Dumb Jock Stereotypes Essay

Other stereotypes/misconceptions that are involved with these athletes are that they are dumb/ignorant jocks. These misconceptions are commonly brought up when talking about college athletes. However, most people do not know how disciplined an athlete has to be to compete at the collegiate level while maintaining the grades to be eligible to play. In the article, Athlete’s struggle against ‘dumb’ jock stereotype, written by Ashley McDonnell, a swim and diving athlete of Brown University by the name of Allyson Schamcher admits, “the dumb jock is totally a stereotype.” Adding to Schamcher’s statement, Leslie Springmeyer, the captain for the field hockey team claims, “There should be more respect for us – we’re doing all the academic work on top …show more content…
First off you have to obviously be an outstanding athlete, but to rank yourself amongst the best, takes endless training both on the field and inside the classroom. For an athlete to compete, they have to maintain a 2.0 GPA and in some schools, a 2.5 GPA. Not only do college athletes have to worry about keeping their body to its peak level of endurance and strength but also have to be able to dish out the grades needed to play. Take into to mind that these athletes are constantly missing school due to games, tournaments, etc. So all that time that they are gone, is time where professors are assigning homework, projects and papers. There are some athletes that might not be the smartest in the classroom compared to others, but that does not mean that they do not work extremely hard. Some students might have troubles with math so they have to take time out of practice to get extra help or tutoring. This is a big sacrifice too because this particular athlete is taking time out of his/her sport, which most likely got them to college, to get better in the classroom. Thus, proving that athletes go out of their way to reach his/her full potential of being the best college