Sports as a Means of Social Mobility

Sports have long been a way to provide many with positive experiences throughout their lives.  In the short-term, one can get a good workout and generally a fun time from playing sports. In the long-term, the participant can learn some important life-long values such as working well with others to achieve a common goal, the development of a strong work ethic through determination, and the development for a love of competition that will provide the individual with drive to become successful in their future endeavors.  For some, there is another added benefit that sports can provide.  Through sports, an individual can rise up from their modest beginnings and achieve opportunities and potential success that they would, most likely, never have had a chance to have if not for sports.  The truth of the matter, however, is that to achieve an upward mobility through sports is mostly a myth, and even for those that experience it, the vast majority of people do not.  However, the power of this myth is such that it pushes people to achieve greatness and better themselves in the process, which, in a sense, makes the myth worthwhile.  Throughout the history of sports, there have been such examples of individuals that have achieved the highly sought after upward social mobility such as Michael Jordan, the members of Michigan’s Fab Five, Allen Iverson, and more, and through their example, the rest of the population will continue to work towards this goal based upon these path finders’ work through hard work and perseverance.

The lure of using sports as a means of upward social mobility is exemplified in cases of those that has achieved extreme success by participating within them.  The most glaring of examples in this field comes from Michael Jordan.  Starting off as an individual of modest means, Jordan utilized his skills in the game of basketball to achieve worldwide renown.  In his case, Jordan obviously achieved upward social mobility as he went from an unknown, young basketball player to an individual who, “made over $100 million in 1998, including salary, endorsements, and income from merchandise and videos.”   Obviously, this is not the only case and rational for believing that social mobility is possible, as others have achieved it through their actions as amateur athletes such as with the case of Michigan University’s ‘Fab Five.’  This group of extremely talented individuals was comprised of many of the top recruited high school basketball players including future NBA players Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, and Juan Howard.  Their demeanor and the way in which they presented themselves on the court gained them a high degree of notability and fame, which provided the upward social mobility that added to the concept that sports can provide that for the individual.  There are even the cases for individuals that have not been specifically popular at the time achieving the same social mobility such as with Allen Iverson in the late 1990s and early 2000s.  Iverson entered the NBA as a new breed of player that appealed to the ‘urban youth.’  He sported multiple visible tattoos, a corn-rowed hair style, and a demeanor of constantly playing as though he had something to prove to the world.  His coming was seen by some as unpopular as he was detracting from the NBA image, but to many others, Iverson lived up to his nickname “The Answer” by providing the model for which young, poor, and relatively uneducated individuals could achieve levels of greatness through their abilities in a sporting activity.  

Obviously, the examples are not just limited to professional basketball players either.  Mike Tyson experienced rampant success from his boxing prowess and went from a poor, uneducated individual to a rich, successful man who made $75 million in 1996, and Tiger Woods pocketed $6.82 million in his first year a professional golfer.  Though not as popular in the United States, children all over the world aspire to become the next great soccer star such as with the case of  Brazilian Edson Arantes do Nascimento, commonly known as Pele.  In all of these cases, sports provided a means for, “individuals who grow up in poverty, as well as disadvantaged communities where sport may provide an important form of organized social activity, identity, and excitement,”   which ultimately lead to their ability to escape such circumstances and reach their professional ambitions.  These examples inspire individuals to achieve greatness, however the notion that sports provides a viable means to upward social mobility is a questionable, at best, concept. 

The reality of the situation is that sports are not a viable means for providing underprivileged individuals with a means of upward social mobility.  The simple fact is that the professional sports world is too competitive for the majority of individuals to find work within.  For every story of success that individuals hear about, there are many more stories that do not receive the same amount of attention about individuals that came close but could not quite make it.  Statistically, there are roughly 1.9 million males that play sports on a high school level in America, and to supplement this, there are roughly 68,000 men that participate in a sport collegiately.  Of these, the percent that will play on a professional level is approximately 0.14 or 1 out of every 736 high school players.   

Based on this statistical information, it is not a true viable means for one to assume that they will be able to utilize sports as an effective means of upward social mobility.  What is more likely is that the individual can gain life-long attributes from sports instead.  The balance of sports and other social fields must be observed, however as the competitive nature of sports can sometimes lead to volatile circumstances that can be problematic for individuals to deal with as many will always see sports as a means for achieving success and upward social mobility.  For these individuals, sports are not just a game or way to develop life skills, but a means of surviving and progressing their life goals, regardless of the apparent high probability of their failure.  What must be remembered for these individuals is that sports should be seen as nothing more than a chance to highlight the relatively modest increases within the participant’s life in the form of cultural, social, or potentially economical bases.  

The female population experiences this problem to a much lower extent than that of males when it comes to differentiating the use of sports as a means of competition and enjoyment over a potential career and future prospect.  This is due largely to the lengthy history of obstacles that women have had to face in order to be allowed to participate in many sports.  For women, the opportunity to play in professional sports in much lower than that of men, and they receive a much lower payout compared to men in the same sport; women in the American Basketball League received an average payout of $80,000 annually.  However, unlike with men, when women are given the opportunity to achieve some form of upward social mobility through sports, they tend to be much more proactive - such as women in sports media.  In the case of soccer scholarships given to women, the majority of those that received a scholarship achieved their degree while participating in their sport and were able to gain,: positive social and emotional skills…including respect, anger management, and tolerance, which improves social relationships and can in turn impact social mobility.”   In the same circumstance, a large number of male scholarship winners utilize their college access to prepare for professional careers in their sport and do not achieve their academic potential or even any degree.

One of the major differences between the way in which males and females deal with their utilization of sports is perpetuated through outside sources such as the media.  One such aspect, as previously alluded to, is how the media really only focuses its attention on sports from those that have achieved the highest levels of success within them.  This has created a mentality among individuals, particularly males, to become the best possible at certain sports in order to gain upward social mobility.  For example, among the Afro-Caribbean population, there is seen to be a growing number of individuals that who perceive sports as a potential means for a professional career and a means of social mobility and have placed an extremely high value on their abilities to participate in sports to a high level.  This shift in attitude can be largely seen as how the media portrays individuals in this area as extremely athletic in nature and continually showcases the few athletes from the area that have achieved great fame and fortune through sports.  The globalization of sports has also contributed to these new images that appear within individuals’ perspective on sports.  What must be taken into serious consideration by all parties is the way in which worldwide media has influenced all those exposed to it by showing media imagery of sporting events and processes for achieving social mobility.

Sports play an important role in the lives of many, which provide a multitude of benefits to those that participate within them.  They lay the foundation for many different attributes for individuals to develop and gain through their interactions in the sporting world.  As with any activity, there will be those that participate in sports and achieve a high level of success that can lead to extreme gains in economic terms and provide a means for upward social mobility for the individual.  These examples are perpetuated by the worldwide media and have created a general idea to the population that anyone can achieve the same level of success in the sporting world with the appropriate levels of hard work and talent.  However, the simple fact of the matter remains that a career in professional sports is extremely difficult and unlikely for the majority of individuals to achieve.  It is for this reason that sports should not be seen as a viable means of upward social mobility and seen more as a way to better the individual participating within them by the factors such as hard work, dedication, and teamwork that an active participant in sports will develop over their athletic career.

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