ace to play sports and hang out in an otherwise high-risk urban area. (Wilson 2001.) The study shows how youth in a neighbor center context maintained an informal culture of nonviolence by creating a set of "tolerance" rules that allowed diverse groups to coexist in a limited social space. Similar to the subculture that exists in sports. Yusuff while studying Nigerian athletes found that most athletes come from families with lower socioeconomic status, and that a significantly high number of athletes experience upward social mobility (1987). Many young athletes in the United States engage in sports because they believe it's the "ticket" out of the ghetto.
             Blumer (1969) outlined symbolic interaction theory based on three assumptions. First is the fact we behave according to our own interpretations of reality. That is, we behave towards things and people according to the meanings those things and people have for us. Secondly, subjective interpretations are based on the meanings we learn from others. Specifically, we learn the meaning of something by the way we see others acting towards it. Thirdly, we constantly interpret our own behavior as well as the behavior of others. These interpretations are based on the symbols and meanings we have learned. Because we can carry mental conversations with ourselves, we can imagine how others will respond to us before we engage in a given behavior. As Shepard (1981) stated, our behavior is continually created as we interact with others.
             Symbolic interaction theory can help us better understand people's participation in sports, and their given attitudes about it. The argument can be given that socioeconomic factors above all else are the main influences in how people choose to engage in sport. These socioeconomic factors are based on one's particular environment, and his or her perceptions of themselves, as well as the community as a whole. Therefore we can a...