The United States has a long history of uneven race relations, a fact which is undeniable and probably inevitable, considering many blacks in this country can trace their roots back to an involuntary ocean crossing on a slave ship. It seems that for every step we take forward on the issue, we often take nearly as big a step backward and vice-versa.

The latest person to pick at the scab of race in this country is Bryant Gumbel, host of HBO's critically acclaimed series, "Real Sports." During the February 7 edition of the show, Gumbel aired a laundry list of reasons why he would not be watching the then-upcoming Winter Olympics, including the following: "...try not to laugh when someone says these are the world's greatest athletes, despite a paucity of blacks that makes the Winter Games look like a GOP convention."

Oddly enough, I actually agree with Gumbel's assertion that he can find better ways to spend his time than by watching these winter games. For one thing, many of the sports being featured are ones we only see in any detail every four years. It's hard to become passionate about downhill ski racing when it only enters your consciousness every fourth winter. This is not to say the sport isn't enjoyed by some in the U.S., just that it's not particularly mainstream, especially as a spectator sport.

Another reason I'd just as soon get on with the business of spring training, or in Gumbel's case, March Madness, is that many of the Winter Olympics sports don't make for exactly riveting, or even interesting, viewing. The chances of becoming engrossed in that curling semifinal are pretty slim, assuming of course you're not directly related to one of the participants. National pride only goes so far.

Even the sports that many might find fascinating, such as ski jumping or luge, have such small margins for error that all participants' efforts begin to look similar to the uninitiated. The difference between a medal-winning performance and a losing one might be so miniscule as to be invisible to all but the expert observer.

But here's the problem with Gumbel's observation: What number of black participants would it take to get him to pay attention, and why is that a factor? If the number of black athletes at the Winter Games were, say, forty percent, would that be sufficient to warrant Bryant Gumbel's attention? What if it were sixty percent? Eighty?

Furthermore, and obviously no one can see or read all the Olympic coverage, but has ANYONE at any time made the statement that all the world's greatest athletes have converged upon Turin to participate in these games? It would be a safe bet to say that most of the participants are among the best in the world at their particular sport, but that's not the same thing, is it?

It's sad to think that a man who has earned a paycheck for a good chunk of his adult life by covering sports isn't paying attention because there aren't enough athletes of a particular skin color involved to satisfy him. If blacks were being denied the opportunity to compete, that would be one thing, but but the fact that a majority of black athletes choose to devote their lives to other sports shouldn't diminish the accomplishments of the remaining athletes that are competing in the sports being featured at these games.

In an interesting bit of irony, speedskater Shani Davis of the United States became the first black to win an individual gold medal in Winter Olympics history Saturday when he placed first in the 1000-Meter event. His is a fascinating story; a black man who has found a way to succeed competing in a mostly-snow white sport. If he looked at the world like Bryant Gumbel, he would never have had the chance to medal in these Olympic Games, because he would have made the determination that there weren't enough blacks involved to merit his time and dedication.

Oh, and by the way, Shani Davis may or may not be one of the world's greatest athletes, but Shani Davis is an Olympic gold-medalist, whether Bryant Gumbel is paying attention or not.