The Real World

After reflecting on my time with the Rome Braves, I realized that my overall experience connects with the larger societal issues of the need for diversity in administrative positions in sports, and the importance of accurate representation within sports media.

My experience with the Rome Braves has deepened my understanding of the importance of having a diverse work environment. Diversity provides a variety of different perspectives from people with different characteristics, backgrounds, skills, and experiences. I have realized though, that only being diverse within the lower and middle ranks of an organization is not enough. The people working within those lower ranks should be represented in higher management and CEO level positions. This resonated with my experience at the Rome Braves because it is well known throughout the sports community that baseball is a ‘white sport'. While 42% of MLB players are non-white, nearly 100% of the people in power are. This lack of diversity can be seen throughout minor league front offices across the country as well.

Three out of eight of the current MLB Executives. All are older white males.

I believe that this under representation of minorities within professional executive positions is the main source of cultural clashes. Non-white professional male athletes, when portrayed in the media tend to be described like animals, naturally athletic, strong, fast and powerful, while white male players are given human traits (as they should) and are praised for their hard work, effort, and mental skill. These microaggressions enforce long-standing stereotypes about intelligence and physicality and how a person’s ethnic background could either hinder or benefit these traits. Having more diversity within the CEO realms, front offices, and media network executive boards can encourage a more objective approach to disseminating information or making decisions about players without the use of racial or ethnic stereotyping.

Within my current work with the Sports Information Department, I have become more aware of the type of language I use to describe athletes or situations when I write sports stories or recaps. It has also made me more aware of how the people around me discuss sports in general conversation.

Thinking about how my experience connects to these broader issues has reinforced what I already knew about professional spaces. Working with the Braves gave me real-world experience in dealing with these situations. I think it is great that our courses and professors are able to teach us about these situations in class, but nothing can better prepare you than experiencing it first-hand. Having real-world experience is important because it allows students to quickly become more comfortable with situations that they will inevitably face.