Seattlest: Air Force Academy's Highest-Paid Employee: Blacks "run very, very well"

Michael

Sun, 30 Oct 2005 12:48:52 -0800

As a Black man,and former collegiate football player, I totally support Coach DeBerry' comment. Why do you think the SWAC conference started recruited Black football player's..??? Quickly followed by the SEC football conference. Remember all these institutions wanted absolutely nothing to do with Black athletes, or students, until Jerry Livias, burned their ass on the gridiron.

Joey Bishop

Fri, 28 Oct 2005 06:49:08 -0800

I don't believe that West Africans and their descendants are fast because of their race, but because of population genetics. For instance, Greeks are very good sprinters, and are better sprinters than East Africans. I've followed Track and Field events for a very long time and I've noticed that the elite sprinters tend to be West African, Greek, and Eastern European. So it's not race or skin color that determine speed, but population genetics. It is not controversial in the world of science to document the fact that certain ethnicities have physical advantages in certain athletic events over other ethnicities. Sociology is a matter of debate between liberals, moderates, and conservatives. Science is a matter of fact, and fact outweighs opinion.

Dan

Thu, 27 Oct 2005 16:10:15 -0800

You guys covered genetic predisposition pretty well, but here's an angle on why 75% of the NBA is black - The "combination of economic and cultural factors" Seth mentions: Growing up you probably had a 90% chance at a decently-paying desk job and a 1% chance at NBA superstardom. (Obviously you didn't have a 1% chance, but for argument's sake..) The majority of the guys in the NBA --black, yes-- had a 10% chance at a decently-paying desk job and a 1% chance at NBA superstardom. See how it's easier to dedicate yourself to a sport when unfortunate and unjust economic realities lenghten your odds on a comfy sure thing? Also, don't the Huskies suck because they're under some kind of recruiting restriction?

Josh

Thu, 27 Oct 2005 12:57:37 -0800

Cogent analysis, Jackson, but then, what's the Huskies' excuse for sucking?

Jackson West

Thu, 27 Oct 2005 11:30:56 -0800

Um, maybe Air Force sucks because it's kind of hard to recruit talented athletes into a military academy in the middle of war, much less superstar athletes who would rather go to the pros than spend two years in required military service after college. It might also help if your head recruiter isn't a born-again racist douchenozzle.

Josh

Thu, 27 Oct 2005 11:16:35 -0800

We should also recall that when other groups predominated in given sports, there arose an inclination to ascribe their success to inherent traits. Before boxing was dominated by black and hispanic fighters, commentators routinely assumed that the Irish were biologically predisposed to pugilism. Seth is right - it's about economics and culture, and DeBerry is a rube.

Seth

Thu, 27 Oct 2005 10:53:12 -0800

If Division I football players were all West Africans, your genetics explanation might hold water. But they aren't. Most African-Americans in the United States are a mish-mash of ethnicities, including African, West Indian, Caucasian and more. The predominance of African-Americans in college professional sports is better explained by some combination of economic and cultural factors than by genetic ones. Besides, even if genetic factors are at play, there's no way to determine an individual's speed based only on knowing their race. This is why DeBerry's comments are disturbing. They indicate a willingness to ascribe characteristics to a person based on the color of their skin. If he does it with physical characteristics, does he do it with mental and emotional ones as well?

Courtney

Wed, 26 Oct 2005 17:37:27 -0800

Ah Marty, like Jose Cortez you just totally missed the point.

Joey Bishop

Wed, 26 Oct 2005 17:36:15 -0800

While Coach Fisher Debarry's comments may have been insensitive due to the history of racial discrimination in the US, I also believe that his comments are factually correct, and backed up by science. African-Americans have advantages in certain athletic events not because of their race, but because of their West African gene pool. West Africans who have a dense bone structure, lower body fat, muscle density, and long limbs on average tend to do well in sprinting events, while East Africans do well in middle and long distance events. 67% of the NFL is African American, and 75% of the NBA is also AA. In the NFL the position requiring the greatest speed is the cornerback position. For the last ten years or so the only white man who was a starting CB in the NFL was Jason Sehorn. Since JS is no longer starting, there are no white men starting at CB in the NFL. I believe that men and women of any race can be great athletes, but genetics causes some ethnic groups to have advantages in certain sports. As someone who is part black and white, with a smaller percentage of American Indian heritage, I realize that some people would use our differences to tear us apart. However, I also believe that truth is more important than sensitivity, and in the end truth will set us free.

Marty

Wed, 26 Oct 2005 16:55:14 -0800

Wow, what's the big deal? Everybody knows African Americans are faster runners in speed events. Look at the Olympics and other organized events. Then look at the backfields of every notable NCAA DI team and every NFL team and tell me who you see: African Americans. Then look at the defense and who do you see at corner back and safety? African Americans. Who do you see returning punts and kickoffs? African Americans. It seems clear to me that the people whose livlihoods depend on placing the best players in the right position overwhelmingly put African Americans in the speed positions. In the majority of cases, I would agree with DeBerry the faster team will win almost all the time. Sure, you can pick out particular games when that isn't true, but it takes a lot of digging to find those cases. Like they say, you can't teach speed.

edp

Wed, 26 Oct 2005 16:13:16 -0800

Well duh. If that was true the NFL and NBA would be full of black athletes. What a moron!