In my column reviewing the weekend NCAA Tournament games, I wrote a short piece about Tyler Hansbrough’s athleticism and included a final line wondering if he would be viewed differently if he were black. Obviously, that’s the sort of topic that’s not best handled by a single throwaway line, but I didn’t have time to go into it more.
Fortunately, Chad Orzel of the Uncertain Principles blog read what I wrote and expanded on it nicely.
As most anyone who watches much sports knows, there tends to be a bias in how white and black athletes are described. Let’s ignore the “truth” about how athletic various players really are or aren’t – white athletes tend to get credit for hustle, hard work, attitude and smart play while black athletes are noted for their sheer athleticism and skill. In many cases, these descriptions are appropriate and in many cases they are not. This kind of analysis is laziness in the form of easy stereotyping. You see the same thing when an athlete reminds the announcer of some similar athlete who is invariably of the same race.
As for Hansbrough, I’ll admit that I haven’t always thought of him as athletic. Sure, he’s no Will Bowers, but I wouldn’t compare him to Sean Williams or even Josh McRoberts either. That’s partly why I was surprised to realize that his brother and father both have accomplished things that do require supreme athleticism. Maybe Hansbrough isn’t just a hard worker or “the toughest basketball player in America” but is also a superior athlete. I mean, Jason Cain plays pretty hard and he’s fairly athletic as well, but he’s nowhere near the player Hansbrough is.
I think Tyler actually is a superior athlete, but he’s just one of those guys who’s not very fluid. He’s jerky and angular, but surprisingly athletic. We’ve probably all had friends like that or at least played against that guy at the gym. He looks goofy and runs funny, but damn if he doesn’t keep scoring on you or hitting jumpers from 20 feet. I ran track with a guy like that in college. He looked and acted like a big dork. He kind of loped when he walked and looked like he was trying too hard when he ran. But the dude could long jump 23 feet (you try that some time) and was a hell of a dunker at just about 6 feet tall. And yes, he was white.
It just goes to show – you never really know until you watch what someone can and can’t do. The color of their skin or the smoothness of their gait doesn’t tell you the whole story.