Answers, Part XXI
Here is the 21st set of answers:
Any proposed solution to the lack of African American head coaches? Or does it not really matter until society as a whole changes its view on African Americans?
I think some things could be done, such as tweaking the interview process, but I think that would only improve things on a small matter. I think society, and the makeup of the booster pools at programs, needs to change before big-time changes are realized.
When are you going back on vacation so that we can have someone with personality like Jill run the blog?
I go back on vacation Dec. 27, so you will get a few days of bliss before I bring my negative, down-with-all-things-UCLA approach back to the blog.
It does not seem to make sense to me that some of these JUCO guys get scholarship offers and "commit" even though they are long shots to get in. Is the scholly just enticement for them to get their grades up to get in?
Yes, that is exactly what it is. And this way the school, in this case UCLA, can continually nag the kids to get the work done.
With Pressley is enrolling in the winter does this all but rule out a red shirt?
Yes, unless he is injured or his development is much slower than anticipated.
Is CRN planning on bringing in 25 plus Pressley, Brehaut, and Taylor???
I believe that is the plan. He will move as many back to the 2008 class as possible and sign 25 for the 2009 class.
Can you tell me how likely we are for these other school commits?
Randall Carroll
Patrick Hall
Devon Flournoy
Iuta Tepa
Billy Sanders
Joel Gray
Hebron Fangupo
No, actually I cannot. I'm not going to go through a list seven guys and give an indication of what each one is thinking. All I'll say is I think Sanders and Tepa are the best changes to wind up at UCLA.
If not Te'o who do we bring in as a 3rd backer along with Golper and Bowens???
Remains to be seen. Who says a third needs to be added?
Why have the coaches cooled on Siddoway? Abele a better prospect?
All I'm comfortable in saying is right now UCLA thinks Abele is a better prospect.
What have you heard regarding John Martinez and Xavier Sua-Filo? Who is the more likely pull?
If you want more likely, I will go with Sua-Filo. But I don't expect either to wind up at UCLA at this point.
Correct if I'm wrong, but wouldn't giving more head coaching jobs to African Americans just for the sake of making things "fair" be the opposite of what the great Martin Luther King wanted? He wanted African Americans to be treated fairly according to their abilities and credentials, and not to be discriminated against, or be given special privileges because of their skin color.
With that said, I ask all of you, how many Asian-American head coaches are there in college football? How many Indian-American coaches are there? How many Mexican-American coaches are there? Why are we obligated to make sure there are more African American head coaches when there are clearly other ethnicities that should be included in the coaching pool?
According to the census bureau, African-Americans only make up 13% of the American population. So, according to trends and statistics, wouldn't there be a substantially less amount of black coaches in college football? In other words, the reason there are more white coaches is because there are more white people in the population.
But if you want to talk about organizations where African-Americans make up a larger percentage, look at professional sports. As a white person, am I to be offended that there aren't more white players in the NBA. Should I demand that white players be given "more playing time" for the sake of being fair? No! I could care less! Whoever is the better player and the better coach should be given the job.
Conclusion: Affirmative action is racist in and of itself.
VB,
I agree with you. 13% would mean there should be 15.5 african american coaches. But the thought is that the players in college football are probably around 40 to 50 percent black (don't know exactly). I think this issue will solve itself once the old boosters and school heads pass away. You gotta remember 20 years ago black quarterbacks were looked down on and to this day are questioned. It is rediculous.
VB,
that was said perfectly. I would like to buy you a drink.
The failure of logical reasoning in these comments is astounding. Maybe actually attending UCLA would have taught some basic statistical analysis, but that might be too much to ask.
Classic VB being VB...
and being bitter that Obama is the new sheriff in town...
But here's a new trick for the one trick pony:
"could care less" implies that you do in fact care to a degree. Thus, the expression you were looking for is "couldn't care less"...
Stop imperialism now!
VB, you can choose to oppose affirmative action policies. But don't hide behind the fig leaf of MLK. Although he was assassinated before Nixon began those programs, he did argue forcefully for compensatory programs -- and affirmative action would be a small step in that direct. E.g. "Whenever the issue of compensatory treatment for the Negro is raised, some of our friends recoil in horror. The Negro should be granted equality, they agree; but he should ask nothing more. On the surface, this appears reasonable, but it is not realistic." (From "Why We Can't Wait" in 1964.)
VB is absolutely correct. There's certainly no bias among people making hiring decisions!
I agree 1000% with VB. Would you like a job with the Reds? We could use someone like you in the front office.
Marge Schott
I just want to point out that Karl Dorrel and Ty Willingham were fired not because they were black, but because they were doing a bad job. Barkley said black coaches are not given good opportunities to succeed, which might be true for a few, but both Dorrel and Willingham had the opportunity, they just blew it. With all that being said, Auburn boosters are racist and their hire reflects that. Barkley for governor!
If you consider the leeway that Charlie Weis has been given, I honestly don't believe Willingham was given a fair shot at Notre Dame.
Isn't VB the guy who has conversations with himself on this blog under different screen names?
I'm not sure how much people will respect the words of a guy who talks through the ghost of his office plant's cat.
+1 on the comment about 40-50% of the athletes being black.
VB, your comment is obviously not well thought out.
The number of white vs black people in the nation shouldn't come into play. It's about the number of white vs black people in the sport. I think it's safe to say that the vast majority of coaches out there actually played the sport they are coaching. Thus, the number of black coaches should be compared to the number of black athletes there are. Those numbers are not on par with each other.
There needs to be more black head coaches in football, but don't use Ty Willingham as an example. He was head coach at Stanford, Notre Dame, and Washington. He had his chances. He didn't get fired (again) for being black but for going 0-12.
There are far more plants then people of all races in this Country. But you won't find me bemoaning the lack of Rhododendrums on the sideline!
VB, I strongly disagree with you. Nobody is proposing to give head coaching jobs to African-American coaches based only on color. The disparity in racial lines is indicative of a system that is fundamentally broken. African-American coaches that are as qualified or better qualified than their white counterparts do not even get interviews for positions. The demographic argument of the country as a whole does not hold up when looking at the demographics of the players. Are you saying they are qualified to play, but not to coach? The system doesn't give them a chance, and waiting for it to fix itself is falling into the trap of the "myth of time" that Dr. King warned about in his letters from the Birmingham jail.
Finding out how ignorant VB is takes a lot of fun out of this!
How white of you, VB....
It's so easy to say all this stuff when you're (I would assume) white, isn't it?