This is an Interview with Joseph Graves Jr., a professor of evolutionary biology at Embry-Riddle University. In this interview, Graves is asked about the concept of race and genetics through a set-up of questions that lay the framework for how exactly race is perceived, racial theory concepts, and then transitions to asking if race impacts athleticism. The first few questions ask about the conventional notions of race, criteria for racial classification, and the state of genetic diversity. Graves says that societal norms of the 19th century caused physical appearances to shape the definition of race. Additionally, race scientists during that time period pushed forward the idea that genetics played a major role in the creation of different races- which only further supported the mainly Eurocentric public view on race and the role of genetics (and the perpretation of eugenics).
For the criteria for racial classification prompt, the characterization of race is boiled down to the fact that societal constructs and political events have shaped the way we view race nowadays. It is usually based on the physical characteristics of an individual but when analyzing the genetic components of people from various groups (such as Africans and Europeans), there is little genetic variation and actually even more genetic variation within groups then between groups. This is discussed in the question posed to Graves asking about genetic diverity in humans. He states that this simple fact can be easily proved using statistical analysis, and goes to show how there is actually less genetic variation between races then what race scientists used to state.
With this information, the main point made is that genetics do not play a role in which races “dominate” which sport. He highlights America’s social history and how that has shaped people’s views into believing African people or people of African descent are pre-disposed to be better at football or basketball or running and white people are likely to excel at baseball or golf or soccer. However this is all untrue and Graves argues that there are certain genetic factors that may predispose certain people to be better at sports/athletics then others (such as Inuits versus Scandinavians), but geography/the environment and how people train also play a role in athletic capabilities, not only race. The most important thing Graves says is: “It has to do with the interaction of individual genetic background, of opportunity, and training, and I think we should get used to the idea that that’s what we’re going to know, and we shouldn’t be worried about the fact that we can’t locate the athletic gene.”