Posted on 11/03/2005 11:48:33 PM PST by ajolympian2004
We owe a great debt to Air Force Academy head football coach Fisher DeBerry. To be sure, the initial knee-jerk reaction to his recent comments about black football players being generally faster than white ones caused him to be treated like a "politically incorrect" piñata (my God, I hope I haven't offended Latinos).
Upon reflection, however, his statements were so obviously true that something of an anti-PC backlash has materialized in his defense. To their credit, Sam Adams and Thierry Smith, two African-American Denver sportswriters, both agreed on their KKFN radio talk show that DeBerry's remarks weren't racist and that they, as black men, weren't offended by them, adding that just because something is race-related doesn't mean that it's racist. Even Rocky Mountain News columnist Bill Johnson, an African-American with a hair-trigger for political correctness, let DeBerry off the hook. Can it be that there are actually rational limits to political correctness? Apparently, yes. And DeBerry, inadvertently, exposed this sacred cow for what it is.
After the uproar, DeBerry's contrite public apology was predictable. The last thing the Academy needs now is more bad publicity, deserved or not. But it doesn't alter the fact that truth is a defense. And there was no foul here. Whom did DeBerry injure? There was clearly no animus toward black speedsters in his statement. In fact, he'd like more of them on his squad.
In his book, Taboo: Why Black Athletes Dominate Sports and Why We're Afraid to Talk About It," Jon Entine takes this issue head-on. He addresses the cultural, socioeconomic and, yes, physiological, explanations for the dominance of black athletes in certain areas of sport. On the physiological side, he provides convincing research from doctors and anthropologists who are by no means racists. A chart shows the monopoly of world running records held by those of West African descent in sprinting events, and North and East Africans in distance events. The inescapable conclusion: at the highest levels of competition, blacks are generally better runners than whites. It's not a racist slur; it's a benign racial observation, complimentary if anything. What's the big deal? Do you suppose blacks dominate the ranks of college and NFL running and defensive backs because the teams engage in unfair racial discrimination against whites? Of course not. Teams simply discriminate, justly, against slow whites - and slow blacks, for that matter.
After his Air Force Falcons were shellacked 48-10 by Texas Christian University, DeBerry was understandably envious of the legions of TCU's fleet-footed black players. Much has changed since the glory days at West Point when the running-back tandem of Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis - two white guys - led Army to national championships in the 1940s. Segregation and limited opportunities kept many blacks out of colleges back then and excluded them from football varsities. Today, football teams that can't attract superior black athletes are at a decided disadvantage.
If the Air Force Academy's first priority were its football program, it might lower its academic standards to attract the best athletes. But football isn't a top priority; training future Air Force officers is. Football may be big business at many colleges. At the service academies it's still sport.
When I made this point on my radio program, an outraged listener responded by e-mail: "You talk about how the standards need to be lowered for black people to enter the Air Force Academy. Why? You think they are just dumb black people." In fact, I said nothing of the kind, but such is the nature of PC paranoia. Academic standards don't have to be lowered to admit blacks. Just check out the current cadet squadrons. Young black men and women who can meet the high standards are already there, distinguishing themselves by their performance. The point is that standards shouldn't and won't be lowered to attract football players - black or white - who can play for other colleges but aren't academy material for a variety of reasons.
Fisher DeBerry's frank remarks were most likely expressed out of frustration. In essence, he was saying that the colleges against which he competes that have lower academic standards have a clear advantage over the service academies in recruiting the nation's top football speedsters, an inordinate share of whom are black. Another factor may be that physically gifted high school tailbacks dreaming of a lucrative NFL career may not be interested in a five-year commitment to military service following graduation. This explains why the service academies are often overmatched these days against NCAA Division I opponents. Can anyone rationally dispute that?
Mike Rosen's radio show airs daily from 9 a.m. to noon on 850 KOA.
http://www.850koa.com/shows/rosen/index.html
There was a firestorm on talk radio here in Colorado over Air Force coach Fisher DeBerry comments the other day.
See:
Air Force coach mentions race when discussing teams' abilities 9 News story
and
AFA coach apologizes for remarks 9 News Story
Case Study: white sprinters (Jeremy Wariner) vs. black sprinters (Michael Johnson)
Something to consider when talking about white vs. black (or an other race / nationality) when it comes to athletic ability, sprinting in this case.
Michael Johnson (black), current world record holder at 200m and 400m http://www.usatf.org/statistics/records/outdoortrackfield_world_open_all.asp
Jeremy Wariner (white), current world champion and number one ranked 400m runner in the world, Athens 2004 gold medal winner (he smoked the field of 'black' runners in the Athens games)
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Jeremy Wariner's bio at the USATF website: http://www.usatf.org/athletes/bios/Wariner_Jeremy.asp
What do Michael and Jeremy have in common??? They were both born and raised in Texas. There you have it! Wait a minute... a closer look... they both trained and compete(d) under the same coach Clyde Hart of Baylor University.
Clyde Hart's bio: http://baylorbears.collegesports.com/sports/c-track/mtt/hart_clyde00.html
As a caller to Jon Caldara's show said tonight on 850am KOA here in Denver it comes down to "getting off your butt" and putting in the time to train and compete along with some excellent coaching.
The 400m has been dominated by black runners from all over the world for the past 30+ years. Now the best two 400m runners in the world are Jeremy Wariner and Andrew Rock of the United States.
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Andrew Rock's bio at USATF's website: http://www.usatf.org/athletes/bios/Rock_Andrew.asp
Why is that? What I'm observing in my track & field circle of friends is that young white kids now have a role model for becoming involved in sprinting. Over the next few years you will start to see the next Jeremy Wariner and Andrew Rock emerge in high schools and colleges all across this country. It's already happening.
In China, with the upcoming summer Olympic Games in Beijing, there is an all out effort to produce superstars for the track & field events in that competition. The Chinese already have the number one 110m hurdler in the world, (man) Liu Xaing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liu_Xiang
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There's no quote from DeBerry on that for context, so I'll assume that he's wrong. His statement is only true with regards to short distances, especially when considering military applications.
Try 12-25 mile runs with 55 lbs.
[g]
It was not racist. Give blacks credit for all that they do.
"It just seems to be that way, that Afro-American kids can run very, very well. That doesn't mean that Caucasian kids and other descents can't run, but it's very obvious to me they run extremely well," DeBerry said in remarks broadcast Tuesday night.
Sourced from 9News KUSA channel 9 on-line website story: http://9news.com/sports.aspx?OSGNAME=KUSA&IKOBJECTID=2b0be17c-0abe-421a-00a2-92aa4d1aaa3d&TEMPLATEID=af6b6b60-ac1f-02c5-0012-a9383dc2f691
Could not agree more with that.
I did. See "short distances" in my comment.
Didn't Jimmy "the Greek" get fired for the same comment some years ago?
I thought everybody knew now there is a racial difference in skeletal muscles between blacks and whites.
It was in the news a fair amount some years back.
Here's a research article I grabbed quickly at Google, but I'm sure better ones and more recent scientific literature could be easily located.
Journal of Applied Physiology, Vol 61, Issue 5 1758-1761, Copyright © 1986 by American Physiological Society
ARTICLES
Skeletal muscle characteristics in sedentary black and Caucasian males
P. F. Ama, J. A. Simoneau, M. R. Boulay, O. Serresse, G. Theriault and C. Bouchard
Twenty-three male Black African and 23 male Caucasian subjects, ascertained as sedentary, participated in this study designed to determine whether there were differences in skeletal muscle histochemical and biochemical characteristics between racial groups. Muscle fiber type proportions (I, IIa, and IIb), fiber areas and activities of several enzyme markers of different energy metabolic pathways were determined from a biopsy of the vastus lateralis. Results indicated that Caucasians had a higher percent type I (8%, P less than 0.01) and a lower percent type IIa (6.7%, P less than 0.05) fiber proportions than Africans. No significant differences were observed between the two racial groups in the type IIb fiber proportion or in the three fiber type areas. Enzymes catalyzing reactions in phosphagenic [creatine kinase (CK)] and glycolytic [hexokinase (HK), phosphofructokinase (PFK), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)] metabolic pathways had significantly higher activities (about 30-40%) in the Black African group than in the Caucasian group (P less than 0.01). No significant difference was noted in the activities of oxidative enzymes [malate dehydrogenase (MDH), oxoglutarate dehydrogenase (OGDH), and 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase (HADH)]. Consequently, the PFK/OGDH ratio was significantly elevated in Africans (P less than 0.05). The racial differences observed between Africans and Caucasians in fiber type proportion and enzyme activities of the phosphagenic and glycolytic metabolic pathways may well result from inherited variation. These data suggest that sedentary male Black individuals are, in terms of skeletal muscle characteristics, well endowed for sport events of short duration.
I do believe in marathons such as the Boston marathon we see blacks finishing near the top if not at the top. DeBerry didn't say anything about military applications so stop with the additions to his statements.
DeBerry is being punished for telling the truth. A truly sad society we live in that doesn't allow freedom of speech or the truth, especially from a military academy.
IMO, part of the problem is the way the issue is usually presented in the U.S. press -- i.e. "blacks are better athletes." Not so, if you look across the whole range of athletic events. What distorts the picture is that speed is a key factor at so many positions in the team sports, and athletes of West African descent have an edge there. If you take the sprinters out of the mix, the picture is very different. Look at the strength guys, the wrestlers, gymnasts, swimmers, high jumpers and pole vaulters, decathaletes, etc.
Of course, like most people I have no interest in most of these sports. I prefer to watch football, where the ability to run fast is a key factor, and basketball. Big time football is dominated by blacks because running backs, receivers, and defensive backs are all speed positions. White guys are competitive at other positions. The black dominance of basketball, I think, is mostly socio-economic and cultural; it has to do with lower-income city kids being willing to put 6 or more hours a day into improving their game. (And yes, white men can't jump.)
Even the examples you cite are telling. 400 meters is a borderline event. White guys are more competitive at intermediate distances. The marathon is another story; just as East Africans dominate the sprints, West Africans do disproportionately well in the marathon. But those are two quite different groups.
Oops. I was reversing West and East Africans. But the point stands.
Moreover, I'm amazed at those who bring up examples of white sprinters: who was the last white cornerback in the NFL (hint: he was the only one in the last five years or so)?
While the "taboo" is no longer in existence for the black center, middle linebacker, or especially quarterback in the NFL, the white CORNERBACK just does not exist. Why?
I think Jason Sehorn, formerly of the NY Giants, was the last white cornerback in the NFL.
Why? ... too many white kids with 'speed' and 'cover' potential are at home in front their TVs playing video games. At least that's my observation of our neighborhood.
My brother and I were fast because we played baseball, football, street hockey, etc. whenever there was an opportunity to do so. We didn't have video games back then.
My brother and I grew up in an area where blacks were bused into our public high school. All the way through high school I was the fastest person in my grade and my brother was in his grade. Our school enrollment included many outstanding and very fast black athletes, many of whom made a significant contribution to our state high school championship and our track team.
Many of the white friends I grew up with were just a shade slower than my brother and I. Had we not been so involved with the major team sports and had instead run track we might have both won state championships in the sprints.
In my class two black friends who ended up in the state semi and finals in the 100 were never able to outrun me at any distance. They both went onto college with full scholarships, one in football (ran track also) and the other in track.
Anyway, just my own personal experience.
DeBerry is a victim of the profound political correctness gripping the Air Force Academy. They have become a laughing stock among military officers and in the ranks also. From the high profile anti Christian positions to this, who ever is running that place needs a dose of reality. What a bunch of nut cases.
This is part of the bill clinton legacy, a military operating under a "commander-in-chief" such as hillary clinton from Jan. 20th 1993 to Jan. 19, 2001. ;)
AF has to decide if they are in business to educate warriors or to further careers of criminal sports hustlers.
Can you name any "criminal sports hustlers" that have ever attended and/or graduated from the Air Force Academy, West Point or the Naval Academy??? Just one please?
In the over 100 year tradition of athletics at our military academies you should be able to come up with just one don't you think? ;) :)
If you did, your comprehension needs adjustment.
The AF Academy coach is advocating MORE black athletes.
Now, if you consider that carefully, that would indicate FUTURE athletes. Future does not indicate "PAST", have we got that correct now????
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