te ball players and lose respect for themselves and each other. But if they are too ‘militant’ and try to assert their basic manhood by attempting to break out of the whites’ stereotype of the shuffling, dumb, insensitive jock, they are…often cut from the squad. (Meggyesy, 1970, p. 195)In addition to these selection tactics, Meggyesy talked about the practice throughout the NFL of letting blacks play only certain positions. In fact, very few blacks held positions which were popularly thought to require a great deal of intelligence rather than a great deal of strength such as linebacker, offensive guard, and quarterback. (Meggyesy, 1970)In reading the aforementioned examples that David Meggyesy provided in Out of Their League, it is apparent that he viewed the treatment of football players from a conflict theorist point of view. Since over a quarter century has passed since his book was published, I wanted to find out if his feelings on the subject have changed since then. It turns out that Meggyesy has played an integral part in improving the working conditions of NFL athletes. For the past eighteen years, he has served as the Western Director of the NFL Players Association (NFLPA). (David Meggyesy, Personal Communication, December 12, 2000) He believes that working conditions are much better today not only because of the NFLPA, but also because of the improved market conditions that have resulted from the national and international popularity of the league. (David Meggyesy, Personal Communication, December 12, 2000) As to what improvements still need to be made, his primary focus was on improving the treatment of collegiate athletes at institutions with “big-time” football and basketball programs. (David Meggyesy, Personal Communication, December 12, 2000) He believes these athletes are being exploited primarily because they do not receive a portion of the substantial revenues they help to generate f...
