Deck 3: Stratification and Social Class in Sport

Question 1

The idea that the existing salary inequalities in professional sport are necessary for the motivation of athletes to perform well is most consistent with:

A) social conflict theory.
B) structural functionalist theory.
C) symbolic interactionism.
D) feminist theory.

Answer 1

structural functionalist theory.

Question 2

The "sports-media-commercial complex" identified by Messner, which we call the Golden Triangle, has tended to respond to the growth of women's involvement in sports with coverage that has:

A) become as extensive as men's coverage on the major television networks and cable outlets.
B) avoided sexualized images of women that demean the athletic abilities of women in sport.
C) not presented women athletes in poses that show off their pride in their bodies.
D) selectively focused on a relatively few outstanding female athletes in a few sports.

Answer 2

selectively focused on a relatively few outstanding female athletes in a few sports.

Question 3

According to research by Messner, Dunbar and Hunt, the "Televised Sports Manhood Formula" includes the theme that:

A) the voices of authority in sport now reflect the ethnic and racial diversity of participants in many major sports.
B) women have shown that they are talented athletes worthy of respect.
C) athletes should give up their body for the team.
D) sportsmanship requires some restraint of aggression in sport.

Answer 3

athletes should give up their body for the team.

Question 4

One could conclude from the analysis of the "Televised Sports Manhood Formula" by Messner, Dunbar and Hunt that the televised sports programs they studied:

A) provided boys with narrow and stereotypical messages about race, gender and violence.
B) encouraged boys to accept gender equity as a reality of contemporary sports.
C) conflicted with the interests of the Golden Triangle.
D) encouraged boys to take care of their bodies and protect them from injuries.

Question 5

Mass media portrayals or accounts of minorities and women in sport:

A) usually are consistent with existing structures of social inequality in society.
B) generally challenge existing stereotypes in society.
C) show that the Golden Triangle is committed to reducing inequalities in sport and society.
D) reflect the ways minority and female athletes want to be covered by the media

Question 6

In the global stratification of sport:

A) U.S. football is at the top.
B) the majority of the richest sports teams in the world are soccer clubs.
C) the Golden Triangle has very little influence.
D) all sports are ranked the same way in every nation in the world.

Question 7

The American Dream:

A) does not apply to sport in the United States.
B) is an accurate general description of the opportunity structure in U.S. sports.
C) is more like a myth than a factual statement about opportunities for social mobility in U.S. sports.
D) implies that is virtually impossible now for athletes from poor backgrounds and from minority racial and ethnic groups to become U.S. sports stars.

Question 8

The special feature about the America's Cup in the text showed that:

A) elite sports today can be strongly tied to the Golden Triangle.
B) participants and investors in elite sports are more concerned about sportsmanship than about winning.
C) the America's Cup, as an elite sport, continues to resist the forces of globalization and diversity in the sports world.
D) Veblen's ideas about conspicuous consumption and conspicuous leisure have no relevance to contemporary elite sports.

Question 9

Coverage of minority and female athletes by the mass media of the Golden Triangle in the U.S. tends to:

A) encourage critical perspectives about the discrimination and prejudice athletes from these backgrounds have experienced in sport.
B) show that the American Dream is a myth when it is applied to sport.
C) ignore the underlying social structural and cultural obstacles that have made it difficult for many minority and female athletes to succeed in sport.
D) ignore any reference to the accomplishments and success of minority and female athletes.

Question 10

Imagine that the allocation of resources, opportunities, and rewards in athletics at a local private high school is rigidly stratified in regard to social class, gender, and race. This could mean that:

A) there has always been a mix of students from different socio-economic backgrounds on all the school sports teams.
B) black and white players have both been captains of the boys' and girls' basketball teams.
C) male coaches get paid more than female coaches.
D) one year the top paid coach is a male and the next year it is a female.

Question 11

The text has suggested that minority or female athletes or coaches who have experienced prejudice or discrimination are least likely to protest the social injustice in their sport when they:

A) bitterly resent the better treatment accorded majority group members or males in their sport.
B) recognize that sport is unfair and they have been underrewarded.
C) believe that they lack the resources and power to challenge the power structure of sport successfully.
D) think they are very good at playing or coaching their sport.

Question 12

Smart's observations about the relationship between social class and the development of sport in England and the United States suggest that:

A) the rise of professional sports in both countries was due to strong support from the upper classes.
B) the democratization of sports in these two countries meant that sports opportunities were increasingly restricted to members of the more affluent classes.
C) strict enforcement of amateur eligibility would have restricted Olympic participation mainly to the elite classes.
D) the United States has historically paid attention to class distinctions in sport and society, while England has not.

Question 13

NCAA data cited in the text about social mobility opportunities in U.S. sports indicated that:

A) the American Dream is true.
B) females have much better chances than males have of moving from high school to college basketball and from college basketball to the professional level.
C) males have a better chance of moving from the college to the professional level in baseball than in basketball or in football.
D) the idea of upward mobility through sport is a myth for everyone who aspires to become a professional sports star.

Question 14

Evidence about the mass media and sport has generally shown that:

A) the close association between the Golden Triangle and the major sports media has resulted in tendencies for the media to challenge stereotypes of women and minorities and to question inequalities in sport and society.
B) the dominant sports media of the Golden Triangle have historically tended to give women and minorities less airtime and less print coverage than their higher-status counterparts in sport.
C) the major sports media of the Golden Triangle have been objective and unbiased in covering women and minorities in sport.
D) the major sports media of the Golden Triangle have tried to "whiten" the image of male sports stars with racial or ethnic minority backgrounds, but they have not taken this approach in covering racial or ethnic minority stars in women's sports.

Question 15

ESPN's list of the "Top 100 North American Athletes of the 20^th Century" included:

A) no women.
B) more horses than female athletes and more horses than minority male athletes.
C) no athletes from outside the United States.
D) an overrepresentation of black males and an underrepresentation of women and ethnic minorities compared to the percentages of women and racial and ethnic minorities in the general population in their countries.

Question 16

What do you think is the most basic status distinction in sport?

Question 17

What are social stratification and social mobility, and how do these terms apply to sport and the American Dream?

Question 18

How would a structural functionalist and a Marxist or conflict theorist differ in their interpretation of the steep salary hierarchies and big differences in pay among professional athletes in a sport?

Question 19

How are sports stratified globally, and how is the global stratification of sport related to the Golden Triangle?

Question 20

What kinds of images of women, racial and ethnic minorities, homosexuals, and people with disabilities in sport do the mass media generally create?