Paterno links black athletes to increased scoring

[ChiTownBull]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2213130

A week after Air Force football coach Fisher DeBerry was publicly reprimanded for insensitive comments about black athletes, Joe Paterno did not shy away from the topic of race during Tuesday's Big Ten coaches teleconference.

At one point, the topic of the teleconference turned to the increased scoring in the Big Ten this season. After first mentioning that improved indoor practice facilities have helped the conference recruit kids from warm-weather climates, Paterno offered a supplemental explanation.

"You have to be careful the way you say things sometimes," the Penn State coach said. "Poor [Air Force coach] Fisher DeBerry got in trouble, but the black athlete has made a big difference. They have changed the whole tempo of the game. Black athletes have just done a great job as athletes and as people in turning the game around."

Last week, after a 48-10 less to TCU, DeBerry noted that TCU "had a lot more Afro-American players than we did and they ran a lot faster than we did.

"Afro-American kids can run very well. That doesn't mean that Caucasian kids and other descents can't run, but it's very obvious to me that they run extremely well."

DeBerry was reprimanded by Air Force's superintendent, and issued a public apology for his remarks.

[smazza]

just stating the obvious

[Markeymark]

JoePa is as close to untouchable as you can get. I'm waiting for the PC-weenies and phony race-baiters to start their whining over this one. It will be interesting to see where this one goes.

[Velcro]

Let me ask you a question. If I said, "The sky is blue, water is wet and moose don't fit easily into coin slots," would you call for my dismissal?

Well, then, why did Air Force football coach Fisher DeBerry get pure hell when he explained a bad loss to TCU by saying, "[They] had a lot more Afro-American players than we did, and they ran faster than we did.... It's very obvious to me [black players] run extremely well"?

Did DeBerry sneeze into the flag or put out a kitchen fire with a bunny? Besides butchering the phrase African-American, what exactly did the 67-year-old DeBerry say that was so wrong?

Hellllooo? In football, if you're looking for speed, 99.9% of the time you'll find it in a black athlete. All but one of the last 100 wide receivers taken in the first round of the NFL draft were black. Of the last 50 All-Pro cornerbacks, only one was white. Only 48 men have broken 10 seconds in the 100-meter dash, and they're all black. You think that's a coincidence?

I have no clue why this is true. I just know it is true. Running fast is not the only thing these athletes are good at. Not by a million miles. But it is one thing.

And yet knees started jerking instantly. DeBerry was called into the athletic director's office for a tongue-hammering. He had to apologize. A sanctimonious Colorado state senator called for his immediate firing.

But get this: Almost no black people were upset! It was all PC whites freaking out for blacks. All my black friends were like, "Many blacks run fast? Duh!" Bill Johnson, a black columnist for Denver's Rocky Mountain News, couldn't understand the furor. "Was I missing something?" he wrote.

If I were DeBerry's boss, I'd have screamed at him, too. "You've been coaching here 22 years and you're just now realizing black guys run fast? No wonder we suck!!!"

DeBerry didn't insult blacks. If he'd have said, "Blacks are fast, but they can't grow orchids," or "Blacks are fast, but they stink at the accordion," then we'd have something.

Look, the only way we're ever going to deal with real racism is to throw out all the dumb crap that isn't racism -- the stuff that gives racists ammo to toss at us.

Take it back? The only thing DeBerry should take back is his apology.    

[smazza]

"[They] had a lot more Afro-American players than we did, and they ran faster than we did.... It's very obvious to me [black players] run extremely well"?

it is a stupid comment

his team lost because they other team  had better football players not because they had more black players

his comment was  inappropriate

thank god this hillbilly won't be coaching much longer

[KeysBull]

Right above you wrote that joepa was just stating the obvious smazza. please try to be consistant.

I dont understand the whole issue, is being fast not a compliment? Its better than being called slow.....

And yes as someone who has run track in the memphis metro area, i can tell you that IN GENERAL blacks seem to be faster, not that there arent fast white guys, or slow black guys, but the trend is obvious.

[Velcro]

whether people want to admit it or not... their are some physiological differences regarding fast twitch muscles between whites and blacks... it doesn't make one better than the other, or guarantee one faster than the other... but there is a reason that 99% of professional speed athletes (receivers/track stars/defensive backs/base stealing specialists, etc) are black... and there is nothing wrong with that.

Same reason can be said why men generally are stronger than women... there is a difference.... it doesn't guarentee any one person is bigger or stronger than the next... but in general, that is the case.  

Racism in this case is being generated by the people trying to protect others from racism that doesn't exist.  If the blacks don't have a problem being generally called "faster"... then the PC whites should shut the hell up.  I'm with Reilly on this one.  

[smazza]

whether people want to admit it or not... their are some physiological differences regarding fast twitch muscles between whites and blacks...

any scientific proof of this?

some might say it is social economic reasons for blacks in sports

in other words your fast whites are lawyers,doctors and teachers

i was extremely fast in junior high.one of the fastest in school but my parents stressed education not athletics.i concentrated in academics not track and field

i am not saying i had world class speed

i am saying it is a facacy to thing  the blacks are a faster and more athletic  because of color.

i don't buy it

[Velcro]

it isn't because of color, it is because of physiology.  It is the same reason a greyhound is generally a better runner than a golden retreiver.

<BR><BR>

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<TD BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" ALIGN=left VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="585" BORDERCOLOR="#990000">

 <p align="center"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="+1"><b><img src="Images_NYT/express.gif" width="349" height="52"></b></font></p>

 <p align="left"><font face="verdana, arial, helvetica" size=4><b><br>

   </b></font><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="+1">Why

   black athletes are the fastest runners</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">

   </font></b> <font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br>

   </font></p>

 <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i>by Emma Lindsey</i> </font></p>

 <p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">8 September

   2000&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

   London</font></p>

 <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> As we prepare to stuff ourselves

   on the feast of sport known as the Olympics, there is bound to be much

   preprandial musing on why it is that so many of the world's best runners

   are black. Staring at the all-black starting line up for the men's 100-metre

   final, opinion will be sharply split. </font>

 <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">On the one hand are those

   who say it's in the genes; that black people were born not only to run

   but run faster than white folk: on the other are those who baulk at

   the very notion, saying that the preponderance of elite black athletes

   is down to class and society. </font>

 <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Actually both are right.

   Genetics, in the form of having a higher proportion of "fast-twitch"

   fibres and more testosterone than whites, may predispose a black individual

   to run fast. But biology alone does not make champions. As well as graft,

   focus and a winning mindset, the forces which combine to set those fast-twitch

   fibres twitching in the direction of the school running track cannot

   be underestimated. </font>

 <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">In my own experience it was

   touch and go. It was noted at school that I could run fast but my parents,

   in particular my mother, snuffed out any thoughts of a career on the

   track. Perhaps as a teacher herself, she was better placed than most

   parents to see where that road might take me. Instead, I found myself

   the only black kid in Latin classes. </font>

 <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">I am not sure whether that

   was a such a good thing either but the point is, my teachers were more

   alert to the potential in a black child for sporting prowess than academic

   achievements - and this is far from unique. </font>

 <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Oscar Douglas, a black 33-year-old

   market researcher, was Surrey County champion for triple jump at the

   age of 14. He says: "I left junior school in the top stream for all

   my subjects but as soon as I got to high school, and my PE teacher saw

   that I could jump, the only encouragement I got was from him. </font>

 <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">"When it came to my academic

   subjects I was virtually ignored. My teachers basically wrote me off

   because I was good at sport." Eventually, Douglas went on to gain a

   degree in sociology and psychology but he says: "I feel it was despite

   my teachers not because of them." </font>

 <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> The question of race in

   sport is fraught with myths and entrenched positions. Experts can demonstrate

   with the aid of obliging Kenyans on a treadmill, the advantages of fast

   and slow twitch fibres when it comes to explosive power and endurance.

   </font>

 <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Top geneticist Steve Jones

   blurs the issue by saying that the idea that black people are good at

   sport is meaningless - "I've never seen a pygmy win anything and they're

   black, too..." - in an effort to dismiss the concept of racial purity.

   Meanwhile, "race scientist" Jean-Phillipe Rushton posits a view which

   caused riots on his Canadian campus. He says that black people have

   a narrow pelvis which helps them run fast but that the downside means

   they are born with smaller heads and, therefore, smaller brains. </font>

 <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Amid all this there is a

   question which no one really wants to explore. Why is it so hard to

   believe that black people can run fast and be brainy? For example, the

   reigning 100m Olympic champion, Donovan Bailey, was a City stockbroker

   before he turned to athletics. </font>

 <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Rushton's brand of racist

   "science" highlights the equation that many otherwise rational people

   carry in their minds: being black plus good at sport equals thick. That

   is why so many black youngsters are forced into a trade-off between

   learning lessons in the classroom or learning technique out on the field.

   </font>

 <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">It is why award-winning American

   journalist Jon Entine caused such a storm with his book Taboo: Why Black

   Athletes Dominate Sport And Why We're Afraid To Talk About It. He hit

   a nerve. </font>

 <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">There is a knee-jerk reaction

   to any discussion which points up the differences between races. But

   the fact is that, by and large, black athletes of West African extraction,

   (which thanks to the slave trade, include Caribbeans and African-Americans),

   tend to run faster than their Caucasian counterparts. Equally, black

   athletes from North and East Africa have a genetic advantage when it

   comes to distance running - and again the medal count speaks for itself.

   </font>

 <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Of course, there are successful

   white athletes but, overall, black supremacy on the race track is blindingly

   obvious - of the top 200 official times at 100 metres, not one has been

   run by a white athlete. Only black sprinters have (officially) run under

   10 seconds. Solomon Wariso, a graduate in biotechnology and 400- and

   200-metre runner, says: "It's just stating facts that black athletes

   can run faster and for longer. Among themselves athletes don't even

   bother to discuss it. It's just like saying the track is red." </font>

 <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Those who adopt the defensive

   position, and insist that the predominance of black athletes in sport

   is a coincidence, also buy into the notion that athleticism and intelligence

   are mutually exclusive. The implication is that black people go into

   sport because they can't make it in the world of work. It's not true.

   Like any other field of endeavour, natural talent may well introduce

   an individual to success but it's hard graft that will nurture the association.

   Leading sprint coach Mike McFarlane, who has honed the talent of sprint

   champion Dwain Chambers, among others, says: "We work hard six days

   a week. </font>

 <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">"In the winter when it's

   cold, that's the time when you know whether you've got the character

   or the heart and determination to get the best out of yourself." </font>

 <p>

 <li><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Picture taken from Sportscape:

   The Evolution Of Sports Photography (Phaidon), &pound;29.95 available

   next month. </font>

   <p>

   <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>A GREAT TRACK RECORD</b></font>

   <p>

 <li><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Power events which require

   short, dynamic bursts of energy include the 100m, 200m, 400m, long jump,

   triple jump, 110m hurdles and 400m hurdles. </font>

   <p>

 <li><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Black athletes hold the

   world records in all seven major sprint events, including the two team

   relays. </font>

   <p>

 <li><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Kenyans won gold, silver

   and bronze medals in the 3,000m at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. </font>

   <p>

 <li><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">At the 1988 Seoul Olympics

   Kenyans won the men's 800, 1,500, 5,000 and 3,000 steeplechase titles.

   </font>

   <p>

 <li><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">In 1886 Arthur Wharton,

   a Ghanaian who settled in the north of England, became the first man

   to run 100 yards in 10 seconds in the Amateur Athletic Association Championships.

   </font>

   <p>

 <li><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Underneath black skin there

   is more muscle and less fat. White athletes have a greater proportion

   of fat and less muscle. </font>

   <p>

 <li><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Research carried out by

   experts at the Copenhagen Institute of Sports Science on Kenyans from

   the Kalenjin tribe of the Great Rift Valley, shows distinct genetic

   characteristics which help them store oxygen in the body and reduce

   fatigue. This would enable them to cope with hot conditions at high

   altitude. As a result, the Kalenjin who took part in the trials posted

   faster running times over 800m than Europeans at the same fitness level.

   <br>

   <br>

   <a href="/express/express_copyright.html">&copy; Express Newspapers,

   2000</a></font>

   <p>&nbsp;</p>

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[Velcro]

This one is way too long to post... but feel free to read it at your leisure... well cited.

http://www.smith.edu/philosophy/Taboo55.html