Sport, Science and the Problems of ‘Race’

Abstract

Sport, Science and the Problems of ‘Race’. – Paper focuses on racial issues in the context of sport. The author finds at least four key themes. First, it is not sufficiently clear what race actually is. Second, the differences between members of a so-called race are much greater than the differences between races. Third, there are confusing and misleading distinctions that are associated with ‘races’ that are not logically defensible. Fourth, given the ambiguity evident in the first three topics, racial categorization is arbitrary at best. Yet, despite these difficulties, discourses focused on athletic performance have often contained analyses based on faulty biological determinism. These are discredited by the use of Popperian falsification and illustrate the inadequacy of this scientific racism.