By Taylor LaTray Posted April 17, 2013
Many colleges conduct their own studies, whether for entertainment or information and analysis. I decided to conduct my own investigation about the true weights and heights of athletes and why they lie about this information.
Isn’t it more impressive if you’re shorter or weigh less and perform above average than competing at a fake weight and height and performing just average?
To help conduct this investigation we used Lowry’s own varsity and junior varsity baseball teams. I first had them fill in their information and then pulled each of them into the nurse’s office to find out their true height and weight. While conducting this investigation the question also came up of why girls don’t fill in their weight?
This is the information we have obtained:
The varsity baseball team contains 17 athletes, (two are managers.) After taking the average amount of the differences between their roster weights and actual weights, I discovered that on average, the team added or subtracted an average of nine pounds. The most weight a person added was 48 pounds and the least was only off by one pound.
Why would these athletes change their weights? Each athlete adds or subtracts weight based on what would appear better. Perhaps it’s because this is their dream weight? Each athlete has a different reason for the weights they record themselves as but when it comes down to it, it’s all about what looks better on paper.
“Our coaches tend to give their athletes more credit when it comes to weight and height because a 6’2” 235lb. lineman is a lot more intimidating that a 5’8” 150lb. lineman, although athletes obviously don’t change their height and weight that drastically,” said Marc Esquivel. “A girl’s weight isn’t nearly as important as a man’s weight because guy’s sports are more physical, however, a girl’s height is more intimidating when it comes to basketball and volleyball. It’s just another way to psych out your opponent and get in their heads before the game.”
I don’t believe most athletes change their weight, but when they do it’s because a taller more muscular guy looks better on the roster.
While conducting our investigation some athletes felt as if we should also mention why female athletes do not have to record their weight. It’s not that female athletes refuse to record their weight, it’s simply just not asked of them. It’s also a simple known fact to not ask a woman her weight, although the majority of women I know have no problem revealing their weight. But, we wouldn’t want to compare the weight of a cheerleader to that of a wrestler. Men make themselves look better by revealing the weight and height of their choice on a roster, and women make the men look better, and perhaps themselves, by simply not revealing their weight.
“Girls aren’t asked to put their weight; it’s not that we refuse to, they just don’t ask us to. It’s almost a courtesy thing. However, if I was asked to put my weight I would most likely subtract five pounds just because I can,” said athlete Rachel Sigurdson.
As for heights, the largest amount off was by two inches and the average was .75 off of the recorded height. One player actually shorted himself two inches while two others added two inches to their height. With all these statistics, two players actually refused to reveal both their weight and height and, therefore, it seems reasonable to believe they too told a little white lie to benefit themselves, but then again we’ll never know.