Interracial relationships within teammates in sports Essay

Interracial relationships within teammates in sports - Essay Example In the arena of sports, this is especially true and of especial importance. The various factors that form this list in the arena of teamwork and relationships on and off the field have been discussed in this paper so as to pose relevant questions regarding the quality of these relationships. To be more specific, this paper discusses the area of interracial relationships and the quality of the same within and outside the field. To begin with, let us define sports. The term 'sports' signifies the act of playing a game according to rules so as to declare a winner and a loser. But the very concoction of word sport will demonstrate that no one really loses. The very fact that a person or a team has stood on the field and performed so as to uphold the game and its rules, is enough to make any person a winner for life. In context of the above mentioned factors and discussion of sports, it may be asserted that there is a strong play of motivation in the conduct of sports and that of sportsmen. The basic motivational factor that is being studied in this paper is a combination of all the factors discussed above with a focus on interracial relationships and how these affect the relationships shared within team-mates on the field and off of it. (Eig, 2007) The motivation based on racial factors mirrors the fact that there is a lot yet to be learnt in terms of the factors that actually shape the psyche of the sportsman and affect his performance in the process. It may also be noted that despite the progress made by the world in terms of phenomena like globalisation, there is still a lot left to achieve as far as one on one relationships between people of various races is concerned. This adheres to various spheres and not just sports. Since a sport is all about teamwork more than anything else, it is easy to see these flaws and take stock of the same. McConley, Pg 3 (2008) In this regard, the foremost question that needs to be asked is whether or not the motivational factors for team mates depends on the friendships and bonds formed on the basis of colour and race. For example, let us look at the case of Jackie Robinson. A baseball player par excellence, who played for the Dodgers starting with the Negro League Kansas City Monarchs in 145, he went on to lead the international batting average with .349 average. Yet, there was constant heckling that he had to face once he got down on the field. The person who stood up and supported him openly was Dodgers captain, Pee Wee Reese. Also, Robinson found strong support in the person who had faced similar discrimination - team mate and Jewish baseball star Hank Greenburg. (Eig, 2007) So the question that comes up here is whether or not like attracts like. Is this a case of the discriminated standing up for the discriminated, or a White person standing up for a minority no matter what. The question that needs to be asked is whether or not the recognition of talent should be the greatest motivation rather than the