Racism and discrimination has been a problem in the world since the beginning of time. In America, today racism has been a topic of interest in many news outlets and in political issues. In sports however, discrimination and racism have a different impact and outlook. In the essay “Different Racism”, Matthew Salesses states, “Jeremy Lin is the success he is because of his individual talent, not because he is Asian American. His ethnicity… was the only factor in him having to “come out of nowhere,” Since that was where Asians have been relegated to in sports.” (Salesses). Salesses describes the difficulty Lin had as an Asian American in professional sports. Krystal Beamon states “African American male student-athletes must also contend with negative racial, gender, and athletic stereotypes.” (Beamon 121). These views are very concerning as commissioners and spectators alike try to diminish racism and prejudice in sports. Beamon’s statement is falsifiable in the sense that there is racial stigma that these athletes have to deal with but, most of it is not in a negative connotation. An example of this is the movie “White Men Can’t Jump.” It exemplifies the stereotype that white people cannot jump as high as black people. This movie title and idea stems from the believe that African Americans are better at sports than other individuals. I believe that negative racism in American sports is directed toward Caucasian individuals, and not African Americans as is perceived by many from the outside of the sports world. 

Many people outside of the sports world perceive racism in American to be white people versus all other minorities. Some do still perceive this to be true. ‘’ There was also an incident at the collegiate level in which a Texas Tech "super fan" allegedly called one of the country's best college basketball players, Marcus Smart of Oklahoma State, the N-word and told him to "go back to Africa," though the claims were never confirmed.” (Lapchick). In an article posted by ESPN, Richard Lapchick compiled a series of recent events that have happened in the sports world involving racism. Most of the events he describes are fan related and are somehow influenced by society and not strictly sports based such as this one. Racial events that are strictly player to player are not as the fans perceive them to be. “If Larry Bird was a black guy he’d just be a regular old ball player “; Denise Rodman. (Edelman). This incident between Larry Bird and Denise Rodman occurred in 1987 after the eastern conference finals. Remarks such as this have been made toward talented white players in many major sports across American sports culture. 

Racism has evolved since the late nineteen-forties and fifties. On April 15th, 1947 Jackie Robinson became the first African American to participate in a Major League Baseball game. Robinson faced discrimination and prejudice every game he played. Fans made racial slurs and threw objects at him while he was on the field. This did not stop with the fans, players would make racial remarks at him as well. Pitchers would intentionally hit him with pitches to scare him all in attempts to make him quit baseball. Robinson prevailed and continued to play. He carved the path for many other African American sports professionals (Rampersad). This was in standard racial behavior in that period of history, not just in sports but in society. These views are how some individuals perceive sports to be in present day. Many professional sport journalists and reporters have the misconception that every white fan, player, and coach are out to get the African Americans that they share their profession with. These social norms have evolved over the years all the way to present day. 

Major racial shift started to take form in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. In the early 1960s there was a major event that happened at the University of Mississippi State. The UMS basketball team was all white players for the entirety of its existence until 1963. This is when African Americans were allowed to join the team for the first time in the school’s existence. There were massive riots on campus after this happened. The fans of the University were in uproar. This event sparked many other southern universities to follow suit (Peterson). This event marks an almost end to sever racial prejudice by major sport institutions and organizations. 

Transitioning into the 1970s and 1980s sports became as some people from history reference as more “black”. The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a prime example of this fact. In the late 70s and early 80s the NBA television rates were dropping dramatically, and the association was losing money. This was until Erving “Magic” Johnson and Larry Bird entered the mix. The two individuals, Magic being African American, Bird being white, revitalized the NBA by pitting white verse black in a brutal war for championships. At the time, the NBA was predominantly African American players. Larry Bird was the exception being one of the few white players in the league, and by far the most talented white player in the league. Bird and Magic battle year after year for the title of best player in the league. Players in the NBA argued that the only reason Larry was looked at as good was because he was white (Edelman). Even his owe teammates looked down on him because of his skin color. “We started talking when he walked in the gym. Who is this white boy? Then we started playing, I was playing defense on him and he hit a shot. I thought alright that was luck, then he hit another, and another. I said damn this white boy can play.”; M. L. Carr (Edelman). This rivalry between Bird and Magic revitalized the NBA, boosting ratings and profit to a point it had never been at prior. The hate Larry Bird received from the players alongside him fueled his abilities and made him into the star he was. This treatment was given to all white players during this era not just bird. Many racially heated incidents between players happened during this period of the time. This is when African Americans assumed dominance over sports in America. 

Today in American everything people say and do is in the media. This media presence is even more critical for athletes. Recently many athletes have used their media prowess to advocate issues they feel needs to be resolved. The National Football League has had issues with this in recent news. Many of the players and even whole teams have been taking a knee during the national anthem. They are protest the American government and their racial prejudice against African Americans. The Pittsburgh Steelers organization made a movement for this very reason. The whole team decided to stay in the tunnel during the anthem. One rogue player named Charley Villanueva came out of the tunnel and stood for the anthem. Villanueva was an Army Ranger before the NFL. The next week on twitter Villanueva was flamed by many fan, calling him a N-word hater, and a racist. He became persecuted for standing up for his country that he served. A Caucasian male hero became the target of discrimination of all black players, fans, and activists. 

This racial prejudice has even been evident in companies endorsing these athletes. “As a sports marketer, I know the fact that Curry looks racially ambiguous will make him a marketable superstar.

Why? Because he will be a safe choice for many brands, even though brands will not admit this. He will have cross-demographic appeal, exuding athletic stardom with a just-whitish-black-enough complexion to make him palatable” (Carreon-Johns). “In reference to the issues of racial group exclusion and tokenism in sports, recent works consist of both retrospective and current accounts that assess oppor- tunities for participation. One source of retrospective accounts of racial exclusion is journalistic, specifically recent biographical profiles and biographies of pioneer black American athlete” (Washitngton). Brands have been selecting racial appropriate athletes for endorsements to boost sales. The only white NBA athlete with a top three endorsements is Kristaps Porzingis, and even he is not a white American. Porzingis is from Lithuania. He is endorsed by Adidas, and even this is an attempt to appeal to the foreign population. Brands have made attempts to appeal to masses of fans and the masses of fans are interested in African American athletes. 

Our society has impacted the way athletes view each other and their respected fan base. “Despite its economic and cultural centrality, sport is a relatively neglected and undertheorized are of sociological research” “Finally, there have been exchanges about sportand race as contested terrain (see, below, gender as well) along with the issue of race and  and race as contested terrain (see, below, gender as well) along with the issue of race and differential sports performance.” (Washington). Racial ideas are classified as two groups discriminating against one another. In sports, many players discriminate against ability in that particular sport. This comes with a drawback for most Caucasian individuals. The stigma is that African American athletes are more talented and athletic than white athletes. This plagues white players all throughout their careers. This makes it more difficult for Caucasian athletes to receive athletic scholarships, draft spots, professional contracts, and accolated in their careers.  

The problem of racial discrimination has been a problem for centuries in sports. It has evolved over history into a new issue of player discriminating against one another using stereotypes such as “White men can’t jump.” Caucasian individuals have been the target of this stigma and are discriminated against, all over the sports world. Some believe that the sports world is like the rest of society in American and have the idea that African American are the targets for negative racial attacks and discrimination. This might have been true in the mid to late 1900s, but as sports and media have evolved a new form of racism has been birth from the idea that African Americans are better at sports than other races. If the stigma was changed and it was perceived that white individuals were better at sports, then this still might be the case. With the stemming of this new idea and the accounts of players such as Larry Bird and Charley Villanueva, the racial discrimination as took a new direction. This has led to the fact that Caucasian individuals are the targets of racial discrimination is sports at all levels. This is hurting white athletes all around American and even stopping young white athletes from participating in sport we all know and love.  

  
