EPTOn September 20 2014 14:20 Ryuu314 wrote:
Cultural differences play a pretty big role. First, you have to keep in mind that the US is basically the only country/culture in the world that plays American football. Then when you consider that Asians only make up a little over 5% of the population (according to 2013 census data) it's not too surprising that there are no Asians playing in the NFL and very very little in other pro sports leagues in the US.
Than you have to consider the fact that a large portion of Asians in the US are first or second generation. The whole "Asian parents" thing is not entirely untrue. Asian parents and families do put significant pressure on their children to pursue white collar careers. That is evidenced by the fact that Asians have a disproportionate representation in white collar jobs (or doctors). As a result, there's less Asian American children actively pursuing a career in sports, further diminishing Asian representation in professional sports leagues.
And then you have to add in racism/discrimination. You can't deny that Asians will be discriminated against in sports since Asians are typically seen as not athletic. During the Linsanity craze, Jeremy Lin talked a lot about his personal experiences regarding that.
I don't believe that Asians are simply "less athletic" than non-Asians. Otherwise China wouldn't win so many gold medals during the Olympics. This is not to say genetics don't play a role; they certainly do. Rather, there are a whole host of other factors that play into racial representation in pro sport leagues.
Cultural differences play a pretty big role. First, you have to keep in mind that the US is basically the only country/culture in the world that plays American football. Then when you consider that Asians only make up a little over 5% of the population (according to 2013 census data) it's not too surprising that there are no Asians playing in the NFL and very very little in other pro sports leagues in the US.
Than you have to consider the fact that a large portion of Asians in the US are first or second generation. The whole "Asian parents" thing is not entirely untrue. Asian parents and families do put significant pressure on their children to pursue white collar careers. That is evidenced by the fact that Asians have a disproportionate representation in white collar jobs (or doctors). As a result, there's less Asian American children actively pursuing a career in sports, further diminishing Asian representation in professional sports leagues.
And then you have to add in racism/discrimination. You can't deny that Asians will be discriminated against in sports since Asians are typically seen as not athletic. During the Linsanity craze, Jeremy Lin talked a lot about his personal experiences regarding that.
I don't believe that Asians are simply "less athletic" than non-Asians. Otherwise China wouldn't win so many gold medals during the Olympics. This is not to say genetics don't play a role; they certainly do. Rather, there are a whole host of other factors that play into racial representation in pro sport leagues.
Especially in regards to bringing in genetics in basketball, the "genetic" part is extremely quantifiable in regards to height. There are solid statistical works and research that go in to average heights of specific racial groups.
So unless you got serious work backing specific genetic traits and their relations to the sport and ethnic group, there's no real good argument to be made.
