Being an Asian-American myself, I do agree with many of the claims of the article. From a young age, Asian parents apply a lot of academic pressure on their children - sometimes overwhelming pressure. Traditionally, Asian parents won't butter the facts to any extent. As a kid, I wanted to be an NBA player. My parents made it clear to me that I wasn't athletic nor skilled enough to make it. When you hear that at age 7, you believe it.
I'm not saying that I could have actually made it anywhere had I received proper encouragement; turns out my athleticism is average at best, and my self-motivating abilities suck. But I'm sure there are a number of kids out there that could have gone places if their dreams hadn't been crushed so early in their adolescence.
On the other hand, I have also met number of successful Asian athletes in my day. People who I believe, if had spent enough time practicing, could've played college ball. The question then becomes, why don't they?
The truth is that most Asian Americans innately recognize that it would be easier to make a living through academic routes rather than athletic. A friend of mine states,
"I don't know too many asians who feel like they "need" sports to get into college and have a future. i think that says something about the amount of effort/desperation that we put into sports."
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