Athletes Are Uneducated: A Common Stereotype

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“Blondes are dumb!”, “Look at his clothes, he must be a gangster!”, “A women’s place is in the kitchen!”; “He is good at math because he is an Asian!” These are some of the stereotypes we hear every day. Stereotypes are misconceptions, or prejudicial notations that are used to define members of a social or ethnic group. Most stereotypical comments have a racial nature, and can be offensive to the people they are directed towards. On the other hand, certain stereotypes may also be positive and praise the skills of a particular group of people. Stereotypes have become a part of our life; they are taken for granted, and in a subconscious manner, guide our attitudes towards others. I want to talk about a stereotype that I have heard many times: Athletes are dumb. I have seen that many people consider professional athletes to be uneducated. It is a common misconception that all professional athletes are dropouts from school, and are all brawn, no brain. Even at the high school level people consider the children who are active in sports to be unintelligent. But in reality this is not the case; in fact, I have had a couple of athlete friends in high school, and they were all ace students. No one considers the fact that high school, as well as college athletes have to manage both their practice and study time. After all the added pressure athletes still manage to get through their work and keep up with those who don’t have any extra work. Most colleges have a minimum grade that the athletes have to be above. If they fail to keep above the minimum grade they are removed from the team until they improve their grades. A majority of professional athletes have been educated at well known colleges and universities, before they ever make it into a professional team. People also believe that professional athletes receive special treatment in college, and the

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