"Final Reflections"

Before I took this class I would always think to myself why sport society is the way it is? How many athletes feel the same way that I do towards how we are treated and what we are expected to accomplish? What influences does sport have in society and what would happen if society's mindset towards sport would change? Since I have been taking this class I can now pin point when sport does good things for society and when it does not. II now understand that, as a student athlete, I am not alone and many other student athletes go through what I go through day by day. I've learned that in order to get rid of some idealizations it depends on me and other new generation athletes to change this and stand for what we believe in and what is going to help society as a whole. I cannot point out exactly which topic stood out for me the most because all topics were extremely eye opening and made me finally understand many things about the career path I am choosing to take. Once I move on from this class I will definitely start asking more questions and thinking outside the paradigms of what we are meant to think about. I will also, apply my new way of thinking in decisions I have to make once I graduate and make decisions of where I want to go and play volleyball. I would definitely recommend this class to all of my friends/teammates that are passionate about sports.

Neira Ortiz-Ruiz

"Why the 'Mans Mans' game is an insult to men"

The movie 'Training Rules' as well with many other articles that talk about the life of an athlete after they come out, do not seem to explain that there is a lot of tolerance for homosexual athletes. Different sports seem to be very hostile towards athletes that are simply staying true to themselves. They do not only have to deal with coaches that are homophobic (as seen in 'Training Rules'), but with teammates that might have a problem with it, and lastly with fans who do not support the LGBT community. In order for gay athletes to be safe I think is more of a cultural thing rather than directly meant for sports. If culturally we accept that homosexuals are just as normal as heterosexuals then we start unconsciously creating a safe environment for athletes who come out. If we as a society that loves sports view sport as what it is, a game, then we would not care about anyone's sexual orientation.

Neira Ortiz-Ruiz