Jock Genes

There’s a saying my father once told me that goes, “You can’t put in what God left out.”

In athletic terms, this basically means if you’re a slow runner now, you’re pretty much always going to be slow.

Sure, athletes can learn some techniques to refine their speed and max out their potential, but it won’t transform them from sloth to David Neville.

Finding my father’s quote to be true, there are a growing number of people, particularly on the West Coast, who are actively searching for the God-given, almighty ‘athletic gene’ for their future children. Particularly at the California Cryobank in Los Angeles, where the donor catalog for one of the world’s largest sperm banks includes at least 10 current and former athletes from UCLA and other D-1 universities, according to ESPN.

Some people simply want active children while others want future All-Americans and pro athletes. Take Randy and Kristie Rodriguez from Austin, Texas. According to ESPN, the couple are clients of the California Cryobank and, as a result of a former athlete’s genetics, have a 4-year-old daughter who is in a gymnastics class with girls nearly twice her age. That’s fine, but it’s the father’s quote that bothers me.

“Our hope is she’ll at least be developing a skill in some sport to where she’ll be able to achieve a college scholarship,” Randy told ESPN.

What does this say about us as a society? Basically, it seems many of us would rather give birth to a great athlete than an honor role student. Why not search for the sperm of the guy who achieved a perfect score on his SAT?

Families these days are putting more stock into athletic scholarships rather than academic scholarships. Maybe they see that as more important, or maybe they’re just hoping they don’t have to pay a dime for their kids to go to college.

Whatever the reason, it seems to me that our priorities are out of whack.

Being an athlete myself, it’s kind of creepy to think that there could be someone watching on Saturdays who, instead of seeing a bunch of football players on a field, sees a sea of sperm donors.

I’m sure many of us can recall a moment when we witnessed that football player who was built like an action figure, that female volleyball player with legs of steel and an arm that batted missile-like spikes at her opponents or that basketball player who could jump out of the gym. We asked ourselves, “I wonder what kind of athletes their parents were?”

I guess I’m kind of torn on this issue. When it comes to couples who can’t conceive a child on their own, I can understand them being picky when it comes to choosing a donor. If there is no other option, why not choose the “best” genetics?

Heck, I’d be asking questions like, “What was his college GPA? What are his most notable characteristics? Where is he from?”

And then the million dollar question: “Is he an athlete?”

But which of these is really the most important question we should be asking?
I've certainly asked lots of questions in today's column so I turn it over to you.

What do you think about this issue? Or is it an issue at all to you? Feel free to comment below. I'd like to know what you think.