Lorena Ochoa is the number one women’s golfer in the LPGA for three years, won two majors, 27 tour victories, and was honored for four straight years as the LPGA Tour’s Player of the Year. With all these achievements that she has gone through you rarely here anything about her. Just to give you a comparison of what Ochoa is to her sport would be like saying that she is the Derek Jeter of baseball or the Kobe Bryant of basketball. The sad thing for the LPGA is that she is leaving in her prime at the age of 28. She is not forced to leave the sport like many other athletes either male or female for misconduct, but instead she has made a choice that she wants to start a family. Ochoa has said that she has accomplished everything she wanted in golf and is looking forward to having a family.
When reading about Ochoa retiring I first that about how difficult it would leave a sport in their prime stage of their career. At the same time each athlete knows when to hang-up their cleats. Ochoa is going to leave the LPGA being the number one and no one can take that away from her. I am surprised that we do not hear about women athletes leaving to start a family. At the same time I am happy for Lorena Ochoa for her accomplishments on and off the field, and I wish her the best with starting a family.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
CSULB Transgender Student Victim of Hate Crime
This morning, I received an e-mail from a fellow student in one of my classes with the following link to an LA Times article:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/04/attacker-repeatedly-slashes-transgender-student-in-cal-state-lb-restroom.html
I cannot believe that I did not hear about this event which occurred at my own school almost 2 weeks ago. A transgender student was attacked and cut in one of the bathrooms by the building that always plays jazz music. There was no e-mail from the president of the university, there was nothing in the daily 49er that I knew about. No, I had to find out through a classmates e-mail through the LA Times. If someone is attacked on MY campus, I want to know about it! However, due to the touchy subject that the victim was a transgender student, the university kept it quiet.
People think that our campus is pretty open, and that most are very tolerant and open-minded. But if you look closer, our campus is still divided. You have to look to see it; but if you look, you will see it. Notice how we have one of the most diverse campuses in California. Then notice how segregated we are. We're all together, but notice how the whites are with whites, the asians stick with asians, the blacks with blacks, etc. Some mix, but if you really look at our campus, most don't. I have a friend who I'm tight with in one of my classes who is 24 years old and told me that I was the first white person she has ever had as a friend. She told me every other white person has treated her like crap, and you tell me that doesn't reflect badly on our university that has many white people? I'm guessing it's probly that segregated and divided when it comes to sexual orientation too. Our campus is good at putting up a front that it's completely accepted and ok, but then events like this occur and nobody even hears about it. Had the victim been a heterosexual, white male, you bet every one would have heard about it and news crews would have been everywhere.
This article made me so sad. It hurts to think just how much hate there is in the world, and even close to home. As cheesy as it sounds, why can't people realize that everyone is deserving of love? =(
Bethany Endter
KIN338 TuTh 9:30
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/04/attacker-repeatedly-slashes-transgender-student-in-cal-state-lb-restroom.html
I cannot believe that I did not hear about this event which occurred at my own school almost 2 weeks ago. A transgender student was attacked and cut in one of the bathrooms by the building that always plays jazz music. There was no e-mail from the president of the university, there was nothing in the daily 49er that I knew about. No, I had to find out through a classmates e-mail through the LA Times. If someone is attacked on MY campus, I want to know about it! However, due to the touchy subject that the victim was a transgender student, the university kept it quiet.
People think that our campus is pretty open, and that most are very tolerant and open-minded. But if you look closer, our campus is still divided. You have to look to see it; but if you look, you will see it. Notice how we have one of the most diverse campuses in California. Then notice how segregated we are. We're all together, but notice how the whites are with whites, the asians stick with asians, the blacks with blacks, etc. Some mix, but if you really look at our campus, most don't. I have a friend who I'm tight with in one of my classes who is 24 years old and told me that I was the first white person she has ever had as a friend. She told me every other white person has treated her like crap, and you tell me that doesn't reflect badly on our university that has many white people? I'm guessing it's probly that segregated and divided when it comes to sexual orientation too. Our campus is good at putting up a front that it's completely accepted and ok, but then events like this occur and nobody even hears about it. Had the victim been a heterosexual, white male, you bet every one would have heard about it and news crews would have been everywhere.
This article made me so sad. It hurts to think just how much hate there is in the world, and even close to home. As cheesy as it sounds, why can't people realize that everyone is deserving of love? =(
Bethany Endter
KIN338 TuTh 9:30
Thursday, April 22, 2010
What Happened to Rene Portland?
It seems a bit strange that a highly sensitive issue received very little press on a national level. Rene’s act of discrimination towards homosexuals was not as publicized as it should have been. What is strange to me is the fact that discrimination was occurring in the field. For a time I watched news relating to homosexuals discriminated against in a national level. I didn’t realize that in some parts of the country it was happening specifically in the sports arena. The documentary Training Rules really brought light to the events that took place in the careers of Jennifer Harris and Rene Portland. It shocked me that Rene Portland was able to stay in Pennsylvania State as head coach for the women’s basketball team even with her inappropriate actions regarding homosexuality. For years she discriminated against lesbians and did not allow any of them to play in her team. For years she ruined many lives and no one seemed to take legal action. If it wasn’t for Jennifer Harris taking a stand, Rene Portland’s actions would not have been taken into consideration. However, even with Jennifer’s lawsuit against her, Rene did not pay much. She was fined $10,000 which is something that must not have much value for her. The lawsuit against her did not even get to court because of a settlement whose terms are not made public. After the settlement she resigned as head coach and now no one really knows where she is and what she is doing. Today I really wonder what happened to Rene Portland. A google search on her bring up articles about what happened between her and Jennifer Harris, none of the articles pertain to her current activities. Well whatever it is that she’s doing, I hope it has nothing to do with discriminating against the homosexual community.
Shiela Gonzales
Kin 338I Section 4
Tu-Th 9:30 – 10:45
Shiela Gonzales
Kin 338I Section 4
Tu-Th 9:30 – 10:45
Monday, April 12, 2010
Female Athletes and the Media
I wanted to comment on my panel discussion topic of female athletes and how they are being portrayed in the media. In our last class, we watched a film titled "Playing Unfair" which stated that some athletes pose sexually in the media to feel empowered and celebrate their bodies. The only problem I have with that statement is posing in a bikini or nude does not need to occur to feel empowered. You can be fully clothed and still have the same affect such as wearing exercise attire. I also want to comment that posing sexually also does not affect the athlete's ideology about empowerment, but younger female fans as well. What really bothers me with statements like this is that it sets a standard that what they are doing is okay or the norm which in turn could cause an increase to more and more people following the same trend, especially young upcoming athletes. I would have much more respect if athletes or celebrities in general would say to their fans " Hey, this isn't necessarily the right thing to do, but is what I personally want to do, but their are other ways to feel empowered."
Kin 338I, TuTh
Devyne Dawson
Kin 338I, TuTh
Devyne Dawson
Erin Andrews: Female Sports Reporter for ESPN on "Dancing with the Stars" and recent death threats
ESPN Sports reporter, Erin Andrews has been working as a sidelines reporter for ESPN since 2004, mainly covering college football games and college basketball, and now many know her as a contestant on the popular network television show "Dancing With the Stars".
As an attractive young woman it is no surprise that most of her fan base are men watching her on television. However, going to work became a scary experience in 2009. She was secretly filmed in the nude from a hotel peephole, obviously without her consent by a stranger who posted the video online. Then she began to recieve death threats via email. On April 2, 2010 the Associated Press reported that Andrews has been getting death threats via email that at were sexually explicit and then became violent and threatening. The article also goes on to say that Michael David Barrett, was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in federal prison for filming the nude videos of Andrews. The FBI has been notified of the situation, as a result Andrews has also increased her personal security.
Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/more/04/02/erin.andrews.death.threats.ap/index.html#ixzz0ktxBAfRG
In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated she said that "Dancing with the Stars" has helped through this tough time and being around all those people helps her not feel alone. Her friends and colleagues from ESPN have also gone to see her dance. She said she misses sports and wants to continue working at ESPN. Andrews also mentioned how she has made many friends with other contestants on the show and has gotten to know each person better. She also talks about her daily dance routine for "Dancing With the Stars" and how it has made her build more lean muscle. She comments on the fact that she had lifted weights before beginning the show but has now slimmed down because she has been working different muscles of her body. When she gets pain or injury, she said she thinks of the athletes who "tough it out" and that is exatly what she does as well, yet her dance partner insists and helps looking out for her well-being.
It is easy to see that Erin Andrews is perserverant and independant, who has spoken out about such a traumatic experience and still continues to find motivation in her life as well as with the help of those around her. It is has never been easy for women to break out into the sports field, especially sports television reporting, which has been male-dominated, yet it is inspiring to see that Erin Andrews spirit has not been broken.
Read More About It:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/jimmy_traina/04/12/erin-andrews-talks-death-threats-espn-future-dancing-with-the-stars/index.html#ixzz0ktvdA5BC
-Bianca Palos
KIN 338I
Sec 04
As an attractive young woman it is no surprise that most of her fan base are men watching her on television. However, going to work became a scary experience in 2009. She was secretly filmed in the nude from a hotel peephole, obviously without her consent by a stranger who posted the video online. Then she began to recieve death threats via email. On April 2, 2010 the Associated Press reported that Andrews has been getting death threats via email that at were sexually explicit and then became violent and threatening. The article also goes on to say that Michael David Barrett, was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in federal prison for filming the nude videos of Andrews. The FBI has been notified of the situation, as a result Andrews has also increased her personal security.
Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/more/04/02/erin.andrews.death.threats.ap/index.html#ixzz0ktxBAfRG
In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated she said that "Dancing with the Stars" has helped through this tough time and being around all those people helps her not feel alone. Her friends and colleagues from ESPN have also gone to see her dance. She said she misses sports and wants to continue working at ESPN. Andrews also mentioned how she has made many friends with other contestants on the show and has gotten to know each person better. She also talks about her daily dance routine for "Dancing With the Stars" and how it has made her build more lean muscle. She comments on the fact that she had lifted weights before beginning the show but has now slimmed down because she has been working different muscles of her body. When she gets pain or injury, she said she thinks of the athletes who "tough it out" and that is exatly what she does as well, yet her dance partner insists and helps looking out for her well-being.
It is easy to see that Erin Andrews is perserverant and independant, who has spoken out about such a traumatic experience and still continues to find motivation in her life as well as with the help of those around her. It is has never been easy for women to break out into the sports field, especially sports television reporting, which has been male-dominated, yet it is inspiring to see that Erin Andrews spirit has not been broken.
Read More About It:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/jimmy_traina/04/12/erin-andrews-talks-death-threats-espn-future-dancing-with-the-stars/index.html#ixzz0ktvdA5BC
-Bianca Palos
KIN 338I
Sec 04
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Julia Mancuso, do you know who she is?
In the March 8, 2010 issue of Sports Illustrated magazine Dan Patrick interviewed Olympic skier Julia Mancuso. Julia won silver medals in the downhill and combined races. To add to the gold medal she won in 2006. The first three questions were regarding the medals. Then he asked about the tiara that she wears. Next he asked why she was not in the Sport’s Illustrated swimsuit issue like the other women skiers. She confessed that she was not asked but that, “Definitely it’s something that would be cool to be in.” The next question was whether she would want the painted on suit or a real bikini. She replied that, “I’m down [for the painted bikini] with the top.” The discussion turned to the reported tension between her and Lindsey Vonn. While she defended their relationship as completely professional, she admitted that she does feel that she should have received more media coverage for her accomplishments. Besides the obviously gendered interview, this article made me question the real reason behind Julia posing or not posing for Sport’s Illustrated. She voices her frustration about the lack of media coverage of her accomplishments in comparison to that of Lindsey Vonn. Why was she covered less? Could it be that Lindsey Vonn exemplifies the image more than Julia that media wants to portray? Let’s not forget, that part of an athlete’s career is how much they are in the public eye. Do women like Lindsey and Julia have the ability to turn down the Sport’s Illustrated swimsuit shoot, if they want to keep their career at the top?
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