Do you think that race is an important factor in sports performance?
Your Comments, Thoughts, Questions, Ideas
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Maybe in terms of potential, yes, but being part of the race who has the genetical advantage wouldn't necessarily make anyone a good player, because that takes practice and effort too...
one may have an insperation to play a sport because of their backround, but no matter who you are, you can do what ever you want. Look at the olympics, people of all ethnisities compete in all sorts of sports. Just do what you love!
This question isn't about "racism" and people being "equal". It about genetic advantages. If certain races are genetically predisposed to being better adapted for certain athletics. Is it fair for people of different races to compete when one genetically has an advantage?
why should race matter????? thats stupid you play and watch the sport for enjoyment not 4 race
It should not matter at all. Everyone is created equal.
In a moral sense, yes. Physically, not so much.
If considering body types consider this: what makes how we look and are inside and out is a complex mix of traits determined by an even more complex mix of genes. Skin color is just one element independant of other traits. Many people with one so called skin color represent many different body types. Skin color does not determine anything else including athletic ability. Consider the reason one group may do well in a sport is because because it is socially acceptable for that group so they are encouraged to spend alot of time at it. If one uses real anaylsis no one group dominates in sports. Did you know nearly 100 years ago people of Jewish decent were considered superior in basketball and was tied to unquantifiable social attributes?
it is beacuse some poeple think white girls cant play cause they are white and blacks can
Race has some type of effect on how athletic you are, I do not believe that any any race is born with a superior physicality, but instead the social status of certain races has much to do with it. Rich people who have the latest technology don't have to work as hard as others, and also are thought different morals while growing up.
Whos racist not me
It's true that some people, in some races, are born with different abilities, but practice does good, and even if you're short, that doesn't mean you can't play a sport that usually is "meant" for tall people. Don't let the media determine what your abilities can be. Just because you're tall doesn't mean you're necessarily great at sports that are for tall people. And these sports that are usually labeled as "sports for tall people" have become a way of thinking for society over time, due to the media's displays and comments.
The color of your skin does not determine your ability to perform in any way. =]
Races vary and so do genetics. Compare body types and it is obvious
that some races will fair better than others for certain sports. Read Speed
Demons. The Domination of Sport by Blacks. Be realistic we are not all
equal by no means.
Greetings. I am very concerned that people grouped in anyway can be said to have certai abilities while others do not. Well you are wrong. Defining groups in simple ways like skin color says nothing about there overall physical or metal abilties. Within that group there is much variation in body types. In so called blacks for example there are many people who would not have the characteristics that would say they would play basketball for example well. At least as we currently define it. Defining a group in some made up social way says nothing about anything else one could do. We are different and not equal as in not the same. There is even more differences within a defined group then across everyone. Be liberated and do not limit yourself or anyone by what you are told is true and use science to really compare things. 100 years ago people of Jewsih decent were believed to dominate basketball because of inquatifiable social beliefs. People defined as black often are told they are not good at other things or believe they cannot persue interests in the arts or sciences so t hey persue sports bcause that is acceptable and they play alot. Lots of practice will make you good. For those that make it-how many thousands do not? Think about it and read better books like by Joesph Graves.
Scientifially yes, certian athletes from different areas have scienific reasoning for their progression in speific sports, certian parts of kenya are at high altitude, because of the different pressures at altitude, athletes from this area will have a greater red blood cell count, meaning they can carry more oxygen around their body when performing at sea level, this is why a lot of kenyans dominate running events at athletics heald in europe. (this is why a lot of athletes go to altitude to train, or people resort to blood doping or EPO). asians tend to have shorter legs relative to their torso, which can be beneficial to sports like weightlifting. So although morally everyone should have the right to compete no matter to their race/gender, there will always be people who have a slight advantage or are a lot more suited to a sport than others.
As individuals but not as socially defined groups we will see stand-outs. You information about so called Kenyans is inaccurate. Se Joesph Graves book about the race myth.
No. why would people be that racist as to think that race would matter.
NO It does NOT !!!!!
I ll give you an advice. READ THE QUESTION one more time. all most everyone has not understood the question and most of you just answers impulsive.DO SOME RESEARCH IN THE INTERNET OR IN YOUR LIBRARY OR READ SOME BOOKS about it and youll come to the result that race matters in sports. thats no prejudice or judgement, it s a fact. dont be ignorant. sports performance doesnt say a thing about your character, thats what we all know and does not have to be repeated by everyone on and on in this forum.
many people belive that it has something to do with it but THAT IS VERY UNTRUE. there bodys might be diffrent than ours but not in a bad way. But i think it is manly your skill.
Peace on Earth:)
i dont think it matters what color u are. im a mixed girl and people treat me as a white girl or a black girl. i get the same respect as every one at this school. they may turn out different in the world then everyone else but o well!! they just shouldnt act meaner cause they got treated different back then.
sports ability is almost all genetic. anyone who is good at sports is good because of his genes, no matter what his race, and blacks are obviously better at the sports that most people care about than are whites, who are generally better than asians. it's a fact of life, deal with it.
Not so. Genetics is essential to give you a good start -- a strong, healthy body -- but what you do with that start is up to you. You will find outstanding athletes of all races in most sports.
At one time, all the major American sports were exclusively white. Today they are mixed. Some, such as basketball, are predominately black. Did something happen between 1940 and 1980 to suddenly and drastically change the genome of the entire black population? Did something change the genome of whites? No. The change was due entirely to social and economic factors.
In the United States, there are very few Asian baseball players. But in Japan, Korea and Taiwan, the teams are almost entirely Asian! Is there a drastic genetic difference between Asians in America and Asian in Asia that makes the latter significantly better athletes? Or, perhaps, is there some other factor involved?
i think that there are a lot of black and white athletes that have done alot of great things
There is actual scientific evidence that shows Western Africans typicall have more fast twitch muscle fibers, which enable them to run faster. Eastern Africans have more slow twitch muscle fibers which enable them to run distance. Also take into consideration, no one except persons of West African decent have ran the 100m in under 10 seconds. The top 10 times belong to those of West African decent. So technially, race for the most part is important in sports performance.
i dont think it is about colour it is about race, people form differerent countries may be better adapted, e.g in altiude so they can perform better in some sports!
It all depends on the amount of high and low twitch muscle fibres. More high = better muscular power e.g. jumping, sprinting. More low = better at endurance sports.
However, the historic realtionships between africans in their respective tribes has always been crudely based around strength, or athletic prowess. The strongest and most fit were always chosen as leaders, and thus contributed the most to the genetic makeup of their future generations, ie had the most kids. Althougth the 200 years of selective breeding may not have made a significant genetic impact, the few millenia before that most certainly did, whereas their causcasian counterparts were not choosing mates predominantly on size and strength. If the genetic makeup of all humanity started the same, this voluntary selective breeding certainly changed the athleticism based on race.
However in essence the selective breeding of slaves had already been going on for hundreds of years previous. The harsh conditions of slave ships coupled with the malnutrition and hard manual labor of every day life ensured that only the strongest survived. Thus although the practice was only purposefully done for a few generations, its unintended usage prior to 1808 undoubtedly affected the genetic makeup of black americans.
I think blacks have the advantage in sports, if you speak in terms of physical ability. If we take all the sports that require speed, jumping, and running they are dominated by black players. I think, in my opinion, that they acquired this advantage (possibly) during the slavery years where the biggest and strongest male was breed with the biggest and strongest female to obtain these physical traits and create a stronger slave. I believe this is practiced today, for example, with dogs and horses to obtain champion bloodlines. Please keep in mind that no offense is intended with these comments.
Thank you for your comment. I do appreciate your trying to be sensitive, though many people do find this argument distasteful.
In fact, some slaveholders did try to do selective breeding, as you describe. In 1808, the US banned the importation of slaves. The only source of new slaves was the children of existing ones. Some slave owners did attempt to "breed" slaves the way they might breed livestock.
However, the practice was not at universal, and was practiced for, at best, three generations -- not nearly long enough to have any permanent impact on the genetic makeup of black Americans.
The political correct answer would be a HUGE NO !! I will be labeled a racist when I say YES race matters in most sports. There are more muscular and stronger black men than white men in sports. As a rule I think blacks men can run faster, gump higher and take more punishment than most white men...Lets face it white america men, they are all around better than us...Amen. Ok let me have it!!!!
That may be true...in sports. But in the general population? I know of no study to support that claim.
One theory (which I have not tested, so I don't know if it's valid or not) to explain this is that social factors (such as poor educational opportunities) may be pushing a higher proportion of blacks into sports, whereas whites have more options for pursuing success.
everyone should just relax because everyone is different but that doesn't give anyone the chance to go and judge so one bcause they dont look like you. no one is the same. if i am red well let me be and if you are black let yuo be because evryone should treat people how they want to be treated thier selfs.
I SAY NO BECAUSE IT SHOULDN'T MATTER WHAR COLOR YOU ARE AND WHERE YOU ARE FROM OR WHAT YOU SOUND LIKE BECAUSE NO MATTER WHAT YOU ARE STILL HUMAN.
Race is only a factor in that it is correlated with culture and locality. For example if you live in mountainous eastern Africa, eat a diet of complex carbs, live in a climate that is temperate enough to run all year round, you are naturally able to train and do well in long distance running. How many hockey players grew up skating in their home made rinks in their back yards? The rinks didn't show up accidentally. A Canadian dream is to have a son in the NHL. Not suprising then that nordic Europeans dominate cross country skiing, or that sports requiring height are dominated by people who live in areas where people are more tall on average (good diet, health care, well being). For better or worse, humans naturally tend to "stay in their community". It is the communities that have the advantages and disadvantages with regards to sports. I'd probably have a pretty hard time playing recreational ice hockey if I moved to Saudi Arabia.
Race shouldn’t matter in sport or in anyway of life but unfortunately it does matter in this country. To be honest people in this country are very judgmental. The great master says “do not judge, if you judge, you will be judge by the judgment you made”. If you think it’s annoying to be judged for being black or white, imagine your everyday life being misjudged and mistreated for not being either? I am who I am and very proud to be just the way I am but it’s very sad to be unwelcome by both whites and blacks!
I most totally agree.
why should color matter in sports you could be green and it wouldn't matter
I wonder why race seems to be so predicatable in certain sports. For example, why are there so many black running backs? Are people of different races "encouraged" to particiapte in different sports based on thier DNA? It certainly seems like it. The movie "White Men Can't Jump" comes to mind.
I would like race not to matter, but I see that it does. That is why I chose the vote I did.
It never matters what your race is, as long you do what YOU want to do.
that is so correct.... buh bye
it doesn't matter what race u r as long as u have fun
I think that the color that u are actually does make a difference in how goood in sports you are. it is scientifically proven that black people are more aerodymacccally built than other rarces. taht is why we arer really good in basket ball and running. alot of people who participate in american sports(baseball) take steroids. im not trying to single anyone out (u know who u are) Also for example ethiopians are probably the best runner in the woorld.. i mean look at haile gabrisilace. he had a hurt in the olympics a whihle back and still won a buch of medals.
Do you have a citation for the claim that blacks are more aerodynamic? I have never heard that before, and the scientists who worked on the Understanding Race exhibit certainly never have, either.
It is true that champion runners have a different muscle structure than the rest of us. But the typical person of any race has the same muscle structure as anybody else.
why would someone say yes it is just is wrong. It is raciset
yes it does matter. Look at the NBA how many white people do you see? Not many I mean I was excited to see Jason Kidd and thought he was the best white player but then what do you know I found out he's black. White players make up less then 5% of the NBA so I don't know how you can think that race doesn't play a role in sports. Even the NFL is mostly black. I mean white people can play the positions that you don't have to be fast like quarterback and lineman and some linebackers but if you think of the 5 best players in the NFL that aren't quarterbacks, chances are that at least 4 if not all of them you thought of are black. Now baseball's a different story. not as many black people play that but if you look at the two leading all time home run hitters (Barry Bonds and Hank Aaron) they're both black. And the guy with the most stolen bases? It's no other then our good friend Ricky Henderson. Yep he's black too. And look at Tiger Woods he dominates a white man's sport. I bet if more black people started playing golf they'd dominate too. Many people say Babe Ruth's the best baseball player of all time, but could he hit against some of the great black pitchers? Like Satchel Page, or anybody in the negro leagues. Many say that any of the negro league teams could've beat the major league teams if they were allowed to play. So why are they faster? why can they jump higher? Many say it's because during slavery the slavery owners tried to breed them. They took the strongest man and the strongest women and made them have kids. I also think that during slavery we put them to so much work that they got real strong. So genetically they are stronger. so basically white people screwed themselves over on that.
Slavery had little to no effect whatsoever on the physical features of modern black Americans. Working hard will change your body -- give you more muscles -- but it won't change your genes. You can't pass an acquired trait on to your children.
During the last few decades of slavery, some slave owners did try to "breed" their slaves as you describe. But it happened for too short a time to have any lasting effect on the population.
The relative dominance of racial groups in various sports has much more to do with class, culture and economics than with race. Basketball, which requires very little equipment to play, is popular in poorer neighborhoods, which are often predominately black. Golf, which requires expensive clubs and course fees, is more often played by wealthy people who, in America, are more likely to be white. One might argue that Hispanic success in baseball stems, in part, from the fact that so many Latin American countries are tropical, and they can play the game year-round, honing their skills.
You cannot draw conclusions about an entire sport from the success of one talented player. Tiger Woods is a tremendous player, but he is only one player in a sport dominated by whites. (It is also worth noting that he is one-quarter Thai, one-quarter Chinese, one-quarter African-American, and one-eighth each Dutch and American Indian.)
Yes, the top 2 home run hitters of all time are black. The top 20 are split, 10 black and 10 white. Neither of these facts tells us anything about race, only about individuals.
We may speculate how Ruth would have fared against Satchel Paige, or how any of the great Negro League players would have done if they'd been allowed in the majors. But the fact is, we will never know.
There have been, and continue to be, star players of many races in all major sports. This tells me that race has nothing to do with sports performance. Rather, it is the talents and skills of the individual, coupled with hard work and determination, which will lead to success.
I think that it's the effort you put into the sport that makes you the good player! So go ahead play your heart out!!
I think you just have to be good at the sport, and what ever color your skin is, doesn't affect your ability to play the sport. You shouldmn't be ashamed of what your skin color is, and if you want to play a certain sport, you should no matter what.
It doesn't matter your skin color, people are created equal. Unless you have some form of disability, everyone can compete equally with the same amount of effort.