Inequality in Major League and College Sports

Attendance at at University of Michigan NCAA women’s basketball game

While great strides have been made in terms of granting women equality in our country, we have yet to reach equality in all aspects of our culture. One such aspect which lacks equality to women is the world of sports. While women are able to play college sports such as basketball and softball, the attendance at their games is mediocre. Additionally, attendance at WNBA games is even worse as the average number of attendants per game for the Phoenix Mercury (which led the WNBA in regard to attendance) was a measly 9,155 people in the 2014 season. That may seem to be a relatively large number, but compare that to to the Michigan men’s NCAA basketball team which had an average attendance of 12,138 people per game during the 2013 season, and the difference is clearly evident. It does not make sense that a professional level of basketball should be less popular than a collegiate level game on such a large scale. However basketball is not the only sport in which fans display inequality toward women.

Look at all of those fans!!

Down with Burke: Up with Mill!

Robinson playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers

Jackie Robinson is notoriously known for singlehandedly changing the course of sports in the United States and in the world. Unlike any other African American athlete to have “broken the color barrier”, Robinson was most widely associated with the term. As depicted in the 2013 film 42, Robinson was the first African American to ever play in Major League Baseball.

Trapped Within the ‘Magic Circle’

The Kansas City Royals, as I’m sure many of you know, are a professional baseball team who compete in the American League’s Central Division. At this point, many of you probably realize that the Royals are currently playing the San Francisco Giants in the world series, which could arguably be one of the most important sporting events in the world. Now onto something many of you might not know, videogames, more specifically Clash of Clans almost destroyed the Royals season! So the real questions are, how could seemingly a seemingly innocent game, destroy a professional sports team?

Pete Rose: Hall of Famer?

For those of you who don’t know who Pete Rose is, he is a baseball legend that many consider to be one of the best to ever play the game. He played for the Cincinnati Reds between 1963 and 1986. At the time of his retirement from playing, Rose held the record for hits, games played, at bats, and several other impressive records. After he stopped playing, Rose became a manager for the Reds. Soon into his managing career, however, there was an investigation into Rose and allegations of him betting on games as a manager. In 1989 the commissioner of baseball at the time, Bart Giamatti (sound familiar?) banned Rose from baseball for life.