Diversity in Sports

Diversity in Sports 1

Running Head : Diversity in Sports

Diversity in Sports

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Diversity in Sports 2

Abstract

The National Basketball Association has taken the lead in promoting diversity in sports as it has opened up various opportunities for people of all race or color

This will focus on the state of diversity in competitive sports

Diversity in Sports 3

Diversity in Sports

Diversity in sports simply means equal opportunities for every athlete irregardless of gender , color , race , or origin . This

is what the true spirit of competition should be all about . Sports should not only involve the white race , Americans , or men but also other races and sex (Jackson 2007

Rev . Jesse Jackson , Sr , in his report to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce , said that in recent years , diversity in sports has become very evident . In the world of American football , the Indianapolis Colts coached by an African-American , won a Super Bowl . In baseball , the Chicago White Sox , a multi-racial team managed by Ozzie Guillen , a Latino , and Ken Williams , an African-American , won the World Series in 2005 . A year later , the New York Mets , who is managed by a Latino manager and an African-American general manager , almost duplicated the White Sox ' feat , losing only in Game 7 of the National League Championship . This goes to show that moves to diversify sports are moving forward (Jackson 2007

The National Basketball Association (NBA ) has led the way in terms of sports diversity by opening its doors to other races . Long ago , the NBA was dominated by Americans or Canadians . Recently , however , one can see the teams drafting players from Europe and recently Asia . The Major League Baseball (MLB ) and National Football League (NFL ) are likewise starting to provide opportunities for other races which is why spectators would get to see the likes of Alfonso Soriano and Sammy Sossa hitting homeruns here and there (Jackson 2007

Diversity in Sports 4

The NBA : Taking the Lead In Diversity

Leading the way as far as diversity in professional sports is the National Basketball Association (NBA . For more than twenty years , the NBA has become the leader in promoting equal opportunities to all races Here are some NBA diversity facts and figures as reported by The Institute for Diversity in Ethics and Sports (Spears , 2007

15 of team vice presidents in the NBA are held by colored people , which is the highest in all of professional sports

79 of NBA players have colors . In 2007 , the number of African-American players increased to 75 which is higher than the 73 recorded in 2006

Employment opportunities for colored people at the League offices were at 34 percent , which is 2 higher than the previous year

39 of professional positions in the League Office are occupied by women

12 teams in the NBA are handled by African-American coaches . The NBA 's

With 53 African-American head coaches , the NBA has more than doubled the number of colored head coaches in any other...