Next time you hear someone say that racism no longer exists in America, just direct them to these benighted comments made by two prominent college football coaches:
These comments illuminate the broader notion that the college game is anything but the romanticized image often portrayed in film and by those who have financial stakes in seeing players not enter pro leagues. There is racism at the highest of levels. There is a glaring absence of positive social norms. In other words, 18 year olds who seek the NBA or NFL may not be doing so merely for monetary reasons. Maybe their parents don't want them to play for coaches who talk about "the black athlete." And maybe their parents don't want them to watch juniors and seniors on the team break the law and suffer no consequence.
"The black athlete has made a big difference. They have changed the whole tempo of the game. Black athletes have just done a great job as athletes and as people in turning the game around." Joe Paterno, Penn State Coachhttp://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2213130
Then there is this beauty:"Texas Christian University had a lot more Afro-American players than we did and they ran a lot faster than we did. Afro-American kids can run very well. That doesn't mean that Caucasian kids and other descents can't run, but it's very obvious to me that they run extremely well." Fisher DeBerry, Air Force Head Coach, (after loss TCU)
You would hope that these comments were made in 1955 instead of 2005, but they weren't. And you would hope that they were made by socially irrelevant persons instead of high profile, supposedly father figure types for parents to send their 18 year old sons to learn from, but they weren't.
These comments illuminate the broader notion that the college game is anything but the romanticized image often portrayed in film and by those who have financial stakes in seeing players not enter pro leagues. There is racism at the highest of levels. There is a glaring absence of positive social norms. In other words, 18 year olds who seek the NBA or NFL may not be doing so merely for monetary reasons. Maybe their parents don't want them to play for coaches who talk about "the black athlete." And maybe their parents don't want them to watch juniors and seniors on the team break the law and suffer no consequence.