There is a popular perception in sports that our genes, our race and, to a degree, our cultural background dictate the prowess of an individual sportsman or woman. For Black people, current discourse about Black physical superiority was preceded by widespread theories about why genes and physical differences rendered Black people physically unable to play many sports.
Jack Nicklaus and Golf
In 1994, before Tiger Woods had established himself as the best golfer in a generation, Nicklaus was reported to have argued that African-American golfers could not succeed at the highest level of golf because of their muscle structure.