Quote:
Originally Posted by flojons
Another point which shoots the 'breeding' myth to bits, is that other sports like cycling has sprinting and long distance aspects to it, which would favour black athletes. However no black cyclists has ever won the tour de france. That sport is dominated by white athletes also skiing, swimming, rowing, weight lifting etc. Yet no one asks questions whether white athletes are better equipped at them like blacks are supposed to be in sprinting.
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I often see folks mentioning this and there is a pretty simple reason blacks don't even partake in those events you mention, they are not exposed to them growing up.
White children join swim clubs, their parents take them to meets and they are part of the culture of swimming from a very young age.
How many black cyclists have you ever seen, blacks don't grow up riding bikes in an organized fashion with an eye to one day turning professional and riding on the European pro circuit.
This would be like saying why are blacks not good at Nascar or Formula 1, well if they are not taking part in those events while growing up, it stands to reason we will see the patterns we see.
The same concept applies for skiing, rowing, weightlifting, etc. Blacks are not growing up and participating int those sports.
Most of the best skiers are Nordic, because they grow up in the cold weather environment and its part of their culture for ages. Winter sports in Scandinavia is akin to football season in America, its that important to them.
If blacks were competing in those sports in representative numbers then a fair assessment could be made but they simply don't because they don't grow up often in an environment that emphasizes those events or provides an opportunity to learn those sports.
Its simply a matter of opportunity, being shaped by cultural interests, resources and environment.