The Beauty of March Madness

My daughter Sophia and I were watching a college basketball game on TV last week when she asked, "Dad, how come all the players have dark skin?"

I pointed out that four of the 10 players on the court did not.

"Well, every time we watch basketball together, most of the players have dark skin," she said.

"Never noticed," I lied.

I always thought kids began to acknowledge differences in skin color once adult prejudices infiltrated their minds. So you can understand my surprise at Sophia's observation. I wondered: Was it better to simply ignore racial differences or broach the subject now?

According to the Racial and Gender Report Card, an assessment of hiring practices of women and people of color in U.S-based sporting organizations, 78 percent of players in the National Basketball Association in 2011 were black. Given that most NBA players attend U.S. colleges before being drafted, my 6-year-old was probably just stating the obvious. But there's more to this issue than recognizing skin color.

A person's appearance or background has no bearing on their innate personality or intelligence, yet racial disparities still exist in everything from socioeconomics to athletics and everything in between, and probably always will to some extent. We should certainly dismiss prejudices as irrational and oppressive, but we may be doing our children a disservice if we don't at the same time enlighten them to the fact that differences should be celebrated.

My concern is not that Sophia and her older sister, Ella, will suddenly decide to shy away from anything or anyone different; I'm worried about what happens when someone tries to tell them that uniqueness doesn't matter. I want them to be prepared to argue the opposite.

Jeremy Lin, a guard for the NBA's New York Knicks, is a perfect example of how minorities are dealt with in America and how far we still have to go. His meteoric rise to stardom endeared him to the media, who continually described him as a Taiwanese-American, not just a basketball player who made the most of his circumstances. In doing so, they missed the real opportunity in this situation.

Instead of merely pointing out the obvious, the media or even Lin himself could have seized the chance to educate the public about his family's Taiwanese culture and background. Rather than superficially repeating Lin's origins, which had nothing to do with his athletic skills, we all could have learned something valuable, a reward unto itself.

All races, creeds and nationalities possess unique cultural values that come from generations of practice, many of which have eased their way into everyday American life. Examine your daily routine and you'll recognize a favorite hobby, art form or food that originated somewhere else. Hints: yoga, Mozart and burritos.

At the current accelerating rate of globalization, it's only a matter of time before it will be mandatory for us to embrace all of civilization's unique pieces. In my house, it starts with watching March Madness.