Wednesday, July 25th, 2007...10:30 am
Are Black People Better Athletes?
Any topic involving race is dangerous, especially when you throw genetics, slavery and athletics into the mix. But, I think this is discussion worth having and I’ll attempt to do it in the most sensitive manner possible. I won’t be using the term African-American because that’s inaccurate in my eyes: Dikembe Mutumbo is African-American, Allen Iverson is not. Would you call Kevin McHale Irish- American? Many black people living in this country could theoretically trace their roots back to colonial America (ala Alex Haley), so it’d be just as ridiculous as people calling themselves English-Americans.
Now that we’ve laid down a few ground rules, we get to the initial question: are black people better athletes? While many would prefer not to decline or come up with some politically correct answer, deep down inside I think most people believe this to be true. Yes, it’s stereotypical, but at the core of many stereotypes is some truth. Why are the overwhelming majority of NBA players, sprinters, Wide Receivers, and Running Backs black? Surely you’ve asked yourself this question before. Is it a case of perception or reality, nature or nuture? There has to be a sensible answer, right?
A little less than 20 years ago, Jimmy the Greek was fired for attempting to answer this question honestly on the CBS Evening News.
The black is the better athlete. And he practices to be the better athlete and he’s bred to be the better athlete because this goes back to the slave period. The slave owner would breed this big black with this big black woman so they could have a big black kid. That’s where it all started. (http://www.papillonsartpalace.com/cbsfired.htm)
Insensitive? Yes. His statements were very controversial and cost him his job, but was he wrong? While he used a very simplistic way to explain the process, I certainly believe there is a great deal of truth to his theory. More importantly, there’s more dimension beyond the physical that he was unable to explore.
Assuming slavery started somewhere around 1650, for more than 200 years slaves were bred for their physical prowess. It’s important to note that it wasn’t some natural selection process, where females were attracted to the alpha male, it was an outside party controlling who was to “breed”. Since slaves did physical work, stronger stock was more profitable both on the plantation and in the marketplace. I’m no biologist, but anecdotal evidence suggests that typically when two people with great physical size and ability have a child, their child shares many of those qualities and in some cases, exceeds them. During this same period, white people at large chose who they would reproduce with, leaving no distinct pattern about which to theorize.
But, more importantly than the biological effects of slavery and the dehumanizing “breeding” process, is the psychological impact it had and continues to have on both black and white people. In short, suppressing black people was much easier when they were viewed as less than human. But, that greatly increased the focus on their physical abilities, which were considered to be superior to those of “civilized” white people. Unfortunately, both white and black people are still hamstrung by that mentality in the new millennium.
Let me be clear, I don’t think modern white people view black people as less than human. But the residue of that thinking exists in the high regard for the physical prowess of black people. Who gets picked first in the pick-up basketball game? How do you describe the strengths of white athletes? Sadly, the black community at large has embraced this mentality and focused their attention on physical pursuits as opposed to getting the most from their mental capabilities. Who would you pick in an essay contest? What percentage of black people are famous for physical pursuits (sports, singing, dancing, etc.)? To paraphrase Chris Rock, even getting out of prison is more celebrated than graduation.
To answer the question posed by my title: Yes, black people are better athletes in the current state of our society but not necessarily for the reasons one might think. It has just as much (if not more) to do with nurture than it does with nature. At the end of the day, there is no clear solution. I’m saddened by black kids that believe athletics are their only legal shot to make it. I’m angry that in many situations, they’ve been given few reasons or resources to hope for anything different. While the perceived inferiority in physical pursuits can erode the confidence of a white child, but statistically speaking, they have better career options so it’s not as critical of a situation as black people face. As with most important things in life, there are no easy answers.
While many may disagree, my intent was to encourage honest dialogue about race, not just in blogfrica, but in real life. I’m more than open to feedback and criticism. The worst thing to happen to race relations in America was the politically correct movement. I truly believe it removed honesty from many discussions involving race, leaving the subject a hollow shell of procedures and etiquette. And since people aren’t accustomed to honesty, both sides become very sensitive even at the slightest mention of the topic. So, please have an opinion and express it. We have to be the generation that starts to move past this ridiculousness. I promise I won’t call you racist if you don’t call me a race-baiter.
27 Comments
July 26th, 2007 at 8:38 am
If I had to pick someone for an essay-writing contest, I’d pick Jon.
If it was a photoshop contest, I’d pick Lunchbox.
But that’s just because us white folk have been breeding our top graphic artists with humorists for centuries.
July 27th, 2007 at 8:00 am
I dislike the “strongest survive” hypothesis; more likely, just as in everyday life, it’s a combination of luck and skill. After all, the strongest might also have been the most physically agressive, and would have then been a target for any taskmaster.
However, I know that whenever I show up at the local basketball court where mostly blacks play and pull off a fancy dribble or pass, or block a shot, I’ll still hear oohs and aahs that are a tad too loud. It’s because a less-than-athletic looking white boy did it, I know. Oh well; it makes it more fun, actually.
July 27th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
I knew it - MC Bias is a hot dog.
September 26th, 2007 at 8:08 am
I totaly agree with that theory.
September 26th, 2007 at 8:09 am
BLACK POWER
March 3rd, 2008 at 5:45 pm
I don’t think sports has anything to with genetics, but I strongly agree with the statement OP made about the sociology behind the idea. Black children grow up thinking “I can only be a rapper or a B ball playa” while white children are told you can be anything you want but stay away from sports cause you will NEVER succeed, when if fact anyone can be whatever they want to be if they try. PS. The stereotype can be limiting to black education and crushing to a white boys physical confidence, so please dont embrace it as truth.
March 27th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
in america that may be how things are bu not in sunny old england ….
May 25th, 2008 at 11:17 pm
Its in the genes. Researchers in England, trying to prevent a genetic muscle wasting condition discovered that people without the ACTN3 gene were at a higher risk. Everyone has the gene as it is the gene that makes muscles, specifically fast twitch muscle fibers. For the most part Caucasians in England have 1 pair of the gene with 1/5 of the population having none and only the elite athletes having a double pair. Researchers in the United States discovered that Caucasians in the US have more of the ACTN3 by percentage and that as a whole a larger percentage of African Americans have the double gene. Research also showed several Olympic jumpers and sprinters did not have the Gene at all. So while Genes might be 80% of it the most important 20% is desire and training.
May 25th, 2008 at 11:25 pm
By what this article says, whites will eventually catch up to blacks in sports because the outside breeding influence will be gone and black male athletes breed with white women thereby leveling the playing field.
June 30th, 2008 at 5:45 am
I think this whole discussion is garbage… Any reasonably healthy person can become a great athlete… Its been proven that this issues is a stereotype issue with society. A study was done to show that all races proformed equally with a made-up sport. First they were just told the rules and all performed roughly the same. Than after they were told that this game takes alot of careful strategy, white people will be better at this. Everyone performed the same except for the black people. Than in another study they did the same thing, but instead told the participants that this sport requires good althletic ability, black people will do better. Everyone except for the white people maintained the same effort. Its all a mental sickness which infects society as a whole…. lol if genes had anything to do with it… I would’ve thrown in the towel a long time ago because neither of my parents or my grand-parents for that matter were the least bit athletically inclined. My family has always been desk jobs and low physical labor, with very few hobbies that were done without sitting down. Its all in your heads, get over it.
September 29th, 2008 at 10:22 am
Yo my name is Jamal. I’m 6′5, 245 pounds, thanks to my great-great-grandparents slave owner. I would like to thank Mr. Washington at this time.
October 22nd, 2008 at 4:10 pm
why so serious i think i would pick my imaginary friend Sabastion in a pick up baskaetball game, but more importantly i could swim in a bowl of cocoa puffs
November 6th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
I have an alternative idea on the subject. Black people originated in Africa and untill the White Europeans discovered Africa and began to rape and pillage its resources and people they lived in primarily hunter gatherer societys. ‘In the jungle’ so to speak. White people ceased this way of live 1000’s of years before said discovery and rapage. So lets for example say whites have been out of ‘the jungle’ for 1000s of years where as blacks only 100’s. Basicly iam saying Black people are naturally more adapted to physical hardship - at the moment. If this has come across at all racist it was not meant to be. I have equal respect for both cultures and actualy belong to niether. Thankyou.
December 31st, 2008 at 6:44 am
Ummmmmmm africa isnt a country…. neither is america… so its an accurate term.. lol they live in the united states but are from africa and live on the continent of north america hence african americans.
January 3rd, 2009 at 7:38 am
You all can fool yourselves into thinking that any healthy person can be a great athlete, blah, blah, blah……..this is simply not true. It is in the genes, whether or not you agree or accept it. If you don’t believe this, go train for sprinting at your local gym. Call me when you run a 4.3 second 40 yard dash. Its not gonna happen folks. You are either born an athlete, or you are not. Does being black help? Absolutely. Only 13 percent of the U.S. population is black. However they compose over 90 percent of professional football and basketball players. Statistics simply do not lie.
January 24th, 2009 at 11:32 pm
Ted, the 90% statistic is horribly, horribly wrong………. where did you come up with that?
February 16th, 2009 at 6:57 pm
awesome. FINALLY someone who believes what i believe, and can say what i thought without ignorant people yelling “racist!” i’m a minority myself(asian) so i guess there’s a whole other stereotype with us being really good and math and science? like you said…all stereotypes are rooted in truth, and i would say that 70 percent of all the kids in my math and science classes (at a 95 percent white university) are of Asian descent…the answer is nature AND nuture!
February 26th, 2009 at 1:46 am
I’m 6′7 225 and white. I’m an athlete at an NCAA D1 school. its not genetics. besides, 200 yrs is not enough time to breed a genetic difference anyways. evolution takes millenia.
April 8th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
Blacks will never dominate all sports because it has been proven that while they are better at doing physical things due to their genetics, they lag behind whites in making up their minds on a course of action (brain processing speed). This is why we still have mostly white quarterbacks and we will never see blacks dominate hockey.
April 29th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
every male olympic running event held by a black person, under 10sec in 100m been done 200 times…not once by a white man. Says it all
June 6th, 2009 at 8:03 pm
black people excelling in sports is not an isolated occurence it has been happening all over the world. research it, but thats genes acclamated to climates in a specific geographical location over a long period of time . Not necessarily slavery which was to short for such drastic variations in athletic ability among different races( of course race does not exist so i use the term loosely) . determination etc. are equally important in sculpting an athlete of any race. im being as objective as possible.
June 11th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
SHagggssssss I’m the best athelete in this post and I ain’t even black man. It’s all about dedication, heart, focus, hard work, etc. not the fact that you black what the hell.
June 24th, 2009 at 7:17 pm
I believe all men are created equally but are not treated equally in any part of the world, even today. We all have the same mental ability and brain power but not the same opportunities, thus making it much harder for people of colour achieve full potential. There is a physical difference with the races due to the geographical location of all our decedents, which could explain exceptional athletic ability of black people. The diffrences are due to changes that have taken place over thousands of years. As we all know century after century our physical body adapts to better suit current conditions and climates, like any other creature or animal. The truth of the matter is we all originate from Africa (yes, even white people), and the only change is our physical appearance which will change over time to suit environment, i.e. white people who left Africa tens of thousands of years ago and settled in Northern Europe started off as black people and after thousands of years in the cold climate, the genetics of inhabitants adapted to the climate. Part of this change caused people to start losing the pigmentation in skin originally designed to protect body from the African sun as well as other features common to the Caucasia. You guessed it black people in Europe were slowly turning white over a period of thousands of years.
September 5th, 2009 at 1:55 am
Interesting to note that in the entire article the word athlete is not even defined.
1. What is athleticism? Does that include critical decision making such as QB or baseball hitters and pitchers?
2. How is athleticism showed? Hockey a rough athletic sport is dominated by whites…. Pitchers and Hitters are relatively white along with Hispanics. European soccer players are mostly white too. -Spain, Italians, Dutch, Spanish Portuguese are all white.
3. There are plenty of strong and fast black men but an important part of being an athlete has to do with decision making.
October 9th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
do mexicans also have an advantage on whites like black do. and if so are mexicans and blacks the same cause werent they slaves too?
October 23rd, 2009 at 11:35 am
No way dude. Mexicans get the worst end of the deal compared to all other races.
December 14th, 2009 at 10:55 pm
alot of people on here seem upset by the fact that blacks are better athletes.Hockey is a sport dominated by whites because alot of the black youth don’t get into it.They got thousands of black pro football players but how many of them are kickers.They just don’t see the beauty in doing it.in baseball most records you would want to hold are held by blacks.and hispanics are a tribe of africans.Blacks think very well with their bodies they are very creative look at Silva in the ufc or Ali in boxing or Barry Sanders in football its like a work of art watching them poetry in motion so their brain speed has to be pretty damn good.whites are better at swimming and this is by nature they have lighter bones and less musle,fat is lighter than musle.its just the gift god gave to africans to be strong and athletic our asian brothers are also very athletic but you don’t see many on a football field or b ball court,my point what you find beauty in you wanna be.
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