In the recent wake of Marion Jone’s “shocking” (yeah right) admission to use of performance-enhancing drugs I have had numerous conversations with co-workers and friends on athletes and drugs and race. One such conversation took an interesting turn when I asked my co-workers why 2/3rds of the NFL was black yet less than 1/3rd of the quarterbacks in the NFL were still white. They had no legitimate answer for this.

This lead to a conversation with myself (don’t worry… I have conversations with myself all the time):

“Why is it that blacks dominate certain sports?”

Hey! Don’t start on that “black athletic superiority” bull… do whites have greater mental capacities?

“Well no… but c’mon… what does one have to do with the other? Is athleticism and intelligence mutually exclusive?”

No. But to insist that a particular race is better suited for certain activities is bordering on racism no?

“Hmmmm. I don’t think so. Not if we are discussing this in the vacuum of genetics and biology where the concept of race doesn’t exist. Instead we need to look at this as people adapting genetically to best survive their environment and passing these genes down to their descendants.”

Ok. I guess I can work with that. But you don’t think societal and economic dynamics have a lot to do with this as well? Maybe blacks are better at certain sports because they see it as their only way out of a bad situation.

“I suppose those factor into the equation in some cases. But in a controlled environment, all things being equal, they aren’t the controlling factors. Why haven’t any white sprinters from racially homogeneous, low income populations or countries run under 10 seconds in the 100 meter sprint?”

Oh no. Not this “white men can’t jump” crap!

“Oh white men CAN jump. Just not as high as the black… No. Lets not revert back to race… just not as high as people from the West African region and their diasporic descendants.”

So…

“Nor can they run as long as the people from the East African diaspora.”

Fine. You might have a point there. The numbers do kind of back you up. I mean I can’t tell when last I have seen a white or asian person win a sprint at the Olympic games. The NBA is 80% black. The NFL 70%. Blacks dominate boxing, the long jump, the high jump. Even soccer, which is still a majority white sport, is dominated by the country with the largest number of people of African descent outside of Africa – Brazil. But hold on a minute… if what you say is true then why aren’t the Nigerians and Ghanaians dominating sports?

“I was waiting for you to ask that. I think its for an interesting combination of reasons…”

Like?

“Like the Slave Trade for one. The exodus of West African blacks from the African continent resulted in a weeding out of the genetic weak. Only the strongest of the strong could survive the journey across the Atlantic and then they quickly learned that their value depended on their physical abilities in the New World. “

Ohhh. So genetically African Americans, Latinos of African descent, and West Indians are descended from the cream of the crop. That does make some sense. Genetics do play a part in sports.

“Yup. Then when you add the better resources available to them in the Americas you get a diaspora that will outperform its origins.”

I suppose. But you have gone away from the vacuum of science you spoke of earlier. Does science back you up?

“I think so. I am no expert but its been scientifically proven that genetically people from the West African diasporic have a higher proportion of ‘fast-twitch’ fibres, more testosterone, and a more favourable muscle-to-fat ratio than their white counterparts. Fast-twitch fibres are responsible for the explosiveness necessary to jump high or run fast.”

So in essence this is not really a ”black” thing. Its more attributable to ethnic origin then?

“Exactly! Kenyans from the Kalenjin tribe of the Great Rift Valley show distinct genetic characteristics that help them store oxygen in the body and reduce fatigue. As a result its not uncommon to see them win the long distance races. The Ethiopians also have a high proportion of slow-twitch fibres necessary for endurance.”

Wow. You actually made a load of sense today. From now on I am only talking to you on Mondays.