There are very few studies of Black Canadians in sports and even fewer, if any, on Asian Canadians, Native Canadians and racialized females. However, because Canadian views on “race” have been influenced by the United States due to our proximity (Coakley & Donnelly, 2009) and the fact that many Canadian athletes go on to play in professional American sports leagues, the statistics on Blacks from these leagues can be applicable in a Canadian context. Some of these statistics around representation are staggering (see Table 1). It is interesting to note that the percentage of Blacks in Canada’s total population was 2.5% in 2006 (Statistics Canada, 2006) while the U.S.A. had a 12.6% Black population in 2010 (United States Census Bureau, 2011).

Table 1 – Note: Values are percentages, retrieved from:
Lapchick, R. (2010, April 29). The 2010 Racial and Gender Report Card: Major League Baseball.
Lapchick, R. (2010, June 9). The 2010 Racial and Gender Report Card: National Basketball Association.
Lapchick, R. (2010, September 29). The 2010 Racial and Gender Report Card: National Football League.

There is a blatant overrepresentation of Black players in the NBA and NFL; while the MLB’s numbers may seem more reflective of the population, a closer look is needed to reveal the overrepresentation there. Looking at the statistics of certain player positions in the NFL and MLB reveals even more insights into the issue of representation (see Table 2).

Why then, is there so much disparity not only in the overall representation but by position as well? There are popular stereotypes that cite biological reasons; these say that Blacks, through some sort of natural selection, have a genetic advantage over other races. However, this reasoning is quite precarious. The science and biology of race has long perpetuated the idea of intellectual racial superiority and has been used for the justification of colonization, slavery, and genocide. In fact, the Human Genome Project has verified that there is no classification of races as a biological concept (Coakley & Donnelly, 2009). This pseudoscientific belief has immediate consequences for education — if teachers perpetuate the stereotype that Blacks are genetically built for sports, this not only diminishes the significance of athletic achievement amongst Black students, but it also reduces their intellectual expectations. The reasoning will then be: if Black athletes do well at sports, it must be because of their natural physical abilities whereas White athletes (who supposedly are not as blessed biologically) must have excellent character, exercise a strong will, and possess great intellect to achieve the same success (Coakley & Donnelly, 2009).

When educators encourage Black students to join sports while discouraging academics, they fail to recognize the full potential and educational aspirations of many Black students. These students then begin to believe the stereotypes and reduce the importance of their academic performance while giving priority to their roles as athletes (Ontario Human Rights Commission, 2009). It is more likely that Blacks excel at these sports not because of biological advantages but because they see sports as the only path to success or for Black inner-city kids, a ticket out of poverty (Siegel, 2003).

Table 2 – Note: Values are percentages, retrieved from:
Lapchick, R. (2010, June 9). The 2010 Racial and Gender Report Card: National Basketball Association.
Lapchick, R. (2010, September 29). The 2010 Racial and Gender Report Card: National Football League.

Sadly, even when Blacks make it into the professional leagues, they still face many inequalities. In Table 2, we see that there is great underrepresentation in sports positions that traditionally are leaders on the team: quarterbacks, centers, pitchers, and catchers. Furthermore, the few Blacks who do become quarterbacks in the NFL (e.g. Michael Vick, Donovan McNabb, Jason Campbell, and Vince Young) experience continuous controversy and scrutiny throughout their careers. The lack of representation of Blacks in leadership or positions of authority is even further evident when examining the non-players in sports leagues: head coaches, staff, and owners (see Table 3).

Table 3 – Note: Values are percentages, retrieved from:
Lapchick, R. (2010, April 29). The 2010 Racial and Gender Report Card: Major League Baseball.
Lapchick, R. (2010, June 9). The 2010 Racial and Gender Report Card: National Basketball Association.
Lapchick, R. (2010, September 29). The 2010 Racial and Gender Report Card: National Football League.

This begins to paint a disturbing picture. Black students may make progress towards professional sports believing that sports may be their only avenue to achieve success — only to be marvelled at for their physical sample. Watching the NFL Combine bares a chilling resemblance of a time when Blacks had no choice but to perform physically for a living:

He reported how the slaves, eager to impress potential masters who they perceived as kind, would sometimes cheerfully respond to buyers “…pinching their limbs to find how muscular they were, walking them up and down to detect any signs of lameness, making them stoop and bend in different ways that they might be certain there was no concealed rupture or wound..”
(A slave auction in 1857) (PBS, 2001)

The NFL Combine is a showcase of college football players who perform physical and mental tests to demonstrate their size, health, speed, agility, and strength to teams that may potentially draft them. At the Combine, representatives from all teams gather to observe the players and run them through drills to test how fast, strong, and agile they are while the sports media wonder in awe at the physical feats and performances of the players. The NFL draft then takes place afterwards where teams, after making their evaluations, will pick the players who performed best to join their teams.

Ironically, as player salaries rise and ticket prices increase, it becomes harder for those in a lower socio-economic status [a large portion of whom are Black (LaVeist, 2005)] to attend the games. Consequently, Black players once they are drafted, then enter the league mostly as running backs, wide receivers and defence to then play for a mostly White coaching staff, a mostly White managerial team, get paid by a White owner, and compete against each other as a group of mostly Black players in front of an increasingly White group of fans (Siegel, 2003). The good news is that they get paid.

Is this the sole aspiration educators want for Black students? Surely there is nothing wrong with being a professional athlete, but should this be the only hope for a Black student? In today’s society we wonder why Black youth are increasingly stigmatized — but have we taken a close enough look at what happens in our schools? There are many ways teachers can make a difference and the first is by examining their own attitudes, expectations, and behaviours. Teachers need to acknowledge their biases and not be quick to label students as, “low achievers, learning disabled, drop-outs, disruptive, trouble-makers, problem-students, rebellious, and individuals who are likely to get into illegal activities” (James, 2008). Teachers also need to have the same expectations of their students and use fair treatment for all. If little is expected of a student — whether academically or athletically —they will provide little effort. Finally, teachers should help students develop an understanding of their own cultural identities along with the identities of the other students in the classroom. Both students and teachers must learn that cultural differences should be appreciated rather than critiqued against a Eurocentric standard. Students’ identities need to be reflected in the curriculum; they need see role models that they can identify with culturally to show them that there are no constraints on what they can achieve. Teachers must illustrate to students that they can be artists, plumbers, politicians, or inventors, and not just limited to rappers and sports athletes.

Bibliography

Coakley, J., & Donnelly, P. (2009, February 12). Race and Ethnicity: Are They Important in Sports? Sports in Society: Issues and Controversies (Second Canadian Edition). Canada: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.

James, C. (2008, August 12). Stereotyping and its consequence for racial minority youth. Retrieved April 3, 2011, from Ontario Human Rights Commission: http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/issues/racism/racepolicydialogue/cj/pdf

Lapchick, R. (2010, April 29). The 2010 Racial and Gender Report Card: Major League Baseball. Retrieved April 5, 2011, from The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport: http://web.bus.ucf.edu/documents/sport/2010_MLB_RGRC.pdf

Lapchick, R. (2010, June 9). The 2010 Racial and Gender Report Card: National Basketball Association. Retrieved April 5, 2011, from The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport: http://web.bus.ucf.edu/documents/sport/2010_NBA_RGRC.pdf

Lapchick, R. (2010, September 29). The 2010 Racial and Gender Report Card: National Football League. Retrieved April 5, 2011, from The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport: http://web.bus.ucf.edu/documents/sport/2010-NFL-Racial-and-Gender-Report-Card.pdf

LaVeist, T. A. (2005). Disentangling Race and Socioeconomic Status: A Key to Understanding Health Inequalities. Journal of Urban Health
, 82 (2), 26-33.

Ontario Human Rights Commission. (2009, December). Policy and guidelines on racism and racial discimination. Retrieved April 3, 2011, from http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/resources/Policies/RacismPolicy/pdf

PBS. (2001, February 1). People and Events: The Weeping Time . Retrieved April 06, 2011, from Africans in America: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2918.html

Siegel, D. (2003, Spring). Race and Sport. Retrieved April 1, 2011, from Sport: In Search of the American Dream: http://www.science.smith.edu/exer_sci/ESS200/Raceh/Raceh04.htm

Statistics Canada. (2006). Visible Minority Groups. Retrieved April 5, 2011, from 2006 Census of Canada: http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/tbt/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=0&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=0&GC=0&GID=0&GK=0&GRP=1&PID=92338&PRID=0&PTYPE=88971,97154&S=0&SHOWALL=0&SUB=802&Temporal=2006&THEME=80&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF=

United States Census Bureau. (2011, March). Overview of Race and Hispanic Origin: 2010 Census Briefs. Retrieved April 5, 2011, from http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-02.pdf

It’s a head-to-head league with 10 teams, with 8 showing up for the Live Draft.

Here’s my starting roster:

QB Tony Romo (Dal – QB)
WR Wes Welker (NE – WR)
WR Bernard Berrian (Min – WR)
RB LaDainian Tomlinson (SD – RB)
RB Jamal Lewis (Cle – RB)
TE Kellen Winslow (SD – RB)
W/T Jerricho Cotchery (NYJ – WR)
W/R Thomas Jones (NYJ – RB)
K Adam Vinatieri (Ind – WR)
D Terrence McGee (Buf – DB)
DB Nate Clements (SF – DB)
DB Leigh Bodden (Det – DB)
DL James Harrison (Pit – DL)
DL E.J. Henderson (Min – DL)

On the bench:

Donald Driver (GB – WR)
Brett Favre (NYJ – QB)
Chester Taylor (Min – RB)
Joey Galloway (TB – WR)
Jon Kitna (Det – QB)
Devin Hester (Chi – WR)

And here’s my draft order (in brackets is the overall pick #):

1. (2) LaDainian Tomlinson
2. (19) Jamal Lewis
3. (22) Tony Romo
4. (39) Thomas Jones
5. (42) Wes Welker
6. (59) Kellen Winslow
7. (62) Bernard Berrian
8. (79) Jerricho Cotchery
9. (82) Adam Vinatieri
10. (99) Terrence McGee
11. (102) Donald Driver
12. (119) James Harrison
13. (122) Nate Clements
14. (139) Brett Favre
15. (142) Will Witherspoon
16. (159) Chester Taylor
17. (162) Leigh Bodden
18. (179) Joey Galloway
19. (182) Jon Kitna
20. (199) E.J. Henderson
21. (202) Ernie Sims
22. (219) Devin Hester
23. (222) Mason Crosby

In case you didn’t know, I’m a HUGE football fan (GO PACKERS!). But the game has given me more than just entertainment; I’ve also come away with some important lessons. Lessons that prove useful to the professionals of the game, but also useful for the entrepreneur / startup as well as the established company seeking to stay innovative and keep growing.

1. Huddle up.

Communicate company strategies to all team members to help motivate and give them purpose. Develop a culture that aligns with your company’s values and mission and encourage the development of passion, it’s contagious. Make sure outside stakeholders get their information from you and not anyone else to prevent the spread of rumours and misinformation.

2. Go deep.

Take your “shots down the field”. Don’t be afraid to aim high — Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAGs) will motivate you and your team to achieve great things. Even if you don’t get all the way there, the venture will be a lesson learned for the future.

3. The game is won in the trenches (the line of scrimmage).

The grind work pays off! Always be attentive to details and maintain high quality standards — your final product will be a step above the competition. Start and finish strong, don’t get slack and let complacency slip in.

4. Run hard on every play.

You never know when your chance to shine will come so give it your all no matter what the task is. When that client or investor starts looking at your company, you’ll be ready and in fine form.

5. Run trick plays.

Keep the competition guessing. Have a secret project in your back pocket or form an unexpected alliance, even run guerrilla marketing campaigns to keep everyone on their toes and generate buzz.

6. Go for it on 4th and 1.

Take calculated risks. The rewards from taking manageable risks far outweigh the penalties in the long run. Assess the situation and have confidence in your ability to lead your team to success.

7. Keep your eyes on the play clock.

Time-management is key, especially when resources are scarce. Prioritize tasks and use good project management techniques to get the job done on time, on budget, and according to specification. Know when your window of opportunity is ending and get ready to pounce when you get your turn.

8. Kick the field goal first, then go for the touchdown.

Don’t panic. You may be way off schedule but give yourself the opportunity to pull off a comeback. Take it one step at at time — a rushed task will often end up having to be redone and revised repeatedly.

9. Know when to go for 2.

Awesome, you got it done! Look for opportunities to squeeze in something extra for added value. If no one is going to appreciate the extra point; don’t waste your time, move on.

10. Don’t duck out of bounds.

Develop an appetite for challenges and take them head on with wise planning and execution.

11. The game is only over when the clock says 00:00

Don’t lose hope. Opportunities can come out of nowhere, stay optimistic and play hard till the bitter end. And if you’re on top, don’t lose focus — keep on doing what you’ve been doing and finish off strong and in control.

12. Shake hands and embrace after the game.

Never burn bridges, instead build relationships and respect for the other team. Learn to play well with others, things may be different the next time around.

Feel free to comment below with your tips for startups (they don’t have to be football related but that would be pretty cool!):

It was a great discussion, we really got into it and came up with 5 necessary distinctions of a sport. However, upon further thought, I’ve added one of my own. In my view, all 6 of these rules must be met in order for that activity to be called a sport. The International Olympic Committee has a list of sports they recognize, but I’ll explain my 6 criteria for defining a sport:

1. Must have competing opposing forces.

This one is pretty obvious — you gotta be playing against someone.
What fails this test: Solitaire.

2. Players must exert a considerable amount of energy or force.

I believe that players of sports should be athletes. This doesn’t necessarily mean they all should be Terrell Owens ripped, but they shouldn’t be able to drink beer and eat pizza all off-season and dominate during the regular season.
What fails this test: Billiards.

3. Winning must be determined by clear and non-subjective scoring.

In other words, winning cannot be determined by judges giving scores. Real sports aren’t determined by human subjection — that’s too floozy. A win should be a win based on accruing clearly defined goals (baskets, touchdowns, runs, fastest time etc.). The idea is, it shouldn’t matter how you get there, just that you do. If the scoring is based on the how, it restricts the amount of creativity and flexibility a sport can have — we’ll just end up seeing the same things over and over again.
What fails this test: Figure Skating.

4. There must be rules of play that are enforced.

Again, pretty straight forward here — rules of play are necessary so that each side has an equal opportunity to use their skills to score or prevent the other team from scoring.
What fails this test: ??? Let me know if you have one.

5. Players must possess some recognizable skill (i.e. not just luck).

Skill is a very important part of sport. Of course, luck will always be a factor but for the most part, skill determines the bulk of sport event outcomes. It’s the combination of different skill levels that allow for great competition and a diverse field of players.
What fails this test: BlackJack

6. Must be organized beyond local/regional geographic areas.

Sport is something that transcends geographic boundaries. It communicates without language, though it may vary from location to location, on the whole it remains fairly unchanged (basketball in Canada is understood as basketball in Spain). I think this is a key definition of sport — it unifies across ethnicities, it doesn’t care what colour you are or where you live.

Other sports that don’t qualify under my rules:

• Chess
• Video Gaming
• Synchronized Swimming

Sports that do qualify:

• Weight Lifting
• Car Racing
• Golf

What do you think of my criteria, does it work? What games/activities do you think are/aren’t sports?

Oh and BTW, Football is the greatest sport on Earth!