Diversity's double standard by Prof. Walter Williams

[bobbyw24]

It's not at all uncommon to watch a college basketball game and see that 90 to 100 percent of the players are black. According to the University of Central Florida's Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport report titled "The 2008 Racial and Gender Report Card," the percentage of black male basketball players in Division I was an all-time high at 60.4 percent. It was 45.9 percent in football and 6.0 percent in baseball.

Diversity is worse in professional sports. In the National Basketball Association, almost 82 percent of the players are people of color, higher than last year's 80 percent. This is the highest percentage of players of color since the 1994-1995 season. The percentage of black players increased to 77 percent from last year's 76 percent mark. The percentage of Latinos remained constant at 3 percent. Football diversity is not much better. During the 2008 NFL season, the percentage of white players remained constant at 31 percent, while the percentage of black players increased slightly from 66 to 67 percent. Casual observation shows that most sports lack sex diversity. Segregation by sex is the rule rather than the exception.

One can understand the absence of concern for diversity in professional sports; they are in it just for the money. But one is left flummoxed by the lack of sports diversity in college sports. After all, you can't listen to any college president or provost speak for more than five minutes before the word "diversity" drops from his lips. Colleges take diversity seriously, and they spend tens of millions of dollars on it. Juilliard School has a director of diversity and inclusion; MIT has a manager of diversity recruitment; Toledo University, an associate dean for diversity; Harvard, Texas A&M, California at Berkeley, Virginia and many others boast of officers, deans, vice presidents and perhaps ministers of diversity. But, in what appears to be the height of deviousness and deceit, these diversity-driven administrators allow sports, the most visible part of the college, to be the least diverse and least inclusive.

Continue

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=123191

[stu2002]

Bump for discussion on something other than the C4L fiasco

[Epic]

Williams is SO AWESOME

[disorderlyvision]

I just listened to an mp3 I have downloaded on my computer where Willams gave an hour long speech on the subject of discrimination. He nailed it.

[Todd]

Williams is SO AWESOME

Meh...sometimes.

Did you read his last piece on Haiti?

[Epic]

Meh...sometimes.

Did you read his last piece on Haiti?

Not sure, I know he's not a libertarian down the line, but he's just a cool guy.

[Todd]

Not sure, I know he's not a libertarian down the line, but he's just a cool guy.

Well...He's absolutely spot on in the race relations department....and this article is a very good one. I just lost a little heart last week when he suggested the ol' "pull your bootstraps up" at the Haiti situation.

[BlackTerrel]

It's not at all uncommon to watch a college basketball game and see that 90 to 100 percent of the players are black. According to the University of Central Florida's Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport report titled "The 2008 Racial and Gender Report Card," the percentage of black male basketball players in Division I was an all-time high at 60.4 percent. It was 45.9 percent in football and 6.0 percent in baseball.

Diversity is worse in professional sports. In the National Basketball Association, almost 82 percent of the players are people of color, higher than last year's 80 percent. This is the highest percentage of players of color since the 1994-1995 season. The percentage of black players increased to 77 percent from last year's 76 percent mark. The percentage of Latinos remained constant at 3 percent. Football diversity is not much better. During the 2008 NFL season, the percentage of white players remained constant at 31 percent, while the percentage of black players increased slightly from 66 to 67 percent. Casual observation shows that most sports lack sex diversity. Segregation by sex is the rule rather than the exception.

One can understand the absence of concern for diversity in professional sports; they are in it just for the money. But one is left flummoxed by the lack of sports diversity in college sports. After all, you can't listen to any college president or provost speak for more than five minutes before the word "diversity" drops from his lips. Colleges take diversity seriously, and they spend tens of millions of dollars on it. Juilliard School has a director of diversity and inclusion; MIT has a manager of diversity recruitment; Toledo University, an associate dean for diversity; Harvard, Texas A&M, California at Berkeley, Virginia and many others boast of officers, deans, vice presidents and perhaps ministers of diversity. But, in what appears to be the height of deviousness and deceit, these diversity-driven administrators allow sports, the most visible part of the college, to be the least diverse and least inclusive.

Meh. Is anyone really making the argument that basketball is discriminating against white people?

I think historically certain institutions discriminated against non-whites and that still remains an issue to this day. There's a big difference.

Sports is completely different. I think you can make an argument that blacks dominate sports (and the top 25 music videos on MTV) due to historic discrimination in other fields. Not because of discrimination against whites.

[The Patriot]

I just want the best people for the job. If the best 5 basketball players in the starting line up are black, so be it. If the 5 best engineers accepted into a University are white, so be it. Our Culture should be one of meritocracy, not of discrimination based on Race.

[Kotin]

woot for walter.

[revolutionisnow]

Meh. Is anyone really making the argument that basketball is discriminating against white people?

I think historically certain institutions discriminated against non-whites and that still remains an issue to this day. There's a big difference.

Sports is completely different. I think you can make an argument that blacks dominate sports (and the top 25 music videos on MTV) due to historic discrimination in other fields. Not because of discrimination against whites.

Historic discrimination? What careers have people been discriminating against blacks from taking up? Nobody will hire a black electrician or chef so they are forced to settle for a multi million dollar career in professional sports? I think its because there are more players in what I like to refer to as the sports lottery. Many young blacks have been sold the idea that the only way they can become successful is if they become a rapper or professional sports player. If you went to any middle school around the country and polled some youth on "what they want to be when they grow up" they would confirm this. Eugenics plays some part also.

[BlackTerrel]

Historic discrimination? What careers have people been discriminating against blacks from taking up? Nobody will hire a black electrician or chef so they are forced to settle for a multi million dollar career in professional sports? I think its because there are more players in what I like to refer to as the sports lottery. Many young blacks have been sold the idea that the only way they can become successful is if they become a rapper or professional sports player.

I agree. I think people look around and they see black rapper and basketball players on TV but they don't see the black doctor, programmer, businessman etc. They don't believe they can have those jobs (and for a long time those jobs were off limits). I experienced that growing up.

One good thing about Obama he has exposed that the climate has changed and black people can do anything. I've seen first hand the change in attitude this has created among younger blacks.


If you went to any middle school around the country and polled some youth on "what they want to be when they grow up" they would confirm this. Eugenics plays some part also.

What do you mean?

[revolutionisnow]

Well eugenics/selective breeding and slavery. During slavery blacks were bred with each other for strength and endurance in order to produce stronger workers.

[BlackTerrel]

Well eugenics/selective breeding and slavery. During slavery blacks were bred with each other for strength and endurance in order to produce stronger workers.

Chris Rock had a bit about this:

YouTube - Chris Rock about black slaves (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLKvYB7CeAY)

But he's a comedian and I don't really buy it. They used to say blacks dominated boxing for the same reason, but now both the top heavyweights are white.

Blacks dominate NBA for the same reason they dominate the Billboard Top 100. It's a culture where people want to play sports or go into music or the entertainment industry but where school is looked down upon. I lived it.

It's changing but it takes time. 50 years from now it won't be true.

[moostraks]

Blacks dominate NBA for the same reason they dominate the Billboard Top 100. It's a culture where people want to play sports or go into music or the entertainment industry but where school is looked down upon. I lived it.

It's changing but it takes time. 50 years from now it won't be true.

Too true...One has to live it to be aware of the issue. I hope you are right on the changing situation.