Critical Theory in Relation to Racism in Sports

Compose a 1500 words assignment on critical theory in relation to racism in sports. Needs to be plagiarism free! This paper seeks to analyse different concepts under the critical theory and explain how these concepts are used to respond to social divisions particularly racism, in the area of sports.

In particular, the paper focuses on the factors which determine what sport an individual engages in, the struggle of the minority to join majority-controlled sports, and the issue of racial micro-aggression. The critical theory of sociology is one of the most prominent theories that explain social relations, particularly because the theory is neither too positivist nor pessimistic but rather looks at the society the way it is. According to Coakley & Donnelly (2004, p. 42), the critical theory examines the origins of power, how such power operates in the social life and how it changes in relation to people’s struggles over social relationships. Among the most common forms of social difference or division is concerned with ethnic and racial differences, which often lead to inequalities and power struggles. These inequalities affect different social aspects and activities, including sports. Ideally, sports should be all-inclusive and characterized by democratic processes in which all people are allowed to participate regardless of social divisions.

On the contrary, however, sports have proved to be very divisive in that people from a certain gender, religion, social class or race are favoured over minority others. Individuals and group minorities are often at a disadvantaged position are as far as sporting activities are concerned. There are several social divisions that affect sporting activities within given societies, one of the most prominent being racial discrimination. In sociology, racism is considered as a form of social exclusion since it creates inequality of social groups and ends up disadvantaging one or more groups. A race is one of the core factors that cause social divisions in areas such as education, employment and even sports.