The following was reported today (07/07). I've taken the liberty of editing it to try and hide the identity of the speaker (prominent sports figure). Do you consider it racist? -------------- ????? delved into heat and skin color when talking to reporters Saturday, saying black and Hispanic players hold up better under the summer sun and heat. "It's easier for most Latin guys and it's easier for most minority people because most of us come from heat. You don't find too many brothers in New Hampshire and Maine and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Right?" he said with a chuckle. "We were brought over here for the heat, right? Isn't that history? Weren't we brought over because we could take the heat?" "Your skin color is more conducive to heat than it is to the lighter-skinned people. I don't see brothers running around burnt," ?????said. "That's a fact. I'm not making this up. I'm not seeing some brothers walking around with some white stuff on their ears and noses." ------------------- What do you think?
Obviously racist. You don't see white players saying stuff like: "You don't see lots of black head coaches or quarterbacks. It's cause we have the brains. That's a fact. I'm not making this up."
Jimmy the Greek speaks from the grave?! I don't think that is racist. It's constructive evaluation if you think it is true.
I agree that it is more ignorant than racist. To me, that's the sort of thing that you don't say in public whether you believe it or not.
I think the difference between saying something like this and saying something like "blacks aren't smart enough to play QB" is in the inherent negative and demeaning tone of the latter comment. Even though what this player says may or may not be true (even though I highly doubt it), it's wouldn't be demeaning to the white player if it was true.
I think these comments are demeaning to white players because he is saying that the white guys aren't as tough as minority guys. In the world of professional sports, I think I can safely say that they care more about being tough than they do about being smart.
Have you heard about the IQ tests that show that whites have higher IQs than blacks? There was talk about how IQ tests/SAT's were racially biased, etc. I think if someone said that whites are smarter than blacks because of this, it could be factual but it would still be racist.
Well, it is true that darker-skinned people don't burn in the sun as easily. My wife got sun-burn only once in her whole life. Even so, I don't see how that gives darker-skinned ball players much of an advantage. White players will tan, even if more slowly. Plus, they do wear clothes, including caps. So, I suppose it is based on a grain of truth, but otherwise is just a stupid thing to say.
I have black friends who complain that they get HOTTER in the sun than whites due to the color black absorbing heat more than the color white. My buddy always tells me he fears turning "a darker shade of black, or possibly purple" when we're out in the sun.
And by the way - I know who said that quote, and it doesn't really bother me. I'm not sure what scientific evidence he has to back it up, though. If he just said it to be funny, then I think it's in poor taste. I do agree that if a white man said this that Al Sharpton would be on the scene within minutes.
According to a couple of Internet health sites (webmd and emedicine), dark skinned blacks rarely burn. On a scale of 1-6, their skin type is a 6. Incidentally, the speaker is Dusty Baker.
These are gross generalizations that use old stereotypes, and are steeped in ignorance. I don't care if an African-American said it; it's still racist and perpetrates negative stereotypes.
