The Keflezighi Controversy

by Matt Fitzgerald

Keflezighi striding home to his NYC victory. PhotoRun.net

Keflezighi striding home to his NYC victory. PhotoRun.net

Some say Meb Keflezighi is not really American. Probably the same people who say Barack Obama is not really an American.

Written by: Matt Fitzgerald

The headline says it all: “To Some, Winner Is Not American Enough.” It appears above an article printed in the November 3, 2009 edition of the New York Times and it refers to a mostly online controversy that erupted in the wake of Eritrea-born American citizen Mebrahtom Kelflezighi’s victory in last Sunday’s ING New York City Marathon.

The first round of headlines issued in the U.S. media after Keflezighi crossed the finish line first in 2:09:14 was celebratory. The story was not “Meb Keflezighi Wins New York City Marathon” but rather “American Wins New York City Marathon For First Time Since 1982.” But then, in the next 24 hours, it was as if one-third or two-fifths or some other fraction of the spectacle’s direct and indirect observers said, “Hey, wait a minute: That guy’s not really an American!” Hence the next round of headlines.

The observer who protested against the initial, celebratory headlines most influentially was sports talk radio personality Darren Rovell, who in an article posted on cnbc.com wrote, “Nothing against Keflezighi, but he’s like a ringer who you hire to work a couple hours at your office so that you can win the executive softball league.”

Before I explain why this opinion is troubling to me, I will first say this: There is an undeniable difference between American and American-born. The correlation between the intensity of partisanship on the part of sports fans and the strength of the geographic association between fans and the athletes they support is natural and requires no justification. While I almost always root for naturalized American runners against runners from other countries, I almost always root for American-born runners more ardently than I do for naturalized American runners, and for runners from New Hampshire (my home state) more ardently than I do for runners from the other 49 states. The closer to home an athlete’s victory is, the more special it is to me. That’s just a natural law of sports fandom, and there’s nothing wrong with it as far as I can see.

So, as an American, I was very glad to see Meb Keflezighi win the New York City Marathon, but I would have been even happier to see Ryan Hall win, frankly, because Keflezighi was born in Eritrea and Hall was born in the United States. What complicates this preference is, of course, race. Almost all of the top American-born distance runners are white, while almost all of the top naturalized American runners are black. But while I do believe that the potential for skin-color prejudice lurks inside every person, myself included, I am pretty confident that (especially as a white man married to a black woman) I need not attribute any part of the slightly greater intensity of my support for Hall than for Keflezighi to racial bias.

The crucial difference between my perspective on this matter and Darren Rovell’s, I believe, is that Rovell feels no patriotic association whatsoever with Keflezighi. Rovell thinks in binary terms: either you are American born or you are not American. I think in terms of a spectrum. For example, I feel a much stronger patriotic association with Keflezighi, who came to this country as a child and who started running only after coming here, than I do with Bernard Lagat, who was born and raised in Kenya and represented Kenya in the 2000 Olympics and only became a U.S. citizen in 2004, when he was 29 years old. But Rovell, it would appear, makes no such distinctions.

It bears repeating: Darren Rovell, and those who share his feelings with respect to this controversy, feel no patriotic association whatsoever with an athlete who is a United States citizen and has lived in America longer than he has been a runner. I suppose they can’t help it, but I fear that it is an ugly instinct that makes them view Keflezighi as so thoroughly “other”—as less “one of us” than he really is.

Am I calling Rovell and his sympathizers on this issue racists? No, I’m not. I’m just saying they felt no pride—none—when Keflezighi won the New York City Marathon mainly because Keflezighi is black.

  • Joe
    Even your comments on troubling. Meb is as American as it gets. You state your view that this is some difference between American born and not born as fact. It is not. It is an opinion based on a serious amount of ignorance and frankly a bit racism. Meb's story is amazing and a classic "only in America" accomplishment. You are going to struggle just as Rovell will to explain what "American" is. I can think of some people from 1960 South Africa that would have dearly appreciated the clarity that you clearly bring to table. For me, I am glad I just stumbled on this blog once and won't be coming back.
  • Smithsonian
    I am exceedingly proud of Meb Keflezighi and everything he and his extended family have accomplished. He and his multiple siblings are all college educated. Did anyone see the other American runners in the lead pack wearing USA with pride across their chests. No. Perhaps because the native borns lack the appreciation for America that many immigrants possess because they have faced the difficulties of life elsewhere. I would argue that the Keflezighi family represents the ideal of what America is about. Opportunities coupled with hard work equal success. I also believe that if he was a white immigrant with an easy to pronounce name, people would not be discussing whether he is American enough.
  • His color doesn't have anything to do with it...its people's cynacism that our country was somehow using Meb to break the east Africans dominance of running. In my humble opinion if he were white but still fled Eritrea the story and comments would still be the same.
  • Michelle
    One need not make a comment about skin color to qualify as racist. It is the othering of people, in this case, someone who came to the U.S. as a child, went through the American education system, started running seriously and professionaly in America, and is an American citizen but because he has an accent and does not sound appropriate or white enough and does not "look American" (whatever the hell that is) is then not American enough (surely this would not have been an issue had Keflezighi been a naturalized citizen of European ancestry) and why does Rovell feel qualified to determine who is American enough?? Because he has a couple generations on Keflezighi? The age old "reject the most recent immigrants because they are not good enough" story, something you would not expect from a "highly educated" and "accomplished" person, pathetic. It is people like Rovell that perpetuate the backwords and vile systemic racism that America seems to hinge on, but hey-he benefits from it so I guess his comments should not come as too much of a surprise!
  • John
    Matt, you admit that you too would rather see Hall win than Meb because you root for American born runners more than naturalized American runners. This is no different than what Rovell and many others are also saying. You are saying the exact same thing as the people you criticize. You think they are saying this because Meb is black. You are speculating. You don't actually know this. Being married to a black woman does not make you immune to bigotry and racism. I don't need to remind you of the back lash that occurred when you made the infamous post in your now defunct blog about how you thought people from the South are lazy, a post you quickly took down after a firestorm of criticism. You brought race into this discussion despite the fact that you admit you too wish Hall would have beaten Meb. Shame on you. Meb doesn't need this kind of support.
  • James Trujillo
    Passive aggression, nice way to get your point across 'John'. Troll.
  • John
    "James" I'm not the one that said he would have been happier if Ryan Hall had beaten Meb. That was written by Matt. And its not passive aggression, its active aggression. There is nothing passive or understated in my comments. Matt needs to own up to the fact that he is criticizing people for saying the same thing he said. He just claims different intent, and I choose not to accept that.
  • Well written Matt. This guy fled his country (via his parents) for a better life. That is as American as it gets. Who hear thinks his winning the 2009 NYC Marathon was all part of his evil master plan over 2 decades ago? Give me a break. He is as respectful as it gets and as humble as it gets (at least from what I've seen). He is proudly calling himself an American...not an Eritrean-American or anything else.
  • Matt --
    don't you questions where that desire comes from from a U.S. born runner to win, rather than a new U.S. citizen. Eventhough we're a nation of immigrants (apologies to Native Americans), we seem to have become xenophobic about new immigrants.
    -dave rhody
  • AmericanBornRnr
    Its difficult to articulate anthing in response to this idiot. I just studder in shock! We are proud of Meb as an American Winner!!
  • Karl
    Great article. It's shameful to see people like Rovell who cannot appreciate a win for the United States just because they get hung up on whether Meb was born in the U.S or moved here as a child. However on Rovell's blog he's being criticized by people from all walks of life, even when he offered up a half-assed apology. That makes me proud to see people standing up for Meb
  • American. No controversy. he chose to become an American citizen. He had to take a test to do it. I’d say a helluva lot harder than just being born here. He was born in a country that was war torn and his family decided to come to a better place – our country. He represented the US in the Olympics (uhh, by the way, the last medal winner before Meb in the marathon – some guy named Frank Shorter – was born in Germany … nobody seems to talk about him not being born here and thus his efforts not counting). He ran HS in California, went to college there, and he chose to wear the USA singlet verus the singlet of his sponsor come race day in NY.
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