Monday, 12 January 2015

Freedom Of Expression Through Sports
By Liam Wilson

Freedom is a right and athletes use it everyday to express their amazing talents through their sports. The images below shows how individual athletes express themselves through their sports.    

Peruzzi, Marc. "Can snowboarding be saved?" outside magazine, 14
    Jan. 2014. Web. 12 Jan. 2015. <
This image shows that being a true athlete one can use many different canvases to express themselves. The image uses colour, lighting and, attitude of subject to communicate this message. The colour shows that the rider is a  determined athlete because he is not letting the overcast skies stop him from performing at his best. This also shows that the rider is a risk taker because riding in overcast lighting is extremely dangerous and through this picture he is showing the viewers that he is a real extremist. The use of lighting in this image shows that the snowboarder enjoys showcasing his talents because he is performing his trick in the only beam of light in the sky so everyone is able to see him. The attitude of the subject is showing that he is a confident rider because you don't simply see someone doing a trick like this on a regular basis.  Also the rider would have to have a cocky swagger amongst him because he is now showcasing himself to others and if he were to fall it would be extremely embarrassing. You can also tell the snowboarder is a very fit and adventurous rider because he is able to enjoy himself freestyling with out a terrain park, box or, rail. Also, the amount of physical strength it takes to pull off a trick like this is astounding; it requires a vast amount of core strength and balance. There are no rules to how an artist should paint his or hers masterpiece and the same applies to snowboarding; Snowboarding is a world that has yet be discovered and no matter how you approach it, every rider is free to express themselves in different ways.

This image here shows Ben Johnson a Canadian sprinter winning the 100m finals in the 1988 Seoul Korea Olympic summer games. The image gives us the idea that athletes use attitude to express themselves. This image was taken as Ben crossed the line and he clearly knew he had won. Ben’s body language and strong posture clearly shows us that he is confident and proud as he holds up one finger to tell the world he is number one and the fastest man alive. The smirk on his face shows a sign of happiness and relief as the race is over and he beats his competitors. Ben also takes pride in representing Canada as he clearly does not cover the maple leaf on his jersey.  He specifically places his bib under it.  Wearing their short shorts help to show off their toned and muscular bodies .  This also tells us that they are dedicated professional athletes.  Finally, this picture leaves Canadians feeling proud!

"Ben Johnson." getty images, 27 Sept. 1996. Web. 12 Jan. 2015.

Toronto Raptors point guard
Hunger, John. "kyle lowry.", 7 Feb. 2014. Web. 12
    Jan. 2015. <
This image is of the Toronto Raptor’s Point Guard Kyle Lowry and Centre Jonas Valanciunas bringing up the ball centre court in one of their most recent games.  This image shows us that sports use clothing as expression. This is big in basketball.  Basketball players always strive to play their best so fans will buy their apparel.  They use it to gain popularity status.  The better Kyle plays every fan will want to buy a number seven Toronto Raptor jersey.  Also every player wears their own pro model shoe as advertising to showcase it for their fans to purchase. In this image we see Kyle’s jazzy patent leather shoe with red sole matching his team colours.  So if fans buy a jersey now they have to buy the pro model shoe to match.  The defender Deandre Jordan, in white shows us that he has a loud and colourful personality based on his choice of shoe colour.  He is wearing all white with a very vibrant nike shoe allowing it to pop out on the court.  The tattoo on his arm shows viewers that he likes to express himself outwards for everyone to see.  He is probably not a private person.  Number 17, Jonas is wearing all black compression tights and black and white modest shoes.  This shows that he could be insecure and likes to be covered or simply could just be protecting himself from getting an injury due to his large size.  Basketball is all about creating an image for themselves.

Serena Williams at the 2011"williams." Ramey Pix, 14 July 2014. Web. 12 Jan. 2015.

This is an image of the most dominant female tennis player in the World, Serena Williams.  This image shows us that sports uses power as expression.  In this picture we see Serena returning a tennis ball with great strength.  The viewer can see that by the way her feet are planted and how her muscles are flexing she is gearing up for a powerful return.  The drive in her face show us that she is ready to explode power.  This image is also powerful on another level.  As she is a black, female sports athlete dominating the scene.  She is a strong role model for other young women. Power just just come in strength!

Whether its on snow, a track, a court, or turf,  athletes can express themselves through the use of their clothing, attitude, artwork, strength and power so that we can come to know them inside and out because we live in a Country where freedom defines us!


  1. Ha. Maybe Ben's smirk is because he is a doping cheater?

    Seriously, you have put forth a solid thesis about sports and freedom of expression. I would have liked you to focus on fewer textual elements, but look more deeply at them.

  2. Don't understand how someone's shoes can be expressing themselfvs. Could they maybe just be trying to colour cordinate there shoes with their teams colours

    1. Deandre Jordan could have worn a modest white shoe or perhaps a shoe with less blue if he was a insecure or a quiet person but, he chose loudly coloured shoes describing his personality exactly . There are endless options to which he can colour coordinate with his team colours. The colour, cut, and brightness allows them to express themselves as an individual. Your insolence clearly blinds you.