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Is "athleticism" thinly veiled racism?

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by BillyT, Mar 7, 2011.

  1. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    Nice try. That was Joe Biden.

    This is the quote. Quite a bit different from just articulate. I think "clean" was the bigger deal.

     
  2. ringer

    ringer Active Member

    Yes, clean and bright is clearly off-putting and bizarre and that's why I didn't include it in the discussion. But there really was offense taken at the "articulate" part - which you'd think was a colorblind adjective. See this op-ed

    http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/04/weekinreview/04clemetson.html
     
  3. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    I don't know what to say to that. Sure, you got the whole ebonics deal, but many of this country's greatest orators are and have long been African-Americans, especially preachers.

    Hell, Morgan Freeman is the go-to guy for voiceovers.

    So I don't see it.
     
  4. buckweaver

    buckweaver Active Member

    I once had a high school football coach tell me, "We got out-athleted tonight." Used the quote, too.

    Everybody knew what he meant, and it certainly wasn't his opopnents', uhh, general physical ability.

    In retrospect, I'd prefer to not use the word "athleticism" unless you specify which trait you mean. As others have noted, it doesn't really say anything.
     
  5. BrianGriffin

    BrianGriffin Active Member

    I don't mind it in some cases. Sometimes a team does overwhelm its opponent with superior team speed and leaping ability. At the lower levels, it often happens when a good predominantly black team plays a not-so-good mostly white team. In that case, I don't mind a coach saying that.

    When I do get offended is a coach of a team that gets beat by a fair-to-middling or not-particularly-athletic predominantly black team and throws out the "we were out-athleted BS." Now you're just trying to cover up the shitty coaching job you did.
     
  6. What if, let's say, it's used to accurately describe, oh I don't know, a team of physically gifted yet under-coached, inexperienced or undisciplined players?
     
  7. BrianGriffin

    BrianGriffin Active Member

    Lobster, if it's accurate, it's accurate. I don't think it's taboo. Don't get caught using it as a crutch. Don't get caught, like on the above example, snickering when a coach suggests one of his white players is his best athlete. And call out a coach when he uses it as a crutch.
     
  8. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    If we called out coaches for using lame, cliche-filled quotes, we wouldn't have time for much else.
     
  9. Sam Mills 51

    Sam Mills 51 Well-Known Member

    James Earl Jones will do in a pinch. But your point is still valid ...
     
  10. doctorquant

    doctorquant Well-Known Member

    I don't think using "athleticism" necessarily brings racism into the mix, but to ignore the racial/cultural undertones of its traditional usage is a dicey game. And -- many of you may vehemently disagree with me here, so be nice please -- sports journalists are, for the most part, largely unqualified to evaluate athletic talent. So oftentimes the "natural gifts" angle is simply a convenient crutch to make us sound as if we know why this particular athlete's so successful.
     
  11. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    You seem like a natural-born writer, doc.
     
  12. Inky_Wretch

    Inky_Wretch Well-Known Member

    One of our rural schools was eliminated from the state tournament and the coach used the old "They were so athletic" line.

    On his team, three girls were state champions in various track events from the previous year. Two were members of the school's volleyball team that made a deep playoff run the previous semester. Yet the other team was more athletic? Really!?!
     
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