August 29, 2020
To prove affirmative action is racist and any argument for any type of pro-affirmative action policy can be destroyed if those same arguments were applied to professional sports.
Jason Xu started a petition on Change.org titled: “Racial Equality in Professional Sports (15% rule).” In this petition, Xu demands the same moral argument for affirmative action to be applied to help Asians in professional sports.
Golden State Warriors, San Francisco Giants, A’s, 49ers, Earthquakes, Oakland Roots, and SJ Sharks all declared their support for Prop. 16.
What is Prop. 16? Prop. 16 repeals Prop. 209, which California voters passed in 1996, outlawing affirmative action. Prop. 209 clearly stated: “The state shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting.” Basically, major sports teams in California want to support a return to racism.
The petition demands “that Warriors, Giants, A’s, SF 49ers, Earthquakes, Oakland Roots, and SJ Sharks allocate 15% roster spots for Asian Americans (California Asian population) starting in 2020-2021 season, and guarantee no less than 15% of total game time. Stop the hypocrisy!”
Common Argument #1: “But Asians are only 5.6% of the American population, you guys are over-represented in higher education! It doesn’t matter if you ‘earned’ it!”
Great! Using your logic, the African-American population in the US is 13%, you guys are over-represented in professional sports! It doesn’t matter if you “earned” it! What are you so scared of? I thought you guys said ‘diversity is strength?’
Common Argument #2: “That’s different, all those sports leagues are privately owned!”
Great! Using your logic, it’s okay to discriminate against race in privately owned businesses! In-N-Out Burger should fire all Hispanic, Asian, and Black employees. Those 1940s style burgers feel more like the 1940s if they were made by a white person. That’s not racist because you just backed up privately-owned businesses have the right to pick a certain race if they want to.
Common Argument #3: “It’s not our fault black people are just physically superior than y’all, name me one Asian who can outplay Lebron?
Great! Using your logic, it’s not our fault Asian people are just intellectually superior than y’all, name me one black-owned company than can out research Samsung?
Any argument made for affirmative action can easily be destroyed when their argument is reversed. A prime example of why affirmative action and any justification for it is racist.
The link to the Change.org petition can be found HERE
Feature Image via Getty Images