The role of Victimoalogy in sports

[Ksphenom]

In almost every athletes sports story and especially in female sport stories it seems that a victim senerio is played over and over. It's overused and it's depressing to say the least if not skirting the truth just a bit at times.

I'm not talking about athletes that were truly victims of thier era where it's valid struggle. No doubt sports has transcended most of these inequities seen throughout our society and not all of them have been rectified. Overall more equitable and inclusive for all IMO.

I haven't read a sports success story latey without some story involving some woe is me angle. To be fair most these tales of struggle and strife aren't normally written by the athletes.

It seems most of these accounts are written by marketing people pushing products or pimping training because connecting with these top athletes failures helps make them relatable, marketable. Why? Because everyone can identify with being wronged, or being a victim.

Normal victim speak for top athletes involves one of the following or multiple variations of the following. Most are cherry picked to find some relatable issue sometimes even pushing half truths or one sided story lines kids and parents can relate with. It's semantics 101 at its finest.

"I was told I'll never be a pitcher." (Probably was the #3 pitcher on the team. Already had 2 pitches prior to that athlete wanting to pitch and working at it hard last week)

"I wasn't the #1 catcher on my team" (probably the #2 catcher because she's a year or two younger than the #1 catcher leaving the TB team for college and she was great a 2nd base)

"I was told I wasn't good enough to play softball or start" (Probably had to do with parents being a pain. Coaches were trying to run them off and had nothing to do with the player. Maybe just being on an elite team rostered with 20 other great players or playing 6 years up and the coach didn't recognize future greatness.)

"Nobody understands me. I'm different from everyone else on the team." (Duh Reality- Everyone's different period and in that way you aren't different from everyone else. We're all unique, if we weren't the world of sports would be pretty boring)

"I was cut from my high-school team" (no talk of grades or the attitude guaranteed to get you cut or making you ineligible. Just conveniently left that part out, it just sounds better)

"I was short for my sport, or I was too tall for that position" ( when all else fails find some reason to document your life's bumps in your road to greatest.)

Every time after read these stories I look up the player to get a better understanding of the purported wrong done to them. I feel ripped off when I find 2 or 3 pages of amazing statistics, and endless array of accolades heaped upon these suposive victims of the world. Nothing but positive and quiet a contrast from what we're originally sold.

Help kids relate to the top athletes hard work usually not seen, or documented. Don't forget to minus that victim part.
It's ok to struggle and not being number one in everything and don't expect to have instant gratification because you decided to practice for the first time outside team practice.
Kids are listening and reading their heroes stories and emulate this victim mentality.

Life's easier without dwelling on the negative although this might not be as compelling when trying to sell your life story.












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[Comocoach]

Quit playing the victim. You weren't ripped off.

 

[chinamigarden]

Is this victimology? Or is this someone explaining their motivation?

Victimology is “I would have had success if these things, people, or requirements weren't in my way.”For example. If the ump was any good my dd would have had her first no hitter/walkoff hit/ win/homerun.. If coach wasn’t blind I would have started at SS. Instead I had to quit the game”. Or any number of Daddy Ball claims.

Whatever you call it I agree it’s getting tiresome, I don’t need to hear your backstory just show me you have game now.

 

[Cannonball]

First, I have never claimed to be a victim. I was cut from baseball my freshman and sophomore years. While you won't believe this, I was considered to be one of the best, if not the best, player in my HS. I went to the coach and asked him why I was cut. His quote was that I was, "just too mean." I grew up in a very rough place and I was in fights all of the time. However, I never started those fights. If you didn't belong to this "gang" or that "gang," you and your family were targeted. I made sure that those guys thought twice about targeting me and my family. Thus, my reputation. In my junior year, my PE teacher asked the HC of the baseball team if he knew me. He did not. He then told the HC that if he were the HC of any team at my HS, I would be on their team. Long story short, I made the team based upon that conversation and was all everything for my junior and senior years. I hit .500 my junior year and .438 my senior year. I did that with wood bats. Our HS started using aluminum bats my junior year but, I didn't like them. Most of the players continued to use wood.

Again, I have never claimed to be a victim. In fact, being cut made me more determined to be so good that I could never get cut. I believe that is why I did so well when I finally did make the team.

 

[Rolling Hard]

Story telling 101
The protagonist works toward the central story goals, while the antagonist works against the goals. The words “protagonist” and “antagonist” are antonyms. In storytelling terms, this means that protagonists and antagonists are opposing forces in a story.

 

[quincy]

Learned something today, stay on cannonballs good side. From his name I should of gussied that I suppose.

DD has some poor experience in SB but also some great times. She seamed to ride ups and downs OK.

Sometimes it seemed like the world, HC, was against her. They were and a jerk.

I think you are allowed to complain.

 

[Cannonball]

Learned something today, stay on cannonballs good side. From his name I should of gussied that I suppose.

DD has some poor experience in SB but also some great times. She seamed to ride ups and downs OK.

Sometimes it seemed like the world, HC, was against her. They were and a jerk.

I think you are allowed to complain.

LOL! My nickname is from my HS Baseball Coach who gave that to me in an interview with the newspaper and after I broke one players leg and another's arm in a HS baseball game while sliding into second. He said I went into them like a cannonball and that name stuck.

 

[sluggers]

I feel ripped off when I find 2 or 3 pages of amazing statistics, and endless array of accolades heaped upon these suposive victims of the world. Nothing but positive and quiet a contrast from what we're originally sold.

I don't have a clue what your post is about.

An athlete can't become good without a tremendous amount of work...and athletes use losing as a motivation to do all that work.

 

[Shiloh]

I don't have a clue what your post is about.

Yes, hard to parse the original intent.

Commentary about Naomi Osaka's activism maybe - ?

 

[radness]

Story telling 101
The protagonist works toward the central story goals, while the antagonist works against the goals. The words “protagonist” and “antagonist” are antonyms. In storytelling terms, this means that protagonists and antagonists are opposing forces in a story.

This seems like the perfect chat room disclaimer.

Add
* Pending the perception of the reader you may be portrayed as one or the other!