White vs. African American Athletes

[axkiker]

Ok first off im not a raceist nore is this thread meant to turn that way. I want to try to keep everything as politically correct as possible. (like thats possible here).
So on the the question. What are you opinions on the majority of college and professional athletes in basketball and football being african american. It seems like its a good 75% at least. They always seem to be bigger, stronger and faster. Do you think its genetics, work ethic or luck.
I really started thinking about this after watching a good 3 days of football and basketball then following it up with the worlds strongest man competition. It was weird because most of the guys in that competitions were white.
Now as I said im not starting a a raceist thread where im trying to degrade anyone. Im just currious what your thoughts are on the subject. Hey if I could have hauled my fat a$$ down a field as fast as thoes guys I would not be here. so more power to them.

[BRSTQUEST]

Wow this could get real ugly...Iam going to take a stab(not an OJ Simpson reference) at this...Remember you mentioned only sports which are televised and there are sports that are not on tv which they are not the majority...
I think it is both gentetic and social. Genetic I can not prove since I have not done studies and the such, but it just seems like the the major sports are a majority black. I can only make my opion from what I see. I bet if someone was able to do a census of ALL professional athlets and the sports competed in the olympics the ratio would be closer than you might expect.
The social aspect could be that for the black community sports is a more accesable way out of poverty, thus giving them more motivation and dedication needed to rise to the level needed to become professional athlets... Like I said I would give it a stab...

[Keith E. Sayre]

Remember, Jimmy the Greek, he got fired for voicing his opinion on this subject. I will say this, the people that we
watch on TV have earned their spot with hard work, some are obviously quicker and faster than others but I remember as a kid that Wilt Chamberlain had to shoot
granny style and could barely dribble, now we have 7 footers shooting 3 pointers all the time. When I was a kid
the lineman in football couldn't spell their own names and
weighed 275 lbs and couldn't finish the 40. Now we have
lineman that can outrun the quarterback and catch him from behind and they weigh 325! The athletes we watch
today are incredible.
Keith Sayre

[eliminatedsprinter]

There has been tons of research done on this subject and all of it has been somewhat inconclusive. Most research has found that social factors play the largest role in these trends, but none have been able to rule out that there may be a lesser "racial" component as well.

[axkiker]

Yeah all good points. Im hoping that this thread will not head south because its not my intentions at all. Im just currious.
Who cares if the guy is black white purple or whatever. If he can take my favorite Team the the championship I dont care.
I do see what your saying about all sports in general. Since I started this thread out speaking on football and basketball I guess ill stick to thoes sports. However if you add in other sports such as sking bowling biking or whatever it raises another whole set of questions. Ill keep that for another thread.
anyways I see how alot of the african american population could see sports as a way out. when I mean a way out im talking a way of getting into a good school or a pro career making serious $$. Since alot of this population is in the poverty category and in neighborhoods that are pretty dangerous. I could easily see them taking it way more seriously and becoming more succesful.
However have you ever compaired a white guy and a black guy in college basketball that are of fairly equal height and play the same position. ever notice that 9 times out of 10 the black guy is much larger and appears to be built better. Now with this being said that leads me to beleive its more genetic. Because once playing on a college team all team members are required to work out etc and I would expect that most of the time they work out at the same level / intensity etc. So why the extra size, build or jumping ability etc.
So anyways this was my deep thought for the day. Probably will never be answered nore does it really matter. Im just bored and it posed a god question.

[Baja Big Dog]

Remember, Jimmy the Greek, he got fired for voicing his opinion on this subject. I will say this, the people that we
watch on TV have earned their spot with hard work, some are obviously quicker and faster than others but I remember as a kid that Wilt Chamberlain had to shoot
granny style and could barely dribble, now we have 7 footers shooting 3 pointers all the time. When I was a kid
the lineman in football couldn't spell their own names and
weighed 275 lbs and couldn't finish the 40. Now we have
lineman that can outrun the quarterback and catch him from behind and they weigh 325! The athletes we watch
today are incredible.
Keith Sayre
But in "our " day we were "natural", no juice involved.

[phebus]

O.K., here is my opinion, and I feel I am as non racist as they come. I love everyone equal.
Here is my comparison:
Dogs are dogs, but there are different breeds. Some are inherently faster, some are better hunters, etc., and that is genetically bred into them.
I feel the same is true within the human race. Different races of humans inherently have certain genes that predispose them to be better in certain sporting endeavors than others.
Huge generalization, but I feel that it runs true, and all the power to those individuals (regardless of race), that take advantage of what God has given them.

[eliminatedsprinter]

Remember, Jimmy the Greek, he got fired for voicing his opinion on this subject. I will say this, the people that we
watch on TV have earned their spot with hard work, some are obviously quicker and faster than others but I remember as a kid that Wilt Chamberlain had to shoot
granny style and could barely dribble, now we have 7 footers shooting 3 pointers all the time. When I was a kid
the lineman in football couldn't spell their own names and
weighed 275 lbs and couldn't finish the 40. Now we have
lineman that can outrun the quarterback and catch him from behind and they weigh 325! The athletes we watch
today are incredible.
Keith Sayre
I have to disagree with a bit of this.
Outside of his knowledge of horse racing, Jimmy the Greek was an imbicle. That is probably the main reason the racial comments were used as an excuse to fire him. His predictions and anylisis of sports like baseball and football were so far off he had been an embarassment for a while.
Wilt Chamberlin played under different rules for dribbling than todays players get away with and his finger roll and inside shot variety was better than todays centers. Plus, in college, Wilt was a national class triple jumper and quarter miler. In his prime he was/is arguably the fastest and most explosive human ever to be over 7 ft tall.
The fearsome foursome of Rosey Grier, Merlin Olson, Lamar Lundy, and Deacon Jones (the original minister of defense) were all over 275 and ran sub 4.6 in the 40 (without steroids) and they were brighter than most of the guys I see playing today by far.

[axkiker]

Well I didnt get any of thoes genes. I defiantly jump like a white boy.
O.K., here is my opinion, and I feel I am as non racist as they come. I love everyone equal.
Here is my comparison:
Dogs are dogs, but there are different breeds. Some are inherently faster, some are better hunters, etc., and that is genetically bred into them.
I feel the same is true within the human race. Different races of humans inherently have certain genes that predispose them to be better in certain sporting endeavors than others.
Huge generalization, but I feel that it runs true, and all the power to those individuals (regardless of race), that take advantage of what God has given them.

[spectras only]

This guy is white and just as great as the other guys with less fanfare
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Nash