Aids

I liked our discussion the last class about Magic Johnson and Aids. I am a huge fan of basketball. I didn't start watching basketball until the mid 90's so I didn't ever really see Magic Johnson except for that season he came back in 97 when he was way past his prime. A lot of the things that Mrs. Spencer and the people on the video were saying about Magic being exciting and electrifying were the same things my older brother told me about him. I read Magic Johnson's autobiography and in it he said he slept with many women. He brought awareness about the HIV virus. He encouraged protected sex. The Aids virus had a gay stigma attached before Magic explained that heterosexuals can also get it. I think there is a double standard when it comes to many sexual partners. Men are praised and women are looked down upon. It is amazing that Magic has done so well when people thought that when he contracted the disease it was a death sentence.

Fast Times in the WNBA

I just read the "Fast times in the WNBA" article. The WNBA player salaries are a lot lower than NBA salaries. So are the ratings, attendance, and almost eveything else. I am not a huge WNBA fan, but I watch it sometimes. The WNBA game is like men's college basketball. They play extremely hard. You see people setting screens, ball movement, defense, and a lot of effort. The NBA is a lot different. In the NBA the offense revolves around two or three people and the players don't play as hard, because they are so athletic and the game comes easy to them. I love college basketball especially march madness, because kids play for the love of the game. They aren't playing for money or fame. I feel the same way with the WNBA game. A girl who is in the WNBA went to the same high school as me and she only makes 30,000 dollars a year in the league compared to the NBA which players make at least 385,000. I can't really say it's unfair because the NBA is just more popular. It is built more on indivuals on less on a team concept. Players typically go to wherever the most money is offered to them. The WNBA can't really have higher player salaries, because they don't make the type of revenue that the NBA players make.

Homosexuality

The last class was about homosexuality in sports. Personally I believe in the bible so i think that being gay is wrong, but I don't think that they should be discriminated against or treated differently. Many athletes are scared to admit that they are gay with the result being no professional athlete coming out publicly. A few have came out after retiring like former NBA player John Amaechi. I am strongly opposed to same sex couple adoptions. I think that God made it so a man and woman would be together and have a family. Only men and women can make children. Two men or two females adopting would have a negative impact on the child in my opinion. We learned earlier in the semester how much parents can influence gender. A male child might be messed up from being around two lesbians his whole childhood and think it's right. Even though I disagree with homosexuality and the same sex adopting it still is wrong to discriminate. The only thing that i think people should be judged by is their character. If I had a gay teammate I would accept him as a person.

Sex Sells

Yesterday in class we were talking about female athletes using sex appeal to gain popularity. A great example is Anna Kournikova. She has been one of the most popular female women tennis players in the last ten years despite not winning many tournaments. I don't have a problem with athletes using sex appeal to market themselves. It is a great way to make money and gain fame. At the end of the day sports is a business. Fans are the ones who pay to see athletes. Even the soccer player David Boeckham models. He has a large female fan base that probably wouldn't watch soccer if it were not for him. In marketing class I learned that to be successful in marketing you have to satisfy a consumer need or want. A lot of people want sex appeal in athletes so, if that's what sells I just think the athletes are smart when they model. Why not make millions just for photo shoots?