This section talks about social norms, laws, and race and their correlation with sports. Social norms are social rules created by our society. For example, leaving a tip is not legally demanding, but the staff may come to dislike you. Tipping in the U.S has become a social rule. In sports, a social norm would be an athlete never crying, even enduring intense pain. The clear rules in sports can to be considered as sport laws. Laws in general can be informal or formal; ambiguous or clear. An example of a formal law/rule would be the NBA’s rule against traveling. They state traveling has moving the pivot foot and/or taking three steps or more. An example of an informal rule would the rule against excessive celebrations. Most of if not all sporting leagues has a similar rule to it. The questions is “What celebrations are acceptable?” This ties in with race since races normally have their own culture. Depending on that culture, some things may seem accept. For example, a famous MLB player did a celebratory bat flip after hitting a three-run home run. Some MLB players and some commentators saw his celebration as an inappropriate act that isn’t fitting for the major leagues. Baseball players outside The North American see this as an acceptable celebratory act. The player in question said that it’s the media’s bad faith in Latino athletes. I feel that to be true seeing how those sport leagues were all whites. Rules and laws in sports can be influenced by social norm; which was in this case. Socially in The North American continent, they see bat flipping as something flashy. Most likely that was decided by white folk who didn’t care about other cultures. Baseball is very diverse in race, but not in culture. The sport used to be seen as a white man’s game, which propelled social norms.
3/27/2019
Sociology Blog 