Black coaches

Ryan_21 · #1 11-20-2002, 11:28 AM

This topic seems to come up on the sports talk/t.v. shows frequently. Atleast once a month I'd guess. It was the topic of discussion on SportsCenter last night. The opinion/whinning that is brought up is that there isnt enough black head coaches in pro/college sports. You all know the story.

Well Im sick of hearing about the same old oppressed black man story.

Why is it always made a big deal of that there arent enough black head coaches, when its blantantly obvious that in the leagues, the players are 80% black.

Its a double standard to say we need more black coaches, but go on without realizing that there are hardly any white players in the leagues.

Take the NBA for example. If you look on the court, there are 5 players per team, 10 overall on the court. In any game you watch you'd be lucky to see 2 white guys out of the 10 on the court.

So why isnt this ever brought up? Is it ok to discriminate against white people? Or is it only ok to bring up cases of discrimination against blacks?

I say so what if their arent enough black coaches, blacks have enough black players to make up for it 3 times over. So the sports experts should either shut up with this crap, or realize the blantantly obvious and start talking about discrimination against whites athletes also.

What do you all think?

Ryan_21

pudley4 · #2 11-20-2002, 12:07 PM

<blockquote>In reply to:<hr />
Why is it always made a big deal of that there arent enough black head coaches, when its blantantly obvious that in the leagues, the players are 80% black

[/ QUOTE ]

This is precisely why a big deal is being made.

<blockquote>In reply to:<hr />
Is it ok to discriminate against white people?

[/ QUOTE ]

White people are not being discriminated against when it comes to playing in the NBA. There just simply aren't many white players who are good enough to play. Kids have the opportunity to prove their basketball ability starting at a young age. Coaches (mostly) don't care if a player is white or black (or latino, or chinese, etc). If they can play, they play. So starting in high school (or even earlier), any kid has a chance to go out and prove how good a player they are. Once they get to college, regardless of whether they played in high school or not, they can always try to "walk-on". If they prove their ability in college, they'll get a chance to at least try out for some NBA team. There are also lesser leagues and foreign leagues to play in to prove their ability. The key is that in each place, players are always able to show their playing ability through practices, tryouts, exhibition games, etc. The same opportunities are not available to coaches.

There are no "tryouts" for coaches. They can't "walk-on" at a college program and run a couple of practices to show what they can do. They can't go to a summer-league for an NBA team and prove how well they manage game situations. Their only opportunities come directly from an owner (hiring them as a head coach) or from a head coach (hiring them as an assistant). If owners and head coaches interview whites-only, (or only throw in a token interview to a black person) there's no way blacks will get the same opportunities as whites. The differences between making it as an NBA player and as an NBA coach are what cause the discrimination talks.

<blockquote>In reply to:<hr />
I say so what if their arent enough black coaches, blacks have enough black players to make up for it 3 times over.

[/ QUOTE ]

These are 2 completely separate issues.

<blockquote>In reply to:<hr />
So the sports experts should either shut up with this crap, or realize the blantantly obvious and start talking about discrimination against whites athletes also

[/ QUOTE ]

Quick, name the 5 best white players in the NBA. Are any of them even close to as athletic as Kobe, Steve Francis, Tracy McGrady, KG? NO WAY! Who are the most athletic white players in the last 20 years? Dan Majerle, Tom Chambers, Brent Barry - maybe I've forgotten a couple, but these guys are jokes when you compare their athletic ability to the NBA superstars.

B-Man · #3 11-20-2002, 12:28 PM

Quick, name the 5 best white players in the NBA. Are any of them even close to as athletic as Kobe, Steve Francis, Tracy McGrady, KG? NO WAY! Who are the most athletic white players in the last 20 years? Dan Majerle, Tom Chambers, Brent Barry - maybe I've forgotten a couple, but these guys are jokes when you compare their athletic ability to the NBA superstars.

When I was a big NBA fan, players (and fans) were not as concerned with athleticism, dunking, and looking good as they are today. What was important was winning. That is what should be important today, but unfortunately it isn't. Today's players seem much more concerned with showing off/looking good than improving their own game, improving their team, and focusing on winning.

You may or may not be correct in your list of the most athletic white players of the last 20 years; regardless, who cares? A player should not be in the NBA because he is athletic, he should be in the NBA because he can help a team win. By listing the most "athletic" white players rather than the best white players, you seem to be falling into the same line of thinking.

There isn't a player in the league today who could carry Larry Bird's jockstrap (well, maybe if the Shaq was healthy, but he isn't... and sure Jordan before he unretired for the 3rd time... other than that, nobody is even close).

#4 11-20-2002, 01:23 PM

Magic Johnson, Kareem, Walt Frazier, Bill Russell, Jerry West, Bill Walton in his prime. the topic was started by a bigot who doesn't want to admit that discrimination exists.
Usually people are bigoted because they lack self esteem. We should pray for him to get better.

BruceZ · #5 11-20-2002, 01:27 PM

If one states that whites as a group are more capable of being coaches than blacks, he is accused of being a racist. Interestingly, if one states that blacks as a group make better athletes, he is also accused of being a racist. A few years ago, a well-known sports commentator was fired because he stated that blacks are bigger and stronger due to selective breeding from the days of slavery. Not only were his statements plausible, they were almost certainly correct. If you only select the stongest members of a group and breed them in isolation, of course the offspring will be stronger than random samples, duh. Apparently political correctness means refraining from stating that which should be blatantly obvious to everyone.

Ryan_21 · #6 11-20-2002, 01:36 PM

"There are no "tryouts" for coaches. They can't "walk-on" at a college program and run a couple of practices to show what they can do, etc, etc"

This is where you are wrong. Its called going to college, getting a degree in physical education, start coaching at the high school level, move up to J.C, then to D1 college and then to assistant in pro's and so forth.

Black people have the same opportunities to prove themselves as coaches as whites have to prove themselves as players. The only difference is, whites dont make a big deal about the lack of players in the pro's, blacks DO make a BIG deal about the lack of coaches.

Ryan_21

Ryan_21 · #7 11-20-2002, 01:44 PM

"the topic was started by a bigot who doesn't want to admit that discrimination exists."

I hope you are not talking about me. Because the whole point of my post was to prove that discrimination DOES exist, against whites.

Why does everyone cry racism when it is against blacks, but look the other way when it is against whites?

Ryan_21

Ryan_21 · #8 11-20-2002, 01:47 PM

"Apparently political correctness means refraining from stating that which should be blatantly obvious to everyone."

Thats my point and I dont care if its politically correct or not, but the fact remains that everyone is quick to cry racism when it is against minorities, but at the same time they are quick to look the other way when it is against whites.

Ryan_21

Clarkmeister · #9 11-20-2002, 02:15 PM

All I can say is I am shocked by such ignorance from the defender of Tupac.

Where to start? Wow.

Your example of "racism against whites" because of the number of white players on the basketball floor is so ridiculous its laughable. Fortunately, the league is so public that it is not possible to do anything BUT attempt to put the best possible team on the court. Its not racism, its free market forces at work. The leagues are shining examples to the rest of the business community of "the most qualified candidates get the job" when it comes to players.

Now all of a sudden, these black players who comprise 79% of the talent in the NBA aren't managerial material? How is that? The fact of the matter is that to get into coaching at the pro level, the number one qualification that you could have is that you played in the league. It simply defies logic that with 79% of players being black, only 44% would attempt to be coaches. It doesn't need to be exactly reflective, but it does need to be in the same ballpark. Get it to 60% and I think you have reached a point where it is reasonable and believable.

The NFL is, of course, the worst offender and has been so historically. It was less than 20 years ago that we were debating the ridiculous notion that blacks werent "smart enough" to be QB's in the league. It should not be surprising that organizations that held such beliefs so recently, are still acting on them in other ways.

Look at the Black coaches in the NFL. They are all WELL above the average white coach in terms of ability. Dennis Green, Tony Dungee, Ray Rhodes, Herm Edwards, Art Shell. Once I start seeing some black David Shula's get hired, I'll know that we are close to where we should be. But when every black coach who gets hired is very good or excellent as opposed to average, it should be obvious to you that something is seriously wrong.

Clarkmeister · #10 11-20-2002, 02:18 PM

The fact of the matter is that 79% of the players in the NBA are black because 79% of the best players in the world happen to be black. Period.