First African American Coaches in the Super Bowl

[Crazy Canuck]

I am shocked that you sound suprised. Hell 60% of Quebcers say they are openly racist.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20051218/nolan_051218/20051218?hub=Canada

http://www2.sportsnet.ca/blogs/jim_kelley/2006/05/25/nhl_not_free_from_racism/

http://www.hockeydirt.com/2005/09/racism_alive_an.html


I dunno. but when you have a total of 18 minority players in the NHL from 1950-1991, one might think it had somehting to do with racism....

If the vast majority of hockey players in that period came from the U.S. you might have a point, but the U.S. barely filled 5 to 10% of need.

Hockey players came in vast majority from Canada, and to a lesser degree from Europe. Well, in case you don't know... blacks are very small demographic up here or in Europe.

No child in Canada was ever denied access to playing hockey, and talent decided how far you got from there. I played pro for ten years, and played against 2 or 3 blacks in that time. As said... demographics, certainly not racism.

P.S. Did you actually take the time to read those pieces you posted?

 

[RonF]

Whether black hockey players come from Canada, US or other countries and they are few in number, racism is racism. And each of the news pieces referenced, deal with racism within the NHL. What am I missing?

 

[Pariah]

Whether black hockey players come from Canada, US or other countries and they are few in number, racism is racism. And each of the news pieces referenced, deal with racism within the NHL. What am I missing?

Does that mean that they're racist in Nigeria for not having any mexicans on the soccer team?

The point is, there aren't many blacks (african-canadians?) in Canada. Their number in hockey is reflective of that FACT.

 

[RonF]

If the fans of the NHL can't tolerate a handfull of black hockey players, what would it be like if 50% of the players were black. The point raised by LVCARDFREAK is that Canada has their own problems with racism. Heck, they barely tolerate Americans.

 

[Pariah]

If the fans of the NHL can't tolerate a handfull of black hockey players, what would it be like if 50% of the players were black. The point raised by LVCARDFREAK is that Canada has their own problems with racism. Heck, they barely tolerate Americans.

1. Canada may have their own problems. I wouldn't know.

2. Doesn't change the demographics.

3. If indeed the number of players are as skewed to Canadians as CC says, then there DOES seem to be a legitimate reason there aren't many blacks in the NHL.

4. Where do you get that NHL fans "can't tolerate blacks?"

5. I have another theory as to why there aren't more blacks in the NHL: It's easier and cheaper for inner-city kids to become good basketball, baseball and football players. Less equipment, and you can practice anytime, anywhere--you don't need to rent ice. That's symptomatic of a larger problem that racism may have a hand it (blacks making up such an inordinant amount of inner-city populations), but it doesn't make the NHL or its fans racists.

 

[rtjim]

You want 100% of us going to the big house?

NO I want 100% of criminals to go to jail! no matter their race!

 

[Gambit]

NO I want 100% of criminals to go to jail! no matter their race!

that's not feasible. What we need is summary justice.

 

[Crazy Canuck]

Whether black hockey players come from Canada, US or other countries and they are few in number, racism is racism. And each of the news pieces referenced, deal with racism within the NHL. What am I missing?

a) The first story is about Ted Nolan, a native, not a black - complaining about slurs. The second is about Peter Worrell being called a "monkey" at HSBC arena in Buffalo (close to Canada but we've yet to annex ), and that story and the following refer to the slurs against French Canadians (Frogs) - Swedes (chicken Swedes) etc. And these are not particular to Canadian arenas.

I abhor all racial slurs, but to suggest from these stories that there is an issue with blacks in the NHL is patently ridiculous.

 

[blindseyed]

I dind't even think of them both being black until it was mentioned 237 times by the media. I would have went through the whole SB and not even thought about it but this is what keeps things at a stand still. A mention of it is one thing but when that's the headline all the time, it takes it from a 'feel good' story to a 'this is boring' story.
I look at them as 2 great coaches...not 2 great black coaches. Could you imagine if people said Bill Walsh was a great white coach? I guess to me, race isn't an issue

 

[nurnay]

The stat is somewhere around 50% of black males still wind up in jail by the time they're 25.

This has more to do with poverty and the fact that whites are generally better off financially than blacks. It's not just an issue of race.

As for the coaches, I think it's a nice milestone to reach. And it's certainly important to plenty of African-Americans.

 

[vince56]

Tell me what that has to do with equality?

1. African Americans have less opportunity for education & jobs than caucasians, in turn they have a higher probability of committing a crime.

2. Juries are more likely to convict a black man than a white man. For rape, murder, grand theft auto, etc., there's a very big gap between conviction rates for whites and blacks.

3. Police are more apt to investigate minorities committing crimes than whites. Example... you see a ferrari driving down the freeway at night going 75. Chances are higher it'll be pulled over if it's a black male. Black males also have higher chances of having their vehicles searched.

4. As the poster above me stated, it has a lot to do with poverty. There's still a lot of African Americans that are at or below the poverty level. Much moreso than caucasians.

I'm not exactly a liberal, but I definitely lean to the left on the issue of poverty, and without going into detail about it (and I really don't wish to argue the point), this is why I'm definitely for affirmative action at this time. I still think it's necessary to extend a helping hand to the poor and minorities so that they have the same chances as middle-class and upper-class citizens to succeed.

Back on topic, I think it's great to see two wonderful African-American coaches in the super bowl. I think it's great for the league, and as a mirror of American society, I think it's great for society. Who knows, we might have a minority or female president in the next few years, and republican or democrat, I think that's definitely progress in the right direction.

And to think, Denny Green was a missed field goal away from accomplishing this a few years back.

 

[CardShark]

Don't care about their skin color. They did the job it took to get their teams there and that's all that matters. It doesn't need to be pointed out, or was anyone thinking that they were of a different color.

 

[Brian]

The fact that they are black is absolutely irrelevant.

The media is making a big deal out of this and they shouldn't.

Their skin color has nothing to do with their ability to coach.

"First African-American blah-blah-blah....."

Who cares!!!

 

[Crazy Canuck]

The fact that they are black is absolutely irrelevant.

The media is making a big deal out of this and they shouldn't.

Their skin color has nothing to do with their ability to coach.

"First African-American blah-blah-blah....."

Who cares!!![/QUOTE]

African Americans care. Similar to caring when Jack Johnson became the first black heavy weight champ; Jackie Robinson breaking the colour barrier in baseball; Frank Robinson becoming the first American of African heritage to manage in the major leagues; Warren Moon the first black QB in the Football Hall of Fame, etc., etc.

It's part of the long winding road allowing black Americans to say like you... Who cares!!!!

 

[phillycard]

The fact that they are black is absolutely irrelevant.

The media is making a big deal out of this and they shouldn't.

Their skin color has nothing to do with their ability to coach.

"First African-American blah-blah-blah....."

Who cares!!!

I wouldn't say it's irrelevant Harley. To civic minded, good people like us, it should be a sidebar if anything. But with blacks perceptions as coaches still being defined in this day and age, the fact that 2 got to the bowl in the same year, is a good thing IMO especially because Campanis' comments still ring in peoples ears. I'm happy for the both of them.

 

[JeffGollin]

I feel good about the pride shared by many Afro Americans - not only coaches and players, but fans.

But what I really like is that 2 very good coaches are in the Super Bowl and several coaches (including 2 Afro Americans) who didn't do so hot this year are no longer NFL coaches.

When the Cardinals hired DG and RG, I cannot recall any kind of media hoopla, and I thought: "Wow! How cool is that!" When the Cardinals fired DG 3 years later, (& aside from considering the football pros and cons of the move) I didn't give it a second thought.

When we get to the point when the leading story line becomes: "good guy gets hired" or "losing guy gets fired", the NFL will have finally arrived.

 

[CardShark]

The fact that they are black is absolutely irrelevant.

The media is making a big deal out of this and they shouldn't.

Their skin color has nothing to do with their ability to coach.

"First African-American blah-blah-blah....."

Who cares!!![/QUOTE]

African Americans care. Similar to caring when Jack Johnson became the first black heavy weight champ; Jackie Robinson breaking the colour barrier in baseball; Frank Robinson becoming the first American of African heritage to manage in the major leagues; Warren Moon the first black QB in the Football Hall of Fame, etc., etc.

It's part of the long winding road allowing black Americans to say like you... Who cares!!!!

Breaking the color barrier was the hiring of blacks as head coaches. This was an achievement of the coaching staff and the team to make it in to the SuperBowl. Now if there was some barrier to keep a team out if they had a black head coach, then this would be something. It seems like people are trying to say that black coaches have learned how to be on the same level as their white counterparts. Has their thinking been that black coaches were inferior until now? I'm just saying that this shouldn't be an issue. The real story is people being given the opportunity and not being passed over because of segregation and that occurred awhile ago.