The Impact of Diversity in Sports

       The definition of diversity is “a range of different things” which in short means to have a difference. In whatever social environment or scenario you are in, diversity can be recognized in everyday life. Diversity can also be related to how someone looks or thinks differently than you do. In sports, diversity is impactful due to acceptingness of other athletes’ appearance, outlook of self, and performance in the sport. 

       When it comes to diversity, accepting other athletes based on appearance is a big deal. It says more about your personality than the other athlete if you negatively judge them based on their appearance. When referring to others’ appearance, you could be referring to the athletes, gender, racial background, sexual orientation, and more. It also gives athletes a sense of feeling less than other peers that surround them. Negative judgment of other athletes’ appearance also can make them feel left out and that they aren’t good enough to be on the team. In short, accept diversity in terms of others’ appearance and don’t be judgemental to others, but rather accept a person for their appearance.

       When you judge someone because of their differences, the reality of the matter is that your judgments will hurt you more in a societal setting than it will the person you may have insulted. Your colleagues and administration won’t support you being rude to others and won’t tolerate it either. In fact, they would probably tell you to knock it off and support the person you were being rude to. In a sports setting, being rude to your fellow athletes would usually result in a stern talking to, or a punishment of higher intensity depending on the offense. Your actions represent your reputation to your teammates as well as other students and teachers, so do the right thing and treat all people you meet with respect because what goes around usually comes back around.

       In sports, an athlete’s performance can be affected by diversity within the team, specifically in the form of every individual’s physicality in the sport. Everyone will be able to play their sport at a different level of ability, but how we recognize their success is an impactful form of diversity. If we recognize their hard work and time they have put into a sport in a positive manner, it makes us feel good, but more importantly, it makes your teammate feel good. This has to do with diversity because people play their sports in different ways with a variety of performances that helps them, and even sometimes helps in a team setting. In short, recognize your teammates’ success even if it is different from your path to success because it shows you can be positively diverse towards others

       Throughout the information above, it has been seen and heard that diversity is impactful due to the acceptingness of other athletes’ appearance, outlook of self, and performance in the sport. It’s always important to be respectful of others’ differences in sports. It shows off your personality depending on how you respond to the diverse traits of your fellow athletes. Diversity can be taken in so many different directions of personal outlook. It is how you respond to diversity that defines you.