# What are the "whitest" sports? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 16, 2007, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-whitest-sports/388150 "2007-01-16T02:47:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-whitest-sports/388150/1 "2007-01-16T02:47:42Z")
I’m an avid curler. Yes, that funny sport from Scotland where people slide rocks down a sheet of ice, and others chase after them with brooms. The curling club I belong to is quite diverse: rich and working class, young and old, men and women, with Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Asian Indians, Asian Asians … but no blacks. The curling club is based at a country club that has black members – it’s not exclusionary – but none of them curl. No blacks have attended any of the curling demonstrations that are frequently held, despite quite a bit of promotion, and the club’s location in a racially integrated middle class community. When there’s a [bonspiel](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonspiel), with curlers from around the US and Canada playing in a tournament at our club, none of the players are African-American or African-Canadian. In all the photos and media coverage I’ve seen of rinks (teams) and draws (games) at other curling clubs and events around the world, I’ve never seen a black curler on the ice. While there are black golfers, black hockey players, and black skiers, I’m convinced there are \*no black curlers playing at either a club or tournament level. None, anywhere on the planet. This got me thinking … what are the “whitest” sports out there – those with the least amount of participation by blacks – and why are they that way? ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-whitest-sports/388150/2 "2007-01-16T03:03:26Z")
[QUOTE=elmwood] I’m an avid curler. Yes, that funny sport from Scotland where people slide rocks down a sheet of ice, and others chase after them with brooms. [/QUOTE] Chasing _after_ them with brooms? I’m not sure you’re doing it right… ---
**Author:** ![Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnac_the_Magnificent)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-whitest-sports/388150/3 "2007-01-16T03:10:45Z")
[QUOTE=Antigen] Chasing _after_ them with brooms? I’m not sure you’re doing it right… [/QUOTE] He’s on Jamaica’s curling team. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-whitest-sports/388150/4 "2007-01-16T03:48:36Z")
[QUOTE=Antigen] Chasing _after_ them with brooms? I’m not sure you’re doing it right… [/QUOTE] You sweep _behind_ the rocks to slow them down. Duh! ---
**Author:** ![St\_Ides](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@St\_Ides](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St_Ides)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-whitest-sports/388150/5 "2007-01-16T04:03:54Z")
Polo? ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-whitest-sports/388150/6 "2007-01-16T04:11:45Z")
Ultimate Frisbee? ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-whitest-sports/388150/7 "2007-01-16T04:13:10Z")
Showjumping? Yachting? ---
**Author:** ![zagloba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/977dab/32.png) [@zagloba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zagloba)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-whitest-sports/388150/8 "2007-01-16T04:19:32Z")
Quidditch ---
**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-whitest-sports/388150/9 "2007-01-16T04:24:42Z")
Winter Biathlon? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-whitest-sports/388150/10 "2007-01-16T04:46:19Z")
Does NASCAR count? I think there are still some fans who are suspicious of Jeff Gordon because he’s from California. ---
**Author:** ![VampyChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/5daacb/32.png) [@VampyChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VampyChick)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-whitest-sports/388150/11 "2007-01-16T07:48:54Z")
[QUOTE=zagloba] Quidditch [/QUOTE] Not so, one of Gryffindor’s chasers, Angelina Johnson, is black. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-whitest-sports/388150/12 "2007-01-16T11:32:02Z")
Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Why does “white = not black?” Where do Asians come into this? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-whitest-sports/388150/13 "2007-01-16T12:19:24Z")
[QUOTE=TokyoPlayer] Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Why does “white = not black?” Where do Asians come into this? 😕 [/QUOTE] Because if I posted “What are the least black sports?”, I’d probably be flamed by **pizzabrat**. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-whitest-sports/388150/14 "2007-01-16T12:24:59Z")
[QUOTE=elmwood] You sweep _behind_ the rocks to slow them down. Duh! [/QUOTE] How does that work, exactly? ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-whitest-sports/388150/15 "2007-01-16T12:37:06Z")
[QUOTE=Contrapuntal] How does that work, exactly? [/QUOTE] Nobody knows, exactly, but just like how curling rocks spin in the opposite direction of how thrown objects usually spin on a flat surface, there’s research being done at the University of Manitoba to discover why. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-whitest-sports/388150/16 "2007-01-16T14:34:39Z")
Lacrosse? Golf without Tiger Woods? Hurling? ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-whitest-sports/388150/17 "2007-01-16T14:37:55Z")
Speaking as a White liberal smartass, I can’t see any self-respecting Black person playing a game where they have to sweep up. ---
**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-whitest-sports/388150/18 "2007-01-16T15:42:49Z")
[QUOTE=TokyoPlayer] Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Why does “white = not black?” Where do Asians come into this? 😕 [/QUOTE] Because it works out linguistically. Some people often simplify into an “us” and “them” racial or cultural perspective and then retrofit convenient terms for it. ---
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-whitest-sports/388150/19 "2007-01-16T15:52:47Z")
[QUOTE=elmwood] Because if I posted “What are the least black sports?”, I’d probably be flamed by **pizzabrat**. [/QUOTE] But I haven’t even posted in months. Besides, a bizarre and curious interest in which sports have the fewest blacks is slightly less flame-worthy than your strange definition of “whitest”. _Slightly_. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-whitest-sports/388150/20 "2007-01-16T16:10:47Z")
[QUOTE=groman] Because it works out linguistically. Some people often simplify into an “us” and “them” racial or cultural perspective and then retrofit convenient terms for it. [/QUOTE] So “white” would essentially mean everyone except blacks because, to **elmwood** , Asians, Indians, etc. are a part of “us” but blacks are a part of “them”? Or am I misunderstanding? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-whitest-sports/388150.md?page=2)