THERE IS NO RACISM IN SPORTS
After Jason Whitlock's column on ESPN.com about Notre Dame giving Charlie Weis an insane extension, and that being a racist move due to the fact that Charlie Weis went 5-2 in his first seven games and Ty Willingham (a brotha) went 8-o in his first eight games led to spirited debates at water coolers and talk radio alike. THE THOMAS REPORT believes that there is no racsim in sports. None at all. The NBA, NFL, NCAA (football and basketball), hell even NASCAR are havens where ones race doesn't matter. From now on, racism can't be used by the Black Coaches Association anymore. We don't want anymore "minority report cards" or anything other barometers of racial equality. If there are only four or five Black head coaches in football, deal with it. It's not racist. White people are tired of being called racist when they spend their hard earned money to watch these "athletes" perform on whatever venue you wish to equate to this essay.
The reason there is no racism in sports is because nobody is forcing these players to go where the go and play where they play. South Florida is the most talent laden place in the country for high school football players. Coaches from near and far marvel at the size, speed, and agility of these "athletes" and the trade off for these "athletes" is to have the small oppotunity to go to the NFL. The coach gets to look like a genius by have these top of the line "athletes" perform on the field and in echange, get a $30-40 Million Dollar Extension. To be fair, Notre Dame doesn't have any "athletes" from South Florida or any "athletes" of any reputilble ability except Darius Walker. In fact, they have won this year mainly with whiteboys, which is pretty cool in itself. But not to digress. The South Forida Boyz get to strut their stuff on network television on Saturdays (sometime Thursdays) in hopes to get noticed and get drafted. The major university is a part of a consortium or conference whose sole purpose is to further the education of their students (right).
Millions upon millions are heaped out to these power conferences and corporate sponsored conference championship games which make the university presidents and athletic directors the czars of their respective campuses. So Dequan Mitchell (fictional) from Miami-Dade High School is dying to be a part of the University of Miami's football dynasty not to get a Biology degree, but to go to the pros. Larry Coker looks like Vince Lombardi himself because his incredibly high winning percentage. But what if it wasn't so easy. What if Bob Stoops, Pete Carroll (who I really admire), Frank Beamer, Mack Brown, and Bobby Bowden had to play with the players that Melvin Spears (Grambling State), Terry Beauford (Morehouse), James Webster (Tenn. State), Joe Taylor (Hampton), and George Small (North Carolina A&T) are coaching now. Conversely, if the coaches from the aforementioned HBCU's were to coach the studs from South Florida, the Chesapeake area of Virginia, urban Texas high schools, and the talent rich SoCal region of California, would they be multi-million dollar coaches? We can call it a role reversal of sorts. These schools do exist, so it's only semi-fictional right? To complete this thought, since we touched upon the titans of major college football, what about the dregs? Schools like Kansas, Baylor, Clemson, and Temple (you catch my drift now) could equate themselves with schools like Livingstone, Shaw, Delaware State, and Morgan State's of the world. I can see it now, skyrocketing ratings for days. Powerhouse universities alumni groups wouldn't have to worry about "Coach Leroy" coming to speak at their posh alumni gatherings. Bob Stoops would still come. Bobby Bowden would be there in full splendor. Its just they would have to explain to the alumni why these "boys" aren't coming to play for OU and FSU respectively. Bobby Bowden would so retire.
But let's call a Spade a Spade (no pun intended). Empowerment within the African American community is talked about ad nausea especially in February or at a March of some sorts. If you really want to talk empowerment, it would have to be via the realm of athletics. Where else do Black men makes scores of money but in athletics? Sure there are plenty of Black Harvard MBA's that make huge coinon Wall Street and there are scores of black business professionals, but they're not rushing to Compton, Harlem, or Liberty City to tell the "Boyz in the Hood" the secrets they learned at Wharton. And why should they? They're Harvard MBA dammit! No this exercise would have to come from a group of 100 Blue Chip ballers (I'm talking about guys who can play!) and more importantly their parents or grandparents who could see that the future of Black Americans lies within Black Americans. The Black Elite cannot relate because their peer group doesn't network with the dregs of Black and or any culture. Mama and Papa or Big Mama (grass roots) would have to help make this happen. More importantly, it would take 6-10 HBCU's to committ to athletic achievement AT ALL COSTS!!!
To begin, it would take at least $2 Billion. I know that seems like a lot, but in reality it's not. The Southeastern Conference (SEC) gets $2 Billion annually from CBS. Notre Dame gets $1.1 Billion from NBC. I know, I know, but just stick with me. $2 Billion would breakdown as such:
1. $100,000 Million to each of the 6-10 schools for facilities upgrades (stadiums, field houses, alumni houses, etc.) As well as Educational Foundations and scholarships.
2. $150,000 Million to establish strong Booster Clubs, and Auxiliary Organizations. Come now, don't be naive. Is it really Oklahoma's English Department that gets the Blue Chip recruits in droves? Is it Florida State's Theater Department that gets the big timers from South Carolina? If you watch the documentary "The Year of the Bull" about Taurean Charles, a South Florida football stud, you can see Chuck Amato(N.C. State), Rich Rodriguez(West Virginia), and Ron Zook(formerly of Florida currently at Illinois) tell this kid's mom that all freshman courses are essentially the same. It's the "programs" that differ. You see, it's the "what can you do for me" attitude that HBCU's can't compete with. With this plan, HBCU's can do plenty.
3. $300,000 Million to develop network television and corporate sponsorship relationships. My best friend Ryan Walker would be perfect at this. He's a sponsorship giant! HBCU conferences have budding relationshps with ESPNU, BET, and local Paramount affiliates within the south. By stockpiling Blue Chip talent it would be only a matter of time before Nike, NBC, Adidas, and CBS would come calling. Matter of fact, I'm paraphrasing a comment that Coach John Chaney of the Temple University, and at the end of his comment he says "it never will happen! Never will happen!" But this is THE THOMAS REPORT and we will pretend that this topic is feasible. Anyway, on Thanksgiving we get the Bayou Classic which is a bore until the Battle of the Bands. Imagine Black College Football with an emphasis on football? That would be pretty cool huh? A strech, but hey. Back to the original thought. Corporations can't sell Frosted Flakes without Tony the Tiger rapping, so it wouldn't take too long for them align themselves with the Black College Football product. The $300,000 Million would come back very fast, and it would be money well invested.
4. $150,000 Million in perpetuity. The money would have to keep coming. Money, money, money would have to flow into these programs for five to ten years so HBCU's could keep a competitive edge in securing these "athletes." Since this is a Bull Shit free site, they would have to be able to buy Blue Chip "athletes." Buy their parents things. Pay a mortgage or two. Hook up a job or two, three or four. Discreetly of course, far from the moralists at ESPN, SPorts Illustrated, or the SEC. I know, some might not be able to stomach the notion, but yes, people or alumni, or local businesses in some way shape or form buy the Blue Chippers. Mainly the ones in need. But the ones in need tend to be the best "athlete" or talent. I don't think Duke had to buy Grant Hill, but Corey Magette and Elton Brand it's a possibility. Chris Carawell, why not? I would have hit him off with a couple of G's out of high school. He was good. But Grant Hill, Shane Battier, or Jason Williams probably not. They'd probably tell. But how many top tier, prime time Blue Chip athletes come from the background of Grant Hill and or Jason Williams? If your parents played pro sports, you are not a part of this discussion because it doesn't pertain to you (sorry Peyton and Eli). How many athletes come from the similar backgrounds of Warren Sapp, Ed Reed, Ray lewis, Clinton Portis, Edgerin James, Willis McGahee, Bubba Franks, and the Moss brothers (Santana and Sinorice)? With that said, a large part of the $150,000 would be used for pampering purposes. Kind of like at Texas. The perks is what we would create. Dorms that rival Jayhawk Towers at the University of Kansas, or the Wildcat Inn at the University of Kentucky (for basket ballers, but all good). Money is the key. If Joseph Kennedy, Sr. or Michael Bloomberg taught us anything, they taught us you have to "pay to play" in the United States if you want to be taken seriously. The son of an Irish Immigrant (which was not cool then) and a Jewish man bought in heavy and now will have long lasting legacies. They didn't buy rims or Bentlys, they bought politicians and influence. Black needs to buy in heavy as well, and at the mere price of $2 Billion dollars we can.
The remainder of the $2 Billion and a significant portion of the revenue generated from the $2 Billion would be invested into graduate and professional schools. Howard Univeristy and North Carolina Central University have reputable professional (Law) schools. However, in a recent U.S. News and World Reports Ranking, and in the Council for Legal Opportunity (CLEO) rankings they are Tier 3 and 4 law schools respectively. At UNC,USC, Miami, Michigan, and Notre Dame, revenue generated from high revenue atheltics, is invested into each schools academia. That's why these schools for decades have had reputable tenured faculty, professional schools, and tremendous growth. Athletics is not the sole provider for this growth but it's a constant provider for certain universities and their conference affiliates.
In conclusion, there can't be any racism in sports. Where is it at? White people may claim the NBA is racist because no white boys are heavily promoted in the NBA, but Steve Nash just won the MVP. He's a white boy. A Canadian, but white nonetheless. Where is it at? In the front office? In the athletic departments? No. There's a few Black AD's out there. There are plenty of jobs out there, so why do front office jobs have to be given to Blacks. Corporations aren't just handing out CEO positions to Blacks, and there's generations of Black Harvard MBA's out there. They aint complaining (nor would they ever dare to) so why is Jason Whitlock? White men have proven they are better coaches than blacks. Sure there's Eddie Robinson and Big House Gaines, but the white guys have Bobby Bowden (good ole' boy), Joe Paterno (Italian but white), Bear Bryant (super good ole boy), Lou Holtz, Steve Spurrier, Danny Ford, and the list goes on. John Thompson and Tubby Smith won the NCAA basketball tourney but that's basketball. For some reason, white coaches have proven they are pure genius and black coaches like Ty Willingham (Washington), Fritz Hill (San Jose State), and Jim Dickerson (formerly of Wake Forest) have proven their respective teams can't score like the New England Patriots. So he's out and the genius (Charlie Weis) is in. Charlie Weis is a better coach? Well the world seems to think so, and Notre Dame put $30 Million on it. So why can't we (Blacks) muster up $2 Billion to put on our own guys?
-AN EXCERPT FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
11/8/05
More than half of the 30 schools making football coaching changes last year will receive grades of "C, D or F" when this year's minority hiring report card is released Wednesday.
This is the third year the Black Coaches Association has issued the report card.
Grades are based on results in categories that include the percentage of minorities involved in the hiring process, the number of minority candidates who received interviews and the schools' contacts with either BCA executive director Floyd Keith or the chairman of the NCAA's Minority Opportunity and Interests Committee.
Seventeen schools are expected to receive average, below average or failing grades.
But the report showed little change among the number of high-scoring schools in Division I-A. The 2004 report card showed that although only one school actually hired a minority coach, six received overall grades of "A." This year's report card indicates the number of schools receiving an "A" remained about the same, while the number of schools receiving a "B" increased.
Grades for individual schools were expected to be made available Wednesday.
In Division I-AA, there was a decline among the top-scoring schools. In 2004, two schools received an "A" compared with none this year, and the number of schools getting a "B" also dropped.
Keith is advising student-athletes to use the report card when making decisions about attending college and said in a written statement that if there is not significant progress next year, the BCA would consider legal action against schools based on hiring inequity.
Only three Division I-A football programs have black coaches -- Sylvester Croom of Mississippi State, Karl Dorrell of UCLA and Tyrone Willingham of Washington. Willingham, who was fired by Notre Dame last year, was the only black coach hired this year after the 2004 season.
Lou West, who was hired by Indiana State in January, is the only black head coach in Division I-AA at a non-historically black college or institution.
NCAA President Myles Brand has urged athletic directors to take a closer look at minority coaching candidates.
The reason there is no racism in sports is because nobody is forcing these players to go where the go and play where they play. South Florida is the most talent laden place in the country for high school football players. Coaches from near and far marvel at the size, speed, and agility of these "athletes" and the trade off for these "athletes" is to have the small oppotunity to go to the NFL. The coach gets to look like a genius by have these top of the line "athletes" perform on the field and in echange, get a $30-40 Million Dollar Extension. To be fair, Notre Dame doesn't have any "athletes" from South Florida or any "athletes" of any reputilble ability except Darius Walker. In fact, they have won this year mainly with whiteboys, which is pretty cool in itself. But not to digress. The South Forida Boyz get to strut their stuff on network television on Saturdays (sometime Thursdays) in hopes to get noticed and get drafted. The major university is a part of a consortium or conference whose sole purpose is to further the education of their students (right).
Millions upon millions are heaped out to these power conferences and corporate sponsored conference championship games which make the university presidents and athletic directors the czars of their respective campuses. So Dequan Mitchell (fictional) from Miami-Dade High School is dying to be a part of the University of Miami's football dynasty not to get a Biology degree, but to go to the pros. Larry Coker looks like Vince Lombardi himself because his incredibly high winning percentage. But what if it wasn't so easy. What if Bob Stoops, Pete Carroll (who I really admire), Frank Beamer, Mack Brown, and Bobby Bowden had to play with the players that Melvin Spears (Grambling State), Terry Beauford (Morehouse), James Webster (Tenn. State), Joe Taylor (Hampton), and George Small (North Carolina A&T) are coaching now. Conversely, if the coaches from the aforementioned HBCU's were to coach the studs from South Florida, the Chesapeake area of Virginia, urban Texas high schools, and the talent rich SoCal region of California, would they be multi-million dollar coaches? We can call it a role reversal of sorts. These schools do exist, so it's only semi-fictional right? To complete this thought, since we touched upon the titans of major college football, what about the dregs? Schools like Kansas, Baylor, Clemson, and Temple (you catch my drift now) could equate themselves with schools like Livingstone, Shaw, Delaware State, and Morgan State's of the world. I can see it now, skyrocketing ratings for days. Powerhouse universities alumni groups wouldn't have to worry about "Coach Leroy" coming to speak at their posh alumni gatherings. Bob Stoops would still come. Bobby Bowden would be there in full splendor. Its just they would have to explain to the alumni why these "boys" aren't coming to play for OU and FSU respectively. Bobby Bowden would so retire.
But let's call a Spade a Spade (no pun intended). Empowerment within the African American community is talked about ad nausea especially in February or at a March of some sorts. If you really want to talk empowerment, it would have to be via the realm of athletics. Where else do Black men makes scores of money but in athletics? Sure there are plenty of Black Harvard MBA's that make huge coinon Wall Street and there are scores of black business professionals, but they're not rushing to Compton, Harlem, or Liberty City to tell the "Boyz in the Hood" the secrets they learned at Wharton. And why should they? They're Harvard MBA dammit! No this exercise would have to come from a group of 100 Blue Chip ballers (I'm talking about guys who can play!) and more importantly their parents or grandparents who could see that the future of Black Americans lies within Black Americans. The Black Elite cannot relate because their peer group doesn't network with the dregs of Black and or any culture. Mama and Papa or Big Mama (grass roots) would have to help make this happen. More importantly, it would take 6-10 HBCU's to committ to athletic achievement AT ALL COSTS!!!
To begin, it would take at least $2 Billion. I know that seems like a lot, but in reality it's not. The Southeastern Conference (SEC) gets $2 Billion annually from CBS. Notre Dame gets $1.1 Billion from NBC. I know, I know, but just stick with me. $2 Billion would breakdown as such:
1. $100,000 Million to each of the 6-10 schools for facilities upgrades (stadiums, field houses, alumni houses, etc.) As well as Educational Foundations and scholarships.
2. $150,000 Million to establish strong Booster Clubs, and Auxiliary Organizations. Come now, don't be naive. Is it really Oklahoma's English Department that gets the Blue Chip recruits in droves? Is it Florida State's Theater Department that gets the big timers from South Carolina? If you watch the documentary "The Year of the Bull" about Taurean Charles, a South Florida football stud, you can see Chuck Amato(N.C. State), Rich Rodriguez(West Virginia), and Ron Zook(formerly of Florida currently at Illinois) tell this kid's mom that all freshman courses are essentially the same. It's the "programs" that differ. You see, it's the "what can you do for me" attitude that HBCU's can't compete with. With this plan, HBCU's can do plenty.
3. $300,000 Million to develop network television and corporate sponsorship relationships. My best friend Ryan Walker would be perfect at this. He's a sponsorship giant! HBCU conferences have budding relationshps with ESPNU, BET, and local Paramount affiliates within the south. By stockpiling Blue Chip talent it would be only a matter of time before Nike, NBC, Adidas, and CBS would come calling. Matter of fact, I'm paraphrasing a comment that Coach John Chaney of the Temple University, and at the end of his comment he says "it never will happen! Never will happen!" But this is THE THOMAS REPORT and we will pretend that this topic is feasible. Anyway, on Thanksgiving we get the Bayou Classic which is a bore until the Battle of the Bands. Imagine Black College Football with an emphasis on football? That would be pretty cool huh? A strech, but hey. Back to the original thought. Corporations can't sell Frosted Flakes without Tony the Tiger rapping, so it wouldn't take too long for them align themselves with the Black College Football product. The $300,000 Million would come back very fast, and it would be money well invested.
4. $150,000 Million in perpetuity. The money would have to keep coming. Money, money, money would have to flow into these programs for five to ten years so HBCU's could keep a competitive edge in securing these "athletes." Since this is a Bull Shit free site, they would have to be able to buy Blue Chip "athletes." Buy their parents things. Pay a mortgage or two. Hook up a job or two, three or four. Discreetly of course, far from the moralists at ESPN, SPorts Illustrated, or the SEC. I know, some might not be able to stomach the notion, but yes, people or alumni, or local businesses in some way shape or form buy the Blue Chippers. Mainly the ones in need. But the ones in need tend to be the best "athlete" or talent. I don't think Duke had to buy Grant Hill, but Corey Magette and Elton Brand it's a possibility. Chris Carawell, why not? I would have hit him off with a couple of G's out of high school. He was good. But Grant Hill, Shane Battier, or Jason Williams probably not. They'd probably tell. But how many top tier, prime time Blue Chip athletes come from the background of Grant Hill and or Jason Williams? If your parents played pro sports, you are not a part of this discussion because it doesn't pertain to you (sorry Peyton and Eli). How many athletes come from the similar backgrounds of Warren Sapp, Ed Reed, Ray lewis, Clinton Portis, Edgerin James, Willis McGahee, Bubba Franks, and the Moss brothers (Santana and Sinorice)? With that said, a large part of the $150,000 would be used for pampering purposes. Kind of like at Texas. The perks is what we would create. Dorms that rival Jayhawk Towers at the University of Kansas, or the Wildcat Inn at the University of Kentucky (for basket ballers, but all good). Money is the key. If Joseph Kennedy, Sr. or Michael Bloomberg taught us anything, they taught us you have to "pay to play" in the United States if you want to be taken seriously. The son of an Irish Immigrant (which was not cool then) and a Jewish man bought in heavy and now will have long lasting legacies. They didn't buy rims or Bentlys, they bought politicians and influence. Black needs to buy in heavy as well, and at the mere price of $2 Billion dollars we can.
The remainder of the $2 Billion and a significant portion of the revenue generated from the $2 Billion would be invested into graduate and professional schools. Howard Univeristy and North Carolina Central University have reputable professional (Law) schools. However, in a recent U.S. News and World Reports Ranking, and in the Council for Legal Opportunity (CLEO) rankings they are Tier 3 and 4 law schools respectively. At UNC,USC, Miami, Michigan, and Notre Dame, revenue generated from high revenue atheltics, is invested into each schools academia. That's why these schools for decades have had reputable tenured faculty, professional schools, and tremendous growth. Athletics is not the sole provider for this growth but it's a constant provider for certain universities and their conference affiliates.
In conclusion, there can't be any racism in sports. Where is it at? White people may claim the NBA is racist because no white boys are heavily promoted in the NBA, but Steve Nash just won the MVP. He's a white boy. A Canadian, but white nonetheless. Where is it at? In the front office? In the athletic departments? No. There's a few Black AD's out there. There are plenty of jobs out there, so why do front office jobs have to be given to Blacks. Corporations aren't just handing out CEO positions to Blacks, and there's generations of Black Harvard MBA's out there. They aint complaining (nor would they ever dare to) so why is Jason Whitlock? White men have proven they are better coaches than blacks. Sure there's Eddie Robinson and Big House Gaines, but the white guys have Bobby Bowden (good ole' boy), Joe Paterno (Italian but white), Bear Bryant (super good ole boy), Lou Holtz, Steve Spurrier, Danny Ford, and the list goes on. John Thompson and Tubby Smith won the NCAA basketball tourney but that's basketball. For some reason, white coaches have proven they are pure genius and black coaches like Ty Willingham (Washington), Fritz Hill (San Jose State), and Jim Dickerson (formerly of Wake Forest) have proven their respective teams can't score like the New England Patriots. So he's out and the genius (Charlie Weis) is in. Charlie Weis is a better coach? Well the world seems to think so, and Notre Dame put $30 Million on it. So why can't we (Blacks) muster up $2 Billion to put on our own guys?
-AN EXCERPT FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
11/8/05
More than half of the 30 schools making football coaching changes last year will receive grades of "C, D or F" when this year's minority hiring report card is released Wednesday.
This is the third year the Black Coaches Association has issued the report card.
Grades are based on results in categories that include the percentage of minorities involved in the hiring process, the number of minority candidates who received interviews and the schools' contacts with either BCA executive director Floyd Keith or the chairman of the NCAA's Minority Opportunity and Interests Committee.
Seventeen schools are expected to receive average, below average or failing grades.
But the report showed little change among the number of high-scoring schools in Division I-A. The 2004 report card showed that although only one school actually hired a minority coach, six received overall grades of "A." This year's report card indicates the number of schools receiving an "A" remained about the same, while the number of schools receiving a "B" increased.
Grades for individual schools were expected to be made available Wednesday.
In Division I-AA, there was a decline among the top-scoring schools. In 2004, two schools received an "A" compared with none this year, and the number of schools getting a "B" also dropped.
Keith is advising student-athletes to use the report card when making decisions about attending college and said in a written statement that if there is not significant progress next year, the BCA would consider legal action against schools based on hiring inequity.
Only three Division I-A football programs have black coaches -- Sylvester Croom of Mississippi State, Karl Dorrell of UCLA and Tyrone Willingham of Washington. Willingham, who was fired by Notre Dame last year, was the only black coach hired this year after the 2004 season.
Lou West, who was hired by Indiana State in January, is the only black head coach in Division I-AA at a non-historically black college or institution.
NCAA President Myles Brand has urged athletic directors to take a closer look at minority coaching candidates.
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