Air Force coach's racial comments

[Josh W]

I have a bunch of questions. Okay, that's a lie. I have one question.

What group of people is offended by this?

I honestly don't know.

At first I thought it was anti-white...Oh, white people are slow and athletic. We can't win with white people. White people are inferior.

Then, I thought maybe black people would be offended. Ooohhhh, you think black people are gifted, they don't have to work hard at this. You think black people don't put in the time in the weight room and on the practice field.

I saw an interview by the author of the book "Taboo" which discusses this very topic (on Anderson Cooper 360...)...races are different, but why are we so afraid to talk about it? He mentioned that there is scientific evidence to support that muscle tissue and lung tissue in people from West Africa are more designed for football. White people excel in weightlifting. East African's excel in long distance running, endurance contests.

And if we watch the Olympics, this is tough to disagree with.

Obviously, as somebody stated, AFA doesn't need more black athletes, they need BETTER ATHLETES. Didn't the Notre Dame coach a few years ago make a similar statement?

But who's the best white tailback in the NFL? Who's the best white cornerback in the NFL?

I live in a fairly white part of Los Angeles. When I go to the local 24 hour fitness, most of the people in there are black.

I think that black people place a higher emphasis on physical fitness and athleticism.

And if I'm a headcoach looking for better athletes, I'm going to look for people who place an emphasis athleticism.

I've rambled a lot here. But I'm still confused.

Who was this coach's statement supposedly offensive to? I really don't know.

[SammyKid11]

[ QUOTE ]
I think that black people place a higher emphasis on physical fitness and athleticism.

[/ QUOTE ]

Here's the point. Making inferences and generalizations can be a dangerous thing. The above quote is certainly not the only one in this thread, but the one I happened to see and respond to.

Because you see mostly black people at a gym located in a mostly white neighborhood, your inference is that black people care about physical fitness and athleticism more than white people do. This is kind of like saying, "I know hundreds of people and none of them are Asian...therefore, I do not believe that over 20% of the world's population is Asian. In my survey, 0% of the world is Asian." So the above type of assumption is especially faulty and very widespread among lots of people.

Now for actual facts...the most obese race in America? African-Americans. From that can we infer that African-Americans must care LESS about physical fitness and athleticism? Certainly it's a stronger case than the gym survey...however, once again - it's faulty. According to a study conducted by Professor of Sociology Theresa Martinez at the University of Utah, the primary REASON for the higher obesity rates of the African-American and Hispanic-American population is due to socio-economic status, not race. Minorities make up a large percentage of our country's lowest earners. Economoically-disadvantaged people eat cheaper foods. Cheaper foods are much higher in fat, on the whole, than more expensive foods.

So even an inference based on empirical evidence (African-Americans are the most obese in the nation) do not lead us to the proper conclusions about WHY.

Sure, there is some scientific evidence to support the idea that those from West Africa have a certain type of muscle tissue and are therefore genetically predisposed to being faster. But lots of African-Americans do not descend very directly or very purely (on a genetic level) from West Africa. There has to be more to it than that.

Personally, here's why I think statements like those made by Fisher DeBerry are problematic.

1) Yes, I think it's somewhat offensive to white athletes. Imagine if the CEO of a primarily-black corporation said, "man, white people tend to make better grades than black people -- I think that means they must be smarter overall...I wish this company could hire us some more white people." I think the African-American community would be a tad bit upset, and rightfully so.

2) Perhaps the REASON there are so many more African-American athletes in sports like football and basketball is BECAUSE the stereotype exists that tells African-Americans, "this is where you have the best chance to succeed. Here's an arena in which you're advantaged...so that's the arena you should pursue." Because of those persistent expectations, maybe greater emphasis is placed on raising great athletes in that community than the emphasis placed on raising great students. The problem with perpetuating those stereotypes is simply that very few people make it in professional athletics. Those that focus their efforts on athletics but do not either get a college degree or make it to the pros, especially those that come from economically-disadvantaged situations, often-times find themselves with very few opportunities in life once sports have come to an end for them. Comments like DeBerry's serve to perpetuate a potentially-debilitating stereotype.

3) Fisher DeBerry is the head coach of a military academy, funded by the taxpayers of the United States of America. In a nation that is supposed to be trying hard to end racial inequities and ease the tension of centuries worth of racial oppression, racially-charged comments from a man in DeBerry's position are simply unhelpful to the overall cause. Public apologies these days are so cheap that his means very little to me...he's a grown man, he knows what media interviews are like, and he made the statements anyway.

Are his comments "true" in the current makeup of college football? Yeah, sure they are. I'm not denying that black athletes currently hold most positions of speed in college football. So in that sense, what he said was true.

Is that the point? No, it's not. He gained nothing from his comments, and it cost him and the Air Force Academy a lot in the way of perception. I think on an admittedly small level, it also further racial tensions in this country, demeans athletes of other races, and serves to further pidgeon-hole African Americans into their already-accepted "good at sports" stereotype - thereby decreasing their likelihood to achieve in other avenues of life.

Anyway, that's what I think.

[daryn]

kneel before zod is correct, everyone else is pretty much wrong.

just the facts, ma'am

[SammyKid11]

Glad to see you're as sophisticated in real issues as you were in hijacking an Astros thread with Red Sox and Yankees crap. How'd Boston and NY end up doing, anyway?

[daryn]

[ QUOTE ]
Glad to see you're as sophisticated in real issues as you were in hijacking an Astros thread with Red Sox and Yankees crap. How'd Boston and NY end up doing, anyway?

[/ QUOTE ]

huh?

[Josh W]

I think everything you wrote is well thought out and valid, except for your response to my gym example (you went way apples and oranges there).

Josh

[SammyKid11]

I wasn't making a comparison to your gym example. I was merely illustrating the fallacy of low sample set...and the fallacy of assumed intentions. You make two bad assumptions in your gym example.

First, you assume that because at your gym (at the time you happen to be there) there happen to be a disproportionate number of African Americans, it must mean that African Americans work out in higher numbers nationally than do other Americans. Your sample set is so small that it would be LIKE saying, "I know hundreds of people and none of them are Asian, therefore I do not believe in Asian people."

And even IF that first faulty assumption were luckily (for you) true, you further assume that this demonstrates that African Americans place higher importance on physical fitness, when in fact it could simply mean that African Americans enjoy exercise more than other races, or that African Americans have more free time than other races, or that they feel a need to be in better shape because they work more manual labor jobs, or any number of other factors that could lead to them working out in higher percentages than other races (if that is even true).

Your assumption that A (you seeing more black people at your gym in a white neighborhood) means B (the African American community places a greater value on physical fitness) is simply a bad one.

[mason55]

Jesus.

It has been proven that as a population people of African descent have a higher concentration of fast twitch muscle fibers. On average their hemoglobin works better. It's just a fact.

Read " Taboo: why black athletes dominate sports and why we're afraid to talk about it.

[SammyKid11]

It's also been proven that near the end of our relationship, my ex-girlfriend put on weight. Doesn't mean that it was a good thing to bring up.

[ QUOTE ]
there are white people with primarily black hair and pale skin (irish) and there are swedish people. obviously they have different traits. why can't one trait be strength or agility?

[/ QUOTE ]

b/c it is politically incorrect to say so.