Interview with Jon Entine: African-Americans in Sports

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The discussion centers on the representation of African-Americans in sports, highlighting their dominance in leagues such as the NFL, NBA, and MLB. Jon Entine's work is referenced, which claims that biological differences contribute to athletic performance, suggesting that African-Americans possess more fast-twitch muscle fibers advantageous for running. This assertion is met with skepticism, as participants argue that it oversimplifies complex social and environmental factors influencing athletic success. Critics emphasize the need for scientific rigor in separating genetic predispositions from cultural influences, arguing that Entine's conclusions lack credibility without thorough analysis. The conversation also touches on broader themes of race and genetics in sports, with participants debating the implications of attributing athletic prowess to race. The discourse reflects tensions between scientific inquiry and social perceptions of race, with calls for data-driven arguments rather than personal beliefs.
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Interview with Jon Entine: African-Americans in Sports

January 18, 2000

BILL O'REILLY, HOST: I'm Bill O'Reilly.

In the "Personal Story" segment tonight, why do blacks dominate the American sporting scene?

African-Americans make up 66 percent of the National Football League, 77 percent of the National Basketball Association, and 40 percent of Major League Baseball. So the stats speak for themselves.

Complete text at http://www.jonentine.com/reviews/OReilly_fox_interview.htm

Carlos Hernandez
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Why Race Matters in Sports
April 25, 2001

By JON ENTINE


Jason Williams, the cat-like guard of the Sacramento Kings, is affectionately called "The Thrilla in Vanilla" by his teammates. As in: Wow, maybe some white guys can jump and run.


But let's be real: the best whites and Asians cannot jump as high as elite African American athletes. Blacks have redefined modern sports, making up 87% of the NBA and 75% of the NFL. And while only one in eight people in the world are of African ancestry, blacks hold every major running record.

Complete text at http://www.jonentine.com/reviews/AOL_Why_Race_Matters.htm

Carlos Hernandez
 
So let me guess. You're willingness to admit that blacks are better athletes is groundwork for arguing that they're mentally inferior. I've seen you poking around it with your other posts. Why do you feel a need to bring that crap here. Are you personally so insecure that you feel you must denigrate whole groups? Do you think it is your mission to spread this "truth" to us poor close minded non-racsists. Ask yourself, why this "truth"? Surely there are more important messages to get out.

Why don't you say what you really think? Don't dance around it. Just say it.

Njorl
 
Originally posted by Njorl
So let me guess. You're willingness to admit that blacks are better athletes is groundwork for arguing that they're mentally inferior. I've seen you poking around it with your other posts. Why do you feel a need to bring that crap here. Are you personally so insecure that you feel you must denigrate whole groups? Do you think it is your mission to spread this "truth" to us poor close minded non-racsists. Ask yourself, why this "truth"? Surely there are more important messages to get out.

Why don't you say what you really think? Don't dance around it. Just say it.

Njorl

Red herring.
Argumentum ad hominem
Argumentum ad misericordiam
Argumentum ad populum
The fallacy of accident / Sweeping generalization / Dicto simpliciter
Etc.

Please learn the rules of rational debating at http://www.infidels.org/news/atheism/logic.html

Carlos Hernandez
 
Blatherum ad nauseum
 
In a sentence:
Cultural preconceptions leading to positive feedback.
 
Originally posted by FZ+
In a sentence:
Cultural preconceptions leading to positive feedback.

Jon Entine documents actual biological differences in body structure between blacks/whites. for example, he found that blacks have more fast twitch muscles which helps them run faster. but whites have more boyant bones so they make better swimmers. and east asians are more flexible so they are great gymnasticists.

Carlos Hernandez
 
That is besides the point, if Entine as a journalist wants to conclude about a real genetic basis to race, despite multitude of other research to the contrary, he need to accurately separate social/environmental effects from genetic inheritence. Taking mass statistics, or measuring individual cases fails abysmally on this account, so his statements lose out big in terms of scientific credibility.
 
Here are some 40 more articles on the same topic: http://www.jonentine.com/sports_race.htm

By the way, here is some info. about the Jon Entine from http://www.jonentine.com/bio.htm

"Jon Entine is a maverick author, columnist, and Emmy-winning network television news producer who has earned an international reputation for integrity and independent thinking. He is scholar-in-residence, teaching communications and journalism, at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. He also writes for newspapers and magazines around the world and lectures on a range of subjects including business ethics, media bias, and science and politics.

"Jon is currently working on a book on "Jewish Genes" for Gotham Books/Penguin, which examines the nexus of social and genetic identity. He was recently given a grant and named an adjunct fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C. to support his genetic research and its policy implications. Jon's book focuses on the effort to identify medical cures for diseases that disproportionately effect specific populations, and the social and political tempest that this research into population genetics is stirring. This book follows on the heels of Taboo: Why Black Athletes Dominate Sports and Why We are Afraid to Talk About It [PublicAffairs], which addressed the important subjects of "human biodiversity" and "race and sports."
 
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  • #10
More racism from Carlos...what a surprise...:frown:
 
  • #11
..

So instead of linking us to some 'pop' interview, STATE your believes and ARGUMENT them.

THAT is a rule of rational debating (rather than redirecting Njorl to a strange atheist website).
 
  • #12
The problem with this sort of thing is that the differences are actually tiny, but people blow them up to mean much more than they do. Say for argument's sake that there is a physical difference between African and European atheletes. So what? In the elite level of sports, the differences between good and great are measured in hundreths of a second, fractions of an inch. It doesn't take a huge difference in genetics to produce a meaningful difference in athletic performance.

Take the sprints, for example. The difference between a world record and last place is usually less than a single stride. That half a step is no reason to make sweeping pronouncements about an entire ethnic group, since the vast amount of people don't fall in that top .001% of athletes.
 
  • #13
Originally posted by Zero
More racism from Carlos...what a surprise...:frown:

What does the subjective word "racism" have to do with the data I posted? This thread is about Jon Entine's data, not about morality/racism. What you should be doing is sticking to the topic by finding data to contradict what Jon Entine said.

*edited for off-topic content*

Regards,

Carlos Hernandez
 
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  • #14
Carlos, why don't you stick to the topic yourself? The fact that you are NOT posting any data makes people suspicious of the reason why you are posting all those links.

I told you before, this is a scientific community so you have to come with scientific data or hypothesis that we can debate.

You seem to be ignorant of the fact that: "instead of linking us to some 'pop' interview, STATE your believes and ARGUMENT them.

THAT is a rule of rational debating (rather than redirecting Njorl to a strange atheist website)."
 

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