MYTHS OF THE BLACK MALE ATHLETE Chapter 8: Race and Ethnicity in Sport By 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 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 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

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, Average Player Salaries In The Four Major American Sports Leagues. (2012, December 7). Retrieved October 20, Entine, J. (2012, August 12). The DNA Olympics -- Jamaicans Win Sprinting 'Genetic Lottery' -- and Why We Should All Care. Retrieved October 18, Etine, J. (2000). The Story Behind the Amazing Success of Black Athletes, by Jon Entine. Retrieved October 18, Gane-McCalla, C. (2009, May 20). Athletic Blacks vs Smart Whites: Why Sports Stereotypes Are Wrong. Retrieved October 15, 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 Retrieved October 19, 2015, from Kerr, I. (2010). The Myth of Racial Superiority in Sports. The Hilltop Review, 4(1 Spring 2010),

References Lapchick, R., Hippert, A., Rivera, S., & Robinson, J. (2013, June 25) Racial and Gender Report Card: National Basketball Association. Retrieved October 19, 2015, from Nash, S. (2011, March 16). Rosa Parks, Homer Plessy and Jim Crow. Retrieved October 20, O'Donnell, J. (2015, April 15). Why Are There So Few African-Americans In MLB? Retrieved October 20, Sport and ethnicity. (2015). Retrieved October 14, 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, Powell-Morse, A. (2014, September 23). The Unofficial 2014 NFL Player Census - Best Tickets Blog. Retrieved October 19, 2015, from Saletan, W. (2008, December 5). Race, genes, and sports. Retrieved October 18, Steve McNair | evonsports. (2012, January 27). Retrieved October 21, Warner, G. (2013, November 1). How One Kenyan Tribe Produces The World's Best Runners. Retrieved October 19, 2015.

ANY QUESTIONS?