What does the subject line has to do about the 2006 Winter Olympics? By now some of you who are forever connected to the Web and read blogs must've heard by now Bryant Gumbel's remarks about the Winter Olympics(go to this blog - http://toddchristian.prblogs.org/) or read Reihan Salam's article on slate.com(www.slate.com/id/2136338/?nav=fo). The issue of racism and diversity is a sore topic in the U.S.(and I think to a certain extent Canada too) that we(gay/straight) all tend to ignore. Is there racism in the Winter Olympics, is a lack of people of color participating in the Games disturbs you, do you tend not to watch the games because it's mostly white and does it bother you that the majority of the athletes are white? These were some of the questions that I heard on a local sports radio show out here in Los Angeles. As corny and sappy as this may sound I'll watch an athlete(male, female, straight, etc.)if I enjoy how they're performing and not having an attitude whatever the color of their skin.

[ February 17, 2006, 05:15 PM: Message edited by: SideOut ]

The first link doesn't go to any article referring to Bryant Gumbel, but to what seems to be the home page of prblogs.com. The Slate article makes no mention whatsoever of Bryant Gumbel. What exactly did he say?

Sorry about that link, I don't know why it doesn't work anyway maybe these will -
http://technorati.com/tag/Winter+Olmpics
the topic about Gumbel is under POSTS and it's the seventh topic

you can go the HBO forum board, didn't bother to read any of it because I don't have to imagine how intense and nasty the comments are

www.sportingnews.com/experts/chris-russell/blog/

www.slate.com/id/2136338

There will always be sports that attract one group of people over another for whatever reason.

Geography plays a part in who particpates in snow sports. If you grew up in northern climes near the mountains, you already have an advantage over others. Sure economics plays a role but if one has talent, drive and perseverence they can win in any sport winter or summer. Many of the Russian and Chinese participants have not come from well heeled families and sacrificed alot to get where they are. For every wealthy person you hear of winning a medal there is always a person with a hardship story to match.

There's been some discussion of this on the local sports radio today -- I only heard a couple of minutes, though, so I don't know how much exactly or any real specifics. One host I heard did make the comment that if someone white made a similar comment about a sport like basketball he or she would be widely criticized.

Just recently, some Mets fans were criticized for saying they felt oamr Minaya was making the team too Latin. Of course, they were roundly called racists. And haven't alot of whites been scolded for saying they are not watching basketball as much because it's too black?

And when did the whitest black man on the planet get to speak on behalf of blacks anyway? Oh and just a note to Bryant Gumball-lots of us whiteys don't care for alot of the Olympic sports (look at the ratings, we'd rather watch American Idol apparently) because we don't participate in them either. While I know lots of people who ski, snowboard and skate, I've yet to meet a curler, luger, bobsledder or biathlete in all my years.

Did Bryant watch Shani Davis win the Gold or did he miss that one.

Oh God...I think Bryant Gumbel is totally wrong on this one, and should shut his pie-hole for a change. The issue is class and economics; most winter sports are more expensive than summer ones; many require that an athlete have access to very specialized terrain or equipment; and in general winter sports attract far few American enthusiasts than other kinds of sport. It is also an obvious fact that while there are some very rich Black and Latino Americans, and a large Black middle class, there are comparatively fewer Blacks or Latinos who have the resources, who are from the regions where winter sports are played (yes, New York City and Chicago get cold, but...), or who have the opportunity to develop their athletic skills in the various winter sports.

BUT, even though that's the case, the US is sending the most diverse team ever in its history to the Winter Olympics! Did Gumbel miss this basic fact? Did he? There are Blacks, Latinos, Asians, Whites, mixed-raced people...I mean, I could understand his comment with regard to the Winter games 30 years ago, but he really is clueless about the 2006 team. Shani Davis, Apolo Anton Ohno, Derek Parra, Aaron Parchem, etc. It even includes the first Black American woman to win a Winter gold, Vonetta Flowers, who did that back in 2002 in Salt Lake City (maybe Gumbel wasn't paying attention). And it's not just the US: there are Black athletes competing for Canada, Germany, Brazil (less surprising there), France, Britain, and so on.