Racism in football - The Guardian

[olaftab]

Clearly you are not going to have the same ratio of non white fans as there are non white players in a team. Two things are not linked. Black players are better athletes and therefore dominate selection. Black people will not simply rush to a football match just to see black players. That would be in it self racist. Having black players at a club is an encouragement nothing more. People have the same reason all over for not being able to watch a football game. Mainly economics. If say we say that generally 10% of the people in Birmingham are non white (this in itself is a huge generalisation for many reasons) than I would be quite delighted with a similar attendance at VP. It's ok at the moment but not good enough however non whites do need to make a bigger effort as do all Brummies. Attendance at VP (disregarding last season) is shameful because with a city of our size we should fill out a 42k ground every other week.

[willywombat]

Yet another reason to be proud of our wonderful club

[drisaac]

Black players are better athletes and therefore dominate selection.

I'm sorry but you have to call it when you see it - zero tolerance and all that.  That remark is racist.

[olaftab]

Yes probably is based on generalisation.

[Percy McCarthy]

Hmmm...normally I'm like a human edition of Searchlight when it comes to racism, but I'm not sure about the athlete thing. Are black people generally better at sprint events? I have no problem with people saying white people make the best swimmers.

[Chipsticks]

Hmmm...normally I'm like a human edition of Searchlight when it comes to racism, but I'm not sure about the athlete thing. Are black people generally better at sprint events? I have no problem with people saying white people make the best swimmers.

Black athletes possess something called 'twitch fibres', which are thought to improve speed and agility. I've probably explained that all wrong but a lot of research has been done on it and you can google it for more information.

[willywombat]

There was an excellent documentary on TV about 5 years ago featuring Colin Jackson the sprinter. The basic synopsis was trying to determine whether nature or nurture caused him to be a great sprinter. If I remember correctly it was determined that people of Afro-Caribbean origin like Colin, have genetically inherited more fast twitch muscle fibres giving them a distinct advantage in explosive athletic events.

[barrysleftfoot]

  Did'nt Michael Johnson do a programme about this last week, and investigate  the fact that in the last Olympic 100M  Final ALL of the competitors originated from West Africa.He linked it with slavery and social engineering.

  Also 90% of the best long distance runners originate from East Africa, and the best weight lifters come from Central Europe, Northern Turkey etc, whys that then?

[Percy McCarthy]

I'm white and my missus is black. Knowing my luck my kids have got her race's swimming ability and my race's lack of twitch fibres. But at least they've got the football team we both support so it's not all doom and gloom.

[drisaac]

  Did'nt Michael Johnson do a programme about this last week, and investigate  the fact that in the last Olympic 100M  Final ALL of the competitors originated from West Africa.He linked it with slavery and social engineering.

  Also 90% of the best long distance runners originate from East Africa, and the best weight lifters come from Central Europe, Northern Turkey etc, whys that then?

Maybe for the same reasons that the best snooker and darts players come from the UK.  Or is it because we have better "slow twitch elbow fibres" ?

I know that sprinting is dominated by people with African American or African Caribbean descent.  Why is it that none of the runners in that final came from Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cameroon, Senegal, etc? 

Maybe its more to do with the relative cultures of those countries?

Maybe it's because many Caribbean people are often of not just of West African descent but also mixed with Indian, Portuguese, Chinese, Native American? 

Maybe it's just because they take athletics seriously, and success leads to further success - like British cycling at the moment.

Did Johnson investigate why all of the competitors came from English speaking countries?  Maybe the British Empire is the reason for their greatness?  (One came from the bilingual Netherlands Antilles so maybe the Dutch Empire too?)

Sorry - I have fast twitch fibres in my racist bullshit detection muscles this morning.

[peter w]

Hmmm...normally I'm like a human edition of Searchlight when it comes to racism, but I'm not sure about the athlete thing. Are black people generally better at sprint events? I have no problem with people saying white people make the best swimmers.

Black athletes possess something called 'twitch fibres', which are thought to improve speed and agility. I've probably explained that all wrong but a lot of research has been done on it and you can google it for more information.

The same sort of research that suggested white people were better swimmers because of less-heavy bone density when compared to black people. The theory, as it turned out, was bollocks. Its to do with opportunities, money,  and role-models.

In Jamaica, for instance, there's a largely poor population and it costs nothing to go to a nearby track and sprint. If you're good and you're spotted then funding comes. Of course you'll have to dig deep yourself but when you have role-models such as Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell, Maurice Greene, Michael Johnson, Carl lewis (I know the last 3 are Americans but US culture is so dominant in Jamaica that basketball and athletic 'stars' are more popular then their own cricketers for example).

[Risso]

Black players are better athletes and therefore dominate selection.

I'm sorry but you have to call it when you see it - zero tolerance and all that.  That remark is racist.

Have you any evidence that that's racist?  Whether their success in sports like sprinting is down to genetics or training doesn't matter.  In any case, if you look at the facts, in certain events black people are statistically better than white people.  And so what?  Is it racist to say that Brazilians or more recently Spanish footballers are better than their North European counterparts?  Different people from around the world have different characteristics, and that's surely a good thing.  Vive la difference and all that.  As long as nobody is discriminated against for being different, then what's the problem.  If black athletes overcome the many obstacles in their way to success, good on em.

[Risso]

An interesting article on why Kenyan athletes dominate distance running

[Dave Cooper please]

Sorry - I have fast twitch fibres in my racist bullshit detection muscles this morning.

Don't see anything racist in the above discussion. I see people forwarding theories as to why the best sprinters are nearly all black.
It could all be down to circumstances, but if so why are the best British sprinters also nearly all black? Surely black and white people in this country have pretty much equal access to facilities and training yet I don't see many white British athletes competing at the highest levels below 400 metres.
It is therefore possible to assume that genetics must have something to do with it.

[peter w]

With regards to black sprinters is it because they've got the best drugs?