Social Responsibility of The Athletes - Essay Example

Athletes and Social Responsibilities Since athletes are people with social influence, they are able to mobilize citizens towards social activities that can be beneficial to the society (Smith, 2013). In addition, they can come up with a project that is aimed at benefiting the less fortunate in the society. It can bring about a social change as well as economic development to those who they give a service to. Athletes have to stand up for the people whose voice has been silenced and whose living are being banished by the policies and orders of the country. Athletes are the most visible expression of performance and financial success in the United States. They have an influential power that can bring people from different cultures or religious to come up with amazing strategies in the society (Smith, 2013). They can allow the people through their different activities related to the society. They should be confident, honest and supportive. They have to get past to athlete’s association and personal advisers and think about what is best for the people of their nation. Athletes stand a better chance of making the world a better place. This is attributed to the fact that they are public figures and command a great following. The less fortunate people in the society are as much important as the athletes themselves, their coaches as well as their fans. Athletes have the responsibility to fight for social justice. They should be ready to part of their huge salaries for the sake of recognition of the people’s rights and better living condition. Some of the top earners in sports include; Aaron Rodgers, North American who plays football for Green Bay Packers earns 43 million USD per year, Drew Bees, North American football player for New Orleans Saints earns 40 million USD per year, just to mention but a few (Neto, 2013). These players can give portion of their salaries to charity or projects and programs aimed at helping the needy. They should be ready to stand by what is right and what they believe even if they are criticized. Athletes can change lives through social responsibility. The reason is that athletics have the power to bring about strong emotions and encourage health, friendship and respect. They are able to support and inspire people with intellectual disability through sports. Sports help them to improve physical fitness, show courage, and be involved in the sharing of gifts; talents and friendship. The Union of European Football Association’s (UEFA) social responsibility partners see this as an outstanding job. It is possible to discover sporting gifts and drive a real sense of personal achievement and increase individual values. People share experience of training together, playing together, winning and losing together. So when people participate in sports, they experience excitement and challenges that encourage them in life. Sporting activities increases self-confidence and self-reliance. Volunteers who sacrifice their time to training and assisting athletes help them to be dedicated and get encouraged. Through these trainings, it is possible to discover various talents in athletes (Smith, 2013). On the other hand, the athletes might be afraid to get involved in social action that might lead to commotion to the government and the society. Those who have tried to come out and cause tension on an issue of any injustice have been criticized. For example, John Carlus, the bronze medalist in the 1968 Olympics tried to bring racism to the surface and this cost him his career (Powell, 2000). While being crowned with his bronze medal, he raised his fist wearing a black glove to show the world that racism against black people was not the right way people should live (Younge, 2012). As a young runner who was in his prime, this cost him a lot. He was suspended from the team representing US at the Olympics as well as the Olympics village (Younge, 2012). Other athletes like Jim Brown, Tommie Smith, Arthur Ashe and Billie Jean King were social activists who used their positions to stand against racism and voice their concern that blacks were human beings who deserved to be treated with dignity (Powell, 2000). Their activism interfered with their careers. Athletes are instilled with fear when this happens. Others try to get support from individuals and organizations in vain. Fear of being victimized is possibly the main reason why athletes do not get involved in social activism (Smith, 2013). The athletes that the U.S. is producing today are very separated out. An athlete whose talent has been identified as early as nine or ten years is isolated and placed with their selected peers (Powell, 2000). They are only students with a set level of sports who have become significant moneymakers as much as other activities in the society (Smith, 2013). They are supposed to have full commitment in the sports and nothing should disrupt them from it. They live a regimented life meaning that sports do not give them time for other activities such as doing voluntary work. Today’s athletes in the USA are not willing to be committed to their society. When it comes to social activities that can complicate their fame, they choose to step back; unlike their predecessors who would lose everything for their nation (Polite, Waller, Trendafilova, Spearman, 2012). In conclusion, athletes are respected and adored people in the society who stand a good chance of making a difference. Therefore, they should stand by what they believe in to use their influence and massive salaries for the betterment of the society. References Neto, G. (2013). The top 25 highest salaries in sports in 2013-2014. Financenews.com. Retrieved April 13, 2013, from http://www.financenews24.com/2013/08/03/the-top-25-highest-salaries-in-sports-in-2013-2014/ Polite F., Waller S., Trendafilova S., & Spearman L. (2012). Social responsibilities in sports. Sports science review, xx, 111-135. Powell, S. (2000). Souled Out? - How Blacks Are Winning and Losing in Sports. New Jersey: Human Kinetics. Smith, G. (2013). Why don’t more athletes take a stand? In J. R. Moehringer (Editor), The Best American Sports Writing. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Younge, G. (2012, March 30). The man who raised a black power salute at the 1968 Olympic. The Guardian. New York. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/mar/30/black-power-salute-1968-olympics http://www.pbs.org./newshour.%20%5C Read More