Why So Many Black Athletes?
As I am watching the NCAA men's basketball playoffs, a question begs to be asked. Most of us are afraid to give it words, much less print. But it is there, for all to clearly posit. Let me be bold and probably foolish and just bring it to the forefront:
“Why are so many of our prominent athletes African American?”
There, I asked it. I should be color-blind, able to view a group of people without even considering the race of the individuals, many will chide. Race, in essence, has to do with physical attributes, or so I have come to believe. And, physically speaking, 80% of the basketball players on the court are black. And when you narrow it down to the star-quality players, it is an even higher percentage.
Are blacks, as a race, simply and naturally superior athletes? I take a cursory look at the prominent American sports of basketball, baseball, and football, and I would be tempted to answer “yes”. Some have considered and written thoughtfully on the subject and come up with the same conclusion. Jon Entine, in his popular book entitled Taboo: Why Black Athletes Dominate Sports and Why We're Afraid to Talk About It writes that blacks are clearly gifted with the physically superior abilities to run faster and jump higher. “Blacks are made better” said Carl Lewis, the African America athlete who won four gold medals at the 1984 Olympics.
But, let us consider further. An overwhelming number of white athletes dominate many other sports, including: volleyball, hockey, tennis, golf, rowing, skiing, rugby, cricket, figure skating, weightlifting, wrestling, surfing, bowling, softball, billiards and soccer. These require athleticism, as well. Why are blacks not dominating these fields?
I will not do the nitty-gritty research to quote exact statistics, but I am quite sure that whites show the same overwhelming dominance in many non-athletic fields. The professions of teaching, research, business, medicine, etc. are dominated in America by non-blacks. Why?
I believe it is simplistic, ignorant, and even wrong to say, “Blacks are, by nature, better athletes.”, because it takes but one further step to say with the same breath, “Whites are, by nature, superior intellectually.” Many people look at anecdotal, and even statistical, evidence, and come to the conclusion of the latter quotation. I can tell you that in our local high school, blacks are a clear minority of the population, yet are dominant in athletics. But when awards are given out at the end of the year for academic achievement, very few blacks step forward. In my hometown, the business and political scene is almost monolithic with white ownership. Is this because of the superiority of one race over the other?
I watched Gonzaga vs. UCLA last night. Adam Morrison was the star player for Gonzaga. There seemed a flow about his athleticism that made him stand out. He was deft with the dribble, sharp with the pass; a complete player who could shoot with great accuracy. He will enter the NBA draft later this year. And I guarantee that he will be an NBA star. It's not just because he is 6' 8'' and averaged 28 ppg in College. It is because he is white, and American Basketball fans, even black fans, like to root for a white guy who can play the game. It's the same reason white Republicans are urging Condoleeza Rice, probably the most prominent African American within the political party, to run for office.
Inherently, deep down in the soul, we know one race is not superior to the other. We know differences result from complex factors: social, economic, cultural.
White men can jump. Black men can do math. It is all a matter of motivation.
03.24.06 (12:12 pm) [
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posted by:
bacardibreezer (
reply)
post date:
03.24.06 (7:19 am)
Good post, I agree with what you said. I always wondered the same thing - and my explanation was a lot of them don't get the chance to do intellectual stuff, so they go into sports.
posted by:
surrogate (
reply)
post date:
03.24.06 (8:21 am)
I'd like to take this a step further. I think the hoop should be lowered to three feet so people of my stature have a chance against all those damn big people out there. Skin color ain't nothin. I want an equal playing field for short people with no talent.
posted by:
PastorDave (
reply)
post date:
03.24.06 (8:59 am)
Reply to: bacardibreezer
Sports is a valid avenue to success in life. I admire the great athlete, and do not begrudge him/her the money and prestige that goes to the rare person who can make a living with such. But let us face the facts- what percentage of aspiring kids become professional athletes? It has to be a negligible amount. For a kid to emege into adolescence thinking "I'm going to be a profesional basketball player" and ignoring other realistic possibilities for success is a sad thing. I blame the urban culture. The breakdown of the family structure, the hip-hop culture, the NBA, poor role models, a whiney "blame" mentality, the Democratic Party, Jesse Jackson, racism, an impotent church- there's a lot of genuine blame to go around.
posted by:
PastorDave (
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post date:
03.24.06 (9:01 am)
And should we limit competition to short, bald guys with a paunch?
posted by:
ScubaDiva (
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post date:
03.24.06 (10:09 am)
No posting about your trip to the aquarium????
posted by:
FinalyFree (
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post date:
03.24.06 (10:31 am)
Fantastic post, Pastor. I've pondered this many times in my life. I remember years ago my Daddy used to say, "I love to watch Larry Bird play ball." When I'd ask why he'd say, "I like to see a white boy that can really play basketball." That was hard for me to understand as I found Michael Jordan to be the most fascinating player to ever hit the courts.
I think you are exactly right, it's about about priorities and motivation, not skin color.
posted by:
PastorDave (
reply)
post date:
03.24.06 (10:38 am)
Reply to: ScubaDiva
There were just too many black athletes at the aquarium...and everybody else, too! The place is fantastic, amazing really. But the cost to get in is a lot, and I really felt like I was being herded through like cattle. This was on a Thursday- I can't imagine what the place would be like on a weekend. I took pictures, but found out my camera just was not of sufficient quality. So, before next time, I will get a better camera!
Scuba, you're the one really into water and aqua-stuff. You should do a post, with pictures, about the place!
posted by:
ScubaDiva (
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post date:
03.24.06 (10:50 am)
I've been 3x on weekday afternoons - even within the first 2 weeks of it opening. Wasn't too crowded at all.
I posted a link after I went of all my pics... So glad you read it. hehe
posted by:
drforbush (
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post date:
03.24.06 (1:17 pm)
Good Post, but it shouldn't be difficult to understand if you consider evolution. I am not saying that there is a racial difference, but instead that there has been selection over time because of circumstance. In fact, it is known that athletes from East Africa and West Africa are very good, but one side of the continent has sprinters and the other side has distance runners. The reason being that the land where the distance runners are from is flat and people would run between towns. Those good at distance running have survived. It has nothing to do with race, but the environment where they lived.
Likewise, in our country the slave trade sought the strongest slaves. After importing only the strongest people over a couple of hundred years the slave owners selected for the strongest and hence the best athletes. Of course this wasn’t the only selection. Consider the harsh extremes that those captured in Africa had to deal with. The weakest died along the way. Then consider the ship travel tied up for weeks as they were transported across the sea. The weakest again died along the way. Then again the strongest were selected at the auctions in the West Indies, and the selective breeding of the slave owners. How could these people not end up stronger than the average white man could? Again it has nothing to do with race, except that race was used to select the people who were put into these extreme conditions.
posted by:
surrogate (
reply)
post date:
03.24.06 (2:26 pm)
Reply to: drforbush
This makes sense, but it also tells me that if my ancestors were black, but everything else about us was still the same, I'd have never been chosen to be a slave, so I'd still be in Africa. Hmmm. Wonder what I'd be doing for a living.
posted by:
PastorDave (
reply)
post date:
03.24.06 (4:50 pm)
Reply to: drforbush
What you are saying about the selective breeding of the slaves and the survival of the fittest makes historical sense. As I recall, Al Campanis of the LA Dodgers & Jimmy The Greek Snyder of too-much-to-drink ruined their careers by making similar allegations. Slavery ended 150 years ago, and so the physical effect should be pretty much abated. Of course, I'm not a scientist, and would not know.
I remember reading something about the nature of the human muscular system, that some people-groups tend to have muscles developed for short bursts of energy and speed, and some for longevity. This was used to explain the disproportionate number of long distance runners from Kenya, and why these guys win every Boston Marathon.
It is not racist to say that races are genetically and physically different. I think it is obvious. But, to play a sport well requires more than physical prowess. For instance, there are great nuances in basketball. What makes a good guard does not make a good power forward. Some excel at leading the fast break, while others are adept at hitting the 3-point-shot. Many incalculable variables are involved. Larry Bird was quite different from Michael Jordan, but both were outstanding players. I do not think we can truly assign athletic superiority to any one race based upon physical prowess.
Once again, thanks doc for gracing my little blog. You're tops.
posted by:
PastorDave (
reply)
post date:
03.25.06 (3:24 am)
Reply to: FinalyFree
Larry Bird was a great ball player, but he was not of the calibre of Michael Jordan. It was obvious he was not blessed with the same raw skills, but the unspoken theme was "he's a smart player." Of course such could not be talked too loudly- just look at the guy!
posted by:
supremeanna (
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post date:
03.25.06 (8:41 am)
hmmmm...i never noticed, really.
posted by:
midnightepicure (
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post date:
03.25.06 (8:38 pm)
this almost makes me sick. after skimming through the post and your comments, i think you all need to get out of the country side and come into contact with people. real, different, people.
much love and respect, but this is all rather ignorant. the only way to look at it is this, white people are better at somethings because well, thats just what white people do. same with black people. i dont think its evolution so much as whats forced on kids by parents, demographics, and location. good point about the runners, but the same goes for canadians with hockey, asians with martial arts, irish with alcohol tolerance and so forth. but there are too many exceptions to these rules for them to be set as rules.
the point- if you go to country, you get horseback riders, farmers, and four wheelers. mostly white. the subs- soccer moms, veterinarians, secretaries, assisstant managers. my suburb is mostly white, but im sure it balances out nation wide. if you go to the city, almost any city, there is your business district, your ghetto, and everything in between. in the ghettos, which were originally jewish, minorities dominate, and black people fill the basketball courts.
practice makes perfect. white people are good at golf. black people are good at basketball. it still kind of makes me sad that this was bothering you though.
on a funnier note, this sort of reminds me of the movie "Cool Runnings." hilarious.
posted by:
midnightepicure (
reply)
post date:
03.25.06 (8:40 pm)
another thing thats kind of funny is what i said about golf. a half black, half philipino man made the sport popular, and still kicks ass from time to time. gotta love tiger.
posted by:
crimsonstorm (
reply)
post date:
03.26.06 (10:34 am)
Thanks for bringing it up. No one really wants to talk about it. It is true though, black men are dominant in a sport that was started by a white man. If you notice black athletes have been dominating the NBA and college basketball as well as MLB for some time; however, they are not as dominating in Ice Hockey or Golf. I don't know what the correlation would be. Hockey is just as demanding as anything else. You don't see very many black bowlers either. I want to thank you again for your honesty and openness. It is all about perception and motivation.
posted by:
drforbush (
reply)
post date:
03.27.06 (9:27 am)
reply to: PastorDave
Obviously this subject is quite sensitive to anyone involved. The reason for this sensitivity stems from people not being careful with either language, understanding the total picture, or assuming statements imply conclusions not intended by the speaker or author.
For example, when one talks about the effects of slavery on American blacks one would be wrong to conclude that all blacks are effected in the same way. However, it wouldn’t be wrong to conclude that there is a high probability that some number of “outliers” exist because of the history of slave trade. When we select for athletes, we are selecting for outliers in a statistical distribution. Obviously the general public is not inclined to pay close attention to the differences in these very different conclusions.
You also made a statement that the effect of slave selection would no longer be in effect in the current population of American blacks. I don’t know how you can jump to that conclusion based on the history since slavery and considering how such normalization would take place. First of, consider that on Juneteenth 1865 when the slaves were freed the gene pool of blacks contained a higher proportion of genes for strength, height and endurance desired by the slave owners. At this time the freed blacks probably kept the wives that they had already married. Blacks that wished to marry from this day on were free to choose wives from a limited selection of women most likely living up to that time on the plantation, therefore still having the same gene pool to select from. After that time blacks moved off the plantations and moved into small all black communities that were mainly ex-slaves that were still from the same gene pool. Some of these blacks became share croppers, an extremely demanding job done best by those who were fittest. Health care for children born of these couples was basically non-existent resulting in further selection for the strongest at birth. Up into the 1950s interracial marriage was considered illegal in many communities keeping the gene pool relatively unaltered. From the 1880s or so until the present there are most likely four or five generations, but the gene pool had little chance to be normalized to pre-slavery conditions. There was no influx of “wild type” genes from blacks in Africa. And, even if the median of a statistical distribution were to shift slightly over these five generations there is still a high probability that the outliers could descend from parents that have high proportions of genes selected for height, strength and endurance.
Of course there are other factors that lead to star players like Michael Jordan. I think that Jordan has said in interviews that he played basketball in his free time every chance that he got. So, given a player already with outlier qualities in strength, height and endurance that plays basketball continuously he will certainly rise to the top of the heap. Inner city kids find it easy to get a basketball and shoot hoops, but they don’t always have the same opportunity to join a swimteam, ballet studio, go jet skiing, go skiing, or many other activities that suburban white kids do for their recreation. All of these activities spread the number of white kids that have the outlier height, strength and endurance into many different areas beside basketball. Tall strong white kids with endurance might become swimmers or skiers for example. Choosing those sports would most likely mean that they wouldn’t have the time to pursue basketball for fun or pleasure and therefore never enter the basketball pipeline.
posted by:
drforbush (
reply)
post date:
03.27.06 (9:41 am)
reply to: midnightepicure
You make an excellent point that people take the opportunities that they fine around them. Out in the countryside you have less asphalt, for example. I don't know how many houses I have seen with gravel drives and a basketball hoop. You aren't going to develop very great dribbling skills with that set up, but you might still get some great 3-point shooters if they sit outside shooting baskets night and day.
However, if you find a liking to riding your horse you might not spend much time shooting baskets either. Then most of my son's friends spend all their time shooting rifles at the varmints in the backyard...
posted by:
FinalyFree (
reply)
post date:
03.27.06 (10:45 am)
Reply to: PastorDave
You know my best friend's husband actually met Mr. Bird a few years ago. He works with his brother in law, he talked of what a nice guy he was. I think that goes a long way, i.e. good personality and such, when you're an athlete. Maybe I should say the 'nice guys' make a better impression, regardless of their skin color.
posted by:
surrogate (
reply)
post date:
03.27.06 (3:16 pm)
Reply to: midnightepicure
I don't really think this was bothering any of us at all. As for me, I'm just not blind. I have no idea about the actual "why's of this sort of thing, but it's fun to wonder about.
(Is this where I'm supposed to say, "Hey now, just wait one cotton-pickin' minute. Some of my best friends are... um, Canadian." ?)
posted by:
PastorDave (
reply)
post date:
03.30.06 (7:25 am)
Reply to: supremeanna
You never noticed? Then I would have to say you absolutely never observe any competitive team sports in the US. Or, you are blind, and probably deaf. Or, maybe you have bought into this thin veneer pseudo conviction of society that believes to even deign to recognize a possible physical difference among people-groups is to be racist, myopic, and totally devoid of the right to live.
Come on, now, you never even noticed?
posted by:
PastorDave (
reply)
post date:
03.30.06 (7:32 am)
Reply to: midnightepicure
Not trying to make you sick.
I disagree with your judgment that I am ignorant.
Get out of the country and into the real world? I live in a cosmopolitan and multi-racial community, and regularly and in a healthy way interact with all kinds of people.
You cannot just ignore statistics. 80%+ of NBA players are black. I'm just asking why. It's not a put-down of anybody else. Just a question. And, I think, an interesting and fair question.
I notice, after you see the necessity to communicate your higher moral ground, that you too are willing to consider the question and offer some quite reasonable possibilities.
It is interesting that I did not mount a pulpit to pose the question. I wish you would just sit down in the pew, with me, and discuss the matter. It's a good question.
posted by:
PastorDave (
reply)
post date:
03.30.06 (7:34 am)
Reply to: midnightepicure
Concerning Tiger Woods- the 60 Minutes interview last Sunday was amazing. He honors, even reveres his parents. How refreshing. And he is not hung up on race. He refuses to identify himself with any hyphenated titles. Just a golfer; happens to be the best in the world, of course.
posted by:
PastorDave (
reply)
post date:
03.30.06 (7:38 am)
Reply to: crimsonstorm
I think it is cultural. Blacks in the US do not have the ready access to hockey, golf, or tennis. Neither the role models. Again, not a matter of not having the skills, but of motivation within culture.
I have no motivation for hip-hop. But if all my friends were into it, and I was raised in such an environment, then maybe....
posted by:
PastorDave (
reply)
post date:
03.30.06 (7:42 am)
Reply to: drforbush
I stand corrected. You make sense.
Intermarriage. Education. Access to the business culture. Declining influence of black politicians and black church leaders. All are serving to make the black community more diverse, and so with time I believe the physical factors will be less evident. But you are right, not enough time as passed at this point.
posted by:
PastorDave (
reply)
post date:
03.30.06 (7:44 am)
Reply to: surrogate
Maybe some of us here on t-blog have gotten to know each other a little bit, so you guys know when I come up with a post like this that I am not writing from a slant of undue prejudice and ill will. And I appreciate very much such respect. But out friend, midnight, has not been around for as long.
