wile said:
Sometimes it seems like people who are pointing out some good things like this blog still buy into false notions of athletic talent. The article says at one point:
"Sadly, the majority of the athletes who play college athletics belong to a group that sees only 5 percent score proficient enough on the ACT to be prepared for college"
It is completely untrue that the majority of college athletes are black, not even close. Even in football and basketball, the majority of the roster will be white.
I looked at a number of schools, out of photos that were available (several incoming freshman have blank photos) here's what the breakdown was for several men's sports:
football: 50/83 white (60.2%)
basketball: 3/7 white (42.9%)
baseball: 32/33 white (96.9%)
soccer: 16/20 white (80.0%)
lacrosse: 42/26 white (91.3%)
track & field: 37/55 white (67.3%)
wrestling: 27/28 white (96.4)
swimming/diving: 37/38 white (97.4%)
cross country: 11/13 white (84.6%)
hockey: 21/22 white (95.5%)
total: 276/325 white (84.9 %)
So even when you include the three blackest sports; football, basketball, and track and field, the overwhelming majority of athletes are white. It's probably even higher for women. And this is a school that several of the sports are consistently ranked in the top 10 in the nation in Division 1.
I know it's easy to think all is lost, and sometimes it just takes some more responsibility to realize that it's not. Most college athletes are white, I just happen to think many are playing the wrong sport/position. So we need to be careful, because there are many otherwise intelligent race-conscious people who assume blacks are better athletes and that sports should not be pursued, or even if it could whites can't get scholarships, etc. Nothing could be further from the truth.