The Role Of Sociology In Sports

My understanding of the word “sociology” can be defined as the study of human behaviours & relationships within society. Those behaviours can have both a positive, and a negative impact on the person and his/her surroundings. This is even more evident when we look into how sociology and sport come together. How these two have merged together and evolved over time, has changed our perspective on both, especially in a sporting context. Taking the Olympic Games as my example, the first games being in 1896, in Athens, Greece. This historical sporting occasion mirrored the Dysfunctional theory and ideologies in which those times were lived in, very few black athletes

I feel the best sporting example of this mix between sociology and its relationship with sports, within the ‘critical theory’, is the corporation known as the N.B.A (National Basketball Association). In a league that has 72% of its athletes that are African-American (325/450), yet only 27% of the hierarchal roles, (ie; General Managers & Head Coaches) are fulfilled by African-American men. (REFERENCE (3)) This evident drop off still shows the unequivocal distinction between how people, especially African American people are discriminated and exploited, by “White America”. So my question has now become, does this contribute solely to society having a negative impact on sports? In one word, NO. Yet, it does depict how many “white” executives and business owners in society, specifically in American sports, think due to the conflict theories in which they were brought up in and still clearly promote. The best definition of Conflict Theory is that it “focuses its attention on how powerful people use sport to promote attitudes and relationships enabling them to maintain their power and privilege (REFERENCE (4)). This was no more evident then when Los Angles Clippers owner, Donald Sterling, an admitted racist throughout his long tenure, while having an African-American coach/GM, with a team made up of around 80% African-American Players, on live T.V, wholly admitted he “hated those types of people”. This eventually led to him being forced, by the N.B.A, to sell the team, which ended up selling at $2 Billion. Thus falsely allowing him to continue his “power and privilege” rights within the Conflict Theory, albeit away from