Dumb+Jocks

 Alexandra Kuykendall
 Jocks are usually perceived as dumb, clique-ish, and arrogant; what is almost unknown is that they are helpful throughout the community and the world. Jocks are usually popular in movies and books, but not for the right reasons; mostly because people are scared of them. Just because a few jocks are rude, overbearing, and not very books smart, does not mean that all of them are like that.

 In movies, books, television shows, comic strips and basically any other form of entertainment; jocks are portrayed as stupid. From the grades they get to how they act, they do things that cause them to not be liked by the general population. In the 80’s television show //Blossom,// one of the supporting characters is a star athlete, who just happens to be very dumb. He cheats on all his tests but that just gets him placed in the honors English class, where he learns there is such thing as the table of contents. Another example would be Moose Mason from the Archie comics. He knows a lot about football but outside of that, he is seriously oblivious. His girlfriend cheats on him all the time but he has yet to figure out that she is. He just beats up the guys he sees her with as if it's always their fault, not Midge's! It is no wonder people have a hard time taking athletes seriously with depictions like this!

 Another perception of athletes is that they are arrogant. For example, career ball blog says, “athletes think they can get away with things just because they are involved in a sport.” The world of professional sports has a lot to do with this mindset, because professional athletes are treated like gods. High School athletes feel like they can act the same way, and treat non-athletes like they are not as good as them.

 Since athletes are part of a team, people tend to view them as one singular body. Not taking the time to separate them into their own person. This can make jocks seem clique-ish and unwilling to associate with people who have other pastimes. They seem like they are only interested in their sport and not much else.

 Many people are not aware of the good work that many athletes are doing. In the book // The Running Dream ,// protagonist Jessica is a jock in the best sense of the word. She is focused and uncomplicated, a track runner who keeps her eye on the prize. She loses her leg in a car accident but that does not stop her from running with a prosthetic leg. She also manages to run with said prosthetic while pushing her friend in a wheelchair, her friend has cerebral palsy. This shows that athletes care about those who are not as fortunate as they are, even in the least fortunate sense of the word.

 Sports teach life lessons, which in turn means that athletes learn how to live well. They learn that other people are as important, if not more important than themselves. Many sports teams do community service, like helping to stock food pantries or raising money for charity organizations.

 Jocks are not only concerned with helping the world of today, but also the world of tomorrow. Countless athletes are seen in the book //Champions for Change//, a book promoting environmental conservation. It depicts athletes working to make a difference in the problem with global warming and pollution.

 Even though the media tries to make jocks seem like the dumbest of the dumb, the real life athletes prove to the world that the stereotype of dumb jock, is just that, only a stereotype.