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Essay / Sports development and the contribution of Jesse Owens and Jackie Robinson to its development
Sports is an incredible thing in this world, it is one of the greatest hobbies in the world. People admire the hard work players put in to be as successful as they are, people find it fun to see these amazing people go out and play their sport and make it look easy. Everywhere you go you see something that has to do with sports. This isn't just the case in the United States, it's all over the world. Sport can be an incredible thing in someone's life, it can have changed them for the better, maybe the person was 'nobody' but is now 'someone'. The feeling that playing a sport is like no other, the endorphins raging, the sweat streaming down your face, the excitement in the air. There are many definitions of sport, and there can be different ways of explaining it. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get an original essay The history of sports can be traced back to the Roman Empire and times in Greece when people did certain things of arena way to entertain people. From there, the sport changed dramatically. Now, if you hit a quarterback after he's thrown the ball, it's a penalty, but back then there were people dying in that arena. Make no mistake, it's better today than it was before, and it's much safer for the people who play it. Since that time in Greece, we have gone from killing people to throwing a ball over the fence in baseball. Even after the creation of the sports we play today, there are still some changes from when they were created. For example, in baseball they implement a rule in the minor leagues that you can steal first base on any field as long as the ball goes past the catcher on the field. The "National Baseball Players Association" didn't put this into the game years ago when they created it. Sometimes you have to ask yourself, “Would the person(s) who created this game like it if we introduced this new rule?” Sport has had a huge impact on today's society and the way we look at the world, it has made the world a better place and helped people in need. In the article “State of the Field: The History of Sports and the “Cultural Turn,” the author compares sports to how it contributed to cultural change with all the racism. How, if you look at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Jesse Owens competed even though he was a man of color. In the face of all the criticism and death threats, he still went out and competed for his nation. The impact of this decision helped change the sport for the future. The history of sport has helped improve society. For example, when Jackie Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers, he was hated by many people. He went through some challenges but ultimately, look at MLB today, he helped change the league, and he also helped society change its habits and actions towards people of color. This paved the way for many people of color in sports, for example Kareem Abdul Jabbar. He's a basketball player of color and he's had a lot of success in his time. According to basketballrefrence.com, he was a 19-time All-Star, 2-time scoring champion, 6-time MVP, named to the NBA All-Team 15 times, and 6-time NBA Champion. He was able to achieve this success because of the people before him who helped solve the entire interracial problem that was happening before his time. The sport has