The Application of Social Conflict Theory to Football...

The Application of Social Conflict Theory to Football In the book entitled Out of Their League, David Meggyesy describes his life as a football player from high school through his days with the St. Louis Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). Born in 1941, Meggyesy was raised in a low-income household in Solon, Ohio. Like many athletes from impoverished backgrounds, he was able to use the game of football to better himself though both a full scholarship to Syracuse University and financial stability with the Cardinals. During his career, however, Meggyesy became increasingly disillusioned with the game of football and how its athletes were subject to tremendous physical and psychological turmoil from those in†¦show more content†¦Such studies examine whether sports lead athletes to define and experience their bodies as machines designed to produce entertainment and profits for others rather than feelings of pleasure for themselves. (Coakley, 1998) Meggyesy described this phenomenon when he said: I also realized, paradoxically, how cut off and removed I was from my body. I knew my body more thoroughly than most men are ever able to, but I had used it and thought of it as a machine, a thing that had to be well-oiled, well-fed, and well-taken-care of, to do a specific job. (Meggyesy, 1970, p. 231) Unfortunately, maintaining this machine often meant that athletes would use drugs such as amphetamines, barbiturates, steroids, or cortisone injections not for the purpose of treatment and cure, but for the purpose of stimulating the mind and body in order to perform more violently as a professional. (Meggyesy, 1970) The prevalence of these drugs in the NFL could be seen in Meggyesys words, Most NFL trainers do more dealing in these drugs than the average junky. (Meggyesy, 1970, p. 83) Meggyesys coaches also treated athletes as machines because their concern for the well-being of athletes was only to the extent that they could contribute to their primary concern of winning games. For example, while Meggyesy was at Syracuse University, the primary concern of the coaches was to win a nationalShow MoreRelatedEvaluating the Strengths and Weaknesses of the Social Identity Theory 994 Words   |  4 Pagesweaknesses of the social identity theory with studies to support. The Social Identity theory (SIT) was proposed by Henry Tajfel. It was then later developed by Tajfel and Turner in 1971 to help them understand inter group relations. The Social Identity theory assumes that individuals strive to improve their self-image by trying to enhance their self-esteem, through social (in and out groups) and personal identities. 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