The readings from today deal with how in recent years the Asian culture has increasingly influenced the American Culture. The article, “The Asianization of America,” by Olivia Barker discusses how the Asian culture is affecting everything from Starbucks, the movie industry, to Kanji tattoos in every tattoo parlor. The Asian culture is everywhere in America according to Barker. “There’s a hunger for all things Asian,” (Barker, 2001) this is evident by how much the Asian culture plays a role in our daily lives. Just today I ate stir-fry and had an egg-roll for lunch, a meal that originates from the Asian culture.
With the Asianization of America, comes the stereotype of the Asian American such as all Asian should drink tea, or know karate and be able to fight like movie characters. Barker raises the issue that Hollywood has inflected many of the stereotypes of Asians that we see in America today, through movies, commercials, and television shows. I can understand and agree with the author when it comes to this issue. As an African American male in America I feel as though there are a lot of stereotypes that society has created rather it is through movies, media, or actual experience. This is called “Asiaphilia” according to Barker, and it’s all superficial. Asian Americans face a lot of the same issues that other minorities face in this country and it remains to be seen as whether they can breakthrough the stereotypical barrier that society has placed on them.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
Wilson Chandler update
This entry to my blog really does not deal directly what where talking about in class, however it is sports related, and is definitely something that I would like to discuss with my viewers. I actually plan on maintaining this blog after I have completed this course, and branching out to other areas in addition to sports. As you may remember in my “introduction” I made a reference to one of my close friends Wilson Chandler, and I would just like to give a preseason update on his performance this season.
Playing for a historic franchise like the New York Knicks always puts a player on the big screen. Knick fans will scream, boo, and holler until the Knicks become championship contenders. I just like to bring up a recent article from the New York Times, “As the Tempo Increases, So Does Chandler’s Output” written by Peter May.The article talks about the new leadership in New York with the addition of Mike D’Antoni as head coach and how his up-tempo offense has affected players. Chandler of course has been flourishing in this offense, as May states in the article, “Wilson Chandler appears to have been placed on the planet to play in an up-tempo offense” (May, 2008). D’Antoni also gave Chandler praises by referring to him as a star in the making and comparing him to Shawn Marion. That wasn’t what impressed me the most though, the most compelling part of the article was the comments made by defending World Champion Kevin Garnett.
In a 25 second span versus Garnett Chandler blocked his shot, forced him into a traveling violation, and had a three point play against Garnett. When Garnett was asked about the blocked shot sequence he replied with, “I’ll remember that. Don’t think I won’t make a mental note of that. We play them again. I wasn’t happy about it. I should have taken my time” (May, 2008) Chandler finished the game with a team high 9 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. I think that this is a great start for a long season for Chandler. With the addition of Mike D’Antoni hopefully the Knicks can regain their prestigious ways of the past.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Yo Yao
Prior Yao Ming’s arrival in the NBA he had already made an amazing impact. He was the first international player to be selected with the 1st pick in the draft. This alone is an amazing feat to accomplish; and Yao has lived up to every expectation of being the 1st pick. This article deals a lot with the crossover from Asian culture to American culture and how this has affected the NBA and its players.
What I found most interesting about the article was the fact that Leonard feels that there is a friction between recent international players, and African American players. I was totally unaware of this issue and found it rather surprising; nonetheless I can understand where Leonard is coming from. Recently international players have been flocking to the NBA at a rapid pace. According to Leonard this is upsetting and directly challenging African American players who make up a majority of the NBA population, “Yao Ming reflects this growing tension among players for control over the NBA which often plays itself out racially” (Leonard, 2002). With the NBA being dominated by African American players, I see the recent influx of international players to just be good competition. On the other hand players coming out of college that has to compete with these international players, who already have professional experience, may see it in a different perspective.
International players have the opportunity and advantage of being able to turn professional at a young age which allows international players to be more fundamentally sound and polished, than their American counterparts. With such household names like Josh Childress and Brandon Jennings jumping ship and signing lucrative deals overseas, the International market has open a new opportunity for basketball players. With the recent trends and the new phenomenon of Americans and international players returning overseas to compete in a tax free market, this issue seems to be solving itself.
What I found most interesting about the article was the fact that Leonard feels that there is a friction between recent international players, and African American players. I was totally unaware of this issue and found it rather surprising; nonetheless I can understand where Leonard is coming from. Recently international players have been flocking to the NBA at a rapid pace. According to Leonard this is upsetting and directly challenging African American players who make up a majority of the NBA population, “Yao Ming reflects this growing tension among players for control over the NBA which often plays itself out racially” (Leonard, 2002). With the NBA being dominated by African American players, I see the recent influx of international players to just be good competition. On the other hand players coming out of college that has to compete with these international players, who already have professional experience, may see it in a different perspective.
International players have the opportunity and advantage of being able to turn professional at a young age which allows international players to be more fundamentally sound and polished, than their American counterparts. With such household names like Josh Childress and Brandon Jennings jumping ship and signing lucrative deals overseas, the International market has open a new opportunity for basketball players. With the recent trends and the new phenomenon of Americans and international players returning overseas to compete in a tax free market, this issue seems to be solving itself.
Monday, October 20, 2008
This piece, by Donna Daniels showcases the limitations and how society perceives the new women athletes of color in regards to participation in sports. Daniels focuses heavily on Venus and Serna Williams and how the media perceives them. With the athletic market for women rapidly expanding, society has come to recognize women as consumers. This is evident by the emergence of professional leagues, and recent sporting events. The sporting world has accepted women as consumers and athletes. With that being said the sporting woman has become a marketed and marketing figure.
The actual appearance of an athlete can sometimes be over looked. Looking the part is half the battle. Daniels makes a controversial statement in this article that I don't necessarily agree with stating that, "Black athletes are often celebrated in terms of a brute physicality and innate athleticism that denies the role of intelligence in athletic success" (Daniels, 2000). I can understand where she is coming from with this statement, but in recent years with the emergence of athletes like Kobe Bryant, Derek Jeter, and Tiger Woods who all display amazing intelligence in their own respectfully sport I don't know how much I agree with this statement. America has a lot to learn about African American women, and it is evident by the remarks of commentators such as, "Why do they wear their hair that way?" (Daniels, 2000). It is just a part of culture that white sportscasters often don't understand. Nonetheless as year’s progress and sports and the black woman evolves, the world will become more adapt to the culture.
The actual appearance of an athlete can sometimes be over looked. Looking the part is half the battle. Daniels makes a controversial statement in this article that I don't necessarily agree with stating that, "Black athletes are often celebrated in terms of a brute physicality and innate athleticism that denies the role of intelligence in athletic success" (Daniels, 2000). I can understand where she is coming from with this statement, but in recent years with the emergence of athletes like Kobe Bryant, Derek Jeter, and Tiger Woods who all display amazing intelligence in their own respectfully sport I don't know how much I agree with this statement. America has a lot to learn about African American women, and it is evident by the remarks of commentators such as, "Why do they wear their hair that way?" (Daniels, 2000). It is just a part of culture that white sportscasters often don't understand. Nonetheless as year’s progress and sports and the black woman evolves, the world will become more adapt to the culture.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Female Athletes with Disabilities
The article for today’s reading deal with sports and disability. The article that I choose to reflect on is, “Accommodating Female Athletes with Disabilities.” The author, Ann Cody, feels that female athletes with disabilities should be more encouraged and embraced when it comes to participating in sport. The Women’s Sport Foundation, which has been reference multiple times through out the semester, has basically developed and outlined a guide to assist in increasing accessibility to women’s sports and fitness programs.
As much as Title IX has affected sports and female participation in a positive manner, it hasn’t done the same for female athletes with disabilities. The guideline presented by Ann Cody is this article has four steps: Seeking guidance, accessibility considerations, sport-specific integration, and promotion and outreach. I feel that female athletes with disabilities deserve more opportunities; they are sort of the forgotten due to their limited access to sports and fitness programs. A lot of attention for disabled athletes goes towards their male counterparts; nonetheless this is changing with the help of organizations like the Women’s Sport Foundation. I don’t think society encourages female athletes with disabilities nearly as much as they do males and I think this is one of the major factors with the lack of participation when it comes to females. Male and female athletes should come together and help each other overcome this barrier.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Legend of Katie Hnida
On August 30, 2003, Katie Hnida became the first women to score in a NCAA Division I-A football game, while placekicking for the University of New Mexico. Katie Hnida is a perfect topic to discuss and is very relevant to what we have been discussing in class. Katie is not only famous for scoring the first female points in Division I-A football; she is also famous for ultimately the firing of Colorado head coach Gary Bennett. Before Katie was kicking extra points at University of New Mexico, she was a walk on freshman for the University of Colorado. After transferring to New Mexico Katie later accused her Colorado teammates of rape and sexual abuse; no charges where filed against any of the players.
Katie later went on recording saying that she endured a sexual hell that was unimaginable. As you may have seen on Outside The Lines, then head coach Gary Bennett further abused Katie by degrading her skills as a football player, and saying that she lucky to just be on the team. The quote that probably ultimately ended Bennett’s tenure at Colorado was "Katie was not only a girl, she was terrible. OK? There's no other way to say it. She couldn't kick the ball through the uprights." For these actions and other incidents Bennett was suspended from the team and later fired. The way Katie described her male teammates of treating her was just troubling. You would think students at that age would be mature enough to coexist with females. Gary Bennett statements where sexist to say the least and inappropriate, he just didn’t respect her as a football player and neither did her teammates for that matter. In my eyes what went on at the University of Colorado was definitely unacceptable and hopefully a female will never have to experience that again.
Katie later went on recording saying that she endured a sexual hell that was unimaginable. As you may have seen on Outside The Lines, then head coach Gary Bennett further abused Katie by degrading her skills as a football player, and saying that she lucky to just be on the team. The quote that probably ultimately ended Bennett’s tenure at Colorado was "Katie was not only a girl, she was terrible. OK? There's no other way to say it. She couldn't kick the ball through the uprights." For these actions and other incidents Bennett was suspended from the team and later fired. The way Katie described her male teammates of treating her was just troubling. You would think students at that age would be mature enough to coexist with females. Gary Bennett statements where sexist to say the least and inappropriate, he just didn’t respect her as a football player and neither did her teammates for that matter. In my eyes what went on at the University of Colorado was definitely unacceptable and hopefully a female will never have to experience that again.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Was she Blocked or Groped
The more I read about Title IX, the more interesting it becomes. The article, “Was she Blocked or Groped?” by Davis Sheremata , features a very interesting issue. The article discusses the issue of females playing in violent contact sports such as football, and some issues of sexual harassment during play.
I think this article is really about safety in coed sports. I don’t think females should participate in football. The physicality of football is just too much for females, hell; it is even too much for some males. My head football coach in high school would always tell us, “Everybody aint made to play football, if they were the whole school would be out here.” Football is a brutal game, and from my personal experience I can clearly say that it’s not a sport that should be played coed. In the article Alega Nuu is a 14 year old offensive tackle for the Edmonton Seahawks. Miss Nuu argued that one of her opponents reached under her pads and grabbed her chest during play. This is typical behavior in football. Defensive linemen are taught to get under your pads to gain leverage it is a technique, so this alleged touching of her chest was more than likely incidental. I have experience playing with a female on my high school football team; first hand I can tell you it did not work out to well. There are a lot of sports that can and are coed but I don’t think football should be one of them. The question is chest block or breast grab? I say a little bit of both it’s the nature of the game.
I think this article is really about safety in coed sports. I don’t think females should participate in football. The physicality of football is just too much for females, hell; it is even too much for some males. My head football coach in high school would always tell us, “Everybody aint made to play football, if they were the whole school would be out here.” Football is a brutal game, and from my personal experience I can clearly say that it’s not a sport that should be played coed. In the article Alega Nuu is a 14 year old offensive tackle for the Edmonton Seahawks. Miss Nuu argued that one of her opponents reached under her pads and grabbed her chest during play. This is typical behavior in football. Defensive linemen are taught to get under your pads to gain leverage it is a technique, so this alleged touching of her chest was more than likely incidental. I have experience playing with a female on my high school football team; first hand I can tell you it did not work out to well. There are a lot of sports that can and are coed but I don’t think football should be one of them. The question is chest block or breast grab? I say a little bit of both it’s the nature of the game.
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