

coach





insensitivity. Last fall, the Air Force Academy`s distinguished footballcoach

Fisher DeBerry was put through the wringer by

white sportswriters for alleged racialinsensitivity.







white players. His crime: Mentioning that

black players tend to be faster than

But newscaster Gumbel`s statement, quoted above, has

been met with little outcry, so far.

Why the difference?

"two

minute hates" directed by





have very little to do with blacks, per se. This is just

a white-on-white war over status. Blacks are free to say

whatever they feel like because white journalists seldom

consider them



rivals. And everybody knows these periodicdirected by

white sportswriters at white sportsmen

too old fashioned to avoid blurting out the truthhave very little to do with blacks, per se. This is justa white-on-white war over status. Blacks are free to saywhatever they feel like because white journalists seldomconsider them







won by the African-American Shani Davis as an epochal

social breakthrough, one that will finally unleash the



Winter Olympics. Predictably,

sportswriters are already

playing up the 1000 meter speedskating gold medalwon by the African-American Shani Davis as an epochalsocial breakthrough, one that will finally unleash the

cleansing power of diversity on the white breadWinter Olympics.



interests have been getting less diverse, as they



and football. It won`t. The truth is that African-Americans` sportinginterests have been getting less diverse, as they

focus ever more on their strong suits, basketballand football.





it was widely predicted that blacks would soon flood the

ranks of pro golf. For example, when Tiger Woods, who is

one-quarter black , won the Masters nine years ago,it was widely predicted that blacks would soon flood theranks of pro golf.





black pros (Pete Brown, Charlie Sifford, Lee Elder,

Calvin Peete and Jim Thorpe) won a total of 23 PGA

tournaments. But in the 20 years since, no black other

than Woods has won. Instead, the

opposite has happened . Between 1964 and 1986, fiveblack pros (Pete Brown, Charlie Sifford, Lee Elder,Calvin Peete and Jim Thorpe) won a total of 23 PGAtournaments. But in the 20 years since, no black otherthan Woods has won.





years ago. But no African-American man has won a major

championship since him. Similarly,

Arthur Ashe won the U.S. Open tennis tournament 38years ago. But no African-American man has won a majorchampionship since him.





car race back in 1963. But





minimal today. And

Wendell Scott , a black driver, won a NASCAR stockcar race back in 1963. But

African-American interest in motor sports is



rosters has fallen from 27 percent in 1974 to 9 percent

last year. Last fall, home run king



no African-American players. (But that black lack didn`t

stop the team from winning the National League pennant.) The African-American share of major league baseballrosters has fallen from 27 percent in 1974 to 9 percentlast year. Last fall, home run king

Hank Aaron criticized the Houston Astros for havingno African-American players. (But that black lack didn`tstop the team from winning the National League pennant.)

The unmentionable truth: human beings like to hang

out with people like themselves.

And they will develop institutions to allow them to do

so.





time of the year in sports. But today, Sunday, February

19, was full of events that have turned into de facto

ethnic pride celebrations. For instance, the

middle of February was traditionally the deadesttime of the year in sports. But today, Sunday, February19, was full of events that have turned intoethnic pride celebrations.





basketball contest, with both teams going up and down

and up and down the court scoring at will, with any

attempt at playing defense being considered an

intolerable faux pas. But as a weekend,

the NBA All-Star game has turned into the most glamorous

date on the calendar for well-heeled African-Americans,

who fly in by the thousands to whichever city is hosting

it. The

NBA All-Star game is instantly forgettable as abasketball contest, with both teams going up and downand up and down the court scoring at will, with anyattempt at playing defense being considered anintolerable. But as athe NBA All-Star game has turned into the most glamorousdate on the calendar for well-heeled African-Americans,who fly in by the thousands to whichever city is hostingit.



baffles the uninitiated who tune in and can`t quite

figure out



around and around … and around some more. But NASCAR`s

huge popularity owes much to having evolved into a

covert ethnic pride extravaganza for one of the few

groups who aren`t allowed to honor themselves in public:

The Daytona 500, NASCAR`s biggest race, also oftenbaffles the uninitiated who tune in and can`t quitefigure out

the appeal of watching stock cars go around andaround and around … and around some more. But NASCAR`shuge popularity owes much to having evolved into acovert ethnic pride extravaganza for one of the fewgroups who aren`t allowed to honor themselves in public:

Red State whites of Northern European descent.

The Winter Olympics… its fans are indeed, as Bryant

Gumbel noted, largely limited to Europeans north of the

Mediterranean climatic zone, and to their cultural

clones in North America (especially in Canada and

America`s Blue States, which tend to be snowier) and

Northeast Asia.

Washington Post

staffer Paul Farhi that he wrote an op-ed denouncing the

Winter Olympics as the cynosure of "elitism,

exclusion and the triumph of the world`s sporting haves

over its have nots… the preserve of a narrow, generally

wealthy, predominantly Caucasian collection of athletes

and nations." [Where

the Rich and Elite Meet to Compete, February 5,

2006.] These demographic facts so outragedstaffer Paul Farhi that he wrote an op-ed denouncing theWinter Olympics as the cynosure of, February 5,2006.]

But I think something more profound is going on.



this new downhill demolition derby called



events that aren`t really good enough spectator sports

to be endured more than once every four years. With the exceptions of ice hockey, figure skating, andthis new downhill demolition derby called

snowboardcross , the Winter Olympics consists ofevents that aren`t really good enough spectator sportsto be endured more than once every four years.

Many require admirable levels of precision, discipline,

and courage. But those virtues don`t necessarily

televise well. It`s slippery out there and catastrophes

could ensue if athletes competed directly, so only one

person or team goes at a time. The play-by-plays tend to

sound like this:



"And off goes

Schievenhoffel. He`s going really fast. Man, he`s

flying! He`s very quick! Wow, he`s fast! Fast, fast,

fast! And there`s his time: oh, well, he just wasn`t

quite fast enough…"

Watching at home, it all looks like a blur. But that`s

the appeal to the competitors—disentangling what

actually happened and making precise adjustments under

terrifying pressure. After each run, the team studies

replays of the race in slow motion until they figure out

that the reason Gunther was 0.06 seconds slower than

expected was because in Turn 8 he bent his left ankle at

45 degrees instead of 60 degrees.

In general, there is a paradoxical positive correlation

between how repetitious a sport is and the educational

level of its enthusiasts. Sports where athletes make

subtle adjustments in technique as they do the same

thing over and over appeal more to higher IQ people.



Massachusetts and Cambridge, England, but in not too

many other places.

Rowing, for instance , is popular in Cambridge,Massachusetts and Cambridge, England, but in not toomany other places.



non-stop decisions like



basketball,





the educational ladder. In contrast, sports where competitors have to makenon-stop decisions like

boxing , and

soccer appeal strongly to people at lower levels ofthe educational ladder.

Winter Olympics events like the bobsled and luge are the

kind of sports that appeal to the nerdier mind. The

nerds get pushed around by the basketball and football

players in high school—but in the long run, we`re all

dependent on the technological inventiveness of our

nerds.



sports requiring technical obsessiveness, like many of

the



technically advanced societies that can afford them. Perhaps it`s just a malign coincidence that expensivesports requiring technical obsessiveness, like many ofthe

Winter Olympic events, flourish most in thetechnically advanced societies that can afford them.



People (to use the terminology of CUNY Black Studies

professor







Sun People. But then, that just raises the question of why the IcePeople (to use the terminology of CUNY Black Studiesprofessor

Leonard Jeffries) are so much more

economically productive than the

Don`t expect this question to be explored in the

Washington Post any time soon.