I am not a parent but the Supreme Court decision that rejects integration programs (NYT, subscription required) in schools will have far reaching consequences in the racial composition of schools and its school programs, one of them I imagine would be sports, especially soccer. One of the strengths of soccer in the US is in its potential assimilative power amongst ethnic minorities which could translate into a future mens national team reflecting that racial diversity. This diversity does not mean eschewing merit based selection just to get a politically correct racial balance but the fact is that schools in districts with large ethnic populations often lack the infrastructure and resources for good school programs to fully harness talented kids.
Imagine a Latino father proud of his son’s talent in soccer who wants his son to join a good soccer program and further his talent. He is dismayed by the present school’s lack of resources but a school two miles away that has predominantly white kids, has an excellent program. He has also heard that the district is putting together a racial diversity program that would have welcomed the child but now with the Roberts decision the school is unsure whether to give him admission.
Its all hunky dory when schools have equal resources but they do not. And most schools which lack resources are in neighborhoods with large black or latino populations. Merit not race should be your inclusion criteria say the Supremes but they forget that you are just about as meritocratic as your resources allow. Anthony Kennedy wants to introduce a shade of gray by giving consideration to individual cases but the thrust of this courts decision remains clear. Somehow the Supremes, well, not all of them, just the five in the majority decision think that this all part of a grand handout and so racial inertia must prevail.
Remember that myth white men can’t jump. Well, they could not till the overachieving all black 1966 Texas Western mens team won the NCAA title against Adolph Rupp and the powerhouse all white Kentucky Wildcats team. It changed the future of basketball forever in this country. Not to put too fine a point on this but US basketball has profited immensely from racial diversity.
Soccer started as an overwhelmingly white ex-urban sport in this country but it has rapidly been divesting itself of that perception as more and more recent immigrants turn to it as an easier assimilative process as part of their cultural heritage rather than through American sports. However, the resources for soccer are still disproportionately centered in the richer whiter school districts, unlike basketball which established itself first as an urban inner city phenomenon and then expanded out. This Supreme court decision makes it more difficult for their kids to find those resources.