SPM 4004: Issues in Sport Management Critical Response Assignment Instructions

Watch: At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USAGymnastics Scandal (2019)

For this assignment, students will watch a video which is related to an issue in the contemporary sport industry. After watching the video, each student will need to write a critical response about the specific issue by drawing on materials from the video itself as well as other reliable sources. In the critical response, the student should both summarize the information presented in the video and discuss the broader sport management topic with the support of proper arguments and the use of external sources. The critical response must contain at least 600 words and two external sources(at least one of them needs to be an academic source). The key components you will need to develop in your response include:

•A summary of the video. What are some of the problems identified in the video? Why are they important?

•A discussion of the connection between the problems presented in the video and the larger sport management issue.What is the key issue in relation to sport management? How can the context impact or be impacted by the largers portmanagement issue? Be sure to cite properly

.•An in-depth analysis of the issue from the student’s own perspective. What might have caused the issue? How will this issue develop in the future? As a future sport management practitioner and/or scholar, what can you do to change the situation? Use external sources to support your arguments.

Issues in Sports Management Critical Response

Summary of the Video

At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal is a film that describes a system in which physicians sexually assaulted young women athletes. For more than twenty years, Dr. Larry Nassar was the osteopathic doctor for America’s women’s Olympic team for gymnastics and a physician for Michigan’s state University. During this period, the physician sexually assaulted hundreds of female athletes (Dyer, 2018). Extensive research and bold confessions from victims exposed a sporting system that prioritized winning over everything, including shielding female athletes from such abuse. Interviews with coaches, legal advisors, and journalists show how women’s lives were destroyed in an environment focused on medals and victory (Mason, 2019). The physician abused the young ladies by performing inappropriate medical procedures which were abusive. In 2016, Dr. Nassar started facing challenges when Rachael Denhollander publicized her story in the Indianapolis Star. After that, more women pressed charges against him and the institutions that had protected him for long. In 2018 after powerful testimonies against him, Judge Aquilina sentenced Dr. Nassar to 175 years, imprisoning him for life (Dyer, 2018). Some of the institutions that were protecting the physician started to implement changes.

The video identifies several problems in sports in the United States. One major challenge is the risk of sexual assault on young female athletes. Dr. Nassar sexually assaulted many innocent young women athletes during his medical activities. The female athletes came out with factual allegations proven to be truthful before the man was sentenced to life imprisonment (Dyer, 2018). Some girls even claim to have been abused in front of their parents during the medical sessions. Another saddening issue is the cover-ups and protection buy sporting institutions hiding such evil injustices. For instance, the Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics had received reports on the sex abuse allegations but chose to protect Dr. Nassar. However, the two organizations paid damages to the many sexually abused victims who had been violated by their long-time physician (Mason, 2019). The failure of institutions to identify and correct such criminal activities is indeed dangerous for many young sportswomen and men. Showcasing these problems in the video raised awareness in the United States and the entire world that sexual abuse was a serious issue in sports and relevant authorities started implementing changes.

Connection between the problems in the video and the larger sport management issue

Sexual assault in the field of sports has a significant connection to the entire sports management structure. Dr. Nassar worked for the United States Gymnastics Olympic Team and the Michigan State University. The female athletes had tried reporting the matter to these two authorities after having been sexually assaulted. Nevertheless, these institutions continually shielded Dr. Nassar against any form of legal action due to his professional capabilities (Mason, 2019). The crime of abusing female athletes is therefore connected to the management’s failure to curb such injustices. The main reason why the physician continued assaulting the young ladies is that the two organizations protected him.

A victory-oriented mentality that fails to protect its athletes is also connected to sports management. The US Gymnastics’ main focus was winning medals in competitions. Consequently, the management structure was unable to sack Dr. Nassar and file lawsuits against him despite his cases of sexual abuse. This issue destroyed the lives of the many young women who the doctor assaulted. Sports management personnel has a responsibility to ensure that they safeguard the well-being and safety of their athletes (Mason, 2019). The leadership structure should lay firm strategies that limit the risk of their sportswomen and men being raped or sexually abused.

An in-depth analysis of the issue from the student’s perspective

Several reasons caused the sexual abuse issue. The failure of the sports management fraternity to address this problem was one major cause. The US Gymnastics and Michigan State University didn’t solve the issue that destroyed the lives of the assaulted female athletes (Dyer, 2018). The young gymnastic athletes who were abused also lacked a supportive societal platform to air their grievances. At the time, many would have gone against them, claiming they were lying to tarnish Dr. Nassar’s reputation. As a result of his sentencing, sexual assault has become easier to talk about and is being spotlighted seriously in all sectors (Dyer, 2018). In the future, women will be more protected against sexual abuse by society, sports management, and the law. 

As a future sports management practitioner, I could implement firm strategies to combat sexual abuse. The first step I could take is to ensure all employed sports personnel like physicians and coaches don’t have a previous record of inappropriate sexual behavior (Bjørnseth & Szabo, 2018). Secondly, I could also formulate a sex assault complaints team in all sports facilities to ensure any abused athlete reports directly to them. Finally, I could support a strong awareness campaign against sexual abuse to amplify and avoid this issue (Bjørnseth & Szabo, 2018). Together we can fight sexual abuse in the sports sector in the United States.