Question

As an individual who may want to consider sports management as a career, what steps would you take to ensure that athletes are not discriminated against due to age and ability?

Answer 1

While many professionals who choose careers in this field stay in it permanently, rest assured that you’ll also gain skills that can be used in other industries. Professional sports is big business. No matter the area of sports management you work in, you’ll have opportunities to refine your communications, finance and people skills. You’ll also be able to build a portfolio of your achievements that will demonstrate your ability to get results. Sports management can be a very competitive field, so you’ll be able to develop the fortitude needed to thrive in other high-pressure industries too.Athletes are expected to give their all on the field of play, and they’re expected to do the same in their communities too. Many professional athletes use their social and financial status to help others, but they don’t do it on their own. In many cases, sports managers help their clients identify service opportunities and coordinate community appearances. Some sports management professionals even work as special consultants to athletes who want to make a difference.If you love sports but know that your chances of landing a spot on a pro team are limited, you don’t have to give up on working in the industry you love. Taking a behind-the-scenes role might feel different at first, but you’ll find that working in sports management offers many of the same mental and emotional challenges as playing on a sports team. You’ll also enjoy working in one of the most vibrant and fun-filled industries in the world.

Master Athletes, these scholars recognize that aging is normal, not pathological, and that disuse may be one of the major reasons for physical decline. Since Master Athletes continue to use their physical abilities, their experiences may be extremely important to gain an understanding of what the actual aging process entails. This could prove insightful because their athletic participation eliminates the effects of disuse from explorations of aging .

Athletic participation is only one aspect of the community of sport. Age also must be considered from the perspective of those who engage in sport in other ways.Master Athletes, these scholars recognize that aging is normal, not pathological, and that disuse may be one of the major reasons for physical decline. Since Master Athletes continue to use their physical abilities, their experiences may be extremely important to gain an understanding of what the actual aging process entails. This could prove insightful because their athletic participation eliminates the effects of disuse from explorations of aging .The neglect of age, however, is also quite apparent. Fortunately, that leaves a wide open field for new scholarship. As many sport communication scholars argue, sport offers an important context for understanding larger cultural values and attitudes.

Students with disabilities are no different – like their peers without disabilities, these students benefit from participating in sports. But unfortunately, we know that students with disabilities are all too often denied the chance to participate and with it, the respect that comes with inclusion. This is simply wrong. While it’s the coach’s job to pick the best team, students with disabilities must be judged based on their individual abilities, and not excluded because of generalizations, assumptions, prejudices, or stereotypes. Knowledgeable adults create the possibilities of participation among children and youth both with and without disabilities.Federal civil rights laws require schools to provide equal opportunities, not give anyone an unfair head start. So schools don’t have to change the essential rules of the game, and they don’t have to do anything that would provide a student with a disability an unfair competitive advantage. But they do need to make reasonable modifications (such as using a laser instead of a starter pistol to start a race so a deaf runner can compete) to ensure that students with disabilities get the very same opportunity to play as everyone else. The guidance issued today will help schools meet this obligation and will allow increasing numbers of kids with disabilities the chance to benefit from playing sports.