March Madness just finished, but I came across this article regarding racism: http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news?slug=jn-race040410
Here's a short section from the article:
"Even though the race issue isn't discussed in polite company, it's been the subject of hushed conversations at the Final Four and will be obvious to anyone in attendance or tuning in at home. The subject is so taboo that even Larry Bird bristles when it's brought up."
What do people think about this issue? We have talked about it before, but I was interested in the issue being so "charged" that people don't even want to discuss it.
This article seems to be aimed at defying the notion of "white men can't jump". I have to admit, it was strange seeing a predominantly white-skinned national championship game this year. The article mentions that less than 1/3 of men's basketball players in Division 1 are white (as of 2007). The thing about this years championship game is that it included 2 teams that have historically had a higher percentage of white players than other schools, so I can see why this issue came up this year. But I don't think this is a trend we are going to start seeing for years to come. It is no secret that black athletes are more prominent in American basketball now. And I think that if you were to ask most basketball players in our country (at the college or professional level) they would say that race doesn't make a bit of different in terms of skill. I tend to disagree with the stereotype that "black people are better at basketball than white people". I don't think that is at all the case. I think that there is a historical reason as to why basketball is as popular among African Americans today than it ever has been (I won't get into this, but you can talk about racism, urban poverty, segregation, housing discrimination, etc.). It's not that African Americans are better basketball players, its just that their exposure to it increases its popularity among that particular race. You wouldn't say "white people are better at hockey" or "black men can't skate" - It just so happens that hockey gets less exposure among blacks, so it is less popular.