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If the NBA can hire solely based on talent and skills without an affirmative action program, why can't business.
If athletes can be judged 100% on performance why can't us individuals when it comes to hiring ? Do we really need to bend the rules for slow or less talented people ?
Exactly. The same people that are saying "the best should be picked for sports" are usually the first to cry racism or discrimination when there are not enough minorities in a certain company or even profession. There is another thread on CD about the lack of black doctors in the US and how we're now going to waste 500 million dollars to try and rectify that. Should we also spend 500 million to make sure there are more Asian and White football players?
I don't think most black children start playing ball with dreams of going to the NBA. Most males regardless of race enjoy sports. If you don't have money then you can't play expensive sports like hockey because you can't afford the equipment or rink fees. Anyone can find a ball and a hoop....even if it's made out of a milk crate. There are few or no open fields and spaces to play in when you live in an urban area but there are always courts in local parks. If there is no court kids make up hoops from different objects and play right on the sidewalk.
My little boy likes basketball and he is a toddler. He likes it because his dad watches it and bought him a little junior hoop and ball to play with. Maybe once they reach H.S and start making the school teams they think that they will have a future in basketball but before then? It's just a game to them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trimac20
You're forgetting the cultural factor. Let's start with basketball. Basketball has been associated with black culture for awhile now. Often, a young kid growing up in the projects attending some dead-end school saw being a baller as his only way out. So instead of concentrating on his studies he spent all his spare time playing street ball at the local court. Meanwhile, his richer white counterpart is focusing on his schoolwork, and sport is only a bit of fun between studies. Who is more likely to say get a scholarship to go to college to play basketball?
As for football, there doesn't seem to be that cultural factor so something else must be going on. I think it's because many blacks see sport as a way out of the 'poverty trap' or to fame and fortune, so focus themselves on that and develop their athletic abilities. While I don't fully subscribe to the whole 'white man can't jump' idea, African Americans MIGHT have a slight physical advantage, BUT that is far outweighed, IMO, but just natural individual talent and training. Larry Bird was a great basketball player, not just a great white player.
Yet, I myself have asked this same question and questioned whether the recruiters/teams are playing favourites? Perhaps, subconsciously, they've imbibed the idea that blacks are probably better players? Then again, most of the whites you do seem seem to be foreign imports, often from Eastern Europe, so what gives there? Maybe whites also think that basketball is an AA domain? It'd be interesting to trace the shift of how basketball went from being mostly white up until the 1950s to mostly black today. I mean even in the earliest days of the NBA blacks were fairly well-represented, moreso than in other spheres of society, so I think there's a cultural element here.
The NFL and NBA is no more prejudicial towards blacks than, say, NASA would be towards intelligent people who excel in Math and science, as opposed to some guy of average-at-best IQ who picks-up your garbage every week.
The teams in those two leagues simply try to find the best athletes they can.
Blacks are physiologically--and sometimes, culturally--pre-disposed to excel in those types of physical activity. It's been long known by sports medicine types that blacks a higher percentage of "fast-twitch" muscles than caucasians do, and this is one of the factors at work here.
There is no prejudiuce here, you're barking up the wrong tree. Pro sports has become BigBusiness and the teams simply want the best players available. Color means nothing to them.
Blacks are physiologically--and sometimes, culturally--pre-disposed to excel in those types of physical activity. It's been long known by sports medicine types that blacks a higher percentage of "fast-twitch" muscles than caucasians do, and this is one of the factors at work here.
There is no prejudiuce here,
ROFL! You made me erupt in laughter, basically because you talk out of both sides of your mouth and claim I am barking up the wrong tree.
So blacks are racially superior when comparing "fast twitch" muscle fibers among other races? Let me help you again with the definition of RACISM.
"Racism is usually defined as views, practices and actions reflecting the belief that humanity is divided into distinct biological groups called races and that members of a certain race share certain attributes which make that group as a whole less desirable, more desirable, inferior or superior"
Can you read the definition of racism, and explain to me how what you said doesn't completely fall into this?
So what you meant to say is, they pick the best athlete which happens to be predominately blacks because they are racially superior in the traits of athleticism (specifically fast twitch muscle fiber).
I literally cannot believe how stupid people are in this world.
Then you sign off saying "There is no prejudice here"
ROFL! You made me erupt in laughter, basically because you talk out of both sides of your mouth and claim I am barking up the wrong tree.
So blacks are racially superior when comparing "fast twitch" muscle fibers among other races? Let me help you again with the definition of RACISM.
"Racism is usually defined as views, practices and actions reflecting the belief that humanity is divided into distinct biological groups called races and that members of a certain race share certain attributes which make that group as a whole less desirable, more desirable, inferior or superior"
Can you read the definition of racism, and explain to me how what you said doesn't completely fall into this?
So what you meant to say is, they pick the best athlete which happens to be predominately blacks because they are racially superior in the traits of athleticism (specifically fast twitch muscle fiber).
I literally cannot believe how stupid people are in this world.
Then you sign off saying "There is no prejudice here"
You should really do some research before you criticize others.
I'm guessing you never competed or played sports in your life. Your post has the nerdy, know-it-all sour grapes tone of someone who alsways watched sports from the sidelines, so only knows what he reads, since he never had the cojones to lace 'em up.
I am a lifelong athlete; went to college on a track scholarship; I'm also a certified personal trainer with the National Academy of Sports Medicine.
I stand by what I said about African_Americans having a high percentage of "fast-twitch" (as opposed to "slow-twitch") muscle fibers in the bodies).
I'm also guessing that you are not even aware what those are, and instead erroneously think that when I said "fast-twitch" I meant they are just quicker than whites. LOL.
FYI: Fast-twitch muscles are conducive to excelling at what we in the fitness arena call "plyometric" movement. (Look it up if you don't know what that is, Einstein.)
And It is NOT a matter of "racial superority" as you claimed. It is merely cold, hard, physiological fact.
Again: look it up, Nerd Boy.
What I'm about to say may or may not have already been said. If it has, I apologize for the redundancy, I was not able to read through all of the comments.
But my personal opinion is that there is no way that one could or should call the NBA & NFL "racist" because of their high % of Black players. The only way I would see it as racist is if Black and White players, of equal talent, were paid differently based on skin color. The fact that both leagues are majority Black has been brought up in my social circles many times, and my answer is always the same:
Many Black athletes come from urban environments. Of these urban environments, they disproportionately grow up in inner-city neighborhoods where the only recreational opportunities come in the form of basketball or football. If you go to your typical inner-city neighborhood, you're going to see a heck of a lot more basketball courts and football fields than you'll see baseball diamonds, open golf courses, or hockey rinks (coincidentally, the MLB, PGA, & NHL have quite low numbers of Black-American players, even though the % of players of African descent is high in MLB). And even in cases where there are a shortage of open fields or courts, basketball and football are two sports you can play on makeshift surfaces (such as using a crate or bin for a basketball hoop, or playing a football game on a residential street).
So while there may be some biological factors involved in regards to performance, I've always believed there is one significant reason that Black athletes are outstanding in some sports, while Whites are in others: access.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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I find it interesting that suggesting any 'racial' differences these days is considered racism - except when it comes to where other races have an advantage over whites. Now don't get me wrong I believe all humans are equally intelligent, but even if it was somehow 'proven' that say whites were more intelligent than blacks the evidence would no doubt be covered up as being too controversial. For some reason, however, it's totally alright to suggest differences in physical ability since these are 'less offensive.' I'm not saying don't do it, I think African Americans do tend to have certain body types which might pre-dispose them to having slight average advantages at certain physical tasks. In the same way, whites are probably a bit advantaged at other sports and Asians at others, like gymnastics. But this is just a rough average, and individual differences/m/biology and training/mindset make far more of a difference.
This little gem has been hiding in plain sight for years now, yet we hear very little about the disproportionate representation of its members.
These are quick numbers I googled, but this is the following breakdown of the two leagues in question.
- NFL = 65% of players are black or mixed
- NBA = 80% of players are black or mixed
- US Population = 13% of citizens are black
Before I pose the question, I would like to make some of my personal views known. I feel that this (the current proportions are acceptable to clarify) is completely acceptable and here is why. The world has gone away from this view, but the best of any given skill/trade/profession should always be chosen when attempted to assemble the best assets/team/business you can possibly field. While, a whole separate thread could be created about why specifically in America, black athletes are seemingly better as a whole than their white/asian/etc counterparts, this is obvious to anyone who has lived longer than a week in this world. Black athletes excel at basketball and football due to inherently higher levels of strength, speed and quickness which are paramount in professional levels of football/basketball.
If you reject this argument, then you one can only assert that the NFL/NBA is completely in the tank for blacks specifically and choose to promote their race despite having better options if they sought including anyone regardless of race in their decisions.
So considering the numbers just don't add up, whether right or wrong; should we come to the conclusion that:
Blacks are superior basketball/football athletes to the other races in the pool of US citizens?
or
The NFL/NBA is racist and there is no way that the disproportional representation of black-athletes versus the general population is so slanted?
they are very sexist as well. how many women in either the NFL or the NBA?
This little gem has been hiding in plain sight for years now, yet we hear very little about the disproportionate representation of its members.
These are quick numbers I googled, but this is the following breakdown of the two leagues in question.
- NFL = 65% of players are black or mixed
- NBA = 80% of players are black or mixed
- US Population = 13% of citizens are black
Before I pose the question, I would like to make some of my personal views known. I feel that this (the current proportions are acceptable to clarify) is completely acceptable and here is why. The world has gone away from this view, but the best of any given skill/trade/profession should always be chosen when attempted to assemble the best assets/team/business you can possibly field. While, a whole separate thread could be created about why specifically in America, black athletes are seemingly better as a whole than their white/asian/etc counterparts, this is obvious to anyone who has lived longer than a week in this world. Black athletes excel at basketball and football due to inherently higher levels of strength, speed and quickness which are paramount in professional levels of football/basketball.
If you reject this argument, then you one can only assert that the NFL/NBA is completely in the tank for blacks specifically and choose to promote their race despite having better options if they sought including anyone regardless of race in their decisions.
So considering the numbers just don't add up, whether right or wrong; should we come to the conclusion that:
Blacks are superior basketball/football athletes to the other races in the pool of US citizens?
or
The NFL/NBA is racist and there is no way that the disproportional representation of black-athletes versus the general population is so slanted?
This little gem has been hiding in plain sight for years now, yet we hear very little about the disproportionate representation of its members.
These are quick numbers I googled, but this is the following breakdown of the two leagues in question.
- NFL = 65% of players are black or mixed
- NBA = 80% of players are black or mixed
- US Population = 13% of citizens are black
If you reject this argument, then you one can only assert that the NFL/NBA is completely in the tank for blacks specifically and choose to promote their race despite having better options if they sought including anyone regardless of race in their decisions.
So considering the numbers just don't add up, whether right or wrong; should we come to the conclusion that:
Blacks are superior basketball/football athletes to the other races in the pool of US citizens?
or
The NFL/NBA is racist and there is no way that the disproportional representation of black-athletes versus the general population is so slanted?
Why do I think that City-Data forums has become a recruiting site for white supremacy hate groups? -- mr 'reich ?
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