Race In Sports Essay

Words: 465
Pages: 2

This article attempts to talk about the touchy subject of race in sports. In the article they say that race is something that is hard to discuss without offending someone, which in some cases could cause someone to lose their job. The Wonderlic Test is compared by most to an typical IQ test, with the average score being around 20, which is equivalent to an IQ score of 100 (Billings, 2012, p. 203). Wonderlic scores are supposed to be kept secret because they measure intelligence, but somehow players scores are always released (Billings, 2012, p. 203). The article noted that when players score extremely high or low their scores are always the ones that somehow get leaked. There has been a common theme in test scores which show white athletes typically do better on the Wonderlic in comparison to black athletes. The reason some people feel that the scores should not be publicized, is mainly because the scores have not be proven to have any effects on a players NFL career. In the article Billings (2012) talked about how Patrick Peterson’s score were leaked to the media and one analyst stated “he plays like a low-test guy” (p. 204). Patrick Peterson went on to be a top 10 pick and is arguably the best player in his position, but because his score was released to the media he was highly scrutinized. …show more content…
There is overwhelming evidence that there is some racial motivation to the players who scores are being leaked (Billings, 2012, p. 205). It is interesting to see the amount of emphasis that is put on this test, because the effects it has on the field are very minimal. The 2012 draft class of the New York Jets reportedly had the highest Wonderlic test scores of any other NFL team. Sports journalist, Rich Cimini and Michael O’Keefe reported, “The rebuilding Jets might not be ready to compete for a Super bowl, but if they ever get invited to a Quiz Bowl, watch