"Ultimately, Hoberman's treatment of Black intellectuals -- left, right and other -- lacks seriousness and depth," according to Dr. Angela Dillard, a historian at NYU.

One commonly heard complaint by participants of the symposium was that Hoberman, a scholar in Germanic and Slavic languages, demonstrated a shallow understanding of the African American athletic experience as well as African American history in general.

Scholars participating in the symposium were invited to the event based on their expertise to critique specific issues that Hoberman raises in his book. For example, Dr. Arnold Rampersad, the Princeton University professor who has written highly-praised biographies of Arthur Ashe and Jackie Robinson, challenged Hoberman's use of those sports figures in his arguments. And Dr. Daryl M. Scott, a Columbia University scholar on the life and work of author Ralph Ellison, disputed Hoberman's use of Ellison's writings to support arguments in Darwin's Athletes.

Another scholar, Dr. Bart Landry, a sociologist at the University of Maryland who has studied the Black middle class, discussed evidence that suggested the Black middle class may be less concerned about sports than the White middle class.

Sammons, the author of Beyond the Ring: The Role of Boxing in American Society, says convening a symposium on race and sports had long been an interest of his.

"I've been thinking about doing this for a long time," said Sammons, who credits Hoberman's book with helping him to crystallize the idea for the symposium. "What Hoberman did was to give me something to latch onto."

Sammons and Washington University's Early are working together on a book of the papers and the commentary presented at the symposium. Sammons says Hoberman will have the opportunity to respond in writing to symposium in the forthcoming book.