All for the Love of the Game “All is fair in love and basketball”. In the movie “Love and Basketball”, two main social issues occurred which caused a plethora of problems for the two main characters. Discrimination and relationship issues are two highly ranked social issues in the world today. They were incorporated in the movie “Love and Basketball” to help advertise their importance.
Interviews, research and personal experiences have really broadened our thoughts and feelings towards the inequality between gender and how relationships can affect an athlete’s performance. Discrimination between male and female has really spiraled out of control throughout the years. Males receive the benefit that discrimination offers by having more job opportunities, higher salary, and more respect from their surroundings. “In 2005, the median earnings for female physicians in the United States were $145,000 while for males it rose to $165,000” (Schaefer 188).
While women perform the same task on the job as men, they still are lessened in pay and also discriminated against during job interviews. Society gives males the upper hand over women to were they dominate in most things such as jobs, sports and households. Discrimination was eventually noticed throughout things such as athletics and the government then enforced Title XI. “No person in the United States, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance” ( Title XI).
The outcome of this law was that it gave equal funding for every sport, women or men. It also helped produce many 1st class female athletes in the late 20th century. By making things fair for men and women, it gives them both the same opportunities to succeed. Another social issue that occurs in everyday life is how our personal relationships seem to affect our emotional state to where we cannot perform at our best during certain activities. Simple daily activities such as going to work, picking up the kids or just studying for a test could be slightly interfered by relationships.
Relationship issues such as a fight with your best friend, a break up with your significant other or a dramatic occurrence in your family could cause a change in your emotional state. Problems within a relationship tend to cause people to make mistakes that they wouldn’t normally make, have poor judgment and also lose focus in their overall goals. In the movie “Love and Basketball”, there are two main characters named Quincy and Monica who grew up in the same neighborhood loving the same game which was basketball.
They both originated from two different backgrounds. Quincy’s dad was a professional basketball player which caused his family to be very wealthy and well known. Monica’s family wasn’t financially stable or very supportive of her love for the game. Throughout high school, Quincy and Monica were best friends and this caused tension for both of them. As it was easy for Quincy to get recruited since his dad was a retired professional, Monica was on a thin block of ice because she let out all her frustrations about Quincy on the court.
As they grew up, Monica and Quincy end up falling in love with each other and attending the same college USC on a basketball scholarship. At the beginning, Quincy had it easy, a starting position, popularity, and an amazing girlfriend. For Monica, everything was opposite. Monica had to work extremely hard for her starting position, she was known as “Quincy’s girlfriend” and overtime Quincy started to treat her different. As Monica’s career started to go uphill, Quincy’s career began to decrease.
A family issue such as finding out that his dad was lying to him about cheating on his mother with another woman caused Quincy to lose sight in his dreams of obtaining his education. Quincy felt that he could be like his father and go straight to the NBA and make a lot of money. While these things were occurring for Quincy, Monica’s career was starting to become everything she ever wanted. She had a starting position and had gained the respect that she needed from everyone. Quincy felt as if she was caring more about basketball than him so he got upset and ruined things with her.
Quincy then quit college and was drafted into the NBA after. Monica finished school and was the first women to ever play in the NBA. As these two lovers went their separate ways and pursued different career paths, Monica was more successful than Quincy because she never lost sight of her dreams. Quincy ended up tearing his ACL a couple games into the NBA and had to have surgery. Overtime, Monica came back from overseas to see him and he was engaged to another women. She was really upset and did everything she could to get him back.
They reconnected and ended up marrying at the end of the movie. During the movie discrimination occurs when no one believes Monica will make a college basketball player nether the less a professional basketball player. Relationships within the movie effects both Monica and Quincy in a abundance of ways. Quincy and Monica’s personal relationship causes emotional break downs and problems. When Quincy’s dad reveals the cheating truth it causes his emotions to get to him and he quits basketball.
We interviewed our composition teacher, so she could share her opinion on gender discrimination. She experienced gender discrimination first hand. “When I younger and had just graduated from college. I had a good job and money in the bank but could not get a car loan. They gave a loan to my fiancee who did not have a job at the time, he was a full time student, but they figured he would pay them back because he was a guy. I was also passed over for a promotion in my 20’s because the other applicant, a guy had a family and they decided he needed the raise in pay more than I did. (Bruner)
Gender discrimination happens in a variety of areas, however when professor Bruner was asked here was her response, “I think gender discrimination occurs in more contact sports such as football, basketball and hockey. Compared to softer sports like tennis, golf or swimming. There is still a disparity in strenghth and endurance and sheer body mass which makes discrimination more likely in sports like football. As far as careers go, I would say the areas of math and science oversee the most female discrimination.
Men encounter gender discrimination in areas of English, history art and theater as those subjects are not seen as much income as business or engineering. ” (Bruner) How is the performance of an athlete affected by relationships on and off the field? I think all relationships can affect the performance of an athlete. It can be an issue with family, a significant other, or a friend. Although we attempt to separate personal and businrss(on the field) it is not easy.
I believe when athletes have relationship issues it will affect their performance one way or another. > gt; Do you have any personal experiences that you have been through or maybe coached? Throughout my coaching career I have seen many athletes struggle with relationships. When this happens, as a coach I can tell right away something is not right. It is my job to offer support and guidance to get my athletes through the tough times. B > > What is usually the outcome? The outcome usually is the athlete becomes a stronger person and a better athlete. It’s not easy but the athletes learn to cope and learn how to move on or talk it out and they see the hard times get easier. > gt; Does the situation tend to get better or worst over time?
The situation gets better over time. With being able to talk about family issue or personal issues, I believe my role is to be a guiding fore to get them out of whatever they are going through. > > Do relationships normally stay together or do the 2 individuals end up taking different career paths? I think it depends on the relationship. College is a time f growth for my athletes and I believe they learn who they are. Some relationships work and others don’t. I think it’s how you grow and handle situations that makes you the person you are.
