Famous Occasions When Football Coaches Were Charged With Anti-Black Feeling
For many young Black males, football coaches have a significant impact on their life.Although Black student-athletes make up about 60% of the players on college football and basketball rosters, the bulk of their coaches are White.
The University of Central Florida’s Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES) reports that in 2021, Black coaches accounted for a pitiful 5.9% of head positions in Division III, 6.2% in Division II, and a mere 9% in Division I.According to the AP, the study also showed that 89% of football head coaches, 94.5% of baseball head coaches across all three levels, and 82.2% of men’s basketball head coaches are white.The situation was not much better for the women’s team, with 82.1%, 84.9%, and 88.7% of white coaches holding head coaching jobs in Divisions I, II, and III, respectively.
While there is nothing intrinsically wrong with white coaches training Black players, young Black men may suffer from culturally insensitive or even racist coaching.
After an inquiry revealed that Jeremy Pruitt, the former head football coach of Tennessee, had taken part in a recruiting scandal, the school sacked him in 2021.
Documents from the probe, which the Knoxville News Sentinel recently obtained, showed that Pruitt mentioned George Floyd in response to a question about whether he had broken any NCAA rules.The article claims that Pruitt gave a player’s mother $300 in a Chick-fil-A bag after considering racial disparity and the death of George Floyd.
Pruitt explained why he handed the mother the money by saying, “Then you put in George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, okay, so you sit there as a white man and you witness all of this going on and you can see these kids suffering.” In addition, he justified his acts by promising investigators that he would repeat them.
Regretfully, Pruitt allowed his white guilt to prevent him from carrying out the tasks for which he was paid.
The Knoxville News Sentinel also revealed that after their sons were given limited protection by the NCAA, mothers of former Tennessee players informed investigators about the payouts.
It’s one thing to feel sorry for the guys you coach, but it seems incompetent and unintelligent of a coach to perhaps get them involved in infractions that could result in a punishment from the NCAA or university. Pruitt appeared to have a kind heart, but white guilt may deceive one into acting in an ignorant and prejudiced manner.
It’s interesting to note that, when you consider certain coaches, coaching college football seems like a perfect fit for someone who wants to control the destiny of Black males.
Other noteworthy examples of football coaches who were charged with anti-Black sentiment are included below.
Make sure you research these head coaches thoroughly if you’re a Black parent whose kid wants to play college football since they will have a significant impact on the young man’s future.
Tommy Tuberville, a senator from Alabama, spent twenty years coaching college football. During a recent CNN appearance, the senator debated whether or not white nationalists are racist with host Kaitlan Collins.
In an interview with WBHM in May, he also responded to a question concerning white supremacists in the armed forces by saying:
“In the military, we are losing so quickly. Our preparedness for hiring new employees. And why? I will explain why. Due to the Democrats’ attacks on our armed forces and their claims that “white radicals, white nationalists, and those who disagree with our programme must be removed,”
Imagine Tuberville’s thoughts about his players, the most of whom were Black.
In response to a question about white nationalists in the military, Tuberville answered, “Well, they call them that.” “I refer to them as Americans.”
Pat Fitzgerald, the recently sacked head coach of Northwestern University, was charged with creating a racist environment on the team for players who are Black and Brown.
Three former players told the Daily Northwestern that they were a part of a football programme that had “a certain culture of permitting racism and other microaggressions,” as we previously reported.
Fitzgerald is specifically charged of giving white players preferential treatment and telling Black players sporting dreadlocks and other Black haircuts to alter their appearance in order to fit in with “the Wildcat way,” a reference to the team’s mascot. According to the former players, Fitzgerald frequently stated that he wanted the Black players to enjoy “good, pure American pleasure” in ways that were not required of the White players, such as permitting them to have long hair.
