RACE IN SPORT
Social Stacking TheoryCentrality in Sport
Who is the better athlete?
• White
• Black
Hmmmmm?!
• Top geneticist Steve Jones blurs the issue by saying
that the idea that black people are good at sport is
meaningless - "I've never seen a pygmy win anything
and they're black, too..." - in an effort to dismiss the
concept of racial purity.
• Meanwhile, "race scientist" Jean-Phillipe Rushton
posits a view which caused riots on his Canadian
campus. He says that black people have a narrow
pelvis which helps them run fast but that the
downside means they are born with smaller heads
and, therefore, smaller brains.
Sport Centrality
• The closer you get to the
central/thinking/leading positions in
sport, the whiter the athletes get.
Stacking Theory
• Certain positions in sport, and sports
themselves, are dominated by athletes
of a particular race.
Definitions
• Race: Categories of people (genetically transmitted
traits) ... concept of mutual exclusivity (you're either one
or the other - can't be both).
• Ethnicity: Cultural heritage, not based on genetics.
• Ethnic group: Group of people who share a common
cultural background and are therefore socially distinct.
• Bigotry: A set of attitudes and beliefs which defines a
group of people as being different, and inferior to
oneself.
Implications of the Concept of
Race
Contrasting explanations of success:
– White success - character, dedication, work
ethic, intelligence, etc.
– Black success - natural physical ability
Traditional cultural definitions:
• All-white = white
• "not" all-white = black
• Rule of "hypo-descent"
– If someone had even "one drop of black blood"
they were considered black
Con’td
• Legacy of this rule carries over to today:
– e.g. Tiger Woods: Thai, Chinese, African
American, Native American, white
European
– Yet he is classified as black
Race Logic in EuroAmerican History
• Social Darwinism belief that white people
are favored by evolution, and deserved to be
in power (race logic)
• Eventually led to institutionalized set of beliefs
about relationship between skin color and IQ,
character and physical characteristics
• Underlying belief did not change
• Joe Louis example (depiction as an animal in
published news stories)
Racial Stacking in Sport
• “Players from a certain racial or ethnic
group being either over- or underrepresented at certain positions in team
sports”
Stacking Patterns in Sports
• Can you think of any examples?
Stacking Patterns in Team
Sports
• Allocation to playing position is strongly related
to the perception of the abilities of the athlete:
• “thinking positions" have gone to white players
• MLB: black players concentrated in outfield
positions, white players on all infield positions
except first base
• Football: black players: safety, cornerback,
end; white players: quarterback, guard, middle
linebacker
•
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5lIDq6MwQQ&feature=related
• BB: black players - forward; white
players - guard and center
• Women's VB: black players - spiker;
white players - setter and bumber
• Hockey: French Canadians - goalie,
English Canadians - defense
• British Soccer: black West
Indians/Africans - forward positions;
withes - goalie and midfielder
•
Swiss skiers are very successful, but are not
successful because of biology
– Skiing learned early
– Skiing valued in Swiss culture
• Other examples:
– Weight-lifting success of Bulgarian men
– Cross-country skiing success of Skandanavians
– Hockey success of Canadians
• Western racial ideology: explanation of nonwhite sport success in terms of racial
differences
Why does racial stacking
exist?
• Intelligence, leadership and decision-making white strengths
• Running and jumping - black strengths
Self-stacking: belief that opportunities exist
only in certain positions - self-fulfilling
prophecy
Riders:
• Sports change, and so does stacking
• Complex causal chains: history, ethnic
backgrounds of coaches, change in positional
responsibilities, etc.
But…
• Why is NBA and NFL predominently
dominated by ‘blacks’
• Why is NHL and skiing dominated by
‘whites’
• Genetics or Environment?
• Is racism blatantly evident in North
American sports? Ex?
Racism in Sport
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5lID
q6MwQQ&feature=related
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiRLmaZf4A&feature=related
• http://youtu.be/dM5oXtWogyI
Have you ever witnessed racism in sport?