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Originally posted by Eckstein 4 Prez
While I agree that quota systems and forced interviewing are not great solutions, I have to at least play devil's advocate with this one.
Most of the coaches/managers in pro sports today are men in their 50s. If a coach is 55 years old now, that means he'd likely have been a prime player about 25-30 years ago - 1973-78. Is anyone here seriously arguing that most of the players were white in 1978???
Because I can tell you right now, that just ain't so. From Bill James' New Historical Abstract:
"The impact of black athletes on [MLB] reached its peak in the mid-seventies, and has declined slowly from 1975 to the present."
Also - recall the top team of the 70s from the NFL - the Pittsburgh Steelers. Of course Bradshaw and a few of their other stars were white, but think about how many African-American stars they had. If you happen to be more familiar with some other NFL team from the 70s - go ahead, think of them instead. The game was certainly not white-dominated. And I'm not even going to go into the NBA - I don't think that's an argument anyone will seriously make.
Clearly, the issue is not, "let's wait until we have some black former players that we can make into coaches." That's an absurd argument - and reality is FAR more complicated.
The reality of the situation is, blacks were generally not accepted in positions of authority until VERY recently - and in some quarters, are still not accepted as such. I'm sure everyone has heard the stories of superstar black high school quarterbacks being converted to receivers or defensive backs. This has been endemic to sports for many years - minorities were simply not accepted in the "cerebral positions" on the field until recently. Until the 1980s and 90s, whites predominated in the positions such as catcher and quarterback, that were thought to provide the best background for an aspiring coach. So I do agree with the part where this changes over time - because society is beginning to wake up to the fact that there are plenty of minority players who are successful because they are smart and savvy, just as there are white players who get by on raw talent alone.
That said, I think that having someone like Cochran out there making noise is generally a good thing, because it keeps focus on the issue. However, in the case of the Lions, they clearly had one guy in mind all along - just let them hire their guy and pipe down.
Hope I haven't offended anyone with my rant - I just couldn't let the assumption that the "trickle-down" theory would work on its own once we had some more retired minority players out there linger. It's wrong, and it doesn't work. It's been 16 years since Al Campanis, folks.... and now we're finally starting to see things equalize.
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I see where you are comin from but I just don't agree with one thing.
yes, black players made a huge impact in the 70's but think about where they were mentally at the time. In the 70's they were basically fighting for position to be recognized. They probably did not have the mind set to come in and continue their careers past the playing days. At the moment, their only concern might have been to just make it to the pros and play well enough to survive in the league.
*Note I said MIGHT. I am not one to judge people's attitudes during a time I was not even born.
However, today you look at black athletes and they think well past their playing careers. They've already made a statement in sports and most sports are already affliated with black players.
In my predominantly white college, it is assumed that if you are a minority that you play for one of the school's athletic programs. Yes this is just one small sample, but one sample is enough to prove to me that there is a stereotype. YOu can look at it as bad or good. I think of it as good in a sense for those that are playing the game professionaly today.
B/c if they really care to continue their careers after playing then they have the ability to. Its a fact that there are more black players in sports in the 90's/2000's then in any other era. Ofcourse, that's an obvious. But it plays a huge role in coaching opportunities in the future.
Think of the players in the NFL now and think of a list of players you'd probably see coaching in the future.
I wouldn't be surprised to see someone like Harrison, Sapp, Kordell Stewart, Terrell Davis, etc. thinking about coaching sometime in the future. ANd really, would you as an owner not give them a chance??? That's four players I just named. That's two more than the NFL has today in the sidelines. That's a huge difference really.
I really believe that in time we'll see more minority coaches. Enforcing these rules does not help. It only seperates black coaches from white coaches. People actually made a big deal that Notre Dame hired their first black coach. Why? I thought that was ridiculous. It shouldn't matter that the guy is black. All it should matter is that he can coach and he proved it this year.
In time. That's how I feel. But I also understand your argument.