Question

Szymanski suggests that the problem of racism in football may be present even today. He begins by verifying an earlier hypothesis that clubs' wage bills explain 90% of their performance. Thus, if players' salaries were to be only based on their abilities, clubs that spend more should finish higher. If there is pay discrimination against some group of players—fewer teams bidding for black players thus lowering the salaries for blacks with the same ability as whites—that neat relation may no longer hold. He concludes that certain clubs seem to have achieved much less than what they could have, by not recruiting black players. Which one of the following findings would best support Szymanski's conclusion?

• A. Certain clubs took advantage of the situation by hiring above-average shares of black players.
• B. Clubs hired white players at relatively high wages and did not show proportionately good performance.
• C. During the study period, clubs in towns with a history of discrimination against blacks under-performed relative to their wage bills.
• D. Clubs in one region, which had higher proportions of black players, had significantly lower wage bills than predominantly white clubs in another region.

Hint:

In critical reasoning, the best supporting evidence directly connects the cause to the observed effect.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

If discrimination reduces recruitment of black players, then clubs in areas with a history of discrimination would avoid talented black players, leading to lower performance despite high wage bills. Option (3) directly supports this by showing underperformance relative to wages in discriminatory towns.