So far in Race, Gender, and the Media, we have been taught to look at the media from a media literate standpoint. It has been eye-opening to see the media and how it can influence us as a society to think about minorities, crime rates, etc. I also agree that the media has made tremendous strides to right the wrong, although subtle stereotypes still do occur and much more work is needed.
With this in mind, I find it interesting that in a class that teaches to be media literate, stereotypes are thrown around, often to without the knowledge of the class. Thursday night, September 15, I heard a comment that I found interesting and that if you really looked into it, you would find a clear stereotype that is both unfair and offensive, yet it was brushed aside.
The comment in question was in regards to a discussion about why women aren't allowed to be umpires in the NFL or MLB. The questions evolved into why women couldn't play in the NFL, because of obvious biological differences. Then this quote really caught my attention.
"Well women would probably have to take steroids just like all the other players anyway," said Tracy Everbach.
I find this to be just as stereotypical and unfair as any stereotype out there. And it should really bother a lot of people considering how many people are athletes, whether they are black, white or any other color. I take offense when athletes are labeled as "steroid-users", "meatheads", and "unintelligent", to name a few.
Do athletes from high school to professional levels use steroids? Yes. It is a known fact. Some of our greatest baseball players during the recent decade have tested positive for steroids, including Alex Rodriguez, Mark McGwire, and Manny Ramirez. 2009 Defensive Player of the year, Brian Cushing, a current linebacker for the Houston Texans, tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs, and was subsequently striped of his award and suspended for the beginning of the 2010 season. The evidence is there that steroids is used in sports. I firmly believe, however, that the MLB and NFL, among others, have taken significant strides to reduce the amount steroid use.
When you look at players, such as Josh Hamilton, you can see that weekly testing shows that he is consistently clean of both drugs and steroids. Many more players in the NFL and MLB don't use steroids. With the upcoming generation of players in the MLB living in the shadow of the Steroids Era, they realize the effects of steroids and are more educated about them than their predecessors.
In the Mitchell Report, it was reported that at least 1 player from each of the 30 MLB teams were using steroids in 2004. Yes, the use was wide spread. But when you consider that if each team has 25 players on the active roster alone, there are 750 players in a given time in the entire MLB combined. Those using steroids are are a significantly smaller percentage than those not using them.
So I find the phrase, "Well women would probably have to take steroids just like all the other players anyway," offensive, especially being a former high school and college athlete. From my personal experience, I weighed 140 lbs coming out of high school and now weigh 190 lbs. I gained 50 lbs. of muscle in three years by solely working out one hour a day.
Now when you consider the athletic trainers, facilities, and the fact that today's athletes are paid to workout, there should be no surprise that they are able to put on 10 or 20 lbs in during the off season. This is why I feel like it is degrading to stereotype athletes and say they must be taking steroids. Steroids do NOT improve one's athletic ability. Extreme athletic skill is stilled needed to hit a 98-mph fastball. Extremely athletic concentration is needed to haul in a football while dragging your toes to stay in bounds. Steroids do not equate to athletic ability. They do not activate some athletic gene. No, they are just a cheaters way of getting a little stronger.
This is not attended to call anyone out. It is to demonstrate that people who are athletic are not meat heads, steroid users, or dumb. (Look at Sam Bradford, Ram's QB, or Andrew Luck, QB for the University of Stanford.) I simply looking for fair representation of athletes that is also being asked by minorities, females, and the gay community. I just looking for a sense of fair.
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