Comments on: You thought Notre Dame had a tough season.

You thought Notre Dame had a tough season.

Oxydude — Thu, 20 Dec 2001 05:49:00 -0800

You thought Notre Dame had a tough season. Now they have to play against their toughest opponent, the Reverend Jesse Jackson. Jackson urges the university to hire a black coach.

By: monju_bosatsu

monju_bosatsu — Thu, 20 Dec 2001 06:25:00 -0800

Jackson urges the university to hire a black coach. Notre Dame urges Jesse Jackson to remain faithful to his wife and mind his own business.

By: jfuller

jfuller — Thu, 20 Dec 2001 06:42:14 -0800

They should hire a female Buddhist black marmoset. Avoid charges of sexism, racism, speciesism and religious bigotry all at once, plus no marmoset I've ever met would dream of breaking the NCAA recruiting rules.

By: pracowity

pracowity — Thu, 20 Dec 2001 06:47:48 -0800

Black Irish.

By: ColdChef

ColdChef — Thu, 20 Dec 2001 07:09:33 -0800

I lost all respect for Jesse Jackson a few years ago when he came out in defense of those young men that were videotaped while savagely beating their classmates at a football game. (Tried to find a link to the story, but failed.) It occurred to me as I listened to his defense of this violent criminals that MLK would have NEVER supported thugs like this. These men were not oppressed, they were oppressors. Jesse needs to be more selective in the causes he champions.

By: dissent

dissent — Thu, 20 Dec 2001 07:10:28 -0800

Woo hoo! The fighting female Buddhist black irish marmosets! I would be a fan, for sure! Making wise personnel choices is all about setting criteria... if these eliminate some from contention, tough. But I'm sure there are black coaches out there that would qualify. Does Mr. Jackson have so little faith in the ability of black coaches that he believes they can't get a job without his help?

By: corpse

corpse — Thu, 20 Dec 2001 07:21:04 -0800

ND should hire Tyrone Willingham, not because he is black, but because he is the best person for the job. (realistically that is, jon gruden isn't going to bite.)

By: Voyageman

Voyageman — Thu, 20 Dec 2001 07:35:08 -0800

JJ must not have much to do these days.

By: sudama

sudama — Thu, 20 Dec 2001 07:51:21 -0800

Does Mr. Jackson have so little faith in the ability of black coaches that he believes they can't get a job without his help? Do you have so little faith in the ability of black coaches that you think their underrepresentation in college and professional sports is a reflection of their skills?

By: brigita

brigita — Thu, 20 Dec 2001 07:57:12 -0800

all J.J. brouhaha aside, it looks like Holtz is trying to put a bug in White's ear with regards to his son. my husband has always suspected the the motivation for Holtz moving on to SC after ND was to pass the position of head coach off to Skip. now he can do one better and help get him his old job...?

By: dissent

dissent — Thu, 20 Dec 2001 08:06:26 -0800

Sudama- The representation achieved is a representation of their achievement.

By: Vacaloca

Vacaloca — Thu, 20 Dec 2001 08:40:09 -0800

For the past couple of decades or so, college and professional football have been dominated by African-American players. That's a pretty big pool of talent, seems to me, with enough experience that they could easily turn to coaching once they become too old and creaky to keep playing. I know, not all players make great coaches, but given the numbers of black football players, Jesse Jackson has a point: it sure looks there ought to be more black coaches.

By: Karl

Karl — Thu, 20 Dec 2001 08:48:47 -0800

That's a pretty big pool of talent... Sounds like Jesse should approach some of those players themselves and urge them to start campaigning and applying for coaching positions based on their merits, rather than subjecting the rest of us to his presence. And oh yes, stop cheating on his wife for five seconds before preaching fairness and equity.

By: Grok09

Grok09 — Thu, 20 Dec 2001 08:50:46 -0800

-Vacaloca Very few players, white or black, have been able to make a successful jump to coaching. So why should the make-up of the participants have any bearing on the make-up of coaches?

By: owillis

owillis — Thu, 20 Dec 2001 09:15:11 -0800

I posted a longer diatribe on my site, but this just continues Jesse's shameful shucking and jiving for the media that makes it even harder for black people who would like to receive employment based on merit and not charity.

By: corpse

corpse — Thu, 20 Dec 2001 09:17:10 -0800

It shouldn't, but at last count, 4 out of 115 coaches in college football are black. That is simply unacceptable. Whether or not they were players or not, there are more than enough qualifed black coaches in America to diversify that group just a little more.

By: owillis

owillis — Thu, 20 Dec 2001 09:24:58 -0800

I'm not disputing what you say, but Jesse's methods (as well as motivation) of late have tended to be straight-up shakedowns versus creating any meanful dialogue.

By: sudama

sudama — Thu, 20 Dec 2001 09:43:26 -0800

Say, shall we focus on the character of one man, or on the evidence of widespread injustice? Let's toss a coin!

By: owillis

owillis — Thu, 20 Dec 2001 09:46:14 -0800

That's the whole problem. Jesse injects himself and makes himself the focus, rather than the issue at hand.

By: jaek

jaek — Thu, 20 Dec 2001 10:18:43 -0800

It shouldn't, but at last count, 4 out of 115 coaches in college football are black. That is simply unacceptable. Of NFL Cornerbacks who have their pictures on their ESPN roster page, 104 are black and 1 is white (Jason Sehorn). Is that any more acceptable? Keep in mind that the average NFL cornerback makes a lot more than the average college football coach.

By: Mack Twain

Mack Twain — Thu, 20 Dec 2001 10:22:25 -0800

I thought Martin Luther Kings 'I have a dream speech' spoke to a time when people would succeed on merit, not the color of their skin. I must be wrong.

By: yesster

yesster — Thu, 20 Dec 2001 10:23:57 -0800

I have a dream . . . That some day, Black Americans will rise up as a group and say, "hey, we're not a group after all. We aren't heterogenous, we aren't 'a people.' Our skin color does absolutely nothing to unite us." That some day, the words "First black" will never again precede a news announcement about an election, not because there aren't anymore "first blacks" getting elected to prominent positions, but because that fact is not newsworthy. That some day, Jesse Jackson will wake up and discover that he has no race-based causes to champion. That sometimes, black men have bad things happen to them, not because they're black, but because shit happens. Must have been the pizza.

By: ColdChef

ColdChef — Thu, 20 Dec 2001 10:28:57 -0800

Ditto, yesster.

By: Karl

Karl — Thu, 20 Dec 2001 10:43:05 -0800

Amen, brother.

By: corpse

corpse — Thu, 20 Dec 2001 10:52:02 -0800

Of NFL Cornerbacks who have their pictures on their ESPN roster page, 104 are black and 1 is white (Jason Sehorn). Is that any more acceptable? Keep in mind that the average NFL cornerback makes a lot more than the average college football coach. Yes, it's more acceptable. Especially at the cornerback position, the teams draft or trade for cornerbacks based on mainly on 40 time and height. Purely physical atributes are the main factor, then the intangables. The cornerbacks in the nfl are the best at their positions, and they just happen to be black. However the process of choosing a coach, especially at Notre Dame is extremely political and not entirely based on ability. Of course Notre Dame is just as unlikely to hire an vocal atheist coach as they are a black one.

By: monju_bosatsu

monju_bosatsu — Thu, 20 Dec 2001 11:03:21 -0800

I hate to say it, corpse, but you're treading on thin ice with that argument. You assume that there is no correlation between coaching ability and racial make-up in collegiate sports. Do you have the data to back that up? At what rate are minorities seeking these positions? What are their records when compared to non-minorities?

By: tsarfan

tsarfan — Thu, 20 Dec 2001 13:50:29 -0800

if Notre Dame did hire a Black coach it would be a spectacular move by them. finally they would show a little class. anyone who thinks that aspiring black coaches have the same opportunities as aspiring white coaches aren't really paying attention.

By: sudama

sudama — Thu, 20 Dec 2001 14:45:48 -0800

I dream that some day, White Americans will wake up as a group and say, "Hey, we're not a group after all. We aren't homogenous, we aren't 'white people.' We're not smarter, we don't work harder, we don't smell better, look better, or speak better -- we don't deserve to be treated any better than any other Americans."

By: brigita

brigita — Thu, 20 Dec 2001 15:37:04 -0800

if ND hired a black coach because he was the best man for the job, they wouldn't be "showing a little class," they would simply be looking out for the best interests of the football team. a spectacular move, indeed. this wise choice would subsequently benefit the all of the other varsity sports as the money brought in by football [and/or men's basketball] typically supports a school's sports program as a whole. there's a lot riding on the administrations choice for a new coach, not to mention their contract with NBC. i'm not too familiar with who ND's looking at these days to fill the position, but the job should go to the person who has best demonstrated his ability to pull the team out of its funk and put the fight back into the Fighting Irish.

By: Dreama

Dreama — Thu, 20 Dec 2001 17:34:27 -0800

Say, shall we focus on the character of one man, or on the evidence of widespread injustice? Let's toss a coin! "Widespread injustice" isn't at issue here -- if the number of African American collegiate football coaches can even be characterised as "injustice" at all. The issue here is whether or not hiring based upon race is appropriate, regardless of what race that is, if a major collegiate athletic program ought to focus on qualifications or skin colour when choosing who to hire for important positions, and by what right a morally bankrupt racial opportunist makes public proclamations urging an autonomous, private entity to do his bidding or face his wrath. You want to stay on focus, there's your focus.