Issues and Controversies Surrounding Inclusive Sport in the UK Society - Essay Example

Issues and controversies surrounding inclusive sport in UK society United Kingdom is a country which is much inclined to sports. From time immemorial, the said country is participating on various sporting events in and outside the country. Also, it is an established fact that there are varieties of sporting events that are adopted and propagated by the aforementioned country. Having these facts, it can be concluded that the said country is inclined with several sports and sports has something to do with the athletes. Due to the given facts, the country is spending tremendous amount of money for several sporting programs which are sponsored by the government and several professional and commercial league focusing on the propagation and competition of sports as a source of income. With this, there are a lot of individuals who are prompted to involve and even develop themselves into several sporting events. There are statistical data which states that there are national or professional athletes who are not passionate with the sport that they are playing but do play because of money. In dealing with this, one might say that sporting in UK would mean career and employment opportunities for some. There are a lot of spectators who are saying that these kinds of occurrences really prompted people to go on several sports as a career. However, they also stated that some even though not that physically capable and deserving are pushing them to become a part of the national team or play on major commercial leagues. Such occurrences are well-documented. In further dealing with this, there are also irregularities and deprivation which are happening in different fields of sports in UK. These occurrences have something to do with racism, gender and sometimes social status between the rich and the poor and the disabled one. Issues and controversies surrounding inclusive sport in UK society 2 In dealing with this, a thinking that playing sport as a right of an individual is now replaced by the thought that the privileged ones are those who could enjoy a sporting event to the fullest as well as the perks and incentives encircling it should a certain individual be hired and open a career as a sportsman. In this case, several instances occurred in dealing with this issue, UNESCO has reported several instances involving racial discrimination even in professional football league in UK. There are a lot of accounted deprivations and discrimination of some individuals in sports played in UK in which they were not given equal opportunities with regards to playing time, exposures and the likes. In November 2000, unesco.org have reported that "Three days into England's new football season and Patrick Vieira, France's World Cup and Euro 2000 winning midfield player, is dismissed while playing for Arsenal against Liverpool, earning his second red card in as many matches. The British press is quick to speculate that he will quit the English game, invoking the player's own accusations that he has been subject to "racist" intimidation from players and officials alike. According to Vieira, he is being singled out for abuse not because he is black, but because he is French-a complaint previously made by expat footballers like Eric Cantona, Frank Leboeuf and Emmanuel Petit-Only months before, a defender playing for West Ham faced disciplinary charges after allegedly calling Vieira a "French prat" and joking that "he could smell the garlic" when the midfielder spat at him" Issues and controversies surrounding inclusive sport in UK society 3 Furthermore, UNESCO (2000) stressed that such incidents are just replication of history adding that "In England, the cradle of football hooliganism, the debate over racism in football has evolved. Overt racism among supporters and abuse directed at black players, both of which flourished in the 1970s and 1980s, have declined steeply in recent years in the face of vociferous public campaigning, though residual pre-judices against foreign players have evidently been unaffected. Elsewhere, in contrast, much less trivial manifestations of racism plague the game" In this case, it is a clear indication that some games in UK are being decided on the account of racism. If this is the case, then one might think that UK is still in the bondage of having a superiority complex and with such a fact, it the thinking that UK is not at the moment entertaining concepts concerning equality. If this is the case, how this kind of irregularities could be addressed. Racism in sport is such a big and sensitive issue to tackle with and in this case, this would probably create more conflicts and debates with regards to the credibility of UK in handling this kind of event. If we are to further analyze, there are delegates that would encamp in the said country for more or less a month and with this, the country would accommodate different races that would invite more racism incidents if such a petty football thing is not resolved. There are plans and move that eradicates racism in football which is the most popular sport in UK. Issues and controversies surrounding inclusive sport in UK society 4 The Campaign like "Show Racism the Red Card" which according to the website youthinformation.com (2007) have stated that "Show Racism the Red Card is an anti-racist charity which was established in January 1996 with the aim of using Professional footballers as anti-racist role models. Although racism is on the decline in professional football, it is unfortunately on the increase in British and indeed European society. The aim of the campaign is to combat racism through anti-racist education and professional footballers are showing the way in terms of making a stand and fighting racism. The campaign has been able to involve hundreds of top footballers and managers, and has harnessed the high profile of these role models to combat racism" However, football is just a single sport and racial discrimination is just an issue to be addressed. There are still a lot of irregularities that have been reported in several sports involving different personalities. In this case, the idea that irregularity in sports in UK is still rampant and has not been resolved over the years. Upon analyzing this kind of premise, the term, inclusion and exclusion in sport now comes into picture. In this case the idea of who has the right to play and who doesn't now comes into picture. Basically, the premise alone suggests negative implications concerning this kind of activity. If we are to deal with equal rights, everybody has the right to try something which is the main argument here. If one is not entitled to play a certain sport, then one is deprived of experiencing such an event. Issues and controversies surrounding inclusive sport in UK society 5 In this case, this activity must be looked upon critically and must be addressed instantly. In dealing with this, gender discrimination is also being observed in this kind of occurrence. There are also facts which stated the exclusion of women in several sports which they regard as masculine or in other words being dominated by men. If we are to deal with equality, then this should not be the case. However, the provisions of several limitations are a just act to address the issue. For example, ratify rules and regulation for the welfare of women with regards to their physical limitations as well as the handicapped ones to further protect their health and to further protect one's life. Though there are accounts that sometimes women can call the shots to a certain sports and sometimes women could do much better than their male counterparts. However, there are instances that women and men alike are being set aside and even asked to do another task solely on the basis of their gender. If this is the case, then professional leagues are not worthy of being called as the name stated as such actuations are indications of unprofessional individuals, which is the cause of several biases and irregularities which nullifies the fact on why sports are conceptualized. In this case, it is very hard to comprehend why such things are happening where in fact, sports are discovered and created by different people and majority of them believes that their games must be played by everybody. Issues and controversies surrounding inclusive sport in UK society 6 If women are being regarded as equal as their male counterparts, their inclusion to a male sport is also a nice thing to do. Furthermore, there are a lot of benefits with regards to inclusion of women to sports with which is being deprived if they are excluded without valid reason. The website salud.wetpaint.com (2007) stated that " Sport is where boys have traditionally learned about teamwork, goal setting, the pursuit of excellence in performance and other achievement-oriented behaviors -- critical skills necessary for success in the workplace. In an economic environment where the quality of life will be dependent on two-income families, young women cannot be less prepared for the highly competitive workplace. It is no accident that 80 percent of the female executives at Fortune 500 companies identified themselves as former "tomboys" -- having played sports" This means that there are positive effects should a certain individual is not deprived with his/her social classification which is very beneficial to the society as a whole. Inclusion requires several pre requisites if we are to view with the unfair treatment in UK sport society. In this case, the parameters are now limited to social class, gender, ethnic groups and the likes rather than the capability of the individual to deliver the goods-such premises are deemed as negative determinants that deals with the equality among the society. Of we are to analyze sport is just a mere and simple social activity but now, is considered as an avenue of discrimination and social disgrace in the society. Issues and controversies surrounding inclusive sport in UK society 7 With the given premise, the fact that UK being inclined with sports both burdened by government and commercial leagues, is only the tip of the iceberg if the issue which is the inclusion and exclusion with regards to the irregularity of sports played in UK as a tool for the assessment in assessing sociological theories. Such given premise dictates the functionalist theory which the society implies. In this case, though being regarded as a social activity, in sports, the emergence of social classes is still at hand and is a parameter in determining the class of a certain individual. Resolving the ethical issues concerning sport irregularities would not just strengthen the credibility of UK for an irregularity free sports which would eventually strengthen its professional claim but would also be an important tool to further boost functionalist theory which is being regarded as important tool with regards to interdependence of each other in the society which is being stated as "Functionalism is about the structure and workings of society. Functionalists see society as made up of inter-dependent sections which work together to fulfill the functions necessary for the survival of society as a whole. People are socialised into roles and behaviours which fulfill the needs of society. Functionalists believe that behaviour in society is structural. They believe that rules and regulations help organise relationships between members of society. Values provide general guidelines for behaviour in terms of roles and norms. These institutions of society such as the family, the economy, the educational and political systems, are major aspects of the social structure. Institutions are made up of interconnected roles or inter-related norms e.g. Inter-connected roles in the institution of the family are of wife, mother, husband, father, son and daughter(Wikipedia 2007)"In this case, functionalism could be and will always be a tool for classification of individuals partaking in sports as a social activity. Issues and controversies surrounding inclusive sport in UK society 8 Reference: 1) UNESCO ( November 2000) The terraces of some of Europe's biggest football clubs have become stomping grounds for racist abuse, though the problem stems far beyond match day: The Courier UNESCO. [online] available from www.unesco.org/courier/2000_11/uk/ethique.htm < May 3, 2007> 2) UNESCO ( November 2000) The true colours of fans dancing with a swastika flag The Courier UNESCO. [online] available from www.unesco.org/courier/2000_11/uk/ethique.htm < May 3, 2007> 3) youthinformation.com (2007) Show Racism the Red Card. Racism in sport. [online] http://www.youthinformation.com/Templates/Internal.aspNodeID=91085 4) salud.wetpaint.com (2007) Sports Studies[online] http://salud.wetpaint.com/page/Sports+Studies 5) Wikipedia (2007) Functionalism [online] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Functionalism_(sociology) < May 3 2007> Read More