Thursday, 4/17/97 Professional sports neglected when debating
racial issues Questions of economics, visibility in color lines not
addressed
If race is the hot issue of our time, then the athletic arena is
a simmering cauldron filled with all of the ingredients for
controversy. And the picture cannot be painted in black and white.
Race and sports are two of the most visible aspects of American
society, and both are often the source of intense conversation.
Rarely, however, do we ever talk about the two of them in the same
breath. The Jackie Robinson anniversary has sparked debates on how
far we have come in terms of breaking down racial barriers in
competitive athletics. Some say we’ve made great strides, and some
say we have yet to even take a step in the right direction. But for
the most part, it is a neglected topic. It is no surprise that few
people are willing to speak openly about the subject. If a player
or coach at the collegiate or professional level so much as
scratches the surface, that person can count on seeing his or her
name in bold print the following day. Why is the issue of race and
sports such a touchy subject? Maybe it’s because sports are largely
about physiology and physics, and athletes’ bodies come in
noticeably different colors. Maybe it’s because football and
basketball – two of the most visible aspects of our culture – are
sports in which African Americans are represented
disproportionately more than other ethnic groups with respect to
their percent of the overall population. We are afraid to look into
why this is the case. Some will say that African Americans in this
country disproportionately pursue competitive athletics as an
avenue for upward mobility because other roads are blocked. The
question of why more African Americans excel in football and
basketball than any other race opens the door to uncomfortable
possibilities. Tuesday’s Los Angeles Times addressed the issue of
why the number of African Americans playing major league baseball
has fallen over the years. Bill Plaschke argues that it is because
kids from the inner cities would rather play football or basketball
because that’s where the money and the hype are. On the other hand,
many African American major leaguers sense that their work
environment is racist, resulting in other African American athletes
becoming disenchanted with the sport itself. Notice, however, that
no one is asking the question of why it is that whites, Latinos, or
Asians are present in professional football or basketball less than
they are in our society. Somehow, this is okay with us. If we look
at the geography of the labor market for various college sports, we
will see that the inner city represents a rich vein of overflowing
talent for football and basketball, but not for most other sports.
Although we refuse to acknowledge it, the truth is that color lines
are drawn across the fabric of athletics and this fabric is made of
money. In our society, African Americans have been jammed in
disproportionate numbers into the ghetto. It is ironic that from
the poorest sections of America comes the most valuable economic
resource for athletic programs across the country. The intense
popularity of college football and basketball serve as the
motivation for schools to seek out the best talent available, and
the status, education and prospect of a professional career serve
to lure kids in. College baseball isn’t so popular. Is it an
accident, then, that there is only one African American on the UCLA
baseball team, whereas the football and basketball teams have
several? In order to understand the reason, it is necessary to look
at the larger societal picture. It would stand to reason that
African Americans should be able to compete as effectively in
baseball as in football and basketball. The latter two, however,
seem to offer African Americans a greater possibility for
substantial rewards than baseball. Nonetheless, for a young kid
dreaming of making it big in football or basketball, it is still
like trying to win the lottery. For most, it is a false hope. But
it may be that it is this long-shot dream that ultimately has
caused the number of African Americans playing collegiate and
professional baseball to dwindle. In reality, it may be that racism
in American society is at least as responsible for this phenomenon
as racism in baseball is to blame. If we are not careful, sports in
this country will be torn apart by racism. We are extremely
undereducated on the subject of race because everyone is afraid to
talk about it. We are not allowed to discuss the issue of race and
sports without dangerously toeing the line of being called racist.
Meanwhile, by ignoring the subject, we are allowing things to get
worse. Zucker is a Daily Bruin sports columnist. E-mail responses
to bzucker@media.ucla.edu. The Jackie Robinson Society Negro
Leagues Baseball Online Archives Major League Baseball Players’
Association’s Jackie Robinson 50th Anniversary Page Daily Bruin
articles: Thanks to Robinson, a new fan is born Score one for
humanity Alumni made new baseball stadium, name possible