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Why black athletes dominate sports
by J. Carter
Black athletes tend to dominate sports because of a combination of genetic and social factors. Social factors play the most important role, by far. Genetic factors come a distant second.
Different countries produce a disproportionate number of top athletes in different sports. Inevitably countries produce more top athletes in the sports that are most popular in that particular country. So, for example, Canada produces a disproportionate number of very good hockey players. Think Wayne Gretzky, and Maurice “Rocket” Richard. The Dominican Republic has produced a disproportionate number of top professional baseball players like Sammy Sosa. Argentina, Brazil and some Western European countries have produced more then their fair share of soccer greats. Some former British colonies- particularly India, Pakistan, Australia and the West Indies- have produced some of the best cricket players in the world.
The Dominican Republic hasn’t produced many top hockey players. Canada hasn’t produced many great cricketers. The United States produces a lot of great football, basketball and baseball players, but not too many notable soccer players. This has a lot to do with the values of the society. Many Canadians, for example, love hockey. Young kids grow up playing hockey and dreaming of being NHL stars. Their parents want them to become NHL stars. With so many young people devoting a lot of energy towards this goal, it becomes a numbers game. Out of all those wannabes, a few will have enough natural talent to make it to the highest level.
The same applies to black athletes, in many cases. In some black communities, sports are seen as a means of social mobility. Kids and parents put a lot of effort into sports. With a large number of black kids devoting a lot of energy towards become great athletes, a few will actually be able to achieve their goals. In other communities there may be less people who see sports as their main means of advancement. As a result they’ll devote less energy, as a group, to pursuing sports. This means that a lower percentage of them will become big sports stars.
The other factor is genetic. The genetic factor is actually much less important then the social factor. Genes will only give a person the potential to excel in sports. If a person does not play a particular sport or put the effort in, they’re not going to become a great athlete. You can’t become a hockey star if you never learned how to skate. Nevertheless genes can definitely play a role in athletics.
Human beings have fast and slow twitch muscles fibers. Fast twitch muscles are good for short explosive bursts of exertion, but they become exhausted quickly. Slow twitch muscles have less power but they don’t get tired as quickly. Different individuals and different groups of people tend to have different proportions of fast and slow twitch muscles. People of who have ancestors from some parts of Africa tend to have higher proportions of fast twitch muscles. This provides a significant advantage in some sporting events. This is particularly true in something like a short sprint, where runners depend entirely on their fast twitch muscles. This is why races like the 100 meters are almost always dominated by athletes of West African descent. But even here there are other factors involved. 100 meters events are often dominated by black athletes from the United States, the United Kingdom or the Caribbean, as opposed to black people from African countries. Even though a person from Ghana or Senegal would have similar genetic advantages in 100 meters, sprinting programs may get less funding their countries. They may not benefit from state of the art training like their Western counterparts.
Overall the most important factor in the success of black athletes is the fact that some black communities view sports as a means of social mobility. Since so many black kids are aspiring to athletic greatness, a certain percentage will make it in the NBA or the NFL or as professional athletes in other sports. Genetics are a factor, but not the most important factor.
Different countries produce a disproportionate number of top athletes in different sports. Inevitably countries produce more top athletes in the sports that are most popular in that particular country. So, for example, Canada produces a disproportionate number of very good hockey players. Think Wayne Gretzky, and Maurice “Rocket” Richard. The Dominican Republic has produced a disproportionate number of top professional baseball players like Sammy Sosa. Argentina, Brazil and some Western European countries have produced more then their fair share of soccer greats. Some former British colonies- particularly India, Pakistan, Australia and the West Indies- have produced some of the best cricket players in the world.
The Dominican Republic hasn’t produced many top hockey players. Canada hasn’t produced many great cricketers. The United States produces a lot of great football, basketball and baseball players, but not too many notable soccer players. This has a lot to do with the values of the society. Many Canadians, for example, love hockey. Young kids grow up playing hockey and dreaming of being NHL stars. Their parents want them to become NHL stars. With so many young people devoting a lot of energy towards this goal, it becomes a numbers game. Out of all those wannabes, a few will have enough natural talent to make it to the highest level.
The same applies to black athletes, in many cases. In some black communities, sports are seen as a means of social mobility. Kids and parents put a lot of effort into sports. With a large number of black kids devoting a lot of energy towards become great athletes, a few will actually be able to achieve their goals. In other communities there may be less people who see sports as their main means of advancement. As a result they’ll devote less energy, as a group, to pursuing sports. This means that a lower percentage of them will become big sports stars.
The other factor is genetic. The genetic factor is actually much less important then the social factor. Genes will only give a person the potential to excel in sports. If a person does not play a particular sport or put the effort in, they’re not going to become a great athlete. You can’t become a hockey star if you never learned how to skate. Nevertheless genes can definitely play a role in athletics.
Human beings have fast and slow twitch muscles fibers. Fast twitch muscles are good for short explosive bursts of exertion, but they become exhausted quickly. Slow twitch muscles have less power but they don’t get tired as quickly. Different individuals and different groups of people tend to have different proportions of fast and slow twitch muscles. People of who have ancestors from some parts of Africa tend to have higher proportions of fast twitch muscles. This provides a significant advantage in some sporting events. This is particularly true in something like a short sprint, where runners depend entirely on their fast twitch muscles. This is why races like the 100 meters are almost always dominated by athletes of West African descent. But even here there are other factors involved. 100 meters events are often dominated by black athletes from the United States, the United Kingdom or the Caribbean, as opposed to black people from African countries. Even though a person from Ghana or Senegal would have similar genetic advantages in 100 meters, sprinting programs may get less funding their countries. They may not benefit from state of the art training like their Western counterparts.
Overall the most important factor in the success of black athletes is the fact that some black communities view sports as a means of social mobility. Since so many black kids are aspiring to athletic greatness, a certain percentage will make it in the NBA or the NFL or as professional athletes in other sports. Genetics are a factor, but not the most important factor.
This is a great perspective into why black athletes dominant in some sports, but not all. This article agrees with what we were taught about in class and what Coakley states in the text. On page 287 of the text, there is a chart that describes why black athletes dominant certain sports. That chart like in the article, describes how it is embedded in the African American culture to excel in some sports. The chart describes how black athletes are encouraged to develop their skills because it is their best opportunity. The chart also describes how black athletes have an advantage because of the belief that they are athletically superior. In sports, confidence is everything and if you believe you are superior you will perform that way. I agree with that reasoning completely. I come from an area where mostly everyone had opportunities in other areas in sports. My school district is extremely competitive in athletics, but we do not have a lot of big time division one or pro athletes. I believe the reason for that is because academics are valued very highly in my school district and academics are seen as the way to sucess. Because of that, my school has an extremely high graduation rate and many people are accepted into the top schools across the nation. If you are from an area where sports are seen as the way to success, you will probably have a lower academic prestiage, but a much higher rate of division one and pro athletes from that school. I feel as though a large part of your success is hard work and what values you have instilled in you. In class we discussed how there is research that shows black athletes have certain genes in them that make them more successful in some sports, but there has not been enough research done in this area. It is hard to deny that genetics play a role when you see how dominant west africans are in sprinting and how dominant East Africans are in long distance. I wish there was more research done in this area, so we could have some concrete evidence on the role genetics play. I feel as though the bottom line is you get out of something what you put in. If you put everything you have into sports you will get the most you can out of sports.
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