education and Sports Teachers in Turkey Trained Appropriately? : A Study of Basic Education Institutions
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Salt Lake City 2002: Importance of the cultural programm during the XIX. Olympic Winter Games ” from the spectators” perspective

Submitted by: Dr. Norbert Mueller, Dr. Manfred Messing, Dr. Holger Preuss, Michael Desch and Marc Buchwalder

The XIX. Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City 2002 seemed to be a
great success for the Salt Lake Organizing Committee (SLOC). Consequently,
Research Team Olympia from the University of Mainz/Germany had favorable
conditions for an empirical investigation of the spectators at the biathlon
venue “Soldier Hollow”.

The survey investigated the interest in and image of Biathlon, the reason
of visiting the Games and Biathlon, the future of the Olympic Games and
the cultural Olympiad. The research team Olympia did a similar survey
at the Sydney Olympic Games in Sydney 2000 at the Modern Pentathlon. Here
a particular interest was given to the significance of the cultural program
at the Olympic Games.

A total number of 1 130 spectators (45% female, 49.9% male and 5.1%
no answer) at the biathlon competitions answered the questionnaire. The
researchers only used the time before and between the competitions (male
/ female competition) for doing the survey. Most of the spectators came
from the Salt Lake City area (55.1%). From outside the USA, the tourists
mostly came from Germany (3.5%), Norway (2.7%), Canada (1.6%) and Sweden
(1.4%). Sixteen nations were represented in the survey.

More than a fifth (21.3%) of the questioned were regular spectators
of Olympic Games, so there has been a high number of “experts”
being part of the investigation. A high number of well-educated persons,
54% were college graduates, took part as well.

Many of them were open minded for artistic forms they passed while walking
around the Olympic venues. So more than 28% were able to describe which
works of art struck their interest. Only 12.6% said that visiting cultural
events was unimportant.

Visiting
cultural events
_ N= %
Very important 198 17.5
Important 393 34.8
Less important 308 27.3
Unimportant 142 12.6
n.a. 89 7.9

In total, 44.9% of the biathlon spectators did attend a cultural event.
Most of them saw at least one further event. This is in fact a much higher
attendance of the “Cultural Olympiad” than in Sydney 2000
(29%).

Categories of visited
cultural events
_

N=

 %
Opera/ballet 26 2.3
Museum/exhibition/visual arts 208 18.4
Theatre 47 4.2
Music/concert 296 26.2
Dance (modern dance) 64 5.7
Events 252 22.3

Some very interesting responses resulted from the relationship between
the cultural program and the Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. An impressive
high amount did see coherence between sport and arts. A large percentage
of spectators (83.5%) agreed with the statement “The Olympic ideal
combines sport and art.” Just 6% denied a relationship.

Relationship
between cultural program and the Olympic Games
_

N=

%

The Olympic ideal combines sport
and art

 944 83.5
Every Olympic athlete ought to know
about Olympic history and Olympic ideals		 927 82
It brightens up the host city 564 49.9
Cultural events and exhibits traditionally
belong to the Olympic Games		 278 24.6
There is no relationship at all 68 6

The researchers also asked about the sources information about the cultural
program that was promoted: Before the Olympic Games

  • In Salt Lake City

The chart of examples below shows that mass media provided information
well, but the publicity of travel agencies and even at the local tourist
sites (posters e.g.) could have been more effective.

Sources of information
and promotional material about the cultural program (before the
Olympic Games)
_ N= %
Magazines and newspapers 472 41.8
Television and radio reports 498 44.1
Travel agency 24 2.1
No information at all 151 13.4
Sources of information
and promotional material about the cultural program (in Salt Lake
City)
_ N= %
Newspapers 463 41
Program guide 394 34.9
Poster and placard (e.g. in hotel) 138 12.2
Travel guide 112 9.9
No information at all 167 14.8

The empirical investigation shows a high growing interest of Olympic
spectators and tourists in the Olympic Arts Festival. In comparison to
Olympic Games in the past the frequency of persons who did agree to the
statement: “The Olympic idea combines sport and art” have
been:

– Barcelona 1992: 39.9%

– Atlanta 1996: 23.1%

– Sydney 2000: 72.1%

– Salt Lake City 2002: 83.5%

However, the spectators asked were very different groups due to the
fact that mainly national spectators attend the Games.

The empirical results show that the spectators are aware that the Olympic
Idea combines sport and art. However, only half of the spectators rate
the cultural Olympiad in Salt Lake City as very important or important
and 44% of the biathlon spectators visited cultural events. This research
is part of a long term research project on cultural Olympiads that started
in Barcelona 1992. Various publications were made by the Research Team
Olympia ( www.sport.uni-mainz.de/Olympia)

2016-10-12T14:48:53-05:00January 5th, 2006|Contemporary Sports Issues, Sports Facilities, Sports Management, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off on Salt Lake City 2002: Importance of the cultural programm during the XIX. Olympic Winter Games ” from the spectators” perspective
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