December 09, 2004
Black Coaches urge recruits, coaches to boycott Gamecocks
The Black Coaches Association is urging all prospective recruits and assistant coaches to boycott South Carolina. The BCA says that USC didn't hiring guidelines that BCA has endorsed to promote coaching diversity. The association gave South Carolina a copy of the guidelines before Steve Spurrier was hired.
The BCA contends it's not about Spurrier, rather that the Gamecocks didn't bother to interview or notify minority candidates. South Carolina maintains that they support the BCA, but had one chance to land El Visor:
"We had the opportunity to replace an accomplished and national championship coach with another," McGee said. "The window for that to occur was clearly uncertain. It certainly was not the normal type of coaching transition that an institution faces."
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Comments & Trackbacks
Bacon says:
posted on December 9, 2004 04:46 PM — linkThe BCA is being silly here. The Cocks wanted The Cock, and they were up front about it.
Would the BCA like it better if Carolina jerked around a few black coaches by bringing them in for interviews when they knew they wanted somebody else???
Jeff Quinton says:
posted on December 9, 2004 04:55 PM — linkI meant to blog this earlier but I've been studying. There are numerous local media reports that basically say the same thing the ESPN wire one does.
The whole thing got started with a Chronicle of Higher Education story (that's now buried behind a subscriber-only login) that may have mentioned other schools.
Arguing with Signposts, a blogger in SC, has blogged on the subject also.
Kevin Donahue says:
posted on December 9, 2004 05:14 PM — linkThe BCA doesn't know what it wants - other than to feel like it's taken seriously. Obviosuly, the BCA would like more BCs, duh. Would they like to see candidates pulled up for a dog & pony show? Probably, but that (interviews for show) has been a point of BCA contention in the past.
From BoiFromTroy
pinged on Dec 9, 2004 8:00 PMThanks to everyone for your support yesterday. Boi from Troy's narrow lead has doubled in the past day to about 35 votes--although with three days remaining it is not safe, so please go vote again and again. You're fabulous. But...
DEVLIN CULLIVER says:
posted on December 10, 2004 08:20 AM — linkI am an African-American Head Coach but on the high school level. I feel that Blacks coaches are overlooked at all levels, high school, college and professional. We are just as qualified as white coaches and some of us aren't, however it's the opportunity that we are being denied. Personally I have been trying to break into the college coaching ranks, but I find it almost impossible because no one has any time to give me a chance to prove myself. I have a family and I cannot afford to be a graduate assistant. You see it's only coaching football it's reall not that hard, I've played it, I've coached it and I've come to realize that it's just football. Now if I wanted to become a doctor then I probably will need to do the whole grad-assistant thing. But football is just football..
Pete Holiday says:
posted on December 10, 2004 01:13 PM — linkNo, the BCA does not just want a dog and pony show, what they want is for every coaching opening in america to be filled by a black coach. That's really the bottom line with groups like this. One white coach is too many.
The reason they're contending with the PROCESSS of hiring Spurrier is because they know there aren't many coaches better than him and certainly no black coaches better than him... they have no one to hold up and say "Look, you should've hired _____" so they argue about the process.
Seems to me that in a situation like this, the process is largely irrelevant unless the wrong person gets selected.
The bottom line here is that coaching is not a racial thing. Aside from the apparent lack of minority coaches, there doesn't really seem to be any evidence suggesting an institutional bias in coaching (that I've seen) -- the BCA is just another one of those groups whose interest isn't equality, but inequality favorable to them.lawdog says:
posted on December 12, 2004 11:41 PM — linkWell, USC has already hired another minority coach.....Madre Hill will coach the running backs. Madre accepted this against the urging of the BCA. He was quoted in The State: “I support the organization (BCA) and I’m thankful for the opportunity to achieve a dream of coaching under a coach of coach Spurrier’s status,” Hill said Saturday. “I’m happy to be here at the University of South Carolina.”
Good for you, Madre Hill. Welcome to South Carolina.....even though you played at Arkansas, we welcome you with open arms as the newest Gamecock.
James A. Mills says:
posted on December 15, 2004 06:01 AM — linkThe problem starts at teaching. If there were more minority teachers, there would be more coaches. PERIOD! Go to college, get your degree in education and then start from there. Some may deem this racist, but it's not if you really look at it. 99% of Div. I coaches have a degree in education. Yes they were teachers at one time.
It's so simple isn't it? The fact is the BCA believes one white coach is too many.
James A. Mills says:
posted on December 15, 2004 06:04 AM — linkMr.CULLIVER
I don't know if you have done this or not because you didn't say. I'm just going to take a shot in the dark here.
You cannot go from HS to Div. I Have you ever tried to go to a Div. II or III?
I think this situation with the BCA was best evaluated by Gregory Moore. He's the managing editor of the San Antonio Informer, a weekly African-American newspaper located in San Antonio, Texas. He is also a writer for blackathlete.com and he is African American.
"We are all too aware of racism in this country but to say that Black coaches aren’t getting their fair shake is probably a statement that shouldn’t be made in 2004." "Over the years and in continuing years, Black coaches have been hired and will continue to get opportunities. It is just that if a Black coach wants one of the big colleges, he will have to do like his white counterpart. He will need to show himself approved to handle the job."
