This doesn’t really matters. It might be for instance that Brazilians don’t invest much in sports and in the training of their Olympic teams, resulting in few finalists in any sport. Similarly, Jamaica is a poor example in favor of a genetic hedge because Jamaicans are notoriously almost as crazy about racing as Brazilians are about soccer, so it’s no surprise that this country “produces” an abnormaly high number of world-level runners.
What would help would be to know if, within Brazil, people with a lot of Black ancestry are overrepresented amongst short distance race champions. Though given the high level of racial mixing in Brazil, I’m not sure it would be easy to determine.
But this ignores the racial breakdown within the sport. Here’s an article someone did breaking down all of the starting lineups http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2008/12/nfl_a_study_in.php. It’s a couple years old, but the breakdown is still similar. A few key positions:
Wide Receiver (64 starters)
59- Black (92 percent)
3- White (5 percent)
1- Other (2 percent)
Running Back (32 starters)
32- Black (100 percent)
Defensive Back (128 starters)
123- Black (96 percent)
4- White (3 percent)
1- Other (1 percent)
Every position where the important physical attribute is speed and agility is dominated by blacks. The one position whites are in the majority is the offensive line, coincidentally where bulk and size are more important than speed or agility.
Michael Jordan batted around .202 in his stint in AA minor league baseball.
Athletic ability is athletic ability. Period. Jordan would probably have been a better hitter if he didn’t have one of the largest strike zones in the league. Also, he hadn’t really played a lot of baseball, relative to basketball. ALSO, height is not NEARLY as big an advantage in baseball as in basketball.
So yeah, even with a relative lack of practice and a huge strike zone, Jordan managed to be a fairly decent baseball player.
But, to be fair, if you’re, say, 6’3" or 6’4", for instance, you could, all other things being equal, be fairly good at either sport.
And there are some good baseball players who are very tall, just not that many. Randy Johnson comes to mind.
How many black people do you even KNOW? Do you really think anyone is explaining this math to them? No. They like the status that goes with being an NBA player, and that’s all they give a shit about, when it comes to choosing a sport. NFL is second best for them. Baseball is barely on the map, unless they are waaay too short for basketball, too slow to play a speed-based football position, and too small to play a brute-force-based football position. Kirby Puckett comes to mind. He’s an excellent example of an incredibly talented black baseball player whose physical attributes don’t put him squarely in any of the right categories for basketball or football. He was only 5’8", and stocky, but not big enough for an offensive lineman.
Do you even know that one of the biggest positive adjectives in urban black lingo is “baller”? Here’s a note–“baller” refers to basketball, not baseball.
If Ted Williams and Babe Ruth had played as little baseball as Jordan, they’d have hit like him.
Conversely, perhaps if Jordan had concentrated on baseball to the exclusion of basketball the way Dave Winfield, who was the same height did, perhaps like Winfield, he’d be in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
What? “Athletic ability is athletic ability?” Is it your contention that what makes you a good gymnast makes you a good basketball player? That what makes you a good golfer makes you a good football player? That what makes you a good hockey player makes you a good gymnast?
There are, of course, a few rare individuals who can excel at the pro level of a few sports. But that is the exception, not the rule.
And let’s be clear. The contention was that baseball players were leaving that sport for basketball. What is the evidence for that?
Yes, John, I AM saying that “athletic ability is athletic ability”. Being coordinated physically is being coordinated physically. Period. Some people might have very specific skills in addition to pure athletic ability, like pitchers/quarterbacks, but yes, other than those specific types of skills, it’s simple coordination/kinaesthetic ability/etc.. It’s all one thing. How is that even controversial? What world did you grow up in? Did you not play sports as a kid? Do you not know very many highly-talented athletes?
In addition, I pointed out that “baller” is a universal positive adjective in urban black youth culture. If something’s really good/cool/etc., then it might be called “baller”. That’s from basketball, not football, and DEFINITELY not baseball.
In addition, I ALSO pointed out that urban black youth have MUCH easier access to basketball courts than to baseball fields. And guess what? Blacks have been becoming more urbanized for the last 40+ years.
I have not said that basketball is not a preferred sport for black kids.
You said that they were leaving baseball for basketball. The numbers say that that is not remotely true. I am perfectly willing to accept that baseball has become less popular and, thus, draws fewer kids. (I suspect that the same thing is true of white American kids, also, hence the explosion of foreign players.) I merely noted that your particular claim for a particular sport was unrealistic.
“Black” and “white” have a cultural meaning. Ascribing scientific values to the cultural meaning is dangerous, so more precise terms should be used when you are making a biological or scientific argument. When you are making a cultural argument, “black” and “white” have the meaning ascribed to them by the culture.
I should have said they have been considered “white” or “blancs”.
In Brazil you are only considered white if you are of 100% European descent or nearly 100% European descent.
Now, since you seem to be accepting of Brazilian standards on “black” and “white” presumably you’ll retract your statements since by Brazilian standards there are virtually no blacks in the NFL and blacks in the NFL are heavily outnumbered by whites.
If you disagree the please give your definition of “white” and “black” and why you agree with Brazilians when it comes to who is “white” but not who is “black”.