Page 536 - Sociology and You

506 Unit 4 Social Institutions
World View
World View
Olympic Success
Sport also plays an important role in today’s global so- ciety. For some time, the winning of Olympic medals has been a source of regional and global prestige. This map shows the number of medals earned by each country in the 2000 Summer Olympic Games.
North America
Europe
South America
Africa
Asia
Australia
Number of Medals Earned
More than 20 11 to 20
1 to 10
No medals
Interpreting the Map
1. Why do you think there is such wide variation in the number of Olympic medals earned?
2. Do the Olympics illustrate a connection between sport and politics? Explain.
Source: Orbital Decisions, http://www.orbital.co.za/text/sydney2000/medals.htm.
Brashear in February of 2000. The attack was the culmination of a game marked by injuries and was the result of the long-standing rivalry between two “top enforcers.”
Cheating may not be as easy as violent behavior to identify, but is often present, nonetheless. Cheating was no doubt involved when American Olympic skater Nancy Kerrigan was struck on the right leg with a metal rod by an assailant later linked to her competitor, Tonya Harding. In 2000, the Atlanta Braves were penalized for signing a player before his sixteenth birth- day. They had followed the precedent of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1999. Cheating can even extend beyond players, as when a Utah state committee used illegal inducements to attract the 2002 Winter Olympics.