Is "athleticism" thinly veiled racism?

Can you give me an example of a team you would describe in an article as athletic that isn't black?

 

I'm pretty sure I used the term a few times for the Divide County Maroons in North Dakota a few years ago. I'm not sure I covered a black athlete that entire football season.

 

Kansas 1997. That team had three white starters and was athletic, particularly before Jerod Haase got hurt.

 

In describing athletes as athletic, what kind of point were you trying to make?

 

Definition of ATHLETIC
1: of or relating to athletes or athletics
2: characteristic of an athlete; especially : vigorous, active
3: mesomorphic
4: used by athletes
— ath·let·i·cal·ly \-ti-k(ə-)lē\ adverb
— ath·let·i·cism \-ˈle-tə-ˌsi-zəm\ noun

Examples of ATHLETIC
They each received an athletic scholarship to the school.
Students can get discount tickets for all athletic events.
His athletic career spanned three decades.
She has great athletic ability.
She's tall and has an athletic build.

Vigorous, active. Good words, in my opinion, and in some cases better than the word in question.

But here's one regarding the bigger picture: At what point do you stop using the Merriam-Webster dictionary in favor of the urban dictionary or the unwritten-but-implied-code dictionary?

 

General physical ability dominating over trained, sports-specific skills.

 

An example of which would be . . .?

 

I agree it's contextual. My coverage area is primarily white, so all-white teams are described as athletic by coaches. But in those contexts it usually means a short team that can't shoot filled with guys who would rather be playing football.

I also agree it's a useless description that needs to be fleshed out.

 

I don't know that I have ever described a player or team as athletic. But coaches do it all the time.

 

To me, the racism comes with the implication that good white athletes are smart, tough and work hard, and good black athletes are just using the athletic talent given to them by God.

 

Thanks, folks.

I feel somewhat better now, and I do appreciate the racial vs. racist distinction.

 

I covered a high-school basketball player who was 6-10, nearly 330 pounds of solid muscle, with remarkably quick feet and decent jumping ability. He was athletic. He wasn't a particularly good shooter, passer or dribbler, nor was his rebounding technique anything special, but he was still a fantastic basketball player.

I've also covered kids who were 5-8, not especially fast and not especially good jumpers, but they could hit open shots, execute the offense cleanly and play strong defense based on always being in good position. They were not athletic.