Need input for SF Chronicle piece on race and sports: Chime in on these quick questions by 1/25 night!
Hi all, I'm writing my next San Francisco Chronicle column (http://www.sfgate.com/columns/asianpop/archive/) about race and sports and Asian Americans in particular, and there are a lot of conceptual landmines here, so I'm looking for insight from smart people (of any background) who avidly play and watch and follow sports, particularly basketball. Don't spend a lot of time on this (and ignore it if you're too busy), but if you have the chance to just share your thoughts on the record via FB, comment or Tweet, I'd like to quote some of what you have to say as I write this piece tomorrow.
Thanks in advance--I really appreciate whatever you can share!
1. Why do you think there are so few Asian Americans in competitive team sports, and in particular, in basketball? Is it a matter of
skill, physique, priorities (family or personal), or all of the above?
2. Why do you think there are so many Asian Americans, relatively speaking, in individual sports like golf and figure skating?
3. We've all grown up with athletic idols who aren't of our own race--yet does it mean something different when we see someone who looks like us on the field of play? Does it matter if the person isn't a "star" but simply a role-player? What does it mean for fans when a legit superstar from their community emerged? Do you find yourself more likely to root for people of your own race in pro sports in general?
4. What do you think of Jeremy Lin, the Taiwanese American guard from Harvard--about his chances, his type of game, and what he represents for the future of the sport?
5. Have you played in a sports league made up of people from your race/ethnicity in the past? Why or why not? What do you think those leagues represent? If someone could compete effectively in a multiracial league, why would they want to participate in an ethnic-only league? Do those leagues formally exclude people of other backgrounds, and if so, under what rules or parameters?
6. Have you heard of the All-American Baseball Alliance, the attempt to launch an all-white, American-born-only league in order to allegedly create a "fundamentals-based," "no street ball" competitive environment? What do you think about the idea? Do you think it's racist?
Those are the questions--feel free to answer as many or as few as you like, as concisely or as verbosely as you like, but if you have
responses, please share them, either to all or just to me.
Take care, and happy new year!
Thanks in advance--I really appreciate whatever you can share!
1. Why do you think there are so few Asian Americans in competitive team sports, and in particular, in basketball? Is it a matter of
skill, physique, priorities (family or personal), or all of the above?
2. Why do you think there are so many Asian Americans, relatively speaking, in individual sports like golf and figure skating?
3. We've all grown up with athletic idols who aren't of our own race--yet does it mean something different when we see someone who looks like us on the field of play? Does it matter if the person isn't a "star" but simply a role-player? What does it mean for fans when a legit superstar from their community emerged? Do you find yourself more likely to root for people of your own race in pro sports in general?
4. What do you think of Jeremy Lin, the Taiwanese American guard from Harvard--about his chances, his type of game, and what he represents for the future of the sport?
5. Have you played in a sports league made up of people from your race/ethnicity in the past? Why or why not? What do you think those leagues represent? If someone could compete effectively in a multiracial league, why would they want to participate in an ethnic-only league? Do those leagues formally exclude people of other backgrounds, and if so, under what rules or parameters?
6. Have you heard of the All-American Baseball Alliance, the attempt to launch an all-white, American-born-only league in order to allegedly create a "fundamentals-based," "no street ball" competitive environment? What do you think about the idea? Do you think it's racist?
Those are the questions--feel free to answer as many or as few as you like, as concisely or as verbosely as you like, but if you have
responses, please share them, either to all or just to me.
Take care, and happy new year!
posted by InstantYang at 12:39 PM
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