Talk:Jesse Owens

Small addition to awards

http://www.lostindiana.net/Lost_Indiana/Lost_Indiana__International_Palace_of_Sports.html

Read about Jesse Owens in this bit — Preceding unsigned comment added by Lakecityransom (talk • contribs) 01:52, 24 September 2011 (UTC)

winning gold medals shows the fallacies of racial supremacy?

...I mean, maybe it does, but I question whether it's encyclopedic to state as fact that it does. The article reads "Owens surprised many and showed the fallacies of racial supremacy by winning four gold medals..." Obviously everyone here agrees that racial supremacy is a premise built on fallacies. And, very likely, Owens' victory in 1936 illustrated that for some people, at the time and later. But it's still an argument, a point of view, and is probably inappropriate editorializing as presented. Of course I realize that his Olympic win occupies a place in history that is inextricably linked to the legacies of racism, both in Germany and the US, but there has to be a better way to get at those issues than to say - as this sentence does - that "Owens won four gold medals, therefore racism is wrong." That's not only clunky but also unencyclopedic. I deleted it once but it was reverted back, so now I'm seeking consensus to delete it again.Darthmix (talk) 16:22, 2 April 2010 (UTC)

You are right. That is just self-evident. It should be deleted. - Darwinek (talk) 16:38, 2 April 2010 (UTC)

Okay, so, no dissent on this yet? I'm going to go ahead and delete and if any disagreement materializes hopefully we can hash it out here. Darthmix (talk) 19:39, 5 April 2010 (UTC)

Native American heritage is missing

Jessie Owens was also part Native American. This should be added in and cited. Sean7phil (talk) 23:40, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

Long jump incident?

My dad was just telling me of an incident which ocuured between Owens and a German athlete. Apparently the German told Jesse to jump a foot over the white line, which led to him continualy being flagged for fouls. Can anyone give me a link so I can mentally confirm this story? I don't think it is in the article, maybe we should add it? A Prodigy^Talk 21:41, 13 August 2008 (UTC)

It's exactly the other way around; a German athlete, Luz Long, who helped him by advising him to jump from a foot before the bar.Long got a Coubertin Medal for sportsmenship for it.Thijsdetweede (talk) 17:18, 17 August 2008 (UTC)

Ah OK, must not have been listening to my dad properly XD. Thanks for clearing that up Thij, nice to hear such heart-warming stories isn't it? A Prodigy ~In Pursuit of Perfection~ 17:57, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

Jesse Owens: myth and reality

That whole section is weird. There is no proof for any of these statements, and somehow I believe that was probably German propaganda from the 30s. It's just weird. Needs to be editted out completely, or I guess at least cited... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.193.182.232 (talk) 08:36, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

I think someone just copied pasted their article into the text. Everything it mentions (including the "Hitler snub") is dealt with in the article anyway. I think that perhaps page protection is needed again. Sillyfolkboy (talk) 17:00, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

"Hitler's snub" was mentioned in Triumph: The Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler's Olympics [1]

Every user is welcome to improve the article by providing information published in primary or secondary source. Sure not a myth or very controversial issue - which has no place in Encyclopedia. --Hiens (talk) 07:06, 16 July 2009 (UTC)

This whole nonsense of a 'snub' really needs to be put to bed once and for all. Owens quite clearly stated that he did not feel snubbed by Hitler at the Games, on the contrary. Hitler even waved at him and he waved back. Can anybody really imagine a head of state in front of his own people and the world's camera's and Press make a fool of himself by storming out of an ocassion like that. What total and utter rubbish. A myth told over and over again seemingly over the decades becomes fact. Here's a man who was allowed to compete in Nazi Germany on a profesional level and denied that right in his own United States of America. A nation with one of the most disgusting racial policies in the world at that time.....and to it's own citizens. Seperate military units, seperate schools, seprate seating on buses, seperate wash basins in public toilets. How ironic, treated as hero by citizens of Nazi Germany and treated like shit back home in the USA. The only snub Jesse Owens received was from Roosevelt and the US authorities. Get used to it. Detmold 9/12/09 00:54

Not sure where you're going with this Detmold, you seem to be saying Nazi Germany had better race relations that the US? What kind of fascist are you? The country that brought us the Neuremberg Laws to discriminate against Jews, Crytallnacht, The Final Solution (11+ million racial minorities murdered in death camps)? Yes, the US had some terrible race laws, but no where near a terrible as Germany. Learn your history and get used to it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.60.169.188 (talk) 02:35, 9 June 2011 (UTC)

Learn history yourself. Trotting out well known facts doesn't alter the reality that Owens experienced segegation in the US, but not in Nazi Germany. As Detmold says, that's ironic, but true. Saying so does not imply any fascist sympathies at all. Paul B (talk) 16:43, 4 July 2011 (UTC)

It is interesting to note that Jessse Owens was brouhgt in as a replacement for American Jewish athletes Marty glickmand and Sam Stoller in the 4 x 100 relay. So, the Germans were willing to accept a black athlete as a hero, but the US team was afraid to offend Hitler with a possible Jewish hero. ^^^^ —Preceding unsigned comment added by Histeacher (talk • contribs) 21:37, 1 March 2010 (UTC)

Smoking

The article states he smoked for 35 years, but does not say which year he began smoking nor when he ceased to do so. If he smoked regularly during his professional career, that is remarkable considering how badly smoking affects physical performance. If he only began smoking after his career was over, why start smoking so much later in life than most smokers? Either way does not make sense; the article should clarify it. Qzm (talk) 19:41, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

It should be clarified. However, even today there are many professional athletes who are known to smoke. - Darwinek (talk) 17:54, 4 July 2011 (UTC)

Handshake

The article states that Mischner saw Hitler shake Owens' hand, but the source does not say that, so I've changed the wording. The source says that Mischner "said that Owens carried around a photograph in his wallet of Hitler shaking his hand before he left the stadium." Mischner supposedly saw the photo. If he carried it around it is amazing that no-one else ever mentioned seeing this photo or witnessing the event - including, presumably, the mystery person who took the photo. It's much more likely that the elderly Mischner is referring to the official photo of himself that Hitler sent to Owens, which Owens may have shown him, and that he's confusing that in his mind with the handshake issue. The Telegraph article states that Mischner is the only source for this implausible claim. Paul B (talk) 16:54, 4 July 2011 (UTC)