Race and Sports

We've recently finished three movies that deal with race and sports: 42, Glory Road, and Remember the Titans. Certainly, these films were dramatized versions of the actual events often to make the message more pungent. There also seems to be a resonance between sports and racism.

Sanford Jay Rosen explores the differences between 42 and The Jackie Robinson Story (1950) in "Jackie Robinson and Race in America, Then and Now: A Tale of Two Movies" while connecting these films to the present.  Frank Deford discusses "What We Talk About when We Talk About Race and Sports" and Travis Waldron attempts to make sense of The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports' grading of the four major sports in "50 Years After MLK’s ‘Dream,’ How Do Professional Sports Measure On Race?"  And while we celebrate Jackie Robinson as the first black player in Major League Baseball, Michael G. Long reminds us that we really should first look to Joe Louis in "Making Way for Jackie Robinson: The Quiet Fight of the Brown Bomber."

If you've read more than one of the above articles (or have paid attention to the news) it should be clear that racism still exists in society.  The question (and your prompt) is thus: What role do sports play in racism?  Do they help to eliminate racism?  Do sports - both professional and amateur - have a responsibility to establish a moral high ground?  You will want to reference each of the films and at least two of the above articles while discussing this.  Remember: opinions are stronger when they are supported by the thoughts of others.

Oh, and a final note: It will be very difficult to do this will in only three hundred words; I would expect responses will instead approach five hundred words.