Affirmative Action in sports

[DGB454]

I guess I should start a new thread instead of messing up someone elses thread. I deleted my last post on the other AA thread.

I have wondered about this for a while. Why hasn't AA been completely enforced in professional sports? They have begun to try and enforce it with the hiring of coaches but why not with the players? Isn't the one of the basic ideas of AA that your hiring practices should reflect race make up of the area your buisness is located in? So if I lived in an area where there were 20% minorities then I should employ 20% minorities.
Why doesn't that happen on the field or arena? Take for example The Red Wings....is Detroit really 100% white? Another example is the Pistons...Is Detroit really 90% black? (I live in Michigan so that's why I am using Detroit teams.)
In sports is it just about getting the most qualified people reguardless of demographic make up in that particular area ? If so then why isn't that against what AA is all about? I know this may sound like I am going against what I have been saying on the other thread but I am just curious how others feel about this.

[2strokebloke]

I really don't care, get who does the job best, and wants to do the job the best, don't get people just because the color of their skin.

[DGB454]

I guess what I am getting at is that isn't this a place where non minorities could push the affirmative envelope to benefit them? For example; If a non minority basketball player was trying out for the Pistons and was a very good player but not quite as good as a minority player who was going out for the Pistons, couldn't that non minority player use some of the rules of affirmative action to better his chances to get on the team? Couldn't the opponents of AA point out that there is a problem in the hiring practices of these teams because they don't reflect the racial make up of the surrounding area that the team is located?

[YogsVR4]

The comparison with sport teams is quite old and the analogy falls apart because now you’re talking about a difference between private and public ownership. Affirmative Action is a grand mistake. Seeking to correct past transgressions at the expense of someone who hasn’t done anything wrong is not defensible. The people who support it talk in grand terms, but when the rubber meets the pavement, it’s the individual person who gets screwed over by something they had no control over.

[DGB454]

I don't see how private ownership applies. The reason I say this is because of the push to get more minority coaches in the leagues. If it's OK to push that then why isn't it OK to push a more representative population of players also?

[YogsVR4]

The league is doing that to itself which means it doesn't fall under 'Afermative Action' which is goverment sponsered. Though it does resembles it, it isn't the same thing. And in any case, its a wrong headed policy.

[jon@af]

You can't solve racism with another form of racism.

[DGB454]

Actually I was talking about resolving AA not racism.

[jon@af]

Originally Posted by DGB454

Actually I was talking about resolving AA not racism.

I wasn't directing that towards you, sorry if I gave the impression. I was meaning that about Affirmative action in general, though now that I think about it, it would be more discrimination than racism though it is involving both.

[taranaki]

Google 'Maori all blacks' sometime. A national team consisting entirely of Maori descendants.Pakeha [that's us white folk]not welcome to join in.

The rest of us rabble have to aspire to play for the All Blacks...odd name for a rugby team of multicultural ethnicity,but capable of thrashing the 'Maori All Blacks' on any given ground,on any given day.

[YogsVR4]

Originally Posted by taranaki

Google 'Maori all blacks' sometime. A national team consisting entirely of Maori descendants.Pakeha [that's us white folk]not welcome to join in.

The rest of us rabble have to aspire to play for the All Blacks...odd name for a rugby team of multicultural ethnicity,but capable of thrashing the 'Maori All Blacks' on any given ground,on any given day.

I googled - now I'm trying to understand what those articles are saying. The words are in english, but its not making a lot of sense to me.

"I don't know if Christian Cullen can recite his whakapapa but it doesn't seem to matter to anybody that he seems to be giving new meaning to the expression born-again Maori," rugby philosopher and former All Black Chris Laidlaw wrote in the Dominion Post this week.

Time to do some more reading.

[TexasF355F1]

DGB, teams recruit players from all over the US. A team is hardly constructed with only hometown players. The Houston Astros farm club is in Roundrock, Texas(about to be moved though). And they have various other minor league parks around. As for the Red Wings being all white. Hockey is predominately white, b/c there is not a big following of the sport by other races.

Last summer I remember hearing that the NAACP wanted to see more African Americans in baseball. If they're not up to par their not coming up. MLB in my opinion is the most colorful sport there is(if you want to classify things by color). As has already been said, Affirmative Action is a waste.

[NSX-R-SSJ20K]

Originally Posted by 2strokebloke

I really don't care, get who does the job best, and wants to do the job the best, don't get people just because the color of their skin.

I agree 100.00%

[DGB454]

Ok guys...
I wasn't starting this thread to support AA but to point out a way to fix it. I was just suggesting a way to use AA against itself to make those changes.

Anyway thanks for the response. I actually wasn't expecting more than 1 or 2.

[justacruiser]

Originally Posted by DGB454

Actually I was talking about resolving AA not racism.

What's the difference?

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=racism

rac·ism ( P ) Pronunciation Key (rszm)
n.
1. The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.
2. Discrimination or prejudice based on race.

Picking one person over another just because of their skin color is racism, there is no difference between racism and AA, they're one and the same.