Racism In Black Sports

Words: 1693
Pages: 7

America “Black children are five times more likely than white children to have lead poisoning” and “people of color breathe 46 percent more nitrogen dioxide - which causes respiratory diseases and heart conditions - than whites” (Sanders). These children do not get to pick the environments in which they grow up in, it is dictated by generations past, by their parents and at times their grandparents, and because of this they are the ones suffering. Hurricane Katrina is an exceptional example at showing how people in poor communities are trapped and have difficulties recovering from natural disasters (Sanders). With no money and all of their possessions lost to the storm these people lose what little they had. Not only that, but the majority …show more content…
In the past it was to be believed that black athletes were “physiologically superior”, while white athletes could attribute their success to “character, hard work, and and intelligence”(Coakley). Which led to the assumption that blacks could not “successfully play positions that required interpersonal coordination and decision-making” (Coakley). Black athletes could not be the coaches or team captains, instead they were the meat of the team. Take football for example most black athletes play the noncentral positions such as running back, while white males normally play the central positions such as quarterback (Coakley). This was intentional and is evident in other sports as well, like swimming and even hockey, which is dominated by white males. These sports have not become inclusive, but instead harbor the racist tendencies of the past. Desegregation in sports only occured because it was financially appealing (Coakley). Take Jackie Robinson for example, he broke the color barrier in 1947 when he signed a contract with the Brooklyn dodgers (Coakley). The owner, Branch Rickey confessed that the only reason he signed Robinson was because “Robinson would increase gate sales and help the Dodgers win more games” (Coakley). Equality was never even in the forethought of their minds and instead rejected the idea until it was clear that Robinson playing “attracted both white and black spectators and increased profits for all teams” (Coakley). Athletics have not changed over time and instead have “served as sites for preserving dominant racial ideology” (Coakley). It is these tendencies that plague the lives of minorities