Most professional sports have fostered continued institutional racism, although overt segregation generally ended after the Second World War. However, with former players who are African American beginning to achieve management and ownership positions on teams, there are signs of change occurring. Black advancement has paved the way for Latinos and Asians, but issues of immigration and stereotyping also affect their levels of participation.

During the first half of the twentieth century nearly all sports were segregated, boxing being the most important exception. In this sport, Jack Johnson won the world heavyweight title, receiving considerable vilification from white Americans for doing so and beginning the search for the “great white hope” in that sport, which continued when the sport became dominated by African Americans. Joe Louis was greeted with more favor from whites, in part because he represented the nation against Hitler’s champion, and whites began to classify black boxers as either “good” or “bad” Negroes. The former includes Louis and Joe Frazier, and the latter men such as Muhammad Ali (who both converted to Islam and refused to fight in the Vietnam War) and Mike Tyson. The stereotyping implicit in these characterizations provides just one example of the way forms of discrimination continued even when a sport appeared to be integrated.

The other two sports that opened doors to blacks relatively early were track and field and basketball. In the former, the importance of the Olympic Games and of colleges and universities which counted a few African Americans among their students meant that a few great athletes could make their mark and bring about a demand for other black athletes. Jesse Owens winning four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics made a lasting impression on track and field. Once colleges and universities were forced to integrate more fully in the 1950s and 1960s, they quickly began to encourage more black athletes to join their sports programs.

In the case of basketball, also, some black athletes played for white varsity teams outside the segregated South, but only rarely did they start for the team or gain pivotal roles on the court. The major change occurred with the success of the Harlem Renaissance, a team made up primarily of West Indian immigrants and Philadelphia, PA players. The Rens’ victories over the (then New York) Celtics during the 1930s heralded the beginning of integrated basketball, though Southern universities still resisted for decades.

But the great landmark in the fight against segregation occurred in baseball with the signing of Jackie Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers organization. Baseball, at the time the “American game,” had excluded blacks from the 1890s, and had bitterly resisted integration during the 1920s and 1930s, even when it was clear that many of the best players in the country were playing in the Negro Leagues. Jackie Robinson played his first game in a Dodgers’ uniform in 1947 and was so successful that he was followed by other leading players from the Negro Leagues, which subsequently disbanded. A number of teams like the Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Red Sox resisted the pressure to hire black players and often taunted those African Americans playing for opposing teams. But by the early 1960s integration was well established throughout the National League.

Baseball also opened up to Latino players from Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and, in the 1990s, to a few Japanese ballplayers.

However, a shift in racism occurred very rapidly from segregation to structural inequalities and racial stereotyping. In many sports like golf and tennis, for example, a certain degree of wealth was required before a person could reach the highest level of the game. For many years after integration was firmly established this limited the number of black players reaching the highest levels. In many cases, country clubs would practice forms of discrimination, especially against Jews and blacks, leading to players being excluded from membership and competitions. African Americans like Charlie Sifford in golf, and Arthur Ashe or Althea Gibson in tennis, were the exceptions helping to pave the way for current players like Tiger Woods and the Williams sisters. Michael Chang has been the one Asian American star. His career has been followed perhaps more closely in Asia than America.

Other kinds of stereotyping have been very common. In many sports certain positions are considered “thinking” positions—guards in basketball, quarterbacks in football, pitchers in baseball, for example—and these have tended to be associated with whites.

This has led to obvious structural inequalities with the more elite, visible positions dominated by white players. For many years, it was impossible for a black college quarterback to get onto an NFL team except as a wide receiver or running back. This has begun to change with the success of quarterbacks like Doug Williams, Randall Cunningham and Warren Moon, but the changes have been slow in coming, and teams have often showed such players less loyalty than their white counterparts.

Moreover, the assumption that black players rely on athleticism rather than intelligence has meant that relatively few have been able to break into coaching after their playing careers have ended. When Al Campanis commented on ABC’s Nightline commemoration of Jackie Robinson that blacks were good athletes but would not be good managers, he stated what was the unspoken rule in baseball at the time. The storm of protest following this broadcast actually began the shift away from this practice. Changes have occurred as African Americans begin to gain visibility in all positions and as coaches. But even successful coaches, like Dennis Green at the Minnesota Vikings (in football), feel that they receive more criticism from their fans and management than they would if they were white. The high turnover of African American coaches suggests that they are correct.

There are also racial assumptions regarding the way different games are played.

Commentators and journalists will often assume that African Americans bring “street” traditions and natural athleticism to games, and that they need coaching and discipline from white coaches to shape their games and make them most effective. CBS football analyst, Jimmy “the Greek” Snyder, even suggested that this was a result of anatomical differences between the races. The assumption that blacks are natural while whites disciplined means that a bad streak of performances for a white player will lead to calls for patience and nurturing, while a bad streak for a black player will lead to a belief that the player has lost his or her gift, followed by demands that the player be traded.

Moreover, such racial stereotypes give white coaches undue license to treat their players in demeaning ways in the name of discipline, without reprimand from management or college authorities. This has led to friction on occasion—all-star basketball player, Latrell Sprewell, assaulted his coach after such treatment. Meanwhile, black coaches, on the rare occasions when they are appointed, have sometimes been unfairly criticized for identifying too much with their players.

Certain sports remain dominated by whites. Some remain so because of the legacy of past racial stereotypes—like the assumption that blacks do not make good swimmers.

Others derive from regional and class differences. Seldom have their been any black icehockey players, even though the market has now extended to the whole country.

Dominique Dawes has been a pioneer for African Americans in women’s gymnastics.

Soccer, a game largely associated with the suburbs and immigrants, may see boosted interest among African Americans following the success of Briana Scurry in the Women’s World Cup of 1999. Asian Americans, stereotyped as non-athletes, have a low profile, except in women’s figure skating.

Basketball remains the team sport most associated with blacks, but white players are at a premium. Teams in certain markets will often endeavor to encourage a white player of limited abilities to come to their team in the hope that the largely white crowds will identify with the player. Such players will also generally receive disproportionately large salaries. However, the success of players like Magic Johnson, Julius Erving and, above all, Michael Jordan has diminished this tendency. It remains to be seen whether these players have the same success after the game in coaching and ownership (Johnson’s move into agency and Erving’s association with the Orlando Magic suggest that there is some movement at this level).