Biological and Physical Anthropology Commons^™

The Myth Of Racial Superiority In Sports, Ian B. Kerr

The Hilltop Review

Sports hold a special place in the hearts of many Americans. Indeed, athletic competition has come to define and shape our understanding in many ways of what it means to be American. There is, however, a dark side to sports and that is the racial tension that often consumes our understanding of athletic competition and the equality of athletic prowess and personal ability. Seemingly innocuous, sports bring to the forefront racial sentiments about innate superiority, that certain types of people are better athletes simply by the nature of their being born. In his book Taboo: Why Black Athletes Dominate Sports …