Philosophy of Sport. David W. Agler. David W. Agler Philosophy of Sport 1/28

Transcription

1 Philosophy of Sport David W. Agler David W. Agler Philosophy of Sport 1/28

2 Outline What is cheerleading? Is cheerleading a sport? Not a collegiate sport Not a sport Arguments for treating cheerleading as a sport Argument from student interest Argument from athleticism Argument from finances Further problems with treating cheerleading as a sport David W. Agler Philosophy of Sport 2/28

3 What is cheerleading? David W. Agler Philosophy of Sport 3/28

4 What is cheerleading Cheerleading is sometimes considered by universities (and people more generally) as a sport, e.g. it is recognized as a high school sport in 30 states. Universities have attempted to replace existing sports with cheeleading as well as add cheerleading to their existing programs and count it as a women s sport (to be in compliance with Title IX) There is, however, debate on two main issues: 1. whether cheerleading is a sport (philosophically or for the purpose of Title IX) 2. even if cheerleading isn t a sport, whether it should be considered a sport for some practical purpose David W. Agler Philosophy of Sport 4/28

5 What is cheerleading Cheerleading is a set of diverse activities that includes leading cheers, raising spirits of the spectators, some gymnastics and/or acrobatics, and the use of props (e.g. pompoms, signs, banners, megaphones). often occurs on the sidelines of other sporting events (e.g. football or basketball) although it may be done in its own setting David W. Agler Philosophy of Sport 5/28

6 What is cheerleading Cheerleading is neither acrobatics and tumbling nor STUNT. Both of these are evolved forms of cheerleading whose focus is on the gymnastic and acrobatic aspect of cheerleading and is often done in a competitive environment. STUNT removes the crowd-leading element and focuses on the technical and athletic components of cheer, including partner stunts, pyramids, basket tosses, group jumps and tumbling. - USA Cheer David W. Agler Philosophy of Sport 5/28

7 Is cheerleading a sport? David W. Agler Philosophy of Sport 6/28

8 Is cheerleading a sport In asking whether cheerleading is a sport or not, there are two ways we might approach this question. David W. Agler Philosophy of Sport 7/28

9 Is cheerleading a sport In asking whether cheerleading is a sport or not, there are two ways we might approach this question. 1. is cheerleading considered a sport from the perspective of the NCAA s rules 2. is cheerleading considered a sport from a philosophical perspective David W. Agler Philosophy of Sport 7/28

10 Not a collegiate sport David W. Agler Philosophy of Sport 8/28

11 Not a collegiate sport NCAA definition of a sport: an institutional activity involving physical exertion with the purpose of competition versus other teams or individuals within a collegiate competition structure. Furthermore, sport includes regularly scheduled team and/or individual, head-to-head competition (at least five) within a defined competitive season(s); and standardized rules with rating/scoring systems ratified by official regulatory agencies and governing bodies (NCAA 2011). Question Looking at the following definition, what part of it disqualifies cheerleading as a collegiate sport. David W. Agler Philosophy of Sport 9/28

12 Not a collegiate sport NCAA definition of a sport: an institutional activity involving physical exertion with the purpose of competition versus other teams or individuals within a collegiate competition structure. Furthermore, sport includes regularly scheduled team and/or individual, head-to-head competition (at least five) within a defined competitive season(s); and standardized rules with rating/scoring systems ratified by official regulatory agencies and governing bodies (NCAA 2011). Question Looking at the following definition, what part of it disqualifies cheerleading as a collegiate sport. 1. lack of competitions (sideline cheerleading) 2. sometimes fewer than 5 competitions (in cases of competitive cheerleading) 3. no rating/scoring system that is ratified David W. Agler Philosophy of Sport 9/28

13 Not a sport David W. Agler Philosophy of Sport 10/28

14 Not a sport Even if the NCAA does not consider cheerleading as a sport, cheerleading might be considered a sport from a philosophical perspective. That is, the NCAA definition makes use of some criteria that don t seem essential to the definition of sport (e.g. at least five competitions, this is arbitrary) To consider whether cheerleading is a sport though, we need a definition of sport. David W. Agler Philosophy of Sport 11/28

15 Definition of sport Let s define a sport not in terms of all-or-nothing criteria (necessary and sufficient conditions) but instead put the definition of sport on a spectrum (that is, some things are more sport than others). David W. Agler Philosophy of Sport 12/28

16 Definition of sport Let s define a sport not in terms of all-or-nothing criteria (necessary and sufficient conditions) but instead put the definition of sport on a spectrum (that is, some things are more sport than others). Let s say that a pure sport has the following characterisitics: 1. competitive 2. involve physical (athletic) skills 3. superiority of an athlete (competition) is evaluated in terms of those physical (athletic) skills 4. purpose of activity is to test those physical skills David W. Agler Philosophy of Sport 12/28

17 Cheerleading: Not a sport Using this criteria, cheerleading is not a sport. most of the time it is not competitive while there are physical (athletic) skills involved, the quality of the cheerleader is not evaluated in terms of these athletic (physical) skills the purpose of the activity is to entertain rather than to test any physical skills. David W. Agler Philosophy of Sport 13/28

18 Cheerleading: Not a sport Using this criteria, cheerleading is not a sport. most of the time it is not competitive while there are physical (athletic) skills involved, the quality of the cheerleader is not evaluated in terms of these athletic (physical) skills the purpose of the activity is to entertain rather than to test any physical skills. Practically, what this implies is that from the standpoint of the NCAA and from a philosophical perspective: cheerleading should not replace traditional women s sports cheerleading should not count as a sport for the purposes of Title IX (making sure men and women have equal access to sporting opportunities) this does not imply that there should not be cheerleading at all. David W. Agler Philosophy of Sport 13/28

19 Arguments for treating cheerleading as a sport David W. Agler Philosophy of Sport 14/28

20 Arguments for treating cheerleading as a sport Even if cheerleading is not a sport, universities and colleges might treat it like a sport in that they might offer varsity scholarships to individuals who wish to be cheerleaders. David W. Agler Philosophy of Sport 15/28

21 Arguments for treating cheerleading as a sport Even if cheerleading is not a sport, universities and colleges might treat it like a sport in that they might offer varsity scholarships to individuals who wish to be cheerleaders. such varsity scholarships might replace scholarships given to females in traditional sports (e.g. volleyball, basketball, etc.) There are at least three arguments for treating cheerleading as a sport. These are: 1. argument from student interest 2. argument from athleticism 3. argument from finances David W. Agler Philosophy of Sport 15/28

22 Argument from student interest David W. Agler Philosophy of Sport 16/28

23 Argument from student interest The argument from student interest goes something like this: David W. Agler Philosophy of Sport 17/28

24 Argument from student interest The argument from student interest goes something like this: 1. People and students are interested in cheerleading (e.g. in the U.S., there are roughly 400,000 high school cheerleaders) 2. If students want an activity to be a varsity-sponsored sport, then it should be the case at the collegiate level. 3. Thus, cheerleading should be treated as a varsity sport at the collegiate level. David W. Agler Philosophy of Sport 17/28

25 Objections Objection: arbitrary This makes what we want to call a sport totally arbitrary. If students were interested in watching movies, then by the above argument, watching movies would be a sport and we should award scholarships. David W. Agler Philosophy of Sport 18/28

26 Objections Objection: arbitrary This makes what we want to call a sport totally arbitrary. If students were interested in watching movies, then by the above argument, watching movies would be a sport and we should award scholarships. Objection: morally objectionable activities If students were interested in morally objectionable activities (e.g. pole-dancing, stripping, binge-drinking contests, fights to the death), then these would be sports and the university should offer scholarships for these activities. But it isn t clear that such acts should be supported at all. David W. Agler Philosophy of Sport 18/28

27 Argument from athleticism David W. Agler Philosophy of Sport 19/28

28 Argument from athleticism The argument from athleticism goes something like this: David W. Agler Philosophy of Sport 20/28

29 Argument from athleticism The argument from athleticism goes something like this: 1. Modern cheerleading requires athleticism (e.g. jumping, waving hands, maybe some stunts, yelling, some flexibility, etc.) 2. Even if cheerleading isn t a sport, it can serve as a substitute for a sport since it requires athleticism. That is, the same benefits we get from sport, we can get from cheerleading 3. Therefore, cheerleading should be treated as a sport. David W. Agler Philosophy of Sport 20/28

30 Objections Objection: focus is on entertainment Many activities require some athletic ability (e.g. changing the oil on a car, doing the laundry, building a fence). Some activities, for example, can be extremely physically taxing (e.g. last summer I used a sledge hammer to break up my patio, and then moved lb stones across the lawn). These activities can be beneficial to your health (one of the goods of sport). David W. Agler Philosophy of Sport 21/28

31 Objections Objection: focus is on entertainment Many activities require some athletic ability (e.g. changing the oil on a car, doing the laundry, building a fence). Some activities, for example, can be extremely physically taxing (e.g. last summer I used a sledge hammer to break up my patio, and then moved lb stones across the lawn). These activities can be beneficial to your health (one of the goods of sport). However, there are certain goods found in sport that are not simply due to health benefits (that is, good due to exercising). That is, there are certain goods that come about when we place the focus on some physical (athletic) skills rather than on using physical skills to gain entertainment. Ability to preserve under pressure, dedication, exploration of human limits, etc. Thus, we cannot replace traditional sports with cheerleading since we are not replacing two equal things (cheerleading involves different types of goods, viz., entertainment goods) David W. Agler Philosophy of Sport 21/28

32 Argument from finances David W. Agler Philosophy of Sport 22/28

33 Argument from finances The argument from finances goes something like this: David W. Agler Philosophy of Sport 23/28

34 Argument from finances The argument from finances goes something like this: 1. Modern cheerleading is significantly less expensive per athlete than other sports 2. Modern universities don t have unlimited money 3. Universities can provide more individuals the chance to participate in an athletic activity by having cheerleading instead of other traditional sports (e.g. volleyball) 4. Therefore, cheerleading should be treated as a sport. David W. Agler Philosophy of Sport 23/28

35 Objections Objection: explosive The underlying assumption is that we should replace any activity X with another activity Y (even if it is of lesser quality) if more people can participate in Y. From this, it seems to follow we should dissolve most sports and replace them with inexpensive club teams or inexpensive non-sport activities, e.g. chess club, checkers club, etc. However, this seems mistaken since we are not replacing a thing having a certain value with something that has the same value. David W. Agler Philosophy of Sport 24/28

36 Further problems with treating cheerleading as a sport David W. Agler Philosophy of Sport 25/28

37 Further problems with treating cheerleading as a sport There are several additional problems with treating cheerleading as a sport (that is, offering varsity scholarships or replacing traditional sports with cheerleading). These are: 1. cheerleading is relatively dangerous in comparison to other female sports 2. cheerleading fosters certain negative stereotypes about women David W. Agler Philosophy of Sport 26/28

38 Cheerleading as dangerous According to the Journal of Pediatrics, cheerleading is the most dangerous sport for females. Cheerleaders are at the highest risk for catastrosphic injury (injury that leads to some long-term medical issue, e.g. permanent disability or shorter lifespan) 2.68 catastrophic injuries for every 100,000 female high schoolers vs injuries per 100,000 for high school boys football over the same period. high risk for concussions more likely to go to the emergency room David W. Agler Philosophy of Sport 27/28

39 Cheerleading as dangerous According to the Journal of Pediatrics, cheerleading is the most dangerous sport for females. Cheerleaders are at the highest risk for catastrosphic injury (injury that leads to some long-term medical issue, e.g. permanent disability or shorter lifespan) 2.68 catastrophic injuries for every 100,000 female high schoolers vs injuries per 100,000 for high school boys football over the same period. high risk for concussions more likely to go to the emergency room Thus, even if we did consider cheerleading as a sport, there is a strong reason that we would not want to include it as a substitute for some other women s sport, e.g. soccer or volleyball. David W. Agler Philosophy of Sport 27/28

40 Cheerleading as reinforcing the idea of women as sexual objects Another problem with treating cheerleading as a sport is that it might reinforce negative stereotypes about women. cheerleaders are viewed as sex objects, viz., aspects of cheerleading put on display the sex-appeal of the individual revealing clothing, e.g. short skirts, exposure of middrift distinct (thin) body type in line with conventions of beauty being tossed around by men David W. Agler Philosophy of Sport 28/28

41 Cheerleading as reinforcing the idea of women as sexual objects For other athletes, their sex-appeal is a secondary consideration but for cheerleaders they sometimes perceived as primary. David W. Agler Philosophy of Sport 28/28