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ASIAN AMERICAN ISSUES
ASIAN ATHLETES LIMITED BY GENES OR NURTURE?
o debate on the prospects of Asian athletes in American sports passes without mention of Yao Ming, the Shanghai Sharks's 7-6, 265-pound center who recently led China to an 83-82 upset over the U.S. His prospects as the likely top pick of the 2002 NBA draft have been trumpeted by no lesser authorities than Michael Jordan and Bill Walton.
But the 21-year-old superstar is literally one in a billion (1.25 billion to be exact). Young Yao is the product, genetically and culturally, of a 6-10 father and 6-4 mother, both of whom played basketball for China's national teams. His case is as likely to confuse the nature-vs-nurture debate as to help resolve it. After all, his height may be merely the tip of the genetic iceberg when it comes to his promise as a world-class basketballer.
More familiar to Asian Americans are Michael Chang (5-9) who won the French Open at age 17, and Ichiro Suzuki (5-9), whose batting and base-stealing have lifted the Mariners from the basement to the heavens. Both seem endowed with standard physical equipment but have outperformed more powerful physiques. And on the women's side Kristi Yamaguchi, Michele Kwan, Seri Pak and legions of Chinese divers and gymnasts have shown that champions needn't be amazons.
But these successes haven't silenced those who argue that as a race Asians lack the genetic gifts to challenge black and white athletes in power sports. Asians are genetically smaller and weaker, they claim, and can only excel in sports calling for quickness and agility. They cite Asian underrepresentation in track and field, football, basketball, soccer, tennis, boxing and the like.
Will the future mirror the past? Are we genetically limited to excelling only in a few select sports or will changing social and economic conditions produce a generation of Asian superstars across the sports spectrum?
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WHAT YOU SAY
[This page is closed to new input. --Ed.]
(Updated
Tuesday, Apr 1, 2008, 05:57:50 PM)
Hey CK,
Don't be stupid comparing stats between China and countries in Africa. Look at the African-Americans...these guys are the ones that are athletically superior. Not black guys in Somalia or Zimbabwe. African-American males dominate every sport in traditional playground type sports...eg. football, basketball, track. THey're even making headway in sports such as soccer and volleyball. Of course you don't see too many African-American hockey or tennis players becuz it costs too much money to get involved in those sports. If they had equal opportunity to get involved in those sports at a young age, they would do very well...eg the Williams sisters, Arthur Ashe. In the US, everybody knows that African-Americans are the best athletes in the most popular sports. That doesn't preclude Asians, Asian-Americans, or anybody else from doing well. It's just that African-Americans do better as a whole in sports. Damn, just look at the NFL, NBA, MLB, Olympic track & field.
TO those who think I'm being racist, I can only say I have a tremendous amount of Asian pride, but I'm also a realist. I'm very happy that Ichiro Suzuki won the AL batting title. ALso love the fact that Dat Nguyen and Kailee Wong are starting linebackers in the NFL. However, I can only dream of the day that an Asian or Asian-American will win the 100meters in any Olympics of my lifetime.
This category is about sports, so lets not bring other nasty issues into it.
LA Asian-American sports fanatic
Wednesday, October 10, 2001 at 18:00:00 (PDT)
The October 10th 20:24 PDT signed by AsianGuy was not written by the true AsianGuy.
In any case, ChicagoGuy, you are the one who is a loser. I didn't read you incorrectly. Yes, we all do have different body types; but this also applies to all races. there are big boned asians as well as whites or blacks. if you're basing your knowledge of asian on only aa in a small town, then i suggest you take a trip to asia and see the abundance of people with different body types, etc., the situation in asia is similar to the situation in america and europe in the early 1900s. people back then and before were smaller in statue and size. just check out the door sizes for colonial cottages for indentured servants and compared them to the doorsizes of plantation owners. the difference between the two lies in nutrition; not genetic differences. in japan, we have seen a growth spurt in height and weight compared with ww2. this growth spurt is a work in progress in countries such as china and korea and hasn't even started in some other countries such as vietnam, cambodia, etc., furthermore sports is not available to as many people in asia compare to europe and america. once the economy has improved and cultural attitudes become more sports-friendly, we will see more sports participants in asia and therefore more world-class competitors.
you see you only see sports as a competitive event. competitive sports is only one small aspect of an active lifestyle. most of us, white, black and asians will never qualified as world athletes if only for the simple reason of numbers ; i.e. only the top 10 or 20 qualifies. everyone should participate in sports including asians because it makes us stronger and healthier. your comments are discouraging and i don't like what you're trying to suggest. if what you said was true, than no whites would compete in track and field, no asians would swim, no blacks would play tennis, etc., why bother if you don't have a dream of a chance. proficiency in sports is a combination of mind, body and training. Let's not forget that.
Asians will continue to surprise the world as they improve in all kinds of sporting events. With improved nutrition and training, you will see better Asian basketball teams, football (soccer) teams, etc., And although Asian soccer teams have to date been beaten by European teams, this is not set in stone just as it is not set in stone that Europeans will always dominate fencing; cf recent Chinese advances in fencing (i.e. medal status). I can remember a day when the Soviet Union was the dolt of the athletic world. With a rational training program coupled with proper nutrition and proper motivation, the Soviet Union of the 1950s can't compare with the athletic prowess of today's Russia, Ukraine, etc., It is the same with Asian countries. Back in the 1930's Asian teams hardly won any medals. This has changed dramatically because unlike people like you telling asians are not capable of doing x, y or z, the asians themselves never bought into the crap you spreading. in fact back in the 1930s, the accepted wisdom in sports was that asians were not athletic period. that was the gospel back then and had asians believed this 'gospel', then it would have become true. you are what we call in chinese "bai lei" --- ie defeatist -- someone who gives up without even trying. by the common wisdom of the 1930s, asians shouldn't bother industrializing or participating in science, because they were obviously inferior to whites. obviously asians never believed that and that's why asian nations have industrialize and are producing top scientists. this is similar to how some white american teachers treat their minority students. they have lower expectations for their minority students and unfortunately many minority students have unwittingly bought into this b.s. and hence the bad results. asian-americans on the other hand have a strong ancestral culture which emphasizes education which rejects this notion and that's why aa students on average are doing better than other minorities and white students esp in math. the day we see a nobel prize in science for a Black-American, etc., is not far away once Black-American society adamantly rejects these subtle messages of lower expectation and do the necessary hard work to achieve these goals. I believe we will also see more AA athletes once they reject notions such as yours.
One more notion, there was a trend among certain unmentioned Asian nations to buy into what you are trying to preach to us here. These countries have as a result achieved poorly in sporting events. However certain other Asian countries reject such notions and because of these other Asian nations athletic achievements, the countries which once accepted this b.s. that Asian athletes are only suited to certain sports are now training hard to catch up and some have even won medals in sports they never dreamed of winning before.
JUST DO IT AND KEEP FOCUS.
AsianGuy
Wednesday, October 10, 2001 at 14:37:33 (PDT)
ChicagoGuy,
More than 99% of the American Black population are not pure blooded Africans. The majority have White, Indian and Hispanic ancestry in them. Almost all Asians have no other ancestry besides Asian (be it Asians of different nationalities but still Asian). So really African Americans are hybrid with other races and Asians are not. Africans have the longest and heaviest leg bones of all the races and Whites have the bulky upper torso muscles. So yes American Blacks have the advantage in speed/jumping.
I agree that Blacks dominate basketball and football but that's only because they are more suited to it with thier atttributes. You really don't see Blacks dominating any other sports because they require other physical talents not just the better speed/jump abilities.
Anyways it seems like you are trying to belittle and put down Asians in general with your comments. I assume that since you are posting on this site that you like Asian women. Since you think Asians are inferior to Blacks why do you want to? You don't like Black girls? Or are you one of those Black guys that are horny for Asian girls and just want to bang one?
AsianGuy
Wednesday, October 10, 2001 at 01:21:37 (PDT)
chicago guy,
what genetic "facts" supported by medical and scientific studies show that people in africa have a natural athletic advantage in sports over people from china?
statistically speaking, china has enjoyed much more success in sports than any country in africa has. now that doesn't necessarily mean chinese have a genetic advantage, but it you certainly can't say that its an established fact that african genes are better suited for sports than are asian genes. there are way too many variables involved.
ck
Tuesday, October 09, 2001 at 20:24:36 (PDT)
ChicagoGuy,
I concede. Blacks are superior in sports because they possess superior bodies as far as physical action is concerned. Now you concede that blacks are dumber. Of all the races thier nations possess the lowest technology and least developed written languages. Please don't bring up Egypt and the Pyramid of Giza because Egyptians aren't really black. If so how come the Zulus didn't invent them or even one other African civilization that was located in pure negroid country ( i.e Sub-Saharan Africa) and not Egypt (which has historically been a cross road between several races). And even if we concede that a pure black culture developed them then what did they accomplish afterwards? Not much. Apparently they peaked 5000 years ago. Kinda like guys who peak in high school and work for minimum wage the rest of thier lives. If blacks were physically superior to other races and enjoyed equivalent mental prowess then how come they didn't dominate the world instead of being inslaved by every other race there is. And quite frankly one of the clearest signs of evolution in every primate grouping is that as the mind grows larger the body grows weaker. The Neanderthals and Cromagnons were stronger then us but dumber. Gorillas and chimps could break us in half but they can't even do long division. These are broader comparisons but the more minute difference between races seem to be clarified under their light. Just take a look at the Old world (Eastern Hemishphere) and you'll see for yourself.
Widukind
Tuesday, October 09, 2001 at 19:56:53 (PDT)
Hmmm...
Chicago Guy, I guess that would make you naturally dumber than us, since on average, caucasians have smaller cranial capacities than Asiatics. In relation to this, Negroids would have the smallest brains. Why don't you go to a NAACP meeting, and spew forth your crap? I'll bet that you would hesitate. If you think you're so right about the various athletic abilities of the races, then put your fucking money where your mouth is and tell everybody here (including the afro-Americans that sometimss visit Goldsea) that they are genetically inclined to be "dumber" than you, and that you are forever doomed to be less intelligent than most of us Asians.
You're a jackass, Chicago Guy..
Tuesday, October 09, 2001 at 19:00:51 (PDT)
whites are weak and can't fight, lol
bj u man
Tuesday, October 09, 2001 at 17:51:20 (PDT)
chicago guy,
let me tell u a simple fact.... if guns and advance war weapons were never invented.... this world would've been taken over by mongolians, they are the toughest of all human races... period
thousand years ago, when there were no guns, etc, mongolians fought in hand-to-hand combats and easily took over half of the world (built the biggest empire ever on earth) with such a small population. they conquered the entire asia, south russia, eastern europe, and many other places.
10 black guys won't hold a candle infront of a mongolian.
dan
Tuesday, October 09, 2001 at 17:50:31 (PDT)
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