Black athletic superiority
Encyclopedia
Issues related to race and sports have been examined by scholars for a long time. Among these issues are racial discrimination
in sports as well as the observation that there are overrepresentations and underrepresentations of different races in different sports.
were viewed to have dominated basketball
for a quarter-century during the first half of the 1900s, however, African American
s accounted for 75% of players in the National Basketball Association
(NBA) near the end of 2008. According to the latest National Consortium for Academics and Sports equality report card, 65% of National Football League
players were African Americans. However, in 2008, about 8.5% of Major League Baseball
players were African American (who make up about 13% of the US population), and 29.1% were Hispanic (not a race). Hispanic people are about 16% of the US population.
possess certain traits that are acquired through genetic
and/or environmental factors that allow them to excel over other races in athletic competition
. Whites are more likely to hold these views; however, some blacks and other racial affiliations do as well. A 1991 poll in the United States indicated that half of the respondents agreed with the belief that "blacks have more natural physical ability".
Various theories regarding racial differences of black
and white people
and their possible effect on sports performance have been put forth since the later part of the nineteenth century by professionals in many different fields. In the United States, attention to the subject faded over the first two decades of the twentieth century as black athletes were eliminated from white organized sport and segregated to compete among themselves on their own amateur and professional teams. Interest in the subject was renewed after the 1932 Summer Olympics
in Los Angeles
and Jesse Owens
's record-breaking performances at the 1935 Big Ten Track Championships.
In 1971, African-American sociologist
Harry Edwards wrote: "The myth of the black male's racially determined, inherent physical and athletic superiority over the white male, rivals the myth of black sexual superiority in antiquity."
Jon Entine
has argued, most prominently in his book Taboo: Why Black Athletes Dominate Sports and Why we’re Afraid to Talk about It, that body type and physiology are shaped by evolution and can be correlated, somewhat loosely, to skin color. He claims that Africans from different parts of the continent have different body types and on average, excel in different sports. For example, Kenya
ns have won most of the cross-country races for the better part of thirty years, and East Africans who trace their ancestry to areas along the Rift Valley
dominate endurance running. East Africa
ns have a higher percentage of slow-twitch fibers in their muscles, a slighter body, longer legs, and larger lung capacities which help in endurance and long-distance running. Conversely, Western African-descended runners dominate in anaerobic sports, including sprinting. People with ancestral roots in this region of Africa have bigger, more visible muscles along with a higher number of fast-twitch fibers in their muscles. They also have less natural body fat, narrower hips, and higher levels of estrogen. Anthropologist Ian Kerr criticized Entine's hypothesis, stating that biological variation cannot be used to uphold claims of racial superiority in athletics.
Joseph L. Graves
argues that Kenyans and East Africans who have done well in long distance running all have come from high-altitude areas, whereas East Africans from low-altitude areas do not perform particularly well. He also argues that Koreans and Ecuadorians from high-altitude areas compete well with Kenyans in long-distance races. This suggests that it is the fact of having trained in a high altitude, combined with possible local level physiological adaptations to high-altitude environments that is behind the success in long distance running, not race. Similarly, Graves argues that while it is superficially true that most of the world recordholders in 100-metre dash are of West African heritage, they also all have partial genetic heritage from Europe and Native America, they have also all trained outside of West Africa, and West African nations have not trained any top-level runners. Graves says these factors make it impossible to say to which degree the success is best attributed to genetic or to environmental factors.
John Milton Hoberman
, a historian and Germanic studies
professor at the University of Texas at Austin
, has acknowledged that disparities in certain athletic performances exist. He has asserted that there is no evidence to confirm the existence of "black athletic superiority".
, the People's Daily
wrote that Chinese are "suited" to sports like Ping-Pong, badminton and gymnastics that require agility and technique. The newspaper reported that Chinese have "congenital shortcomings" and "genetic differences" that means they are disadvantaged at purely athletic events. The success of Hurdler
Liu Xiang
was explained as due to the hurdles event requiring technique, which fits with the stereotype
that Chinese are disciplined and smart. Li Aidong, a researcher with the China Institute of Sports Science, said that sports coaches believe Chinese athletes could be successful in long jumping, high jumping and speed walking. But she doubted Chinese could compete in pure sprinting.
, a professor of mechanical engineering
at Duke University
, and his colleagues reported that black people have a higher center of mass
(i.e. shorter relative torso) that favors them in running sports and that white people have a lower center of mass that favors them in swimming. Bejan et al. cite the progression of world record holders in the men's and women's 100 meters "dash", the majority of whom are black, and the men's and women's 100 meters freestyle
, the majority of whom are white. The paper reported that although Asians have lower centers of mass/longer relative torsos like whites, European whites have an advantage in swimming due to longer overall torsos.
A 1994 examination of 32 English sport/exercise science textbooks found that seven suggested that there are biophysical differences due to race that might explain differences in sports performance, one expressed caution with the idea, and the other 24 did not mention the issue.
. Margolis asserts that physiological differences between ethnic groups are relatively minor and says: "In most cases of segregation, stereotypes and belief systems about different ethnic gender groups' genetic make-up and physical abilities (and inabilities) emerge to rationalize unequal access and resulting disparities." According to Margolis, views regarding "buoyancy problems" of African Americans are merely part of folklore
which have been passed down from generation to generation. Joan Ferrante, a professor of sociology at Northern Kentucky University
, suggests that geographic location, financial resources, and the influence of parents, peers, and role models are involved in channeling individuals of certain races towards particular sports and away from others.
, which included separate Negro league baseball
, was one example of racial segregation in the United States
.
In the United States, a form of racial discrimination exists in NBA basketball, as white players received higher salaries than do blacks related to actual performance. Funk says this may be due to viewer discrimination. Viewership increases when there is greater participation by white players, which means higher advertising incomes. This explains much of the salary gap.
Researchers have looked at other evidence for sports consumer discrimination. One method is comparing the price of sports memorabilia, such as baseball cards. Another is looking at fan voting for all-star teams. Still another is looking at willingness to attend sporting events. The evidence is mixed, with some studies finding bias against blacks and others not. A bias, if it exists, may be diminishing and possibly disappearing, according to a study on fan voting for baseball all-star teams.
was the first black
Major League Baseball
player of the modern era.
technically broke the National Basketball Association
's color barrier in the 1947–48 season when he played for the New York Knicks
, 1950 is recognized as the year the NBA integrated. That year African-American players joined several teams; they included Chuck Cooper with the Boston Celtics
, Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton with the New York Knicks
, and Earl Lloyd
with the Washington Capitols
.
from its inception in 1920; however, there no African-American players from 1933 to 1946.
constitution.
has described the number of African Americans in "positions of power" as "woefully low". In 2000, 78% of players in the NBA were black, but only 33% of NBA officials were minorities. The lack of minorities in positions of leadership has been attributed to racial stereotypes as well "old boy network
s" and white administrators networking
within their own race. In 2003, the NFL implemented the Rooney Rule
, requiring teams searching for a new head coach
to interview at least one minority candidate.
the black fans from the white fans. Clem Daniels
, Art Powell
, Bo Roberson
, and Fred Williamson
of the Oakland Raiders
refused to play in a stadium that had segregated seating. The 1963 game against the New York Jets
was relocated to a different stadium.
names and imagery for sports mascots
is an issue of ongoing controversy in American sports, as Native American representatives have objected to such use without explicit negotiation and permission.
Also the use of Irish or Celtic names and imagery for sports mascots
is an issue of ongoing controversy in American sports too, as Irish/Celtic representatives have never been negotiated with or asked for permission to use their names.
, the gathering at the first Thanksgiving in the United States
was an attempt to create racial harmony with games and sporting contests that included running
, shooting
, and wrestling
. Huping Ling
, a professor of history at Truman State University
, has asserted that the participation of Chinese students in sports helped break local stereotypes in the St. Louis area during the 1920s.
and Rudy
have been described as memorializing the "golden age of sports" as a time of white prevalence and dominance.
, black representation on the cricket and rugby national sports teams is ensured via the introduction of quotas.
Discrimination
Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...
in sports as well as the observation that there are overrepresentations and underrepresentations of different races in different sports.
Participation and performance disparities
Various individuals, including scholars and sportswriters, have commented on the apparent overrepresentations and underrepresentations of different races in different sports. American JewsAmerican Jews
American Jews, also known as Jewish Americans, are American citizens of the Jewish faith or Jewish ethnicity. The Jewish community in the United States is composed predominantly of Ashkenazi Jews who emigrated from Central and Eastern Europe, and their U.S.-born descendants...
were viewed to have dominated basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
for a quarter-century during the first half of the 1900s, however, African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
s accounted for 75% of players in the National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
(NBA) near the end of 2008. According to the latest National Consortium for Academics and Sports equality report card, 65% of National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
players were African Americans. However, in 2008, about 8.5% of Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
players were African American (who make up about 13% of the US population), and 29.1% were Hispanic (not a race). Hispanic people are about 16% of the US population.
"Black athletic superiority"
"Black athletic superiority" is the belief by some people that black peopleBlack people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
possess certain traits that are acquired through genetic
Heredity
Heredity is the passing of traits to offspring . This is the process by which an offspring cell or organism acquires or becomes predisposed to the characteristics of its parent cell or organism. Through heredity, variations exhibited by individuals can accumulate and cause some species to evolve...
and/or environmental factors that allow them to excel over other races in athletic competition
Athletic sports
Athletics is a term encompassing the human competitive sports and games requiring physical skill, and the systems of training that prepare athletes for competition performance. Athletic sports or contests, are competitions which are primarily based on human, physical competition, demanding the...
. Whites are more likely to hold these views; however, some blacks and other racial affiliations do as well. A 1991 poll in the United States indicated that half of the respondents agreed with the belief that "blacks have more natural physical ability".
Various theories regarding racial differences of black
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
and white people
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
and their possible effect on sports performance have been put forth since the later part of the nineteenth century by professionals in many different fields. In the United States, attention to the subject faded over the first two decades of the twentieth century as black athletes were eliminated from white organized sport and segregated to compete among themselves on their own amateur and professional teams. Interest in the subject was renewed after the 1932 Summer Olympics
1932 Summer Olympics
The 1932 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the X Olympiad, was a major world wide multi-athletic event which was celebrated in 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. No other cities made a bid to host these Olympics. Held during the worldwide Great Depression, many nations...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and Jesse Owens
Jesse Owens
James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens was an American track and field athlete who specialized in the sprints and the long jump. He participated in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, where he achieved international fame by winning four gold medals: one each in the 100 meters, the 200 meters, the...
's record-breaking performances at the 1935 Big Ten Track Championships.
In 1971, African-American sociologist
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
Harry Edwards wrote: "The myth of the black male's racially determined, inherent physical and athletic superiority over the white male, rivals the myth of black sexual superiority in antiquity."
Jon Entine
Jon Entine
Jon Entine is an author, journalist, think tank scholar and business consultant. He is a founder/director of the Genetic Literacy Project, which is housed at STATS , where he is also a senior fellow. He has been a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research in...
has argued, most prominently in his book Taboo: Why Black Athletes Dominate Sports and Why we’re Afraid to Talk about It, that body type and physiology are shaped by evolution and can be correlated, somewhat loosely, to skin color. He claims that Africans from different parts of the continent have different body types and on average, excel in different sports. For example, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
ns have won most of the cross-country races for the better part of thirty years, and East Africans who trace their ancestry to areas along the Rift Valley
Rift Valley
In order of specificity, Rift Valley can refer to:*a rift valley in general*the Great Rift Valley*the Rift Valley fever*the valley of the East African Rift*Rift Valley Province, Kenya and border with Uganda...
dominate endurance running. East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
ns have a higher percentage of slow-twitch fibers in their muscles, a slighter body, longer legs, and larger lung capacities which help in endurance and long-distance running. Conversely, Western African-descended runners dominate in anaerobic sports, including sprinting. People with ancestral roots in this region of Africa have bigger, more visible muscles along with a higher number of fast-twitch fibers in their muscles. They also have less natural body fat, narrower hips, and higher levels of estrogen. Anthropologist Ian Kerr criticized Entine's hypothesis, stating that biological variation cannot be used to uphold claims of racial superiority in athletics.
Joseph L. Graves
Joseph L. Graves
Joseph L. Graves, Jr. is Associate Dean for Research and Professor of Biological Studies at the Joint School for Nanoscience and Nanoengineering which is jointly administered by North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and UNC Greensboro...
argues that Kenyans and East Africans who have done well in long distance running all have come from high-altitude areas, whereas East Africans from low-altitude areas do not perform particularly well. He also argues that Koreans and Ecuadorians from high-altitude areas compete well with Kenyans in long-distance races. This suggests that it is the fact of having trained in a high altitude, combined with possible local level physiological adaptations to high-altitude environments that is behind the success in long distance running, not race. Similarly, Graves argues that while it is superficially true that most of the world recordholders in 100-metre dash are of West African heritage, they also all have partial genetic heritage from Europe and Native America, they have also all trained outside of West Africa, and West African nations have not trained any top-level runners. Graves says these factors make it impossible to say to which degree the success is best attributed to genetic or to environmental factors.
John Milton Hoberman
John Milton Hoberman
John Milton Hoberman is an American author. He is a Professor at the University of Texas at Austin as well as the chair of the Department of Germanic Studies. His work focuses on sports and culture....
, a historian and Germanic studies
Germanic studies
Germanic studies is the field of study of the Germanic languages and the history of the Germanic peoples.Subfields*English studies*German studies*Dutch studies*Scandinavian studies*Runology*comparative linguistics Founding figures...
professor at the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
, has acknowledged that disparities in certain athletic performances exist. He has asserted that there is no evidence to confirm the existence of "black athletic superiority".
Chinese views
In China, the idea that genetic differences affect sports performance is widely accepted, although credible scientific studies are lacking for genetic differences. During the 2004 Summer Olympics2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
, the People's Daily
People's Daily
The People's Daily is a daily newspaper in the People's Republic of China. The paper is an organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China , published worldwide with a circulation of 3 to 4 million. In addition to its main Chinese-language edition, it has editions in English,...
wrote that Chinese are "suited" to sports like Ping-Pong, badminton and gymnastics that require agility and technique. The newspaper reported that Chinese have "congenital shortcomings" and "genetic differences" that means they are disadvantaged at purely athletic events. The success of Hurdler
Hurdling
Hurdling is a type of track and field race.- Distances :There are sprint hurdle races and long hurdle races. The standard sprint hurdle race is 110 meters for men and 100 meters for women. The standard long hurdle race is 400 meters for both men and women...
Liu Xiang
Liu Xiang
Liu Xiang is a Chinese 110 meter hurdler. Liu is an Olympic Gold medalist and World Champion. His 2004 Olympic gold medal was the first in a men's track and field event for China....
was explained as due to the hurdles event requiring technique, which fits with the stereotype
Stereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
that Chinese are disciplined and smart. Li Aidong, a researcher with the China Institute of Sports Science, said that sports coaches believe Chinese athletes could be successful in long jumping, high jumping and speed walking. But she doubted Chinese could compete in pure sprinting.
Physiological factors
In a 2010 paper published in International Journal of Design & Nature and Ecodynamics, Adrian BejanAdrian Bejan
Adrian Bejan is an American professor and proponent of the constructal theory of design and evolution in nature. He is J. A...
, a professor of mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the...
at Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
, and his colleagues reported that black people have a higher center of mass
Center of mass
In physics, the center of mass or barycenter of a system is the average location of all of its mass. In the case of a rigid body, the position of the center of mass is fixed in relation to the body...
(i.e. shorter relative torso) that favors them in running sports and that white people have a lower center of mass that favors them in swimming. Bejan et al. cite the progression of world record holders in the men's and women's 100 meters "dash", the majority of whom are black, and the men's and women's 100 meters freestyle
World record progression 100 metres freestyle
The first world record in the men's 100 metres freestyle in long course swimming was recognised by the International Swimming Federation in 1905...
, the majority of whom are white. The paper reported that although Asians have lower centers of mass/longer relative torsos like whites, European whites have an advantage in swimming due to longer overall torsos.
A 1994 examination of 32 English sport/exercise science textbooks found that seven suggested that there are biophysical differences due to race that might explain differences in sports performance, one expressed caution with the idea, and the other 24 did not mention the issue.
Socioeconomic factors
In Stuck in the Shallow End: Education, Race, and Computing, UCLA researcher Jane Margolis outlines the history of segregation in swimming in the United States to show how blacks have been affected up to the present day by inadequate access to swimming facilities and lessonsSwimming lessons
Swimming lessons is the process of learning to swim. In most countries there is a definition of a number of swimming levels that is reached in the process of the curriculum. The respective certificates of swimming tests are required for further training in aquatic abilities...
. Margolis asserts that physiological differences between ethnic groups are relatively minor and says: "In most cases of segregation, stereotypes and belief systems about different ethnic gender groups' genetic make-up and physical abilities (and inabilities) emerge to rationalize unequal access and resulting disparities." According to Margolis, views regarding "buoyancy problems" of African Americans are merely part of folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
which have been passed down from generation to generation. Joan Ferrante, a professor of sociology at Northern Kentucky University
Northern Kentucky University
|type = Public|president= Dr. James C. Votruba|city = Highland Heights|state = KY|country = U.S.|endowment = $68 million|students = 15,405|undergrad = 13,206|postgrad = 2,199|faculty = 1,159...
, suggests that geographic location, financial resources, and the influence of parents, peers, and role models are involved in channeling individuals of certain races towards particular sports and away from others.
Racial prejudices, discrimination, segregation, and integration
The baseball color lineBaseball color line
The color line in American baseball excluded players of black African descent from Organized Baseball, or the major leagues and affiliated minor leagues, until Jackie Robinson signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers organization for the 1946 season...
, which included separate Negro league baseball
Negro league baseball
The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams predominantly made up of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relatively successful leagues beginning in...
, was one example of racial segregation in the United States
Racial segregation in the United States
Racial segregation in the United States, as a general term, included the racial segregation or hypersegregation of facilities, services, and opportunities such as housing, medical care, education, employment, and transportation along racial lines...
.
In the United States, a form of racial discrimination exists in NBA basketball, as white players received higher salaries than do blacks related to actual performance. Funk says this may be due to viewer discrimination. Viewership increases when there is greater participation by white players, which means higher advertising incomes. This explains much of the salary gap.
Researchers have looked at other evidence for sports consumer discrimination. One method is comparing the price of sports memorabilia, such as baseball cards. Another is looking at fan voting for all-star teams. Still another is looking at willingness to attend sporting events. The evidence is mixed, with some studies finding bias against blacks and others not. A bias, if it exists, may be diminishing and possibly disappearing, according to a study on fan voting for baseball all-star teams.
Major League Baseball
Debuting with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, Jackie RobinsonJackie Robinson
Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947...
was the first black
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
player of the modern era.
National Basketball Association
Although Japanese-American Wataru MisakaWataru Misaka
is a retired American basketball player. He was the first player of Asian descent and the first non-Caucasian person to play in the National Basketball Association .-Biography:...
technically broke the National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
's color barrier in the 1947–48 season when he played for the New York Knicks
New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
, 1950 is recognized as the year the NBA integrated. That year African-American players joined several teams; they included Chuck Cooper with the Boston Celtics
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...
, Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton with the New York Knicks
New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
, and Earl Lloyd
Earl Lloyd
Earl Francis Lloyd is a retired American basketball player. He was the first African-American to play in the National Basketball Association, in the 1950-51 NBA season...
with the Washington Capitols
Washington Capitols
The Washington Capitols were a charter Basketball Association of America team based in Washington, D.C. The team was coached from 1946 to 1949 by NBA Hall of Famer Red Auerbach....
.
National Football League
Black players participated in the National Football LeagueNational Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
from its inception in 1920; however, there no African-American players from 1933 to 1946.
Professional Golfers Association
In 1961, the "Caucasians only" clause was stricken from the Professional Golfers' Association of AmericaProfessional Golfers' Association of America
Founded in 1916, the Professional Golfers' Association of America is headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and is made up of more than 28,000 men and women golf professional members...
constitution.
Positions of power: coaching and administration
Referring to quarterbacks, head coaches, and athletic directors, Kenneth L. Shropshire of the Wharton School of the University of PennsylvaniaWharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
The Wharton School is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Wharton was the world’s first collegiate business school and the first business school in the United States...
has described the number of African Americans in "positions of power" as "woefully low". In 2000, 78% of players in the NBA were black, but only 33% of NBA officials were minorities. The lack of minorities in positions of leadership has been attributed to racial stereotypes as well "old boy network
Old boy network
An old boy network, or society, can refer to social and business connections among former pupils of male-only private schools. British public school students were traditionally called "boys", thus graduated students are "old boys"....
s" and white administrators networking
Business networking
Business networking is a socioeconomic activity by which groups of like-minded businesspeople recognize, create, or act upon business opportunities. A business network is a type of social network whose reason for existing is business activity...
within their own race. In 2003, the NFL implemented the Rooney Rule
Rooney Rule
The Rooney Rule, established in 2003, requires National Football League teams to interview minority candidates for head coaching and senior football operation opportunities...
, requiring teams searching for a new head coach
Head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
to interview at least one minority candidate.
Segregated seating
In 1960, the Houston Oilers implemented a policy at Jeppesen Stadium to segregateRacial segregation in the United States
Racial segregation in the United States, as a general term, included the racial segregation or hypersegregation of facilities, services, and opportunities such as housing, medical care, education, employment, and transportation along racial lines...
the black fans from the white fans. Clem Daniels
Clem Daniels
Clemon C. Daniels Jr. is an American former Professional Football star in the American Football League who also played in the NFL.-College career:...
, Art Powell
Art Powell
-Early career:Powell attended and played high school football at San Diego High School and played college football at San José State University.-Professional career:...
, Bo Roberson
Bo Roberson
Irvin Roberson was an American track and field athlete and American collegiate and Professional Football player. At Cornell University he excelled in basketball, football and track and field...
, and Fred Williamson
Fred Williamson
Fred "The Hammer" Williamson is an American actor, architect, and former professional American football defensive back who played mainly in the American Football League during the 1960s.-Football career:...
of the Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
refused to play in a stadium that had segregated seating. The 1963 game against the New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
was relocated to a different stadium.
Mascot controversies
The use of Native AmericanIndigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
names and imagery for sports mascots
Mascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
is an issue of ongoing controversy in American sports, as Native American representatives have objected to such use without explicit negotiation and permission.
Also the use of Irish or Celtic names and imagery for sports mascots
Mascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
is an issue of ongoing controversy in American sports too, as Irish/Celtic representatives have never been negotiated with or asked for permission to use their names.
Promoting racial harmony and breaking stereotypes
According to William Jeynes, a professor of education at California State University, Long BeachCalifornia State University, Long Beach
California State University, Long Beach is the second largest campus of the California State University system and the third largest university in the state of California by enrollment...
, the gathering at the first Thanksgiving in the United States
Thanksgiving (United States)
Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a holiday celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November. It has officially been an annual tradition since 1863, when, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving to be celebrated on Thursday,...
was an attempt to create racial harmony with games and sporting contests that included running
Running
Running is a means of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. It is simply defined in athletics terms as a gait in which at regular points during the running cycle both feet are off the ground...
, shooting
Shooting
Shooting is the act or process of firing rifles, shotguns or other projectile weapons such as bows or crossbows. Even the firing of artillery, rockets and missiles can be called shooting. A person who specializes in shooting is a marksman...
, and wrestling
Wrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
. Huping Ling
Huping Ling
Huping Ling is internationally renowned historian and prolific award-winning writer. She is a Professor of History at Truman State University, and is the Executive Editor for the Journal of Asian American Studies, an Adjunct Professor, Wuhan Theoretical Research Center of Overseas Chinese Affairs...
, a professor of history at Truman State University
Truman State University
Truman State University is a public liberal arts and sciences university in Missouri, United States and a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges. About 6,000 students attend Truman, pursuing degrees in 43 undergraduate and 9 Graduate programs. It is located in Kirksville in...
, has asserted that the participation of Chinese students in sports helped break local stereotypes in the St. Louis area during the 1920s.
Portrayals in film
The films HoosiersHoosiers
Hoosiers is a 1986 sports film about a small-town Indiana high school basketball team that wins the state championship. It is loosely based on the Milan High School team that won the 1954 state championship....
and Rudy
Rudy (film)
Rudy is a 1993 American sports film directed by David Anspaugh. It is an account of the life of Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger, who harbored dreams of playing football at the University of Notre Dame despite significant obstacles...
have been described as memorializing the "golden age of sports" as a time of white prevalence and dominance.
Australia
Inequality in sport for the Aboriginal Australians exists predominantly due to material barriers.South Africa
In South AfricaSouth Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, black representation on the cricket and rugby national sports teams is ensured via the introduction of quotas.
United States
Discussions of race and sports in the United States, where the two subjects have always been intertwined in American history, have focused to a great extent on African Americans. Depending on the type of sport and performance level, African Americans are reported to be over- or under-represented. African Americans compose the highest percentage of the minority groups active at the professional level, but are among those who show the lowest participation overall.See also
- Al Campanis controversy
- Howard Cosell controversy
- Marge Schott controversy
- Jimmy Snyder controversy
- 10-second barrier10-second barrierThe 10-second barrier is a term used in track and field athletics which refers to the physical and psychological barrier of completing the men's 100 metres sprint in under ten seconds...
- 1968 Olympics Black Power salute1968 Olympics Black Power saluteThe 1968 Olympics Black Power salute involved the African American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos giving the Black power salute at the Olympic Stadium in Mexico City...
- Black participation in college basketballBlack participation in college basketballAfrican Americans have been participating in United States college basketball for over a century.-Introduction at Harvard:Thirteen years after basketball was invented, and after being exposed to the game over the summer at Harvard University, Coach Edwin Henderson introduced basketball to a...
- Black players in American professional footballBlack players in American professional footballDetails of the history of black players in American professional football depend on the professional football league considered: the National Football League , which evolved from the first professional league, the American Professional Football Association, or the American Football League, , a...
- History of African Americans in the Canadian Football LeagueHistory of African Americans in the Canadian Football LeagueAfrican Americans have played prominent roles in the Canadian Football League and its precursors since 1946. In many cases black Americans have been able to pursue professional football opportunities in the CFL that were for one reason or another unavailable in the United States...
- Melanin theoryMelanin theoryMelanin theory is a pseudoscientific theory, founded in the distortion of the known physical properties of melanin, a natural polymer and organic semiconductor. In humans, melanin is the primary determinant of skin color. People whose ancestors lived for long periods in the regions of the globe...
- Glory Road (film)Glory Road (film)Glory Road is an American sports film directed by James Gartner, based on a true story dealing with the events leading to the 1966 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, in which the late Don Haskins – played by Josh Lucas – head coach of the Texas Western College led a team...
External links
- Kamiya, Gary. "The Black Edge." 28 January 2000. Salon.com.
- Malik, Kenan. "Why Black Will Beat White at the Olympics." 18 September 2000.
- Articles, commentaries, and reviews by Jon Entine and others