There will not be a time in the near future where the
government or politics will not be involved in sport. Often people complain
that politics need to stay out of sport, but there can be many positives when
politicians become involved. For politicians, using sport is a very beneficial
way to connect with the public and to promote themselves and what they do for
the public. In the article “De Varona’s Five Decades of Negotiating on Capitol
Hill,” Bruce Schoenfeld writes about the different ways Donna De Varona has
become involved in politics and how she has influenced politicians to become
involved in sport.
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| Donna De Varona |
In class on Feburary 26
th and March 3
rd
we discussed the connection between sport and government. One aspect discussed
were the ideals underlying international sports and how it should foster
international friendships, establish working relationships, and create a model
for international relationships. In 1980 De Varona worked hard lobbying
Congress and the White House against the Olympic boycott because she realized
the value of the Olympic games. Another connection between politics and sport
we talked about in class was maintaining fitness and physical abilities. For
the last 34 years De Varona has worked with many important politicians on
Capitol Hill for not just athletes’ rights, but for women’s rights as well.
Without the help of politicians such as Senator Ted Stevens and Vice President
Joseph Biden we wouldn’t have the World Anti-Doping Agency or a worldwide
anti-doping code or drug testing at all. Clearly this is an important aspect of
maintaining fitness fairly by not allowing anyone to gain a doping advantage in
competitions. Lastly, in class we discussed the idea of political leaders using
sport to increase their support from the public. Is this a bad thing? Not
always. Senator Birch Bayh worked with De Varona to fund Title IX and to make
sure it didn’t get thrown out. Title IX turned out to be a valuable policy for
women in sport. An additional advantage for Bayh was the increased support from
the public, particularly women. I think this was a great move on Bayh’s part.
So should politicians be involved in sport? I guess it
depends on the purpose for getting involved. Who does it benefit?
Article discussed in blog post
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