Africa Speaks Reasoning Forum

By John Thomas Didymus   
Jul 2, 2012

According to former Olympic champion Michael Johnson, African American and Caribbean sprinters will dominate the London Olympic games because of what he terms a "superior athletic gene," the favorable consequence of their history of slavery.

Johnson said: "Difficult as it was to hear, slavery has benefited descendants like me – I believe there is a superior athletic gene in us."

Daily Mail reports he said: "Over the last few years, athletes of Afro- Caribbean and Afro-American descent have dominated athletics finals. It’s a fact that hasn’t been discussed openly before. It’s a taboo subject in the States, but it is what it is. Why shouldn’t we discuss it?"

According Johnson, "It is currently being researched to see how much of a factor being descended from slaves contributes to athletic ability."

Read more: www.digitaljournal.com/article/327746 (http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/327746)

I've heard this argument before and I think there are other things that should be considered. If blacks had equal access to resources they would perform and excel in other sports. The fact that they don’t excel in water sports has to do with access to pool facilities and equipment, but for sports where additional equipment is not needed such as track and field, basketball and football, they excel.

Another thing is that many blacks in the diaspora, e.g. Caribbean, America, Latin America, and Africa itself are strongly motivated to excel because they see sports as an opportunity to get out of poverty and other negative stigmas associated with poverty and racism.

Some are also more strongly motivated due to the racism they face, which forces them to use the limited resources they do have to prove themselves in what avenues that are easily available to them.