July 31, 201313 yr After playing basketball this weekend and the "why white people/racism" thread being a hot topic on here the past few days, I got to thinking about something and wanted to throw it out there. I have a group of 5/6 grade boys together right now playing a little basketball. At the present time, the team is made up of all white kids, though that looks to be changing very soon. Anyway, we played in Knott Co this weekend and played an all black team from Louisville. After watching the kids play each other and interact as they shook hands and talked after the game, it got me to think about my own athletic experiences as a younger man, especially as related to basketball. Growing up playing basketball in North Carolina, I was exposed to interacting more with black kids at an early age than I would have been without sports. Sure I had class with black kids, rode the bus with them, etc., but our interaction was much deeper when on the basketball court. Having a black kid as a teammate, a buddy, a friend was no different to me than having the same with any of the other white kids. I didn't see race, I saw Preston, Ike, Eric, Tracey, etc. So, after reliving my youth a little, I started wondering...does athletics play a part in helping bridge the gap with racism? Are kids who grow up playing sports with different races less prone to be racist than someone who doesn't? My personal opinion, I say it does, and that has been my experience. Thoughts?
July 31, 201313 yr Yes I think it does. From my personal experience especially from playing college basketball.
July 31, 201313 yr Yes it does...on the field all are brothers! True, but in the locker room is where the biggest impact is felt.
July 31, 201313 yr No one is born a racist. It's a learned behavior. If no one teaches you to hate other races you most likely won't, has nothing to do with athletics.
July 31, 201313 yr No one is born a racist. It's a learned behavior. If no one teaches you to hate other races you most likely won't, has nothing to do with athletics. I agree that it is a learned behavior. However, can't it be unlearned? If so, I think that sports can certainly be a catalyst for that change.
July 31, 201313 yr I agree that it is a learned behavior. However, can't it be unlearned? If so, I think that sports can certainly be a catalyst for that change. Remember the Titans comes to mind...
July 31, 201313 yr I think sports can help. But I've been to and played in many a football game where there were way more racial slurs thrown on the field than I'd ever heard off the field...
July 31, 201313 yr Riley Cooper disagrees with the sentiment of this thread. I am betting he will get some high throws across the middle from Mike Vick this year...
August 1, 201313 yr I am betting he will get some high throws across the middle from Mike Vick this year... But in fairness, they've all been getting those for years, racist or not.
August 1, 201313 yr I think sports can help. But I've been to and played in many a football game where there were way more racial slurs thrown on the field than I'd ever heard off the field... I agree and most but not all is an attempt to get a reaction out of the other player. I always felt if I wanted a reaction out of the other player I just put him on his butt over and over. Edited August 1, 201313 yr by Randy Parker Rule 8
August 1, 201313 yr I agree and most but not all is an attempt to get a reaction out of the other player. I always felt if I wanted a reaction out of the other player I just put him on his butt over and over. Getting a reaction is definitely the majority of the reasons stuff like that is said in sports I believe. I played on teams in high school that were at least 50/50 black and white, maybe 60/40 black to white some years. There were certain teams we knew, every time we played them, we were going to hear that stuff. Even in '00-'04 we'd play teams that were either all white, or 95%+ white. The thing that always got me, were the teams that had black kids on their team, and were saying racial slurs to us, despite their team mates. Edited August 1, 201313 yr by Randy Parker
August 1, 201313 yr I think sports can help. But I've been to and played in many a football game where there were way more racial slurs thrown on the field than I'd ever heard off the field...Probably from all races too. That being said, that stuff has more to do with being ignorant kids than racism.
August 1, 201313 yr Riley Cooper disagrees with the sentiment of this thread. I was just going to post the same thing. :lol:
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