|
|
|
|
|
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?
This interactive article is closed to new input.
Discussions posted during the past year remain available for browsing.
CONTACT US
|
ADVERTISING INFO
© 1996-2013 Asian Media Group Inc
No part of the contents of this site may be reproduced without prior written permission.
|
|
|
|
WHAT YOU SAY
[This page is closed to new input. --Ed.]
(Updated
Tuesday, Apr 1, 2008, 05:57:43 PM)
Jim
Time to eat crows ...
http://www.healthy.net/asp/templates/news.asp?Id=3707
"In World War II, the Japanese were short people. People used to argue that that was genetic," said Florida pediatrician Herbert H. Pomerance, author of the text Growth Standards in Children. "Today, their teen-agers are as big as our teen-agers. That's nutrition."
Likewise, within one or two generations, the children of even the most recent immigrants to the United States - Asian, African, Latin, Eastern European - invariably grow as tall as the rest of the population. That's nutrition, too.
now these are words from people who are experts unlike u ..jim
if u can find any Dna evidence of chinese people being genetically shorter than whites ot blacks
please let us know until then why don't u get educated before u talk trash
K. Lang
Monday, February 11, 2002 at 00:10:23 (PST)
Jim,
Once, again in your pathetic need of attention you're posting on an Asian board with some skewd "non-asian" view of the world.
You back your assertion using the word "genetics" and "average" at some feable attempt to lend credibility to your argument or to cover up your lack of intellect. Besides the fact the human genenome project has yet to find the "height" factor. Or to state what "average," "mode," or "median" was use to come to your conclusion.
Only to further spin yourself into the racially opinionated hole by stating within the 1.2 billion population of non homogeneous genotypical individual, of course there will be a novel phenotypical "tall" individual.
I'm sorry to hear that you probably suffer from an inferiority complex of not fitting in HK or Taiwan all those years, because you really must have stood out like sore thumb. Force to squat in small seats, bumping you head busess and subways, and use toilets with no seats. But not to fear there are professionals State side that can help cure the damage you have suffered thus far.
I guess being a minority group must have been really tough on you in Asia. I hope you don't lose too much blood the next time you shave your head, which is probably causing your delusions of granduer.
AC dropout
Sunday, February 10, 2002 at 11:27:13 (PST)
B.Lee,
I was in Taiwan in the 80s and HK in the early 90s.
AC dropout,
The girth of chest did not influence my preception of height because the difference in height is obvious.
Pinkass bottom spanked,
If you don't believe in the average and is obsessed with naming sevenfooters from a pool of 1.2 billion ppl to prove that Chinese ppl are not shorter and therefore implying that they are either taller or equal in height with white people then I'd have no valid response to convice your sorry ass.
Dan,
Good job with your funny post. I feel sorrry for you too.
FOP,
Good for you. I'm glad you are tall.
Jim
Thursday, February 07, 2002 at 23:41:48 (PST)
dan
U are correct. I heard about those historical figures that are huge.The chinese were definitely huge in the past, and those poems I have heard of. Also, 1 ft in the west is similar to the chinese ft.
Many historical figures mummy's were dug up and found to be very large people, reflecting the prosperity of the dynasty*ching dynasty smaller* the tang larger.
sohoh
Thursday, February 07, 2002 at 14:50:36 (PST)
Dan said:
"ancient chinese poems have suggested that men under 7 foot are not "men". all the ancient war weapons they digged out are huge and heavy as hell! many famouse, historic, chinese warriors were documented as over 7 or 8 footers."
I think this is not true. Can you quote the source of such information? They probably exaggerated due to literary creativity. Go see the famous terracota soliders, there were no 7 footers.
"why did mongols easily wipe out some of the european countries? strengh, size, and skills!"
Mongols had better weapon and organization. Mongol horses are tiny, I doubt there were 7 or 8 footer soliders. Granted, Europeans were small back then too. I think everyone was about 5' to 5'6" back then. And Mongols were defeated in Egypt, then Egyptians were even bigger?
Stop making stuff up, 7 or 8 footer? LMAO.
NHB
NHB
Thursday, February 07, 2002 at 13:14:26 (PST)
NEWEST COMMENTS |
EARLIER COMMENTS
|