The Affirmative Action Athlete Dilemma

Abstract

have played an integral role in the shaping of Western society. From the Olympians in ancient Greece, to the proliferation of college games thrust into our living rooms on television on Saturday afternoons, physical fitness largely defines an ideal of Western society. Today, sports have become a billion-dollar industry that profits from university leagues and competitions. The commercialization of sports is so dramatic that top athletes come across as gods, or at least as super-humans. However, before today's stars began serving as mega-marketing machines, black athletes played a significant part in American history, helping to mold race relations and changing perceptions of blacks. They also offered profound emotional gratification and a sense of hope to many African Americans and the integration of college and professional sports has played a dramatic role in the civil rights movement. Since the Supreme Court has upheld affirmative action admissions policies at the University of Michigan, the black population can collectively exhale. With affirmative action toppling at universities in California and Texas, it was only natural to assume Michigan was next. Passed by a slim 5 to 4 margin, race as a component in admissions policies was retained. That said, I would like to focus on a figure of peculiar irony in the unspoken margins of the affirmative action controversy: the black student athlete. One of the most compelling facts is that at most of the schools where affirmative action