Memphis Youth Violence Case Study

According to " The Case Against High-School Sports" (2013), sports could create some study, health, and time management problems for schools and students. In this post, Amanda Ripley initially shows the benefits when involving in the high-school sports: exercise, sportsmanship lessons, some positive personalities, more fun and staying away from vices. She also writes some tales to inform readers that in the US, students are interested and enjoy in sports more than other peers in other countries. However, she claims that the high-school sports have negative effects on schools and students. Next, she gave some schools ' examples to show the problems when schools and students spent too much time and money in high-school sports.

Overall, the article suggests that improving academic outcomes for student athletes will require addressing not only individual challenges but also broader systemic issues within college

United States: Greenhaven Publishing. The book provides various opposing viewpoints regarding the cause of juvenile crime and how the criminal justice system should treat juvenile offenders. Each argument highlights the main risk factors for juvenile crime. For example, gang plays a large part of juvenile violence.

This notion is supported by Dr. Daniel Gould, who believes that “Children who participate in sports have increased educational aspirations, closer ties to school and increased occupational aspirations in youth” (1). People against the funding of high school sports think that parents and society are placing more emphasis than ever before and, “[P]ressures athletic personnel to deviate on winning from the athlete- centered educational and personal development mission” (Gould 1). However, athletes strive to do better in class. Michael Lorenc, a high school basketball coach believes that “those who seem to have an overwhelming schedule where they’re playing maybe multiple sports, and high academic schedules, they tend to do better than those who don’t do anything extracurricularly” (Gray). Balancing sports and school makes athletes put more effort into keeping up grades while playing the sport they love.

Because football is the most popular youth sport it receives the most funding and allows it to be the most economical way to keep a child active. Research shows that “young black males believe they do possess superior athletic ability in sports like football” that leads them to believe sports are a “vehicle for black social mobility, when the reality is quite different” (Beaver 338). The reality is that around only “1 in 6,600 black males will make a decent living from professional sports”, but society has lead them to believe that they are superior athletically and inferior intellectually. These children have far more role models to emulate in sports than other fields and the countless stories they hear of players that beat the odds and turned rags to riches leads them to believe they can do the same. For the children of lower income families, these factors lead them to believe in a future of playing professional football and the sport begins to embody their “ticket” out of poverty.

Going along with the children’s families, the parents of these young athletes are spending large amounts of money to make their kid the best and go onto the professional league. The families of these children not only spend hundreds of dollars, but also are one of the top reasons youth sports have become so intense. They have been more involved and effect the child’s performance. These sports programs are causing mental and physical damage for these developing kids and the intensity of parents and coached have made it even more overwhelming. Youth Sports are getting so intense they are putting the lives of children in trouble.

More younger people are having to do with all of the corruption and lawlessness going on in the city of Detroit. In one of the news websites I saw, It said “In 2010, for example, the city registered 106 youth homicides while apprehending 12,000 young people for criminal activities”(Gangs).It has gotten to a point where it is very unsafe for parents to let their kids play outside or even go to school. For example, even high schools had gang territories where certain schools or even certain roads were “claimed” by a certain gang of people, which were often teenagers. Just recently, an officer had to take a call about a gang related death; here’s what happened: “McQuade knows what it takes to stop violent gangs. She recently charged two members of the 6 Mile Chedda Grove Gang in a shooting that killed a 13-year-old girl near a market in the middle of the afternoon”(Inside).

Within the urban communities, negative perceptions are magnified. Adolescents are more prone to be a product of their environment, especially those whose parents are incarcerated. Because of this trend adolescents are being incarcerated at an alarming rate and sentenced to adult facilities. Lambie & Randall (2013) states, the United States have imposed harsher penalties on serious young offenders, and have consequently increased rates of incarcerated youth and made it easier for youth to be treated and incarcerated as adults within the justice

J. Coakley (2011) discusses whether an athlete's success is can be altered by the social and cultural factors that surround them such as race, gender, and social class. It is an issue, Coakley says and still continues to be regardless of the fact that racism and sexism in sports are being spoken about more than ever. This issue of social and cultural factors playing a role in the success of an athlete is present in all levels of sports whether that is at grassroots levels or the highest level of professional sports. In a recent study done by Lapchick and Pappas (2014), it was found that children from minority backgrounds' chances of success in sports are affected by their backgrounds, and children from minority backgrounds have a lower chance of success. Furthermore, a study by J.S. Brenner (2003) found that children in high-income bracket families were a lot more likely to take part in and succeed in sports than those in a lower-income bracket.

The strain families’ face in these communities can be seen in the youth. The National Youth Gang Survey Analysis in 2011 stated that 35% of African Americans are in gangs compared to 11.5% for whites. In 2008, according to the FBI Uniform Crime Report, African American youths made up 52% of violent crime, 58.5% for homicide, and 67% for robbery. Surprisingly, the population of youth was only 16%. Many juveniles are being overrepresented and given harsh sentences, sometimes in adult courts.

Some experts may believe that the risk of serious injury while participating in sports isn’t worth the benefits that come with the activity. But, if the school’s athletic budget was to be raised above the current ceiling, better quality equipment and better trained coaches could both be afforded. With changes in the degree of the safety practiced during our athletics, the likelihood of a player acquiring a serious injury, such as a concussion, would decrease exceptionally. Another issue that is raised by opposers of athletics is the fact that so few kids receive any kind of scholarship for their hard work in the activity that they participate in.

Just as Christmas has been commercialized, high school athletics is now being threatened by the same commercialism and high level of competition that is everywhere in American society. Professional pressures placed on high school athletes today help defeat the basic reason for those extra-curriculum activities, suggesting that a de-emphasis on high school athletics is desirable. High school athletics and other after-school activities were originally conceived to provide for more recreation for and social contact among students. It was though that talented or hard working students could refine their skills in certain areas and, at the same time, other students could watch and enjoy those with the special abilities, particularly athletic abilities.

Violence in the media can prompt an increment in brutal conduct in children and youthful grown-ups. Youth viciousness is a difficult issue, and there are numerous things that add to it. It is hard to put a finger on only one single variable that adds to youth viciousness. One certainty is that if a tyke experiences childhood in a horrible family unit that he or she will probably grow up to be a vicious individual. Another reality that is connected to fierce conduct is if the kid experiences childhood in an intense neighborhood.

The article also provides recommendations for improving the academic outcomes of student athletes. The information provided in this article is an effort to help lessen the negative view of student athletes. The article developing an institutional culture toward degree attainment for student athletes seeks to improve the image of student athletes. The problem with this article is that is it only addresses the community college student athletes.

Competitive sports have long been significant to many students’ school experiences. In fact, a recent survey has shown that the number of students who participate in high school athletics has been on the rise over the last several decades. The survey also found that just over half of the student population surveyed took part in a sport of some kind. Some people point to these facts as a reason to pump even more money into competitive sports programming. But an even better alternative would be to redirect those funds to support school-wide health and wellness programs—something that would benefit all students—not just the half who play sports.