assignment

ASAMs in professional sports 
Asian Americans comprise nearly 6% of the US population and can be found in many different segments of society (some more concentrated than others).  A space where you will find very few Asian Americans is in the world of professional sports.  For this lecture we will focus on the most popular professional sports which are the NBA (National Basketball Association), the NFL (National Football Association) and MLB (Major League Baseball).  We will discuss the barriers to access and greater representation, high density of specific populations in each sport and the role of models to increase representation. 
 
Limited Representation
The world of professional sports has not always been as diverse as it is today (and by diverse I mean not just White).  The history of integration of African Americans (Links to an external site.) for each sport occurred soon after WWII, a pivotal time of change in American society.  By 1950 sports were integrated and since then has seen larger number of people of color in just about every sport. As positive as that may be, the conversation around race is still very much black and white.  As the numbers African American athletes rise the notion of diversity in professional sports seems to have reached it’s goals. Yet when we look at the disaggregated data we can see that there is still a lot of work to do be done.  The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES) (Links to an external site.) serves as a “comprehensive resource for issues related to gender and race in amateur, collegiate and professional sports”.  They create reports that reveal the racial and gender breakdown in sports not only as players but also in management roles.  Below you will find TIDES research in charts to show the representation by race in three major league sports and take note of the Asian American representation.  
The data clearly shows a huge discrepancy when it comes to Asian (they conflated Asian and Asian American) representation as players in these three professional sports.  There are commonalities in these sports that enable larger numbers of other races to have higher numbers (so much research behind cultivation of these athletes, race as a determinate in scouting reports etc) but for the sake of this class, we will focus on the Asian/Asian American experience.  What are some assumptions as to why they would have such low numbers in each of these sports?  Lack of skill? Lack of interest?  Does not fit the mold?  (Sounds a bit like acting, hip hop, many topics we have discussed).  Does being a model minority play into any of this?  
Barriers to overcome
Just as we have discussed about other topics there are barrier to access for ASAMs in the professional sports arenas.  This time the barriers are both internal (within the family and community) as well as externally (society’s expectations).  We will be discussing the barriers faced (sometimes myths) by Asian Americans and then look at the ways ASAMs have overcome them.  
 
Parental disapproval, lack of role models
Immigrant parents have one thing on their minds when deciding to move to a new country: a better future for their family, especially for their children.  When we discussed the model minority myth we touched upon the types of majors and employment that were seen as financially secure. The STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) were the fields that the professional ASAMs were able to get into that instantly propelled them into middle class status.  The security and comfort found by this immigrant generation only encouraged a greater push for their children to enter into similar fields.  Even non-tiger parents (this is an excerpt from Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom (Links to an external site.) in case you have not heard of the Tiger Mom) felt that the avenue to success was through academics. The “bootstrap theory” taught them (as they were a fine example of it) that working hard will overcome any obstacle.  Armed with education these children of immigrants would have access to a comfortable living just as they have provided for them.  
Exposure, models
 With so few Asian/Asian American professional athletes young ASAMs might have a hard time visualizing themselves as professional athletes.  How can they want to be something that they do not really see?  Some professional athletes speak out about the lack of representation and how much of a role they take on in being that model for Asian Americans.  They want to be that sense of encouragement to show that someone “that looks like them” can make it to the big leagues too.  Even if young ASAMs believes in themselves they also need to garner the support from their families.  It’s a tough argument to win against immigrant parents about the many doors that will open for a young Asian American athlete with limited ASAM professional athletes to source as examples. 
These parents cannot be faulted because of their ignorance, it’s just what they know.  Because these parents do no see many successful Asian American professional athletes, why would they encourage their participation in this extracurricular activity?  Sure there was that one fellow, Jeremy Lin but he was an anomaly not the norm, right?  The compromise many families choose is, “Sure they can play soccer or tee ball as a young child but there’s no long term investment in that”.  It may look good for college applications to participate in high school sports but once the child is in college the focus needs to be solely on academics.  Academic excellence, connections and hard work will ensure a secure future-that’s the American dream! If it’s uncommon for Asian Americans to earn athletic scholarships, contracts for professional sports then why would immigrant parents support this “hoop dream”?  For many families the facts are that these careers (if granted one) are not long lasting.  The long term, safe routes are what has granted them their comfortable living.  Sports, with the injuries, cuts from teams and immense physical competition cannot grant a safe and secure life.  
 
Not the type
These two charts illustrate a common assumption about the physical difference between Asian/Asian Americans and Americans which acts as a barrier to becoming a professional athlete.  The ASEAN chart shows the tallest male average as 171 cm or 5ft 6inches.  Physicality plays an important role in contact sports.  Not just your height or weight but your ability to move, catch, throw, hit and in many sports, to be aggressive.  These traits (especially the last) aren’t ones that are usually tied to Asian Americans.  With all of the stereotypes we have covered it’s simple enough to just write off Asian Americans as unable to keep up with the larger competitors where physical strength (football) and height (basketball) are measures of talent.  This article (Links to an external site.) that covers the implicit bias in the NFL draft is a great read to understand the assumptions that talent is linked to race.  What’s even more interesting in the reading is the complete absence of Asian Americans in the discussion.  This article brings to light the problems that white athletes face to be seen as prospects for certain positions as opposed to black athletes. The only conversation that involves any other race was one about Pacific Islander athletes and the team’s concern about how many family members would be coming along with them.  The assumption is that Pacific Islanders, Polynesians specifically have large families and would act as a distraction. 
But as the article highlighted, “Jesse Sapolu, ex-San Francisco 49er guard and native Samoan, that “with the way we were brought up, those family members will remind those players that the family name is very, very important, you know?” The family tells the prospect not to “do anything to screw it up.”
The implicit bias in sports in terms of physicality (despite the many “average sized” athletes that have existed) only adds to the challenges faced by Asian Americans who have hopes of living out their athletic dreams as professionals.  
Maybe the type?
Poly football players 
Two professional sports that have higher rates of Asian/Asian American/Pacific Islander representation are football and baseball.  Both of these populations have had greater exposure, role models, (mostly) familial  support to chase their dreams in professional sports and in the case of the Polynesians, fit the “type”.  Polynesians have had exposure to the sport as early as missionaries arrivals to the Hawaiian islands.  Over time Native Hawaiians, Tongans and Samoans (Links to an external site.) increased their interest in the sport and a culture of acceptance grew.  Cultural aspects transferred over well in the sport with many young men playing without fefe (fear), putting the needs of the whole above self (like a family or in this case the team), and respect for elders/authority.  Families were initially uncertain about the prospects of a future in football but as one by one left on scholarships to the mainland more support grew. This “ticket off of the rock”, be it Hawaii or American Samoa through education was something that families could get behind.  When some of their family members make it to the NFL it becomes even more of a reality that this could lead to something good.  These unintentional role models offer a look at what could happen with (again) hard work, determination and faith.  
Suzuki, Nomo and Matsui

The relationship between Japan and baseball is similar to the Polynesian/football story in the fact that the introductions were over a hundred years ago.  An American educator, Horace Wilson introduced Japan to the world of baseball in the 1870’s.  In the hundred years to follow major league players visited Japan (Links to an external site.) increasing their appetite for the sport.  The “Great Bambino”, Babe Ruth left spectators in awe with double digit homeruns during his 1934 tour.  

A cycle of exchange
Post war relationships were rocky but Japanese team owners were eager to build their sport.  They initially wanted to recruit American players to elevate the game but were unsure of their reception.  A compromise was reached and in 1951 a Japanese American (who spoke no Japanese) named Wally Yonamine was sent to play in Japan.  Yonamine (Links to an external site.) happened to also be the first Japanese American to play in professional football (as a running back for the San Francisco 49ers).  Between 1951 and 2017, more than 300 American players would follow Yonamine’s lead and sign with Japanese ball clubs.  In 1964 Masanori Murikama came to San Francisco looking to build his skills as a pitcher.  He ended up staying beyond the terms agreed and played with the Giants for an extended year with the promise of return to Japan for good.  For 30 years Japanese players were prohibited to play in the US in the fear of the losing their “national assets”.  Changing the rules in the 1990’s has opened more doors to Japanese players who have made great strides in major league baseball.  This prominence in this sport by Asians (more recently Koreans have been added to MLB’s Asian rosters) is rooted in a long history, US-Japanese relations and no real barriers in terms of physicality.    

Linsanity

The New York Times described a player as “a smart passer with a flawed jump shot and a thin frame, who might not have the strength and athleticism to defend, create his own shot or finish at the rim in the N.B.A.”  Smart, thin, not have strength and athleticism.  Not quite the description of a typical athlete.  That player being described was Jeremy Lin.  Jeremy Lin, a Bay Area Chinese American basketball player took the world by storm in 2012.  His skill set was overlooked by college recruiters and landed him at Harvard (not so terrible in academics but not a big name basketball college).  His professional career was slow to start, going undrafted in 2010 then spending his first year as a bench player for two NBA teams (and also some time in the D league).  When he got to the Knicks he was still unsure of the certainty of his job.  As is with any of the professional sports, injuries can open up doors for other players as they did for Lin that 2011-2012 season.  His incredible games catapulted him into stardom where his race often took center stage along with conversations of his skills.  The media had a field day with his name,  (Links to an external site.)he was taunted at games, criticized by other athletes  (Links to an external site.)and discredited as a only good “for an Asian guy”.  After a great run with the New York Knicks, he was bounced around to six different teams and with less than 30 minutes total playing time was part of the 2019 Toronto Raptors who won the NBA title against (my beloved) Golden State Warriors.  Dealing with the remnants of an injury from two years ago, Lin was released this passed summer.  He has since been playing overseas for the Beijing Ducks. 

Model Minority 
In this week’s reading the author speaks to the issue of Lin’s success as another example of the model minority myth.  In this context, Lin is a minority in the NBA that is mainly African American and white, with little Asian American representation.  The conversations around him were about his intellect as a Harvard grad, a strong suit for the point guard position.  He fit the narrative of an underdog who was overlooked, doubted but overcame all of those hurdles to not only make it to the NBA but also to shine (for a Linsane run…ok that’s the last pun).  He pulled himself up when knocked down on and off of the court and was a great model of a strong work ethic to achieve anything.  Is that problematic?  For many reasons, yes.  What happens when those who try equally hard do not make it? Who’s to blame but themselves?  Jeremy had an exceptional chance with supportive parents, the financial means to participate in camps and club sports and access to educational support that those on the lower socioeconomic rungs of the ladder do not.  He grew up in a state and culture of Asian American basketball leagues (Links to an external site.) where generations of families participated in the sport.  His skills, hard work and contributions to the conversations around race, masculinity and access to spaces where Asian Americans are often left our should not be ignored but he should also not be the pillar of the myth which is often tied to his story.