Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Kenneth Andam

The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was keep. (non-admin closure) TheSpecialUser ^TSU 06:01, 28 August 2012 (UTC)

Kenneth Andam

Kenneth Andam (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) – (View log • Stats)

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I am having trouble understanding how this middle of the road athlete meets WP:GNG. He runs (ran) quicker than I can and jumps (jumped) further than I can, but he's pretty unspecial. I need to be convinced that he is notable for more than he cheerful smile. I'm also finding the tone of the article is one that seeks to use Wikipedia to create notability, not to document it. Fiddle Faddle (talk) 20:11, 21 August 2012 (UTC)

• Comment seems to have gotten a lot of coverage in Utah press as a top student athlete, and a lot of mentions on "GhanaWeb" - but I am unsure as to whether he squeaks by as sufficiently notable. Better than "middle of the road athlete" however. Collect (talk) 20:23, 21 August 2012 (UTC)

Note: This debate has been included in the list of Africa-related deletion discussions. • Gene93k (talk) 20:25, 21 August 2012 (UTC)

Note: This debate has been included in the list of Sportspeople-related deletion discussions. • Gene93k (talk) 20:25, 21 August 2012 (UTC)

Note: This debate has been included in the list of Businesspeople-related deletion discussions. • Gene93k (talk) 20:25, 21 August 2012 (UTC)

• Delete per WP:BIO. It is also an umreferenced bio after four years of its existence. Also reads like a cv. Nice photos though. -- Alan Liefting (talk - contribs) 20:51, 21 August 2012 (UTC)
• Comment - I do agree that this article needs additional refs, but needing additional refs does not necessarily equate to lack of notability. Therefore an article should not be deleted under such grounds. The appropriate tags for lack of refs would be more than appropriate. He worn the bronz medal in the AC and represented his country in the Sydney Olypics from what I can gather. I don't know your definition of middle of the road but that's certainly not middle of the road in my book. Here are some links. Hope they help. [1], [2], [3]. Tamsier (talk) 21:16, 21 August 2012 (UTC)
• Keep & fix. It's not accurate to call this article "unsourced" given the IAAF entry as well as the BYU bio page. The current version lays on the puffery rather thickly, but his participation in the IAAF World Championships (and possibly in the Olympics, although the "famousmormons.net" site seems to say that his team didn't qualify) appears to satisfy WP:NTRACK. In which case the article should be kept, but with plenty of editing. --Arxiloxos (talk) 22:42, 21 August 2012 (UTC)
  • Comment. Ghana at the 2000 Summer Olympics says the 4x100m team didn't advance out of round 1. Clarityfiend (talk) 01:17, 22 August 2012 (UTC)
• Keep per the refs provided and Arxiloxos' rationale.Tamsier (talk) 04:09, 22 August 2012 (UTC)
• Keep. Competed at an Olympics and medalled at the African GamesThe-Pope (talk) 23:41, 21 August 2012 (UTC)
• Delete. A lack of independent, verifiable sources confirming notability. The argument that "he's notable because he was in the Olympics" is bogus. Not everyone who competes is automatically notable! It's not like he won a bunch of gold medals and had lots of press coverage for them...and to say "well, the article isn't good yet, but it can be, so don't delete it" isn't a vote.Jimsteele9999 (talk) 23:56, 21 August 2012 (UTC)
• Keep. Everyone who competes in the Olympics is automatically notable (just as baseball players who have had one single at-bat in the Major Leagues are). See WP:NTRACK #1. (Here's his sports-reference.com entry confirming he was in the 2000 Olympics.) Andam it, he also satisfies #3 by finishing third in the 2000 African Championships.[4] Clarityfiend (talk) 01:02, 22 August 2012 (UTC)
• Comment: Yes, I am aware of WP:TRACK and like WP:AUTHOR and WP:MUSIC and WP:BLP these are guidelines. Besides the promotional tone of this article which makes it hard to find the facts through all the WP:PEACOCK, he isn't notable. Not nearly enough independent sources.Jimsteele9999 (talk) 02:00, 22 August 2012 (UTC)

• Comment. Chances are pretty good he was written up in Ghanaian newspapers, which are a bit difficult to access. Anti-third world bias should be avoided. Clarityfiend (talk) 07:52, 22 August 2012 (UTC)

• Comment Where in the world did any concept of bias come from? Please do not make accusations of bias where none exists. Such accusations serve the reverse purpose and often create bias for themselves. WP:BEANS applies. No-one cares one whit for his original nation, nationality or ethnicity or any other similar attribute. The only 'ity' under discussion is notability. Fiddle Faddle (talk) 08:02, 22 August 2012 (UTC)

• The bias has nothing to do with any "ity", it's entirely to do with people equating a google search with the existance of independent sources from a non first world country. I think you need to take a step back, read what it's written, don't red between the lines and WP:AGF. The-Pope (talk) 12:12, 22 August 2012 (UTC)

• I read what was written. It stated that anti third world bias should be avoided. It was clear, in the open, and between no lines :) Since there was none this introduced it. Fiddle Faddle (talk) 12:18, 22 August 2012 (UTC)

• The "bias" refers to the systemic tendency of Wikipedia to cover subjects easily researched on the internet while failing to cover those that are not, and Wikipedia's particular tendency to under-cover African subjects. Please see WP:Systemic Bias, which (appropriately for this discussion) is also known as WP:WORLDVIEW, as well as the older page Wikipedia:WikiProject Countering systemic bias/Geography. --Arxiloxos (talk) 14:00, 22 August 2012 (UTC)

• Comment It would be foolish to assume there is no systematic bias in the coverage of African topics or their nomination for AfD. I have commented on this several times and perhaps the most vocal and despised. I don't care. In deed the very nature of English Wikipedia is systematically biased. I have also sat and watched where several African related articles are brought to AfD. What I found astounding is that, had the nominator just taken the initiative to find reliable sources, notability would have been established. Many African related subjects have been saved from the chop in this way. So lets not delude ourselves and get back to the point.Tamsier (talk) 14:47, 22 August 2012 (UTC)

• Keep per WP:GNG and the relevant WP:SNG. I support the Wikipedia consensus that athletes who compete in the World Championships and Olympics are notable and encyclopedic, particularly when there are independent, reliable sources to back-up the claim to notability. This subject has other claims to notability: "High school Sportsman of the Year in 1995", "African junior champion in 1995", and "NCAA All-American in 1999 outdoor 4x100 relay",[5] as well as a bronze medalist in the African Championships.[6] Location (talk) 20:52, 22 August 2012 (UTC)

• Keep - Per WP:NSPORT having competed at the top level of his sport as demonstrated by the World Championships and Olympics. -- Whpq (talk) 21:52, 22 August 2012 (UTC)
• Comment. For those arguing it is open and shut via WP:NTRACK please note that the guidelines maintain that WP:ROUTINE--which constitute the bulk of these "references" apply to this article. Take those out, or even keep them in for consideration, still not notable. Not enough substantial, independent sources to make him notable.Jimsteele9999 (talk) 23:58, 22 August 2012 (UTC)

If participation in the Olympics and IAAF World Championships is routine sports coverage, then I wonder what is not routine sports coverage. Location (talk) 00:38, 23 August 2012 (UTC)

• Comment: He had a brief appearance in the IAAF, didn't distinguish himself, and moreover, article still doesn't provide any substantial independent third pary coverage to establish notability. Sorry, but "he competed" isn't enough to give him an article. That's reading the guidlines too literally, a problem many gung-ho fans have. Glad to see someone cares enough about him as an athelete to create an article about him that promotes him as much as possible, but the puffery doesn't help establish notability. Only two references? Really? For such a "notable" athlete, I'd expect more. Plenty of votes here, but not much in the way of people finding anything that qualifies them. Jimsteele9999 (talk) 00:26, 24 August 2012 (UTC)

Getting to the Olympics, World Championships, and NCAA Championships (with All-American status, I might add) means he already has distinguished himself in the sport. And competing at that level isn't the same as you competing for an age group victory in your local 5K. As far as references, it shouldn't have been that difficult for anyone with access to a search engine to have a look around. Incidentally, his appearance on the August 2007 cover of The Deal (magazine) suggests that there are others who think this guy is the S irrespective of his athletics accomplishments. Location (talk) 08:47, 24 August 2012 (UTC)

• Keep, Olympian. Geschichte (talk) 11:26, 23 August 2012 (UTC)
• Keep - an Olympian and medallist at the African Championships is certainly notable. For sources try having a look Basement12 (T.C) 12:31, 24 August 2012 (UTC)
• Keep - Our sports/athelete criteria are astoundingly loose, so given that, he obviously meets those criteria. Whether some of the athletes kept under that criteria meet GNG is questionable. Shadowjams (talk) 01:22, 28 August 2012 (UTC)

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.