Maybe could have posted in garm or Texans , but felt this topic is a bit more suited to D&D in specific , I wanna touch on the idea of black coaches making black players happy. Isn’t that a bit racist ? I’ve seen so much talk in the media ... “Deshaun Watson wants a black coach” , “James harden and WB want a black coach” the idea that to be happy and be respected , black players need a black coach just seems dumb . If we had a white QB are we saying , “we need to hire a white coach to keep this guy happy” ? I understand that at the highest level , the athletes in the sport are predominantly black ... at least compared to their percentage of the population (more than 10-15% of nba and nfl players are black ) but why do we have to line up things according to racial percentage? how many college and professional soccer coaches are Hispanic ? What’s the player base divided racially ? is there true discrimination going back 20-30 years ? (No doubt there was in 60’s and 70’s ) good players (or sometimes even players in general) don’t always make the best coaches . So that seems to be an impediment argument that would correlate race , the player base , and coaching Opportunities. is this a rich people issue ? Do we think owners of teams Are the ones screwing over black coaches ? I just think the discussion can be counterproductive. Black coaches have won super bowls. Are nfl teams picking inferior coaches because they like the white guys better ? Makes more $ for their team ? like I said , the main thing that bugs me is the idea that “black players want black coaches” If the same standard is applied to white players ... well , you’d call those players racist . im sure there’s at least one black coach as an assistant of HC on every single nba and nfl team (except maybe the jazz ) I just think some of the conversation around EB and Watson is a bit racist . I understand the players wanting to have a common background with the coach (at least that makes it easier to build chemistry) and hey , maybe race is still a huge elephant in the room in today’s society. I’d love to hear some opinions on this , especially from black people (@baylorbear) .. given I feel like this type of commentary is actually a slight towards y’all . On the other hand , maybe I just don’t like hearing it . Idk . Imo sports are one of the things that bring people together .
It is clear that there is a disproportionate lack of black head coaches in the NFL. Great and respected players have a voice and try to use it to speak up to try and advance change. Is Watson a racist for speaking up for Tim Kelly as well? "Maybe" race is still a huge elephant in the room? Of course race is still an issue in the USA.
Black coaches still don’t get the same opportunity as white coaches.....in the NFL. A league that is 70-75 % black has 2 HCs that are black..1 Hispanic. The amount coordinators that are black are under represented to the number of black players. If you have the power as a player to help that situation, you should take it.
the nfl is incredibly racist. why are there not more black long snappers? I can't believe you guys still support an organization where long snappers are grossly over represented by white players.
I haven’t heard Watson demand a black coach or GM. Supposedly a majority of the people on his list are black but he also has spoken highly of Kelly and some other white coaches. So I think he deserves the benefit of the doubt. As for Harden and Westbrook, I don’t remember them demanding a coach be black. Harden was a big supporter of a white GM and a white coach. The team he wanted to be traded to has a white head coach and white GM. I do remember years ago Chris Paul supposedly specifically wanted a coach that was black. To me there is a big difference between supporting a specific coach that happen to be black and saying “I want a black coach”.
You can't view this stuff in some kind of vacuum where Preston Marshall refusing to draft black players, George Halas joking about the "Globetrotters not drafting white ones," Adolph Rupp holding eugenics symposiums at post-game press conferences, MLB players defending Ty Cobb against suspension for beating a paralyzed fan half to death for calling him a "half n-word" and Leeman Bennett, Ted Marchibroda, Jim Ringo, Jack Pardee, Bill Johnson, Forrest Gregg, Dick Modzelewski, Tom Landry, Red Miller, Tommy Hudspeth, Bart Starr, Bum Phillips, Tom Bettis, Paul Wiggin, Don Shula, Bud Grant, Hank Stram, Chuck Fairbanks, John McVay, Walt Michaels, John Madden, Dick Vermeil, Chuck Noll, Chuck Knox, Tommy Prothro, Jack Patera, Ken Meyer, Don Coryell, John McKay and George Allen all asking Warren Moon to play weak safety for twelve rounds of the '77 draft didn't happen. Sports fandom draws out all the dumbest and most reductive perceptions about young black men's intelligence and aggression, and on the college level there's all kind of nasty subtext about our perceived inability to matriculate the same undergraduate degree programs as white 18 - 21 years olds who are just as unfamiliar with the Krebs cycle and Gilded Age labor laws as we are. Go read some draft prospectuses or play Madden until negro demolition derby starts up again after Labor Day.
As other posters noted I don't think personal happiness is the issue. Harden and Westbrook had no problem playing for white coaches and executives. Its about representation. The NBA and NFL representation of black coaches and team executives is out of proportion to the players. For people like Watson and Harden they are probably looking at it as creating more opportunity beyond just being players.
agreed. For the record i havent heard Watson say anything either . I was speaking about how its talked about in the media. Because there, i feel like the case they make is player happiness ( tho maybe this is happiness about achieving a more equitable representation ) frankly , i dont care that much if a guy wants a black coach simply for wanting a black coach. Or if he wants a white coach. I might think a bit less of him if thats the reasoning , but its not like i know these guys personally. @Dairy Ashford with the good point about not looking at things in a vacuum , I tend to do that ( look at things in a vacuum that is )
The optics look bad until you consider there aren't many opportunities for black coaches and new black coaches don't get the same amount of slack as white coaches. More likely to be one and done than to have a VP or GM give you a second chance to get you back on your feet. So until front offices change with their good ol boy networks, some players will continue to use whatever clout they have to push the issue. Honestly, I'd rather have more minorities at the C level of sports franchises than black coaches. One seems to open up more networking than the other. Also a big indicator of owner is a racist POS. Very imperfect situation among a greater societal problem...
