A discussion on 'athleticism'
Saturday 09 April 2005
I've noticed the athleticism = racist concept occasionally rears its head in the world of internet message boards and now is a good time to discuss it as any.
Most people have two issues with this:
#1 the definition of athleticism
#2 the insinuation that black = athletic, white = non-athletic
My definition of athleticism consists of several things:
* Leaping ability
* Mobility and flexibility - fluidity of movement
* Body control on the ground and in the air (strength)
I think that's a solid enough definition.
For the second one, I suppose that depends on your viewpoint about 'race' and the like. Personally, I don't find it useful to attach racial descriptors when I'm analysing basketball players' abilities. Does the amount of pigmentation in their skin and cultural background particularly matter in this regard? Not particularly. I'm aware other people may think it's important but I don't think it is.
'Athletic' and 'non-athletic' is rather simplistic as well - like all things, it's a scale and in whatever group divisions you choose to create, there will be varying levels of people with different grades of that ability. It's not just a matter of "you're athletic or you're not". Of course, defining 'black' and 'white' is a thorny issue and that's not something I'm going to get into but I will say this - there are some 'white' players with a high level of athleticism. Lauren Jackson is one of the most athletic posts in the game today. Young and upcoming Australian guards Erin Phillips and Renae Camino are fine athletic specimens who will be stars in the US one day. Are 'black' players more athletic than 'white' players? My reply would be "Does it matter?" I try to analyse players at an individual level and I'd possibly group them by position but that's as far as I would go.
One thing I've noticed is that people tend to confuse athleticism with speed and quickness. The two are not necessarily related. One good example is Trish Fallon. In her prime, Fallon's athleticism was good: she could nearly dunk a ball and her body movement was smooth and fluid. However, her speed and quickness has always been a bit below par - that 'lope' around the court is probably the fastest she could move! I think Diana Taurasi is in the same boat - she has good leaping ability and body control but her speed and lateral quickness are a bit lacking. Yes, both of them possessed/possess good athleticism.
Comments
Also, size gets into the picture.
Take Janel McCarville, she has great footwork, can almost dunk (I saw it in warmups), but she is 6'2", over 200 lbs, and white. So she gets placed into the nonatheltic category, she is a special player that can go around you, through you or over you.
Posted by: Hughster | Sunday 10 April 2005
TV loves stereotypes: announcers don't have to think much, just read from team media guides. Coaches, too, have pet words. I'm with KMR on "strong" vs "physical." Strong is more specific.
"Mulkey-Robertson also differed with Hatchell on describing Baylor's play. Hatchell called it physical. Mulkey-Robertson preferred strong, noting that many of her players are older than UNC's."
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/colleges/baylor/stories/032905dnspotempebriefs.610d4.html
Posted by: Carol Anne | Sunday 10 April 2005