Baron Pierre de Coubertin saw sports as a unifying mechanism for the world’s countries to compete in the spirit of social equality and democracy. In 1896 his founding of the International Olympic Committee helped launch the first organized games. More than a century later, the extent to which the 31 Olympiad has brought about Coubertin’s goals is disputable.
The 2016 U.S. Olympic team is a reflection of America: a telescopic snapshot of racial diversity and a microscopic close up of racial segregation.
Despite the flashy marketing of racial and cultural diversity, an overwhelmingly 72 percent of the 558 U.S. Olympians were white, while only 23 percent were black, 2 percent were Latino, and 3 percent were Asian. Out of 30 possible sporting events, 74 percent of the black Olympians only competed in track and field or basketball. Almost 50 percent of the teams had no blacks at all. 80 percent of the American teams had no Asians or Latino members. While Simone Manuel, the first African American to win Olympic gold in swimming, dominated the headlines, 96 percent of the 47-member swimming delegation were white. While we celebrate the ascendancy of Simone Biles, she was one of only 2 African Americans on the 18 member gymnastics team.
To be sure the 2016 U.S. Olympic team is more diverse than in years past. Gender, racial, and cultural diversity have become moral and legal imperatives. Women accounted for 53 percent of the athletes. Asians constituted 100 percent of the badminton and table tennis teams. The fencing and tennis teams were 55 percent and 45 percent African American respectively. If only there was a larger representation and distribution of black and brown athletes across all the sporting events on par with the white athletes.
It comes down to the relationship between race and wealth. Unfortunately, despite America’s advances, race is still a determinant of access to resources, opportunity, and wealth. Its legacy determines the experiences to which a brown or black athlete may be exposed. Whites are disproportionately more likely to come from middle or upper middle class backgrounds. To the detriment of black and brown athletes, this systemic advantage tips the scales in favor of more whites being exposed to the types of experiences enabling them to compete for most, if not all, Olympic sporting events.
While the U.S. constitution affirms that all red, white, and blue lives matter in the same way, the racial makeup of the Olympic team challenges this notion and aspiration. As we continue to demand a racial democratizing of our nation’s social and economic landscape, a reflection of such on future Olympic teams will come to fruition.
We can do better. After all, we did. We are. And we will. GO USA!