Introduction
Sports have become the world’s best entertainment sector that attracts people worldwide to compete, interact, and exchange skills. However, there are gaps in sports that need to be addressed to make the sporting arena safe for sportspersons. Information on human right violation in sports in the US has been obtained from credible literature works by different authors. Results from those literature sources show that gender inequality, racial stereotyping, and underrepresentation of people with disabilities are the main factors contributing to human rights violations in the US. Findings reveal that even though gender, race, and disability bases have been researched, a research gap exists in investigating other issues, such as harassment and deaths in the US and other countries. This research implies that human rights still hold in every field without impartiality. Human rights are inherent and universal, and every human is entitled to enjoy them without interruption. The US’s sports ministry needs a quick reaction to the matter of human right violation against its sportspersons to promote the achievement of full potential from everyone.
How are Human Rights Violated in Sports in the US?
The world of sports has impacted myriad overviews of different matters that exist and impact various groups at societal, national, and international levels today. Sports have been a medium that promotes global interaction and unity between varied cultures. Many people have exploited their sports talents, which help them earn a living. However, there still exist discrepancies in sports in different countries despite efforts put by organizations that govern sportspersons. While sports are expected to promote respect and dignity in respecting aspects of human rights, it has become ironic because countries have begun using sports to violate human rights. Despite the advancement in human rights in the most significant part of society, sports in various parts of the globe continue to cultivate actions of human rights violation. Human rights are violated in sports in the United States (US) through racism, inequalities, gender identity, and the underrepresentation of people with disabilities.
Background Information and Outline
Human rights are the universal and fundamental rights and freedoms inherent to an individual from birth. In the first three paragraphs, this paper illustrates how human rights are violated in sports in the US. The subsequent section will discuss how violation of human rights in sports hinder their progress. The conclusion is the last part with limitations, recommendations, and implications for research in sports. The US is today profiled as the leading country with the highest rate of discrimination and racial stereotyping. This aspect of discrimination has expanded into other sectors, specifically sports. Violation of human rights in sports has become common in the US today. A long history of human right violation through racism has culminated in humane standards required to be geared towards sports. Less attention has been put towards ensuring equal and fair opportunities in sports are open to all people, irrespective of race, gender, and disabilities.
Racism, injustices, and inequalities in sports have become prevalent actions that violate human rights in the US. Johnson and Minuci (2020) state that black players in leagues such as the NBA are subject to wage discrimination and free agent signings. However, research on racial inequality and underrepresentation in sports in the US by Destin and Dyer (2021) has highlighted that black players can triumph if given equal chances to participate in different sports. For instance, African-Americans such as Althea Gibson, Arthur Ashe, and the Williams Sisters have left legacies in Tennis sport amidst racial drawbacks in the US. Black sportspersons have realized outstanding sports achievements in the US, which led to the country’s prestige (Destin & Dyer, 2021). Thus, involved stakeholder management in the US sports industry should encourage just, fair, and equal inclusion of all sportspersons because it is against human rights to stereotype other people racially (Destin & Dyer, 2021). Racial inequality and injustices in sports in the US should be eliminated because it violates the dignity of human rights (Destin & Dyer, 2021). Racial underrepresentation hinders progress as it denies people of color equal chances of participation in sports.
Human rights violations in the US’s sports industry are also expressed through underrepresentation and unequal chances for people with disabilities to participate in sports. According to research by Rojas-Trrijos (2021), people with disabilities are underrepresented in common sports such as football and basketball in the US. People with disabilities are democratically mandated to be given chances to participate in different events because they can be productive differently (MacPherson & Kerr, 2021). However, this objective has hit a blunt edge as people with disabilities have received less attention in the US sports industry in recent decades (Roja-Trijjos, 2021). Inequality and underrepresentation have eliminated the inclusion and empowerment of people with disabilities as influential voices in different sports areas. Findings by MacPherson and Kerr (2021) reveal that positive records and contributions have been set by people with disabilities in US sports history. Despite their inability to participate in sports, they have productively promoted achievement in parasports (MacPherson & Kerr, 2021). Thus, the US sports industry should ensure more inclusion of people with disabilities in sports to help them achieve their dreams.
Gender inequality and identity violation are experienced in sports in the US. This factor is manifested through the underrepresentation of women in particular sports and unequal pay in the US (Gaston, Blundell, & Fletcher, 2020). According to Roja-Trijjos (2021), women are underrepresented in leadership positions to manage elite leagues and athletics in the US. However, those who promote these unethical acts forget that there are histories of women and girls with better histories in different sports than men. Men have always been getting more opportunities and chances to participate in sports such as soccer, basketball, tennis, and baseball with greater pay and higher representation than women (Ambikile, Leshabari, & Ohnishi, 2022). Furthermore, unequal pay has remained a milestone problem that women face in favor of men in sports in the US (Johnson & Minuci, 2020). Women have complained of being paid and compensated differently than men in games. Men have tended to receive higher pay than their female counterparts. Sportspersons should receive equal payment and compensation to promote equality in US sports.
Discussion
Human right violation in sports in the US is prevalently experienced in different circumstances such as racial stereotyping, gender mainstreaming, and underrepresentation of people with disabilities. Sports bring cohesiveness, interaction, and unity to individuals from different cultures globally (Borge, 2021). More so, the international charter for human rights protects every human being against underrepresentation based on race, gender, and disability. Unfortunately, research on underrepresented parties in sports by Rojas-Torrijos (2021) reveals that the underrepresentation of black sportspersons in elite leagues in the US still exists. Black people have registered great achievements for the US recently, but they are today underrepresented in different sports (van Sterkenburg, de Heer, & Mashigo, 2021). These violations against blacks become a drawback for individuals to enjoy and exploit their potential in sports (Destin & Dyer, 2021). People with disabilities are also denied particular chances and equal representation that make them more productive in the US sports industry. Gender inequality and identity have denied women’s participation and equal pay in different games (Johnson & Minuci, 2020). To promote equality, the Ministry of Sports in the US must interrogate sports inequalities to women, such as unequal pay to men.
Suggestions for Further Research
Human right violation in sports is a problem that affects the US and other countries. Researchers in the future should focus on other aspects of human right violation in sports, such as harassment and deaths that occur to sportsmen and women. There are more issues that sportsmen and women face than violations of their human rights. These issues tend to be pressing to their needs for attention. Thus, researchers should not only consider the violation of human rights but consider other issues such as conditions of training centers, sponsorship, and sports management. Research on human rights issues in sports should also be extended globally to other countries where sportspersons, directly and indirectly, suffer a violation of their human rights. These researches will uncover major issues never narrated by individuals who participate in sports.
Limitations
The information used in this paper is obtained from secondary printed sources and works of literature. These sources might be subject to bias by the writer since they can be edited to fit the writer’s and editor’s minds. The research was also limited to only three issues gender, racial discrimination, and cases of persons with disabilities. Other methods, such as personal interviews, would be more appropriate for this research. A personal interview reveals an exact emotional feeling of an interviewee through body expressions. More so, the data obtained is appealing compared to data obtained from the literature. Questionnaires were not used to gather information from the different sports centers. Thus, this research is based on secondary data that can easily be exaggerated to satisfy the writer’s mind, making the data inaccurate. Further, there might be more issues that violate human rights in sports but in different countries that are worse than what literature works give.
Conclusion
Gender inequality, racial discrimination, and underrepresentation of people with disabilities are the primary key factors that have drawn the attention of many people globally. These issues govern today’s society because they have been adopted in the constitutions of every country worldwide. More emphasis and focus on investigating discrimination against race, gender, and people with disabilities in the US shows a good change in other countries. Many sportsmen and women have been underrepresented and discriminated against from participating in sports in the US due to their race, which hinders the progress of disadvantaged groups. Gender identity and inequality have promoted the underrepresentation of women’s participation in sports propagated with unequal pay in favor of men. Human right violation in sports in the US has been propagated through racial discrimination and injustices, gender identity underrepresentation and inequality, and underrepresentation of people with disabilities.
References
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