Sport and Societal Values

Webiste: http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/676/not-just-a-game-sport-and-society-in-the-united-states

In today’s day and age, sport mirrors society and we can call that microcosm.  Microcosm is defined as a community, place, or situation that encapsulates a larger community.  First off as we learned in class on September 4th, in sports we value things such as achievement, success, equality, freedom, nationalism, and individualism; is this what we value as Americans? The same values that Americans have in society and everyday life is also what athletes, coaches, and fans value in sport.  In the article, there is evidence that can support the fact that Americans do not define an athlete by their values but better understanding their worth and how they handle sport situations such as a loss or injury.  Second, in sport, we like to gray out the right and wrong, punish those who cheat, lie, deceive, and break rules. This is obvious in this article, when the author says that sports are about Americanization and how we represent ourselves.  If there are rule breaks or other issues within sport, how they are handled shows if we gray out some areas simply to keep the playing going or to disregard penalizing an athlete.  Third, all these values that are present are what we apply to our everyday life. Just like police force rules and regulations on citizens they then punish those individuals who break them, just like the governing bodies do to athletes and staff.