The Daily Northwestern has an article about the double burden of stereotypes weighing down upon black athletes at Northwestern, and along the way presents some surprising (at least to me) statistics from the NCAA.
“About one in four [Northwestern] black males played a varsity sport last year,” according to NCAA statistics.
The NCAA also shows the disproportionately high numbers of black male student-athletes wasn’t exclusive to NU. At both Stanford and Duke universities, about one-fifth of black males are athletes. Half of black males at the University of Notre Dame are on an athletic scholarship
Many of the Northwestern black athletes report that other students assume they’re dumb because they’re athletes, and one even reported that he made efforts to “pass” as a non-athlete. But …
Even when he’s “passing,” Price said he still must battle the stigma that he was admitted to NU solely because of affirmative action. And when he reveals his athletic identity, students doubt his intellect even more.
This bit is priceless:
“For example, males who have the potential to become the next coordinator of NU’s black student alliance, For Members Only, instead must devote hours practicing with their sports teams. They also find themselves having to prove their worth as individuals, battling generalizations that accuse them of being “dumb jocks” or “dusty” — a derogatory term that some use to refer to black students who don’t care about NU’s black community.”
God forbid that a man should devote himself to a positive activity like team sports. And you’ll notice he doesn’t play sports because he enjoys them. He must “devote hours practicing.” Sounds painful. Better, he should be on the racial grievance board. That’s certainly a more productive way for a young man to spend his time, isn’t it? And having to prove ones self as an individual. Well, I never. What will those awful white folks think of next? You mean, basketball players have to prove themselves as individuals? Can’t we give them 15 points a night just for trying hard?
How do these young men cope?
Hate to follow my own post, but I just can’t help it. This follows my comments yesterday about what white men have done to themselves.
Isn’t the real story here the failure of white men on the athletic field? If white men were succeeding on the field, black men would have to be more competitive in the classroom.
The de-emphasis of athletics in the white community is symptomatic of a tragic failure of nerve, strength and resolve in white men. White men need to re-find all of these qualities within themselves and provide black men with a real challenge on the athletic field.
The result of this would be good for everybody.
The real problem is the lack of recognition for excellence. We should be celebrating anyone who can excel, be it in athletics, acedemics or tiddly-winks.
The biggest loser in affirmative action are those in would succeed in any circumstance but are slighted because they are in a protected group. These people have no way of changing the situation. A protected class member can yell “discrimination”, a non-protected class member can yell “discrimination”, but an excellent protected class member can yell “I could do it any way, but I cant prove it”.
Or, we could end the AA and the Athletic Scholarships. That would end the various stigma attached to group membership because everyone there would be there on merit. That would help us end the scandal that college sports has become. The physically talented, but academically inept, could develop in a minor league sport setting (and maybe get a better educations at more appropriate levels, perhaps junior colleges or less rigorous universities).
Dare anyone consider the possibility that many of these black ‘student athletes’ are actually *gasp* DUMB?
I have no problem with athletic scholarships for black or any other athlete. The caveat is that they need to be capable of doing college work (and more than just ‘underwater basketweaving’ types of fluff). If not, then they don’t belong in college, no matter how good they are athletically. They should go to the pros. Stop wasting their time, the school’s time, and whoever paid their tuition’s time with going through the motions in college. It doesn’t do them any favors, either.