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Lin, Yu-Chen (Eric)
ESL 33B – Project 3
Dr. Carlisi
12 June 2018
Hypothesis Thesis Statement:
In the United States, the myth of Asians and Asian Americans being gifted in academic work but
not in sports has come to negatively affect the Asian group because people define them by the
myth over their skills.
PRELIMINARY OUTLINE
I. Introduction
A. Hook: What is the first thing that comes to people’s mind when they hear the
word Asians? It is definitely studying but never playing sports.
B. Explanation: Model minority myth is a term to represent a specific group of
people’s talents and assume all the similar group of people will have that kind
of talents.
C. There are different types of myth in term of sport for almost every different
race.
1. White athletes have a physical disadvantage compared to their black
counterparts, so they must rely on other factors to win. (Martinez “The 20
Biggest Stereotypes in Sports History”)
2. Asians are inferior at every sport compared to athletes of other races around
the world. (Martinez “The 20 Biggest Stereotypes in Sports History”)
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D. Thesis Statement: In the United States, the myth of Asians and Asian
Americans being gifted in academic work but not in sports has come to
negatively affect the Asian group because people define them by the myth over
their skills.
II. The Stereotype of model minority for Asians and Asian Americans in academic has
negative effects their achievement in term of sport.
A. Asians and Asian Americans are being stereotyped by the myth of academic
life.
1. “The model minority myth reinforces the idea that Asian Americans are
highly intelligent, hard working, diligent, and gifted in math and science.”
(Lee 24)
a. “Both high school and college graduation rates for Asian Americans
are higher than any other ethnic group” (Whang 46)
b. “For example. Census 2000 shows that the average household
income for Asian Americans is $45,249, which is higher than
Whites ($38,972), Hispanics ($26,628), and African Americans
($25,050).” (Whang 46)
2. “As a society, we’ve cast the Asian person as the hard-working nerd who’d
rather spend a sunny afternoon with an Algebra textbook than playing
sports.” (Martinez “The 20 Biggest Stereotypes in Sports History”)
B. The consequence of stereotype is making Asian and Asian-American athlete
suffered since they are judged by their race rather than athleticism.
1. “Asians are often considered to be too small and too slow to compete in the
highest level of sports.” (Whang 45)
2. Asian become a term that uses for showing the myth of Asian disability.
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a. “The father wrote in the email that his son was told that he was too
Asian to play baseball.” (Whang 45)
b. An Asian-American quarterback in University of Hawaii, Timmy
Chang, whose record of most yardage thrown (17,072 yards) as a
quarterback in college football history, was undrafted in NFL
because they thought Chang was too short. He was over 6-1 and 211
pounds. Although he was taller than some NFL quarterbacks, the
scout said that he played short. (Whang 45)
III. The reality of Asians and Asian Americas becoming athletes is not as powerless as society
thinks.
A. In Johnson’s report, even though Asians has low percentage in sport leagues,
there are still some Asian athletes playing on major field.
B. Asian and Asian-American athletes have become memorable athlete in major
sport leagues.
a. Example 1: “Before Jeremy Lin, Asian Americans never got a fair
shake on the field. Lin was the perfect foil, a Harvard grad and an
NBA star.” (Martinez “The 20 Biggest Stereotypes in Sports
History”)
b. Example 2: “One of the greatest hitters to ever play the game, Ichiro
Suzuki has conquered the world since his professional debut in
Japan at the age of 18.” (Yomtov “5 Most Memorable Moments of
Ichiro Suzuki's MLB Career”)
c. Example 3: “But when Yao Ming is inducted into the Naismith
Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday night, it will be
well deserved.” (Neuharth-Keusch “Yao Ming Enters Hall of Fame
as Global Ambassador of Basketball”)
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IV. Conclusion
Although Asians and Asian Americans are being gifted in academic is a well-known
news in the United States, it is just a myth that has negatively affect them in term of
sports. No one see Asians and Asian Americans as good athletes but great students
because of model minority myth. Furthermore, some Asian and Asian-American athletes
were suffered to chase there dream due to their race and heredity. Fortunately, there are
more and more memorable Asian and Asian-American athletes playing on the major
sport field in these few decades. Despite the fact and reality of Asian and Asian-
American athletes, the stereotype of model minority in them should not be existed.
Moreover, the career of an athlete should not be ended by his/her race or heredity.
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INTRODUCTION
What is the first thing that comes to people’s mind when they hear the word Asians? It is
definitely studying but never playing sports. This is the model minority myth in Asians and Asian
Americans that society believes. Model minority myth is a term to represent a specific group of
people’s talents and assume all the similar group of people will have that kind of talents.
Interestingly, stereotype of model minority in athletes is not only happening to a few and weak
races. It is actually happening to every single different race. It is a surprising and shocking news for
the society. According to Martinez, White athletes have a physical disadvantage compared to their
black counterparts, so they must rely on other factors to win. On the other hand, Asians are inferior
at every sport compared to athletes of other races around the world. (“The 20 Biggest Stereotypes
in Sports History”). When the word, stereotype of athletes appears, Asians and Asian Americans
arise in people’s mind. White people and African Americans would not ever come to mind.
Although there are different stereotypes for every race, Asians and Asian Americans bear the
heaviest in terms of sports related stereotypes. Furthermore, the myth of model minority becomes a
giant obstacle for Asian and Asian-American athletes entering into the major sport fields. In the
United States, the myth of Asians and Asian Americans being gifted in academic work but not in
sports has come to negatively affect the Asian group because people define them by the myth over
skills.
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Body Paragraph: Outline Section III. A.
Although society thinks that Asian and Asian Americans are having difficulties of being
athletes, they are actually not as powerless as people expects. In Johnson’s report, White and
African-American athletes have taken a big lead throughout American sport leagues. On the
contrary, Asian and Asian-American athletes have low percentage comparing to other races, but
on the other hand, it shows that there are still some Asian and Asian-American athletes playing
on the major sport fields. (see fig.1).
Fig. 1. Asian players in sport leagues; The Harvard Sports Analysis Collective;
harvardsportsanalysis.org, 13 July 2014, http://harvardsportsanalysis.org/2014/07/
a-different-measure-of-diversity-in-pro-sports/.
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Works Cited
Johnson, Henry, “A Different Measure of Diversity in Pro Sports.” The Harvard Sports Analysis
Collective, 13 July 2014, http://harvardsportsanalysis.org/2014/07/a-different-measure-of-
diversity-in-pro-sports/.
Lee, Yomee. "From Forever Foreigners to Model Minority: Asian American Men in Sports"
Studies and Research, vol. 72, no. 1, 1 December 2016, pp. 23-32. ProQuest,
doi:10.1515/pcssr-2016-0025.
Martinez, Jose. “The 20 Biggest Stereotypes in Sports History.” Complex, Complex, 20 Oct.
2016, www.complex.com/sports/2013/07/biggest-stereotypes-in-sports/.
Neuharth-Keusch, AJ. “Yao Ming Enters Hall of Fame as Global Ambassador of Basketball.”
USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 9 Sept. 2016, www.usatoday.com/
story/sports/nba/2016/09/09/yao-ming-hall-of-fame-china-global-ambassador/90093276/.
Yomtov, Jesse. “5 Most Memorable Moments of Ichiro Suzuki's MLB Career.” USA Today,
Gannett Satellite Information Network, 3 May 2018, https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/
mlb/mariners/2018/05/03/ichiro-suzuki-mariners-hits-baseball/577865002/
Yun-Oh, Whang. "More Than a Game: Asian and Asian American Athletes in Major
Professional Sports." Harvard Asia Pacific Review, vol. 8, no. 1, Summer 2005, pp. 45-48.
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