MYTHS OF THE BLACK MALE ATHLETEChapter 8: Race and Ethnicity in SportBy Daniel Passely and Daire Fitzpatrick

The Plan 1.The 4 Most Popular Myths

2.Where do these Myths Come From?

3.What can we do to Solve Them?

Myth #1: Jumping/Sprinting

Genes

BLACK BODIES: NATURAL JUMPERS AND SPRINTERS?

The Truth #1: Genetic Lottery

African Genetics

Sprinting/Jumping• ACTN3 - RR Gene

• Fast Twitch Muscle Fibers

• West Africans

• Usain Bolt

African Genetics

Endurance• IL‑15R‑alpha

• Slow Twitch Fibers

• East Africans

• Abebe Bikila

So being black means you are a better jumper/sprinter and runner?

Yes!• Endurance

– Kenyan – Kalenjin

• Sprinting

– Jamaican

– West African

So being black means you are a better jumper/sprinter and runner?

No• No evidence of a relationship

between race and athletic performance

• Skin color ≠ Perfomance• Many more factors– Environment– Morphology – Training

Myth #2: Black

Sports

Blacks are naturally superior at certain sports

Representation of Black Athletes

Blacks Athletes in Professional Sport

• 68% of NFL

• 76.3% of NBA

Effect on odds• USA: 12.3% Black

• 5.5 times as likely to be in NFL

• 6.2 times as likely to be in the NBA

The Truth #2: Canadian

Hockey Genes

Canadians in the NHL

Canadians Stats• 0.5% of World Population

NHL Stats• 50% Canadian

• 100 times more likely to be in NHL

Canadians Can’t Catch

• http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/gotta-hear-it-america-announcer-says-canadians-cant-catch/

Culture, not genes

• Popular spectator sports involve high proportions of black athletes, creating a stereotype

• Sport choice based on socioeconomics, and Culture.

Myth #3: Too many blacks

in sport

Chris Rock on Blacks

in Baseball

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VZeJFmRsfA

• 0:20-1:03

• Speaks about change in participation in MLB

• Down from 17% to 8.7%

Myth #3: Too many blacks in

sport

• This statement does not apply to just blacks but also those of non-white descent

• Study in England

• Golf has a 1% non-white participation rate among adults

• 5% amongst cyclists

• This could be due to social issues

• Baseball has also seen a decline ($3.2 mill salary avg.) (Forbes 2012)

Truth #3: Not enough

blacks in sport

• *Swimming has had a lack of participants who are of African descent making it a prime example

• Particularly in America where Jim Crow laws impacted what activities black citizens could do

• Approximately 70% of Black Americans do not know how to swim (Take Part 2015)*

Myth #4: Dumb jocks

• They are only in school for sports!

• *People are less likely to see black Athletes as Honour Students

• Seen in football

– Steve McNair recruitment

– resulted in him choosing Black College Alcorn State

– only place that wanted him to be a Quarterback

Truth #4: Honour

Students

• *Black athletes are just as likely to be honour students as whites

• Myron Rolle, former NFL Star

• Earned Rhodes Scholarship

• There has been significant progress over the past 25 years in America (JBHE 2015)

• High graduation rates at country’s most prestigious schools

– Harvard being the highest*

WHERE DO THEY COME

FROM?

Jimmy ‘The Greek’ Snyder • https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=WzB7IsmOegE

Where did these

myths come

from?

• Myths stem from stereotypes, misattributions and double standards.

• Old racial myths

• White superiority complex

• Slave-era racial ideas

The Great Double

Standard

White Athletes: • Fortitude

• Intelligence

• Moral character

• Good organization.

The Great Double

Standard

Black Athletes:• Natural Ability

• Biology

• Genetic Heritage

• Slave Genes

What can we do

about it?• Education

• Out reach programs

• Targeting less fortunate

• Continue research

• Certain Sports offering

certain scholarship to

athletes

References• Black Student College Graduation Rates Remain Low, But Modest Progress Begins to Show. (2006).

Retrieved October 15, 2015.

• Average Player Salaries In The Four Major American Sports Leagues. (2012, December 7). Retrieved October 20, 2015.

• Entine, J. (2012, August 12). The DNA Olympics -- Jamaicans Win Sprinting 'Genetic Lottery' -- and Why We Should All Care. Retrieved October 18, 2015.

• Etine, J. (2000). The Story Behind the Amazing Success of Black Athletes, by Jon Entine. Retrieved October 18, 2015.

• Gane-McCalla, C. (2009, May 20). Athletic Blacks vs Smart Whites: Why Sports Stereotypes Are Wrong. Retrieved October 15, 2015.

• Gumble, B. (Director). (2015). Real Sports HBO - Chris Rock’s Take on Blacks in Baseball [Motion picture]. United States: HBO Sports.

• Kayne, E. (2013, June 13). Census: White majority in U.S. gone by 2043. Retrieved October 19, 2015, from http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/13/18934111-census-white-majority-in-us-gone-by-2043

• Kerr, I. (2010). The Myth of Racial Superiority in Sports. The Hilltop Review, 4(1 Spring 2010), 19-27.

References• Lapchick, R., Hippert, A., Rivera, S., & Robinson, J. (2013, June 25). 2013 Racial and Gender Report Card:

National Basketball Association. Retrieved October 19, 2015, from http://www.tidesport.org/RGRC/2013/2013_NBA_RGRC.pdf

• Nash, S. (2011, March 16). Rosa Parks, Homer Plessy and Jim Crow. Retrieved October 20, 2015.

• O'Donnell, J. (2015, April 15). Why Are There So Few African-Americans In MLB? Retrieved October 20, 2015.

• Sport and ethnicity. (2015). Retrieved October 14, 2015.

• Pistilli, E., & Khurana, T. (2011, August 9). 'Endurance gene' for Olympic-level athletes: Genetic basis for muscle endurance discovered in animal study. Retrieved October 18, 2015.

• Powell-Morse, A. (2014, September 23). The Unofficial 2014 NFL Player Census - Best Tickets Blog. Retrieved October 19, 2015, from http://www.besttickets.com/blog/nfl-player-census-2014/

• Saletan, W. (2008, December 5). Race, genes, and sports. Retrieved October 18, 2015.

• Steve McNair | evonsports. (2012, January 27). Retrieved October 21, 2015.

• Warner, G. (2013, November 1). How One Kenyan Tribe Produces The World's Best Runners. Retrieved October 19, 2015.

ANY QUESTIONS?