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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, 05:57:44 PM)
Wei Chi Master said
"I have yet to see any Asian guy do the 100 meter in less than 9 seconds."
What do you think the world record is? Maurice Greene, a 24-year-old from Kansas City, Kan., broke the 100-meter world record Wednesday night with a time of 9.79 seconds.
Asia's fastest man Ito hopes to break 10-second barrier (09/21/2000)
Japan's Koji Ito, Asia's fastest man who holds a record of 10.00 seconds, said in Sydney on Thursday that he hopes to become the first non-black runner to break the 10-second barrier in the 27th Olympic Games.
Maybe you should work out more instead of playing Wei Chi all the time.
NHB
Wednesday, February 06, 2002 at 06:03:55 (PST)
Time to smack more pink behinds,
Those are my words but worded intelligently.Lol I would probrably write that in incorrect grammar and capitals.
I AGREE WITH U.
Americans are brainwashed by their own media!
pupu
Tuesday, February 05, 2002 at 21:44:41 (PST)
To all:
I think the primary reason for the lack of asians in many Western sports is that these sports are not 'native' to the culture and, hence, the available talent pool is substantially smaller. I mean, how many Chinese in China are really learning how to play basketball? A good reverse example is kendo. The Japanese always seem to win international kendo competitions. Is that because the Japanese are genetically better at kendo or because very few non-asians actually participate in this sport? As far as height goes I think a large part may be due to diet. I'm asian, 5'6", and I used to think I was a normal height for an asian. Now, when I look around at younger asians (in the U.S.) everyone--including young women--seems to be taller than me. #$&*! Finally, in regards to power, I can personally vouch for the fact that there's nothing genetic there. As a weightlifter who can move more metal than most 6'+ guys at the gym--power is just a matter of time and effort. By the way, what's with all the racial hostility on this forum? Watching 10 hours of Star Trek should be mandatory before renewing driver licenses. Egad.
The Happy Korean
Tuesday, February 05, 2002 at 19:40:39 (PST)
Hi.
How come whenever I said that Chinese are shorter than Whites and Blacks people come up with names of seven footers. Of course there are taller Chinese people than Whites. I'm talking about the average though.The fact that Yao Ming is taller than african pygmes is undisputable. But when you compare an AVERAGE white man vs chinese man or white TEEN vs chinese TEEN. The white man will be taller than the Chinese man for sure. And some of you suggest that having lived in Taiwan and HK and noticed that Chinese people are shorter doesn't mean anything because I haven't been to the mainland. That's a joke beacuse mainlanders are not that taller than Taiwanese. Some of you suggest that height is only dependant on nutrition and enviroment, if that's true then why do you also suggest that Mainlanders (northern or whatever) are taller than Taiwan and HK ppl when the latter people lived in much better conditions than the mainlanders ?? I dont' have to travel all around the world to know that Chinese ppl are short compare to White &Black men just like I don't have to come to goldsea to know that there are fools in the world. Maybe Chinese people aren't as smart as I thought they are.
Jim
Tuesday, February 05, 2002 at 18:51:25 (PST)
Yao Ming & Wang ZhiZhi are the only two Chinese basketballers with high visibility in the West.
Check out this website: http://www.aba-online.com. There are lots of towering Asian players other than Yao & Wang. They just have not been discovered by the Western sports media yet. Most of them, i.e. Shan Tao (215cm) of Guangdong Winnerway, are from northern provinces like Liaoning, Jinlin or Hepei. There are some, i.e. Zhu Fang Yu (200cm) of Guangdong Winnerway, from southern province like Guangxi.
Also, Let me comment on those Western expatriates in Asia. A lof of these self-righteous pompous asses live in their insular communities and only associate with other expats in their social lives. The only social interaction they have with Asian people is at their jobs. They often hang out in their little expat enclaves and have little knowledge of local culture and custom despite living in Asia for a long time.
FOP (Fresh off the plane)
Tuesday, February 05, 2002 at 12:33:10 (PST)
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