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GOLDSEA |
ASIAMS.NET |
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, 05:57:49 PM)
First of all let me say this Chicago was wrong for saying that Asians were physically inferior to whites but your no better than saying black are intellecually inferior. Theres blacks that score 1600s on ther SATs and blacks that score a 36 on their ACTs and black people set the foundation for the world and they and some of the greatest civilizations like the Akan people of Ghana some not all of the Moors some of them were Arabs. The Ethipoians and the Zulus of South Africa. You read about them in no damn history books. I'm black and I'm very intelligent.
Lilbit.
Friday, December 28, 2001 at 12:16:39 (PST)
Ms. T,
I know many kids in Asia that aspire to be pro-athletes. Or Olympians as they are more commonly known as. State sponsorship is the norm outside the USA for Olympian.
So given the right condition any race will try to cajole their children to be athletes. In USA, it is the poor blacks. In China, it is the poor Chinese.
But the road to phenomenal riches is rare for althetes, doctors, and lawyers alike. Only a small fraction of those pursuing those careers will "make it big." A majority will just fall on the bell curve and just do well or get by.
AC dropout
Thursday, December 27, 2001 at 13:13:43 (PST)
The second ever foreigner to become a Yokozuna in Japanese sumo, 500 pound Musashimaru and the famous ozeki 600 pounder Konishiki are also Samoan. If you count sports entertainment, WWF's first ever Samoan World Champion Yokozuna at one time weighed 800 pounds. Compare all these weights to WWF's The Rock, who would be considered tiny to a normal Samoan. An island full of giants, Samoans are. One thing you must know, a large population of Samoans are mixed of Chinese ancestry.
Pnoy - Samoan Unity!!
Saturday, December 22, 2001 at 18:25:33 (PST)
Ms. T,
Although I believe you to be correct in asserting that many kids of all races try to become pro athletes, I don't think it is pushed as much as in other cultures. I would think that sports is looked upon as a career path more for black and white people. Most asian parents try to stress education as the path to a higher standard of living. Granted we cannot really do a statistical comparison of percentage-wise segment of each culture to prove or disprove my point. Like you, I have seen many scholar-athletes who are very successful in both arenas. However, unlike you, I have known almost no asians who seriously wanted to become pro athletes.
KM,24
Friday, December 21, 2001 at 23:45:42 (PST)
THE ROCK, RIKISHI are both samoans!
dan
Friday, December 21, 2001 at 20:09:40 (PST)
Asian Jock, I beg to differ. Many kids of ALL races strive to be pro athletes, not black and white kids alone. I know of a few asians (personal friends) who want to be pro-atheletes and their parents push them 100%. I also know of a few non-asian friends whose parents push them to enter medical school or become a lawyer or journalist. Some aspects of your comment imply that people who are pro athletes or want to become pro athletes don't study, or they're less intelligent than non-athletes. In my opinion, that's far from the truth, as I know of many athletes who are very educated, attended university, and had excellent work ethics as they worked twice as hard as non-athletes to successfully balance academics and sports. To me, they were well rounded, talented and intelligent people. Like you, I could go on all day, but that's my two cents, or two dollars. :-p
Ms. T :-)
Thursday, December 20, 2001 at 23:25:44 (PST)
Can anyone tell who the tallest people in the world are? It's a fact that on average Samoans are the heaviest therefore the biggest. Some people put Samoans under the Asian bracket but is that true? I mean can you really include Polynesians under the Asian category? Well I was reading some articles on Polynesian athletes and I really liked this one about the most devastating player in college football who is Samoan.
http://polycafe.com/bigmango/bigmango2000-1/14043.html
For a race of people only numbering 350,000 at the most in this whole world, their level of success in world sport is unrivalled. Already they have a Mr Olympia Sonny Schmidt who won the masters section in 1995, David Tua is a ranked Heavyweight contender for the Boxing crown and considered the most powerful puncher in the division, the many Samoan rugby players who played for the world champion All Blacks, Mark Hunt K-1 World Champ, numerous N.F.L and college football stars, Samoan national rugby team who have reached playoff stage in every World Cup they have played in, two Olympic Gold medalists in Greg Louganis and Eric Fonoimoana, Big Joe Onosai one of the Strongest men in the world and once came second in the competition, Ray Sefo who has won numerous kickboxing world crowns, Beatrice Faumuina who won the world discus title in 1997, various Samoans who represented New Zealand in Netball and Softball World championship teams, the list just goes on and on. My roommate is Samoan and he himself is built like a mack truck and loves his sports but has brains to boot too. Much Peace to yall.
Pnoy Prowess
Thursday, December 20, 2001 at 11:08:38 (PST)
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