Race and sports.

In 1947, Jackie Robinson became the first African-American to play Major League Baseball (MLB), changing the sport--and the nation--forever (see Times Past, p. 18). By the 1970s, more than a quarter of MLB players were African-American, with the percentage dropping significantly since then. This graph shows the racial breakdown in the top professional men's team sports in the U.S. today.

[GRAPHIC OMITTED]

ANALYZE THE GRAPH

(1) Which sport shown on the graph had the highest percentage of Latino players in 2010-11?

(a) basketball

(b) football

(c) soccer

(d) baseball

(2) In the NFL, the percentage of African-American players is--the percentage of white players.

(a) about half

(b) almost triple

(c) more than double

(d) approximately equal to

(3) In 1975, 27 percent of Major League Baseball players were African-American. In 2010-11, that percentage was

(a) 2 points Lower.

(b) 10 points higher.

(c) 18 points lower.

(d) unchanged.

(4) Major League Soccer has about 380 players. Based on this graph, about how many of them are Asian?

(a) 1

(b) 4

(c) 9

(d) 14

(5) Which sport on the graph has the Least disparity between the percentage of white players and the percentage of African-American players?

(a) soccer

(b) baseball

(c) football

(d) basketball

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

(1) What has happened to the percentage of African-American players in baseball since the 1770s? How might you explain this?

(2) If Jackie Robinson were alive today, do you think he would be pleased with the Level of racial integration in sports? Explain.

(3) Do you think that Robinson's breaking of the color barrier in baseball helped facilitate integration of other parts of American society, such as schools and the military? Explain.

(4) How much attention do you think fans today pay to players' races? How does this compare with the way things were in 1947?

ANSWER KEY

(1) [d] baseball.

(2) [c] more than double

(3) [c] 18 points lower.

(4) [b] 4

(5) [a] soccer