On April 15, 1947 Jackie Robinson played his first game as a Los Angeles Dodger. This would not have been a surprise if he was a white man with the same talent

Those who think that racial inequality is a serious problem is sports also say the idea that the only African-Americans that make it to the professional level in sports are the ones that are the premier athletes and the other "talented but not superstar" players are being shown prejudice against.(Barrett 102). Star outfielder Gary Sheffield was quoted as saying, "People do not want to face the facts; people do not want to hear the truth, but we know what’s happening out there. No one is fooling us. I can honestly say racism is worse today than its ever been in the years I’ve played… You want to know why there aren’t any black players? Because you’ve got to be twice as good as anyone else. If you’re not, you just won’t make it. Why do you think you hardly ever see any black bench players? You better be a star, or you’re not making this team. They don’t want a black player sitting on the bench making money. You got to be white."(Sheffield qt. in Barrett 102). Just hold on one minute though! How can he possibly say that there are not black bench players, and that they do not make money? Danny Mota is a African-American that played his major league career as a pinch-hitter and was recognized as a great for years. There are plenty of others just like him. Another player is Ricky Henderson, a special player with a knack for stealing bases. The thing is though is that Henderson makes $6,000,000 a year to sit on the bench for the Padres(Barrett 103). How is that not decent money? There are not a lot of high salaried black reserves, but there are not a lot of whites either. When a player gets too old or thinks he is better than what management thinks he is, he wants a raise, but the front office isn’t willing to give it to him. So he just retires or takes a big pay cut for sitting on the bench. If he is willing to do neither the owners avoid the headaches by releasing them from the team(Barrett 103). One more point is that Sheffield, Albert Belle, and Barry Bonds, all African-American, were all baseball’s three highest paid players, despite none of them ever having a World Series appearance(Barrett 103). These previous arguments show that African-Americans are not given unfair salaries and can’t make it if not at a superstar level.

In conclusion, after examining the research, it becomes clear that racial inequality is not a serious problem in sports. Not only have opponents been proven wrong in the belief that black players and coaches are becoming harder and harder to find in professional sports and that the only African-Americans that make it to the professional level in sports are the ones that are the premier athletes, but the facts are on the side of those who do not see racial inequality as a problem. First, African-Americans have moved into the front office and management positions by overcoming past prejudice. Second, different races are not favored at certain positions in sports. Last and most importantly, blacks are really overrepresented in sports, there is no inequality. Thus, it is clear that there is at least one place in the world that men and women of different races can find a level playing field, and that place is the field itself(Whicker 111).

Finally, there are statistics that show how blacks are really overrepresented in sports. There is not inequality, just less opportunities. In 1959 blacks represen

Some topics in this essay:
Football League, World Series, Arthur Ashe, House Pitchers, Basketball Association, Gary Sheffield, Football League’s, Ricky Henderson, Angeles Dodger, York Yankees, racial inequality, national football, front office, sports world, black players, national football league, major league, football league, racial inequality serious, black assistants, serious sports, inequality serious, inequality serious sports, national basketball association, office management positions,