The demographics of various sports are also related to their ability to lift people out of poverty. MLB does well in Latin America because their camps and international free agency lift teenagers out of poverty. In the US, athletes generally have a much quicker path to wealth if they aim for the NBA or NFL, especially if they are more mi…
The demographics of various sports are also related to their ability to lift people out of poverty. MLB does well in Latin America because their camps and international free agency lift teenagers out of poverty. In the US, athletes generally have a much quicker path to wealth if they aim for the NBA or NFL, especially if they are more mid-tier talents. Add in your aforementioned barriers to entry (traveling youth baseball is expensive, baseball scholarships are scarcer in college than for other sports), and it's no wonder that domestic players come from largely white and middle-class (or higher) backgrounds.
The demographics of various sports are also related to their ability to lift people out of poverty. MLB does well in Latin America because their camps and international free agency lift teenagers out of poverty. In the US, athletes generally have a much quicker path to wealth if they aim for the NBA or NFL, especially if they are more mid-tier talents. Add in your aforementioned barriers to entry (traveling youth baseball is expensive, baseball scholarships are scarcer in college than for other sports), and it's no wonder that domestic players come from largely white and middle-class (or higher) backgrounds.