I see I see! Said the blind man to the deaf woman� Sometimes while debating ethnicities, races or class backgrounds this wellerism comes to mind. (Blair, 2005) I remember one specific incident in a college philosophy class I took we were having a class discussion on the way African Americans are treated in modern day society. Of the thirty or so students in the class there was only one African-American, a girl, she was very intelligent. As different points of views were being voiced from all angles, one statement a girl said really caught my attention. She said something along the lines of well since there is only one black girl in the class, and we all treat her with respect, what s the point of discussing it further?. This comment really bothered me for the rest of class, and even to this day. The girl, who said the comment, seemed to think that just because she was nice� to African Americans, that there was no point in discussing the topic. In her head I do believe that she had the best of intentions when she said what she said, but her peripheral vision was similar to that of a horse during the Kentucky derby. See this girl was ignorant or blind� to what really goes on in society. And by voicing her opinion (which I could not register as anything but ludicrous) I was deaf to hear it and so was the African American girl sitting next to me. People with similar thought processes to the girl in my class who said this comment, I believe are part of the problem when it comes to discriminatory actions against any ethnicity. Being non-bias in modern day society should be a pro-active task. In some cases the more you try to be affable the more it shows you have no idea what you are talking about.

I grew up in middle class America. I went to school with the same kids from kinder garden through high school. Most of us knew everything about everyone and some of our parents even grew up together. My brother and I both played sports every year and we played the typical suburban white family games. We played bumble bee soccer, t-ball, and my brother played basketball. My parents never made us play anything we didn t want to but at the same time playing bumble bee soccer and t-ball was what everyone was playing. Now it feels like it was expected of us to play. While playing soccer, I always wanted to be like Mia Hamm and I was always getting positive reinforcement from my parents and coaches when we did well. As I said, my parents never made us play anything we didn t want to, but we were also never told not to play any sport. Well once I was told I couldn t play hockey but that was between soccer and lacrosse, it would have been too expensive. Actually now that I rethink it, those who played hockey in my community were wealthier and I would say that is the only time my status as Middle America prevented me from playing a sport. I understood and kept to my other sports. Since I was only prevented from playing one sport, I can remember other areas that prevented some children from playing certain sports. One particular area was in Columbia which was nationally known for their lacrosse team. The area was generally higher than middle class and used their wealth to develop their players from a young age through special coaches and campus that only those on the team could attend. I feel like race and status does affect sport even in youth sports, and I don t think that it should. Sport is ment to be for everyone and should be as such.

I also agree with Mongo 1524 on the fact that every race and ethnic background has its stereotypes. I think that it s up to each person not to let those stereotypes get to them and effect decisions they make. If everyone based their decisions off of stereotypes then this world would be a really messed up place to be.

I agree with xterra03 because i also aquried most of my equipment as hand me downs from my oder brother, and my family was not able to afford sports such as dirtbike or car racing.

I agree with dyee223 some players will say racist comments to you during a game. It shows how people are educated about rasism depending on where they live. I also think it is awesome that you won your game with a Korean head football coach.

xterra03 had some good points. You will have ur parents views wether or not you want it, on which sports to play and how much. But it is tough sometimes because of race to do something. Parents think of that stuff whether it applies or not to the situation

Drew singer had some good points, and people are used to if being black being expected to be able to play basketball well. I have heard adults throwing that idea around when i was young, so it has to be somewhat thought about by some people in society.

I see what G shaw has brought to the discussion. I have been around the area for a while, and many people have discriminated against any kind of racial group even if for the slightest thing. But yeah its tough for people to be compared to anyone unless u look like someone.

I agree with drew singer that in youth we do stereotype all black teams as good basketball players simply because of there race not the fact that they are actually better because of society's influence.

Mike has a point there, cost does in many cases have a impact on whether or not kids can participate. With sports such as lacrosse where a lot of equipment is needed just to get suited up, kids that dont have the money to participate. With that look at the sport of lacrosse its a prodominately white sport, there needs to be more funding for Jr. League sports to make sure every child has the oppurtunity to at least try it out.

Some of the comments said that the cost of the sport determined what race populated the sport. I agree that most of the minorities in my town did not play because they could not afford it. It was hard enough to pay to live there.

I can agree with xterra03's point on growing up and how their family played a pivotal role in which sport they played. I also liked their example on Native Americans playing baseball, as I thought it was an excellent and wonderful example of how people can still choose which sport to play, regardless of whether people can associate race and a particular sport

I thought it was interesting that T.J. Thompson got different reactions from different classes of people when he told them that he played soccer. I never thought of how different classes of people would react face to face to different races of people playing sports that certain races wouldn t normally� play.

Mgenn1's point is a good one. It doesnt matter what race you are if your good at the sport. Its interesting to read about where everyone is from and how race was or wasnt an issue there.

Though I cannot directly relate to TJ Thompson upbringing. I can however understand where he is coming from, seeing as I share his same knowledge and backround of the soccer world. I would have to agree with him that typical stereotype of a male soccer player in the U.S would not be very tall. When you think of a soccer player here you think of Donovan or Freddy Adu. Especially living in the u.s, the average american is not geared around soccer as a sport so there knowlegdge and biased opinions are very limited. Where as overseas soccer is everyones life and seeing a tall, lean, african american athelete is quite typical. Such as those players he mentioned like Patrick Viera.

I agree with Aaron C and our responses were very similar. The sports we played growing up were swayed by what sports our friends and family played which is what sports we were most exposed to. We agree that ethnicity does not always have an effect on what sports are played by kids, though it is apparent when watching stories of when professionals were growing up playing sports.

I grew up in a predominently white community with many kids who participated in sports just as muh as I did (which was a lot). My family and friends were the only people I was exposed to as well as exposure to sports on TV such as baseball and football (which were the sports that my dad watched). I played soccer and lacrosse for the majority of my life because that is what my older cousin and neiborhood friends played. I looked up to my cousin and wanted to be just like him. All my sports equipment when I was growing up were hand-me-downs from him. My middle-class back-ground also played a big role in what sports I played. My parents had the ability to pay for the expenses of lacrosse, soccer, and baseball, but did not have the money for me to participate in moter-cross dirtbiking which was my childhood dream. The only sport that I did not play was basketball because I had no association with it on TV and did not have any friends who played it.

I think that social class had more of an effect on what sports I played as a kid than did ethnicity. But, I think that new ethnicities and nationalities which are being integrated into certain sports are giving kids of the same ethnicities and races a sense of hope and a thought that they have a real chance to make it as a professional. For example, I was watching "Outside the Lines" on ESPN yesterday and they were doing a segment on two Native American players who were called up to the major leagues this baseball season. They are the first Native American born people to play in MLB. Jaba Chamberland who is one of the NA players on the Yankees said that when he was in second grade people from his tribe used to laugh at him when he would say that his goal was to play professional baseball. Chamberland said now there is a new sense of hope among kids of his tribe because they have watched someone from their own tribe make it pro. Baseball players of Native American backgroud are playing harder than ever before because they feel like they have a real chance to go pro just as has happend with other ethnicities as they were integrated in baseball such as African Americans, Latino, and Asian. No matter if your childhood sporting experiences were shaped by ethnicity or class, both are evident when paying attention to professional sports and how one makes it that far in a given sport.

The comment left by Ashley Pirro brings up a good point that I had never really thought about before reguarding professional and college athletes vereses a high school athlete. Some college athletes and certaintly professional athletes are under a microscope all the time. Due to the fact that they are observed so closely there is a lot more controversy they have to deal with. The media is always waiting for someone to slip and say the wrong thing so they can make an article out of it. Donovan McNabb's interview last week, where he discussed his race and being an African American quaterback is similar to this weeks topic. A few other African American quaterbacks chose to comment after him but he was the first brave one to let others know that he feels race is still apparent in the NFL and he will always have people judging him and his game.

I agree with tkuhl when he said he didn t feel like race played that huge of a part in his personal experience and like tkhul this was a tough blog to answer.. I also felt my biggest supporters were my parents. I agree with him when he said that race does however play a huge part in sports as a whole and the majority

I thought the comment with mongo1524, because I mostly idolized players that were good and the way they played. When I would play any sport I would try to be like some player and I didnt think race had anything to do with it.

I like how mmaltagliati's post and mine were very similar. It just goes to show how not only was my high school wrestling team was diverse, but his was also, and how high school sports can be availible to anyone, no matter what the sport.

I like what tkuhl said about being on a sports team that race or ethnicity did not matter. It is interesting to hear this story becasue on all the sports teams i have been on race played a role especially in football with postions. The faster or most atheletic person was alsways the running back or wide reciever and the smarterest person was the quarterback. It is nice to hear a story where ethnicty did not matter

What I found interesting about this topic is that alot of the comments that I have read have seemed to say that as children, race never seemed to be a factor on what sports you played. No matter how diverse anyones town/city was, it seems that children are "colorblind" and just want to go out and play the game.

After reading many postings, it's interesting to see where everyone grew up in terms of the city or the country. For many playing in mixed racial leagues was common, for others it was not, but all in all it seemed like mainly everyone had the same accepting views on racism and being teamates with other minorities. Which is a positive step for our society.

Growing up in a more city life atmosphere I have encountered both sides of the racism line. The sports I played (mainly hockey, baseball and golf) have shown me both sides of racial aspects. To be honest growing up as a kid I really did not see the color of skin as a seperator like I can now. Being young most don't think of it as that, in baseball from around age 5-11, I played in the city league where there were caucasions, latinos and blacks and in my eyes you were treated better more for your skill than for your skin color (by your peers). As most kids, Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods were my favorite athletes, and both are of different skin color than I am. Hockey was a little bit different, as in there were not many other non-caucasion players, but to me it was just the popularity between different groups, not a money issue. I mean I had plenty of white friends that didn't play hockey, what was the difference? The same would also go for golf.
As I got older and started to understand the politics of youth sports, the cost of playing certain sports, and the racial stereotype surrounding sports. This made me start to think about the differences between myself and other skin colors. The sports I played brought a whole new meaning to me as for who plays and what reasons. Hockey was pretty much a white, upper and middle class sport. Most parents had pretty secure jobs, some even doctors, lawyers and business owners. Golf was beginning to look the same way to me. A set of clubs and a course membership were expensive things. So as I saw it, many young white kids were playing golf because their parents were getting them into it sort of like a family ritual, where as many of the inner city kids (whos parents did not golf) were being tought how to dribble a basketball or throw a baseball like thier parents did. This became clear to me and is a very unfortunate thing but this is just the way it is.
As for my idols or people to model after, I still like MJ and TW, but I have not added another athlete of different decent to model my game after, and that is Jordin Tootoo who plays with the Nashville Predators in the NHL. He too is a small energetic player who plays very physical but can also put average points on the board. The big thing with him is that he is of Inuit decent from Nunavut. He grew up in a small Inuit community in Canada and beat the odds of less money and even less resources to become an NHL fan favorite, in a sport that is very one dimensional when it comes to race.

I think it is really interesting to see what people from more diverse areas and even people from the minority write. I have not had the experiences that they have so it is really cool, but humbling in some cases.

I agree with mgenn1, in that its the attitude and effort that one puts into their sport. It doesnt matter what race they are. The idea of striving to achieve a goal or be the best proves more beneficial and noticable.

I am a 5 foot 4 jewish guy born in a jewish town on long island. My height was my biggest obstacle in my sporting activities. I loved being the scrappy basketball player who fought for rebounds, and tried using my speed to do well, hoping that taking as many shots as possible and quickly getting the rebound. But as i got older skill came into play and i didnt have as much spare time and experience to play as well, so many people passed me. I wasnt good at soccer or lacrosse. Baseball i definetly wasn't a speed player. Football i didnt really play in leagues til middle school. Even high school track jumping over the high hurdles people kept telling me i couldnt do something because i was a sshort jewish kid. I commonly was compared if to anyone like scrappy players like dennis rodman, with rebounds but usually to players like wayne chrebet, and most common to John Starks. Starks had spanish background and wasn't even supposed to make the knicks but he got injured trying to dunk over Patrick Ewing 15 minutes before the knicks were going to cut him,despite them liking him. That gave him time to be on their roster right away when he got healthy and he carved out a major career. He was remembered for the scrappy player who played big with his heart diving on the floor for lose balls and playing passionatly. He gave me hope seeing an undersized average joe fight his way up to have a spot on one of the best teams in basketball. Wayne Chrebet was undrafted but made the jet team when they had open tryouts and he became from a nobody to one of the most famous 3rd down recievers in NFL history. He was also undersized and odds were against him. But like both guys i felt i was the same but gave me hope to try and work harder to overcome the difference. I have showed people that i can handle my own, and despite my small frame can sure be as tough as anyone if not worse. I dont have the skill as i havent had the same time people had to play sports but i still have the same heart to play and it usually shows on the court or field and will usually outplay people because of it.

Kat Keenan is exactly right about the 1999 Women's World Cup. Brandi Chastain is the one that gets all the publicity and goes down in history, and Briana Scurry is pushed to the sideline even though she stopped the Chinese from scoring.

But that event was also a huge influence on my soccer career. It was a big step for women's soccer. And we started to get some credibility as well.

When questioning my ethnic background, I normally just claim white. There is never a time when I really have to delve deeper into explaining what exactly my ethnic background is. Technically, I am part English, German and Irish. Honestly though, this had no real effect on my sporting activities, but where I grew up did.

I grew up in a suburban area in Charles County called La Plata, which is semi-diverse but more recently then when I was younger. Being from the middle class, most of the people
I grew up with and my family members played soccer. In my situation, it was the main suburban sport. As much as I love basketball, it never occurred to actually play it because I never thought I had the natural ability to as I thought I had with soccer. Also, being female basketball wasn t very predominant. Although I enjoyed soccer and played for 10 years, my passion is basketball.

When I did play, I modeled after the women s soccer players like Mia Hamm and Briana Scurry (because I too was a goalie), especially after they won the World Cup in 1999. They were heroes and really brought women s sports to the forefront. My biggest role models for soccer though were actually my family members (which were all very talented) and many of the things I learned were from them. We all stuck together and supported each other because of our common interest of soccer and the fact that we were family.

Also, another person that I consider a role model is Michael Jordan because of his amazing ability to play basketball and basically what he stood for. Although now after reading Celebrating Race, I don t know if it was him that sold me or if it was the advertising ability of Nike. But as the article said, Jordan emerged as the quintessential sporting embodiment of the American nation; a national icon with whom everybody could, seemingly, relate.� I related to Jordan and understood his passion for basketball because I too felt that way even though I never played.

Growing up in Kingsville MD (10 minutes north of Towson), I was exposed to a very limited array of the total population. According to the recent census, over 88 % of the 4,000 odd persons in my hometown are Caucasian and are in the solid middle class. Looking back now, I don t really remember having to look at my class, social status, or race-identity within my simple life as a child and later as a teen. My father who was born in Greece offered plenty of diversity for me; in politics, sports, and everyday life. In sports in general, my father always wished me to play soccer due to his obvious love of the sport. Baseball, basketball, and even hockey came and went, but soccer stuck around the longest probably due to my father never hesitating to do anything that would help encourage my love of the sport. This and coupled with the fact that playing soccer in elementary school recess was an everyday occurrence and that all my friends played on the same travel/club team probably helped lead to soccer dominating my life once I left elementary school. Soccer was never viewed by myself or parents as a sport that was meant for me to play� due to my location in Kingsville and my ethnic background, but it simply just became a sport I continued to enjoy and love. In relation to my father, soccer has become something we share and love to talk and debate about, comparable to other fathers and sons who talk politics or about the Orioles over dinner.

In addition I would consider myself lucky to be a soccer fan as a kid since I avoided a sort of media bombardment of advertisings and propaganda on television. Since soccer was barely advertised in the USA (even after the World Cup in 94), I didn t have to worry about having companies such as Nike or Adidas try to paint a certain picture of a famous soccer player. This obviously was the case with many athletes in the US, as the article Celebrating Race� showed about Michael Jordan s media profile. All I had was the VHS tape that I taped the Spanish soccer game that aired at 3am on and the match footage that showed why a certain Brazilian or African player was a great or average player. I suppose I would thank my father for pointing me in the right direction of playing soccer along with my friends when I was young, setting me up for great life experiences along the way (and that s a whole other story).

When I lived in Northern Virginia, all the mini van driving families like mine had to have their kids in a soccer league. There was some ethnic diversity on the soccer teams considering that we were twenty minutes outside of D.C. but the really good teams where mostly Caucasian or Asian because they could afford to have their kids in cleats and on pee wee teams by age three. Those of us that simply were not able to afford such early training had to make due and tended to lose to the really wealthy and well trained teams. During this time frame in my youth, Women s Soccer was up and coming. Team USA won the gold medal in the 1996 Atlanta Games. Also they won the 1999 FIFA World Cup.
In youth the primary enforcers are your parents. They positively reinforce hygiene, manners, and making you go to soccer practice no matter how much you don t feel like it. At least this was the case for me being a Caucasian female raised in middle class suburbia. My parents told me I could have second helpings of anything I wanted as long as I went to soccer practices. They said if I practiced really hard I could be the next Brandi Chastain, who we all know was the girl that took her jersey off after scoring the game winning goal in a shoot out in the 1999 FIFA World Cup. She emphasized a strong women and coincidently a good campaign for Nike sports bras. Yet, Brianna Scurry who was the African American Goal Keeper for team USA that stopped the Chinese from scoring and who truly won the game was not crowned the hero by the media. Brianna Scurry was not this ideology cruelly posited that anyone in America could realize the dream regardless of race, color, or creed, the only variable being the individual s desire to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by this great country.� (Andrews 2005)

I grew up in Howard County, Maryland in a usually quiet suburban area. The population I grew up with varied from all different races, primarily Caucasians, Asians and African-Americans. My school was not segregated, but like any school, people had their groups� and most groups consisted of the same race. Throughout my life I played basketball, soccer, and baseball. Coming into high school, basketball and soccer were very competitive, resulting in me not being apart of those programs. Basketball was mostly dominated by the African-Americans my sophomore through senior year. Soccer was pretty much an even mix between all races. I went on to play baseball for my school for three years. My family are big sports fans, so growing up; I learned to love most sports. Even though I didn t play football, it still became my favorite sport to watch followed by baseball. My father has the greatest impact on why I root for the teams I do. As a little kid, I watched my father, like most little boys do, and from that I determined who I would root for. From this, I found what sports I wanted to play and be apart of, baseball becoming my favorite to play. I started playing baseball when I was six years old. Thinking back, I did not have many African-Americans on my team, or even in the league. The mass population was Caucasian, it didn t make a difference to me at the time because I never thought too much about it. Although, looking at Major League teams today, I d have to say that there are more African-American baseball players then I would have guessed.

Growing up on Long Island had a profound effect on the sports that I played as a child. For those who are not from the area I grew up in Suffolk County Long Island, the area is made up of about 85% white, 7% black, very few Asians and the rest of the population Hispanic. Growing up I attended a very large public High School that had over a thousand kids in my grade, and about 5 thousand in the school. Out of those 5 thousand there was maybe 50 African kids at most and approximately 75 Hispanics. Growing up my parents got me started playing little league baseball, which consisted of predominantly all white children. I also raced BMX bicycles as a teenager and you could definitely see how ethic background played a major role. There were very few minorities who were able to race due to the fact of the high costs to participate as well as the costs for bicycles and equipment. Because the sport was made up of mostly suburban white kids, these were the people I modeled after. I modeled after these white guys not for their color but because they excelled BMX racing and in the X-games. Although I did not feel my ethnic background affected the sports in which I played, I can see it did now because once you got into 11th and 12th grade the had a break dancing club that consisted of all minorities, as well as multicultural club which was a minority dance/cheerleading squad that performed at homecoming. I don't think these kidâ s ethnic backgrounds made them better break dancers but I do feel that it made it more acceptable for them to participate in these activities, because I feel the average white Caucasians parents on Long Island would deter them from participating in dancing over baseball, lacrosse, or soccer

This was a fairly tough blog for me to answer. I don t feel as if my race hindered me in too many ways while playing sports growing up. I do suppose however that race did play a significant role in the sports I did play because those were the sports other people in my race where playing or were expected to play. The best example I could think of was one from a middle school experience I had. Going to a mostly black middle school my two cousins and I were some of the few white girls on the basketball team for our school. I believe we were definitely looked at as the players who were not as good as the rest of the team. The coach was a white woman and she seemed to favor the black girls and definitely gave them more playing time. Even as young as middle school we are taught race differences.� We were given stereotypes from such a young age.

As for who we were compared to, I guess that would have to be the other girls on the team. The girls who were at the time the best players were given the most attention and there was little time to learn the sport even at such a young age. The positive reinforcement came from my parents. I was constantly encouraged by both my mother and father. They both always told me that nothing was too far out of reach and no matter what I could do anything I set my mind to. In this particular case the coach was not someone whom I got positive reinforcement from.

I am a middle class white male that grew up in Howard County, Maryland. It is one of the wealthiest counties in the nation and stereotyped as a very "White" area. Despite its reputation, I am not wealthy, and many of the people in that area are not white. The stigma of coming from this area has affected me in many ways. Many people in Howard County played soccer and lacross, which are considered to be very "white" sports in my experience. To be blunt, I hate these sports. I respect those who participate, but I can not stand to play in or watch either of these. I have always been much more of a basketball and football fan. While football is often seen as a very diverse sport, I was always discouraged by my peers about playing basketball. I am fairly tall and very fast, but my inability to be "black" enough was, at least to my middle school classmates, a reason not to pursue basketball as a serious interest. I was young and impressionable, so I listened to their ignorant commentary and never gave basketball as much dedication as I would have without the discouragement of my friends.

It is great to see that many people have had role models outside of their race, like mongo1524. It is easy to talk about all of the negative things that surround race, but sometimes we forget that there are many people out there that don't see people for their race, just as people,

Verina

I think that everyone's ethnic background will always have something to do with the various situations and encounters they experience. I grew up in a predominately white area and went to majority white schools. Fortunately, race and ethnicitiy never really played a big part in upbringing. The schools that I attended had a good share of cultures, and once you got into the high school, it was more apparent that people segregated more than in the younger grades.

Even though the majority of students at my school were white, the teams I played on were more diverse with a higher concentration of african american players. One of the misconceptions I encountered on my basketball team, was that the one white girl on the team was supposedly " a good three point shooter", as assumed by many people. However, as her teammates, we never really played into those sterotypes. We always had a comrodarie as teammates that overcame any outside influences. I believe that my coaches also helped instill this in us as well. I can not recall a single incident where race played a part in a decision made by any of my coaches. If you were good, you played, period.

There were not any particular athlete or celebrity that I looked up too. Many of my role model were other teammates and my coaches. I alway felt like my coaches had my best interest in mind, of and on the court. They always seemed to be very positive and inspirational. They taught us to believe in ourselves, even when other didn't.

Even though race and ethnicity play significant roles in life and especially in major sport, particularily because of the media and social stigma, sportsmanship at a younger level is somewhat more pure. When you are younger, you don't really understand the world around you as you do when you are older. It is easier to see people for just people, and not sterotype races. As you grow, society puts these stigmas into your mind, almost causing you to believe certain things about certain races. That's why i think that in most people's youth sports experiences, there are hardly any memories of racism or ethnicity issues. Children are more pure and untainted. We, as adults, have been influenced by the media and society. In class we always talk about who controls most of the influential things in our life, such as the media and money. Its those people who survive on the naitivety of the common people. They build a society they can control, and people fall into that trap of believing what is being put in front of them, instead of finding out the truth behind the story.

Overall, I have a positive experience in sports. I have made some of the best decisions in my life, because of the values instilled in me through sports, and the people I looked up to. I was fortunate to go through my sport experience with many different ethnicities, and never really have to experience difficult situations revolved around race.

I grew up in suburbia, in a predominatly white neighborhood, as I'm sure many of my other class mates have as well. In my early sporting years, however, I played football for Severn Athletic Club where I was one of about four maybe five white kids on the team. We were a great team, and two out of the four years I played for S.A.C. my team went on to win the county championship. Race to me had nothing to do with it, although I can recount comments, from coaches and parents alike from areas such as Pasadena, MD that where filled with racism. Being young and nieve, I didn't think anything of it and just shrugged it off, my fellow teammates however, had a hard time with the comments. This is Jr. League football we are talking about. Racism shouldn't be prevalent in sport especially when its kid involved.

When I got to high school, and began my wrestling career, I knew better. I went to the most diverse school in my county and had friends of every race and did not have any tolerance for those who where ignorent enough to judge my friends soley on race. When I became captain of the wrestling team my senior year, I remember a certain instance where a team made racial comments during weigh ins a wrestler from Chesapeak High toward one of the none white athletes on my team. I then pulled my teammate aside, and told him "let him say whatever he wants, you dont need to run your mouth because you'll let your preformance speak for it self, when you stick him just shake his hand walk off the mat and sit down."

Pulling the race card in sports is completly unnecessary, if athletes just let there performance speak for themselves, be good sports. We can eliminate have the problems, that arise during activies.

While reading the article, it shows how people were made fun of for beings white, but I believe that only happeneds when they are the minority in a situation. I was never treated any differently for being white, and I believe completely in what A Pirro said, and how she explained her situation.

I grew up in an upper middle class family and area I guess you could say. I didn't have any friends besides white people, not by choice- but because thats what has been around me. In high school there were two African Americans in my graduating class and one Asian. I had not truly encountered any minorities until my freshman year of college at UMBC. Even then there was no other type of ethnic background besides white.

Throughout my life I have played many sports; soccer, lacrosse, swimming, diving and volleyball. Honestly I might have had one or two African
Americans on any of the respected teams throughout my life. I guess this has had an impact on me and the way I look at race, only because I haven't had
and experience with it. To be completely honest, whenever we played any team with African Americans in lacrosse, we thought that there was no way they
could be good. As I now see, that was ridiculous, but there are not that many African Americans that play lacrosse. There were no other ethnicities on my volleyball team either, but when I ran track, we did have a few minorities other than white.

The only people that I ever got compared to while playing sports was during lacrosse. There was a girl that graduated about five years before me at my high school that became an All- American. Her name was Gail Decker and she was who I looked up to. She was a white female from a good Catholic family, just like me. Race never really made a difference in my life, and still today I don't really pass any racial judgements.

I grew up in Massapequa Park, Long Island. Massapequa is a very rich area but unfortunately I was not. I lived in the middle class area of the town and so did all my friends and family. My town is predominately white. I went to school with all white kids, hung out with white kids, and played sports with white kids. It was very rare to see people of other color in my town. When I played baseball and basketball for my school team, we traveled to opponents towns, which were all black schools. Most of the teams we played were predominately black.
Race was not really talked about in my area because it was so 1 dimensional. It was not diverse at all. I wish that my sporting activities and school were more diverse, this way we can learn about other peoples cultures and how they live. Some of the kids I grew up with and played ball with looked down upon other ethnicity s because they rarely come in contact with that. They might make ethnic jokes or say something vulgar about another culture, not knowing that those jokes can hurt someone s feelings. Like in the article about Japanese baseball players, when they didn t perform well, they were chanting degrading things toward them or making fun of their culture (Berkman). Traveling around NY, playing tournaments, I ve noticed that other teams treat players of other cultures differently, like they have to prove themselves to the dominant culture. I had no problem with kids of other ethnicities; in fact most of my role models were of different backgrounds.
Growing up, I modeled after Michael Jordan, like most other young kids did. I was a huge NY Knicks fan, and I looked up to every one of them and they were all black. In baseball, my favorite player was Bernie Williams. I think he was an all around great player and a great guy. He was a team player, a leader and a good role model for me. No body questioned me about why I looked up to any of those athletes. I saw them for who they are and how they carried themselves on and off the field. Everyone should have a role model and the color of his or her skin should have nothing to do with it. Some may find it strange that my sport role models are black, but were all the same and people should look past the color of skin and look at the person inside.

My ethinic background has had such a profound effect on my sporting experience I could probably write a 20-page paper on this topic, and I hate writing anything over a page usually. But ill save that for later and try to keep this short.
I grew up with a lot of carribeans and africans so becuase they played soccer i played soccer. I also played basketball, and a little bit of baseball but soccer was always the sport i was the most serious about probably because of them. I've always considered myself a soccer player that played other sports. The funny thing about it is usually the first thing a stranger will say when they see me is "do you play basketball?" And then when i tell them "no, i play soccer," the look of shock in there eyes is priceless. Obviously when you see a tall, lean, black man he must be a basketball player. It is also interesting to note that generally based on the background of the person asking the question ill get a different response to the answer. Usually if the person is from the middle to upper class and/or white, once they find out that I play soccer not basketball they would just say "oh ok" with a suprised look on their face. However if the person is from the lower class and/or black, once they find out, the response is usually an "oh really!? your too tall to play soccer" and look at me with a bit of disappointment or disdain.

I've probably modelled myself after two french players. One being Zinedine Zidane and the other Patrick Viera. Both players play with a lot of style, class, and skill. Often times when people who pay attention to the game watch me play they compare me to Viera more than anybody. Every now and then somebody might say Zidane but mostly its Viera. I have a very similar build as him and being that I play similarly consequently I get compared to him the most. Usually it is people from outside of the U.S. who make these comparisons because most Americans are suprised that I even play the sport.

I agree with kat keenan, we did use stereotypes for some races. I dont think we really saw them as "stereotypes" until we got older and like others have said before in this blog, when we're young, race doesnt matter. Our idols and heroes are based off of skill alone, not where they are from. I think its only when we get older that we notice race in sport.

Also, I think people who are playing college sports or professional sports have a lot more controversy to deal with being examined so often and closely. The littlest mistake can cause quite an uproar.

I grew up in an area that the majority was all white. I didn t feel different than everyone else yet I never singled out anyone that was a different race or ethnicity. There were enough diverse kinds of people that it wasn t strange to see someone of another color. I played many sports as a kid and never cared if someone was a different color than I was. I believe that when you re young, your parents make your choices and you take after what they tell you. My parents always told me that everyone was equal, so I never noticed differences. Yes, with my eyes I could see differences, but I treated everyone the same. I feel that everyone played all the sports offered in my schools. As a team, we stuck together, played hard, and all got along. When I got to high school, I played tennis. I never really model after anyone. I wasn t enough involved physically to get compared to anyone. As I got older, I would hear stereotypes about how white men couldn t jump or run as fast as black men could. I think after a while from hearing the stereotypes so often that maybe I believed them. In the article, White Like Me, they talk about how people make fun of white people and they way they perform in sports and other activities. I suppose it is good that the author laughs about it, but fails to mention what people of other ethnicities get teased about. I was always told I danced like a white girl , whatever that means, but I wasn t ever made fun for the way I played sports.

I grew up in a predominantly white town of Moorestown, NJ which is considered to be an upper class society. I was not exposed too much diversity and considered myself a little sheltered in the location I grew up in. Surprisingly, Moorestown is only ten minutes from Camden and fifteen from Philadelphia which are completely different types of societies. When I could go into Philadelphia for an Eagles or Phillies game, it is a complete change from my home town. Coming to Towson was a change for me because it exposed me to more diverse groups of people. I grew up in that town where a lot of kids were receiving cars that were more than the median household income in some states. I was definitely not one to get caught up the social class that I lived in and how I let that affect my life. I considered myself to be a humble kid in high school and appreciated all that my parents had sacrificed to get where they are today. Looking at some of my favorite athletes, I have always liked them for their accomplishments on the field, regardless of their race. I know that the reason certain athletes like Michael Jordon and Reggie Bush are so good because of their hard work they put into their sport, not because of their race. Science has proven that no matter what your race is, no one has an advantage. Yet, there will always be that stereotype that African Americans can run faster and jump higher as Francesca mentioned. I do not feel that race or class in any way had any effect in the sports I chose to play in high school. The reason I played lacrosse was just because as a child if you grew up in Moorestown you were breed to play lacrosse which is why I had such a successful high school team. After reading J. Ondrako s comment it is funny how I had to be reminded that she is Asian. While I have been here there have never been any major issues with her ethnicity and we respect her for her hard work on the field and what she brings to the team.

Growing up in Baltimore my encounters with different ethnicities have been about half in half. I went to Mercy High school which is in Baltimore city, so we had a good portion of each ethnicity. The question to this blog has not directly affected me as to whether I've been in a situation where my race has been an issue. However, there was one African American girl on our high school soccer team, and everybody would assumingly think she was fast prior to seeing her actually play. They figured since she was African American and slender that she would be fast ( in which she was). They also thought that she would be a definite forward, however, she was a defensive player.
Someone I aspired to be like when I was younger was Mia Hamm, she was an amazing player, and had a big impact on how I perceived soccer. She was also a team player which means a lot to me. I wanted to be just like her when I got older, and some people would kid around and say that I had foot skills just like Mia Hamm. It was good to hear that encouragment, it kept my hopes high. Race, gender, sexuality, etc. doesn't have anything to do with how you perform in an athletic event, and I think it's absurd people make all these judgements about others. It's almost as if it's involuntary to notice somebody because they are of a dissimilar gender, or race. The article Stating Race says,"Racial discourse is never transcended, it is in a Derridean sense, always already there." That explains a little more clearer what I mean by it's involuntary to think about someone with a different ethnicity. Simply by their appearance we are already making assumptions. What attributes to what kind of athlete we are, and what we are capable of comes from within us, an internal drive that motivates us to do the best possible. It doesn't come from what ethnicity we are; and our backgrounds.

I agree with mongo1524 when he states that his role model was ken griffey jr. It is great even when you are white to have a black role model.

I grew up in Long Island, New York, in a primarily white community. I believe being a white male in a primarily white community had an effect on my sporting background, but not as much as you may think. There are several instances where race played a big role in sports through out the community. For example, when our basketball team, which was all white would play a school that was known to be primarily black, people throughout school would say things like, we have no chance� or we are going to get creamed.� Now looking backing on this issue, the only reason things like this was said is because of societies preconceived notions. It is similar to the point that Professor White brought up in class about how someone once told him that someone who is black is born with an extra muscle within their leg. In this case, the kids at school were only saying this because of outlandish ideas that are created within society.

On the contrary though, I do not think I was influenced to look up to white athletes as opposed to black or Asian athletes. When I played basketball, I wanted to be like Mike.� Therefore, I do not think race had an effect on the people I looked up to in the sporting world. I do believe that every person is affected by race subconsciously. For example, I remember reading an article in Sports Illustrated about high school athletes. In this particular article they were talking about the next great tennis players. Then they went on to describe a student who was Asian and said he would the next Michael Chang.� Meanwhile, Michael Chang wasn t even the big name in tennis at that point or even relative. The writer neglected to say he would be the next Sampras or Agassi, but yet since the kid was Asian instinctively he described him as the next Michael Chang.

I believe in what L.Palmer is saying that everyone has the same chance it does not matter on what color our skin is or what nationality we are. Also I to think it is wrong to look at a color skin a person is and stereotype them on what kind of athlete they are in a particular sport.

I agree with Frank, Montgomery County was a very diverse population, so I can see why there had never been that much of a race issue growing up.

I grew up in northern Harford County, away from the I-95 corridor. With that being said, I grew up in a predominately white� area. Through elementary, middle, and high school, there we very few African America students in those schools. As far as sport went, I played whatever was in the area. It didn t matter who played or what position, it didn t even matter who was on the team, and race never seemed to be an issue. However, when I look back at it there were hardly any African Americans in the rec. leagues in the area. Don t get me wrong, it s not like I hadn t seen an African American playing sports, or played against them, it just wasn t that common in my area. This all changed when I started playing soccer at very high level. Traveling every weekend all around the region, we played great teams and it seemed to be race never was a factor there either. Most of the time, it was the reputation of the team, not the color of the skin of the players.
Seeing that I was a goalie, I grew up watching an idolizing Zach Thorton, at the time an African American goalie for the Chicago Fire. To me it didn t matter the color of his skin, but the fact he was an amazing goalie that was from the same county as me.

When our last class on Wednesday started, there did seem to be a little more tension then normal. Its true, up until the lecture on race the critical thinking has come a lot easier. In response to The Asian Sports Conundrum� when they were talking about the Nike ad with LeBron James. When I read this the first thing that came to mind was that LeBron s commercials were usually pretty funny. The other thing was that I don t think I had ever seen this ad before either. But when I read that the Chinese government had taken the commercial off the air, it would make sense that it wouldn t last long in the US either. This ad on paper at first glance doesn t seem like anything to serious that couldn t be aired in the US, but then when you contrast that ad to an ad with Yao Ming punching Bald Eagles and such, it makes it much easier to understand the problem with the Nike ad.
Growing up in northern Baltimore county, I believe I had a pretty normal life. Everyone that I played sports with when I was growing up seemed to be in the same social class. All the coaches I ever had were white and for that matter up until college all of my teachers were white as well. Even tho I never had a teacher or coach that was of different ethnic background I don t feel that race was much of an issue when choosing that sports I played or choosing what players I rooted for. More recently I was compared to Charlie Hoffman because of our similar hair style s, not because of the color of our skin. I think that because I grew up in a predominantly white area that had little ethnic diversity, that I was some what sheltered to some of the things that other kids had to grow up with in the subject of race and ethnic background. For that reason I feel that race and ethnic background had little impact on me and my sporting experience. For example like in the article when Matsui came to New York and had comments like go back to japan� yelled at him because he was of different race/ethnic background. For me I always stepped onto the field with a majority of the players that same ethnic background as me.

Growing up in a small hick� town in Pennsylvania I did not encounter many sporting activities with kids of different ethnic backgrounds. In my school we had one African American, who played basketball, and about three Asian Americans who did not play any sports at all. Throughout high school we were certainly not known for our diversity or our size. Most of the schools we played were the same way, with the exception of a few larger schools. One of the schools that I remember playing in basketball all the way through high school was Harrisburg. They were a large inner city school and the entire team was composed of African Americans, with the exception of one Caucasian girl. They were always a good team in junior high but we defeated them seventh and eighth grade year. When we went on to play them in high school it was a completely different game. The Harrisburg girls seamed to have grown taller and faster than us. Two things that definitely put them a step above us was how physical they were and their one on one skills. Like you had mentioned in class, showing off and being physical was part of getting to play more at an inner city park as opposed to a suburban park.
I m embarrassed to say that I was one of those people that thought that it was definitely possible for African Americans to have an extra muscle in there legs. Like I said before, where I was from we did not have a lot of African Americans, and I just did not understand how all of the girls on the Harrisburg basketball team could run faster and jump higher than us. Now I look back and laugh at how ridiculous it was to think that. It is clear now that all races have just as much difference between each other genetically as do you and I.

In the area I grew up, there was predominantly a white population, but significant amount of African Americans. In the park across the road, the basketball courts were always occupied by African Americans. The soccer field and volleyball court were used by white people. There was never much integration. There was nobody in my area to represent the Latino or Asian ethnicities, essentially my area was not very diverse. When I look at where most of my time was spent, the soccer field, I was surrounded by teammates and opponents that were also white. Sage writes, "But socially elite sports are not the only ones still lacking significant African American presence. Auto racing, ice hockey, and soccer are others." African American presence did lack on my soccer team; however there was no barrier present that prevented them from playing or trying out. They had every opportunity as any other kid did. Thus, I would have to say that my ethnic background did not affect my sporting activities.
Later in life, I found that race played a factor in my soccer career. When playing against opponents, I found that African Americans were positioned up front because they had speed. I also found that opponents of Latino descent were positioned in the middle of the field because they had exceptional ball skills and passing capabilities. But through my years I found this not to be the case. I found that it was rather the lack of experience and knowledge of the coaches we faced that positioned their players based on misconceptions.
When I look back, it wasn't until I consistently watched English premier soccer on television that I found my skills and mentality on the soccer field improve. It wasn't a single player in the league but rather the playing style that I tried to model after. I was constantly being positively reinforced by my family, coaches, and teammates, as well as opponents and their coaches. The only reinforcement that proved beneficial was my family. They were always coming to my games and supporting me. This really helps one's confidence and ability to perform well.
Thus, I don't believe its race that factors into one's ability to perform or play a sport but rather their attitude and determination to do what they love and do it well to be acknowledged.

I liked Mongo1524's response because I have realized that being Asian I have not simply limited myself to only idolizing those of Asian descent. My biggest role model in the sports world for the longest time was Mia Hamm, for being as accomplished as she was in the world of women's soccer. Like with what Mongo said it wasn't like I chose to idolize her because of her ethnicity of her being white, I simply respected her for being such an incredible athlete.

I feel as though my ethnic backround and social class has had a profound effect on my sports experience. Growing up in a small town where everyone was in the same middle class place with decently sized houses and enough food for a feast each night had an effect on my life. Growing up watching brett farve or tiger woods or even late stages of larry bird shaped the person I wanted to become. In the early days of watching sports I rarely was compared or wanted to be compared to an african american athelete. They were all exposed to be as thugs or bad people that you would not want to have as a role model.
I also was subjected to play certain sports becasue of my ethnic backround. I was pushed towards soccer at an early age becasue it was so-called a healthy exercise for young children. I was not aloud to play football until about 13 years old becasue it was considered a dangerous sport. Being from a middle class place I wass told I did not need to put my body on the line to move up a class level or gain repect. I could just go along playing these friendly sports. I was also pushed towards lacrosse at an older age which if you did not know is a prodominatly white sport which is gaining other ethnic backrounds but still is mostly certain kinds of people. The quipment along can run you upwards of 300 dollars just to get started. Then add all the fees and field spaces and you wonder why it is a prodominately weathly sport.
Only was it later in life that tiger woods gained the respect and was looked at as a role model. In my eyes now he should have gained this repect a long time ago but since he was african america or asian he did not get that respect. In the end i feel that your ethnic backround has a huge effect on the sports you play. Also when you through social class or status in the mix it really has a huge effect on the sport you play or the role models you may have.

I grew up in a predominantly white society, and was vaguely exposed to a big mixture of races. Even in the surrounding public schools that we competed against I could count the number of girls on one hand that were not of the Caucasian decent. Yet I never questioned that different races could be physically or athletically different. Even on the club teams I played on everyone seemed to have the same state of mind, compete and have fun. I never really came across an instance where I was affected by race.
In class we discussed how we easily stereotype those who are a dissimilar color. For example those of an African American decent jump higher because they have an extra muscle in there leg. It s awful to think that people come up with such stereotypes to justify why a certain race is performing and another is not. Our genetic makeup is the exact same. In the article about Michael Jordan Nike perceived him to be almost un-human like; that he could fly through the air. the super exploitation of the black body as a muscle-machine endowed with a naturally muscle physique and machine like perfection.� (Celebrating Race 104) I m assuming it s too much to think that Michael Jordan didn t work hard day in and day out to be the basketball player that he was. In order to achieve you have to put in the effort. Whether you re black or white or any other decent everyone has the same opportunities, it s what you make of them.

I agree with Mongo 1524. He simply stated that he looked up to his role model Ken Griffey Jr. It had nothing to do with the color of his skin but the fact that he was a great player and he admired him. That is exactly how I feel. As long as you were not influenced by the area you grew up in that minorities are bad, then most likely you did not have a problem. You looked at people for who they were and not anything else. My biggest influences in sport were my family and friends and that is all.

Growing up in a middle class, suburban neighborhood, and going to a private school until I came to Towson, I never had alot of personal exposure with people outside of my own race. I have always loved to play soccer and baseball but never made my decisions on where or who to play for based on how diverse the team was going to be. Playing in rec leagues and even going into high school, I never even thought that people would think anyone was better than anyone else for the sole reason they were a specific ethnicity. And when there were people of different ethnic backgrounds on teams that I have played on, no one who was white seemed to pay any attention to the fact that whoever it was was not white. The only thing that really mattered was how well you were able to perform on the field. I know that when I was playing baseball, I always wanted to be like Ken Griffey, Jr. simply because he's one of the best hitters in the game. It has absolutly nothing to do with the color of his skin or where he came from, those thoughts never came into my head. All that mattered to me or anyone I played with were the results that the team could get. If at all, the only people I was ever compared to was somebody who played the year before me in high school. The people who gave me positive reinforcement were the people you would expect to support you: parents, coaches, and friends. And it was never anything out of the ordinary, just something from teammates saying good game or my parents talking about the game and the different things that went on throughout and then telling me I played well which is always good to hear.
Finally, when I was reading the "White Like Me," column by Rick Reilly, I could not help but think about the term 'racism' and I wonder if that is a term that only applies to people of caucasian decent? His example of Mike Tyson's comments to the white reporter and the hypothetical situation of how if the people involved had switched positions, white athlete gesturing to a black reporter, the situation would have made even more of a stir than it did with only Mike Tyson involved. Yet you don't hear anyone saying Tyson is racist when clearly the dominating point he is getting at is the reporters race, you just hear that he's gone and done something else off the wall but it's all but expected from him now. It was just a thought that came to mind and I figured I would throw it out there.

I am your average Caucasian male, born in Fairfield, CT, which is considered a wealthy area. Although I was not rich, many of my friends and kids in the area were. Fortunately, my family was not racist in any way, nor did they make stereotypical comments. Although African Americans are different than us in terms of their skin, and their culture, I always treated them the way I would treat any of my white friends. I remember growing up in little league and soccer; there were very few minorities on the team. It was mostly all Caucasian players, so I didn t experience a lot of racial issues. I really do not think though that race affected my sports activities too much. I do know that the leagues I played in were considered higher class than inner city schools with a lot less money to put into sport programs, so in that respect I am thankful. Some of my favorite idols were African American including Penny Hardaway, my favorite basketball player of all time. I consider myself lucky that I did not grow up in an area where racial discrimination took place and minorities were looked down on. In terms of sports though, I do know that African American athletes were looked up to. They were the ones that could jump the highest and run the fastest. Although that is a stereotype, its thinking highly about a race of people and I do not see that as a fault. In terms of their not actually being race genes is surprising to me because of what our society teaches us. It is very interesting that there is no real definition for skin color being black and skin color being white. This should be a world wide question, that way maybe it will get everyone to think a little harder about the all the different races that surround us.

Growing up within a predominately Caucasian area has affected my outlook on sports as well as my involvement in various sporting activities. Whether Caucasian or Afro-American it s the will and effort the individual makes of their own potential. Acknowledging any weaknesses and working to build up my stamina and physique were fundamentals to my can do� attitude. Perseverance and consistent discipline were the underpinnings of my love which continued to grow for the game. My participation in sports overall helped shape who I am, the role models I admired who helped me with positive reinforcement and thirdly, were examples of how agility and skill could be focused. Living in the suburbs my entire life has given me great access to the school and community fields and courts. We lived close enough to any number of fields, and I could practice anytime I wanted. My Dad was the main role model after whom I modeled myself. He always taught me to go after what you want and always told me to be the best you can in whatever you do. Sitting on the sidelines from being lackadaisical was the worse thing you could be. I always enjoyed playing sports, especially baseball and basketball. At the opposite spectrum, kids living in the inner city, primarily of African American background, have poorer, less maintained, courts and sports facilities. But their enthusiasm wasn t dampened. Basketball in the inner city is very popular because there are courts directly in the city and the kids have open access to them at all times. The inner city kids are known for their pick-up� games involving innate skills, agility and determination. Their competitive drive enables them to hone their natural skills and even evolve incredible athletes. At the same time, the ethnic groups located in the inner city are not capable of playing baseball as often because of the absence of fields in the inner city. Obviously, the lack of access of playing fields inhibits their ability to play baseball, and may depend on joining a county-wide or private team. In the area where I am from, pick- up games are not as likely since communication isn t as informal between players, and the only form of practice is more organized, occurring within a league setting. While not having the ability to play in pick-up games with baseball and basketball, my Dad always helped me get better my practicing with him or after I played in my league. My Dad would help critique my playing after every game, positively reinforcing what I needed to improve and commenting on every nuance that I could change. This reinforced my approach to improving my game. Although there are differences with the suburban living ethnic groups and inner city ethnic groups, everyone has the opportunity to succeed in a sport if matched by their perseverance. While it s a cliché, when there is a will, there is a way. Just like in the reading Celebrating Race, as Michael Jordan says, anyone in America could realize the dream regardless of race, color, or creed, the only variable being the individual s desire to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by this great country� (10). This just shows how this country has opened up opportunities for people no matter what their ethnicity or what endeavor they pursue. There are numerous opportunities for people, but the individual s motivation and drive makes the difference in outcome.

I have always been a minority on every sports team that I played. I was born and raised in Maryland I grew up in middle class Anne Arundel County. I was fortunate enough to go to a private high school in Maryland. I was one of the few Asian kids at my high school beside my little brother. I was able to play football for my high school, but not after some hard work and allot of jokes. How many big Asian kids do you see on a football team, not that many. I was real small as a freshman and my sophomore year in high school. Most of my teammates were African American and Caucasian all of them much bigger than me. I always stuck up for myself and didn't take any crap. I guess I was like "Rudy" from Notre Dame. I looked like a water boy, but I was fortunate to get a chance to play. I spent allot of time in the weight room and grew, I got bigger and stronger every year. I eventually was a starter on defense. When I was younger for gym class I was usually picked last all the time. Who wants to pick the small Asian kid for your team ? In some ways I felt I had to work harder to make any team. I knew by being the only Korean kid on the team it reinforced myself to do better. If I didn't do well it I felt I would stand out.

I agree with Frank. Although I grew up in a dominant white society it did not restrict me from playing against other races and looking up to different colored people. No one ever tried to instill racism in me.

I gew up in Montgomery County, Maryland. From the age of five until twelve, I primarily played rec league baseball, soccer occasionally and football once. When I got to high school I wrestled, threw track, and played baseball. But I don t believe race had any profound effect on my sporting activities. It s a known fact that Montgomery County is one of the most diverse counties in the state of Maryland, so I had the oppurtunity to engage in sports with people of all races, ethnic backgrounds, and social class, especially when I got to high school. Never at any point in my sporting career as a child did race mean anything to me. I was on a team with my teamates and we were there to play, be competitive, and have a good time. Sure, playing baseball as a kid I had predominately white kids on my teams, but I never made anything of it and still don t til this day. When I got to high school and wrestled, the team was white, black, and asian. I think it s safe to assume that wrestling is a predominately white sport, but our team had an equal mixture of all three. And that didn t mean anything to our coach. If you were better than everyone in your weight class, you started. Bottom line. Our team went on that season to win the state championship, not because of the race of our team, but because we were better than all the other teams in the division in the state of Maryland. Being on a team meant working together and enjoying the sport we all had interest in.

Wow, amazing writing. You certainly have a knack for words. I would discuss your topic at hand, but I realized that I don't have much to say. But I will keep reading.

I have to agree with mongo1524 for being able to be white and have a black role model. For the longest time i biggest role model was Coby Jones and he was a black soccer player, but he was a natural athlete and amazing at soccer.

my fault for posting three times i kept getting an error msg saying it didnt go through, but apparently it did. Sorry about that.