Sports & Race Question: Black vs. White Coaches

[DCAllAfrican]

I was having this discussion with a friend last night. We talked about the Fab 5 and he said he wishes a group of high touted kids would go to a HBCU (Black College) and make their mark there instead of going to a predominately "diverse" university. I said that many of these kids don't respect what a HBCU could do for their pro prospectus so they probably wouldn't go.

He then brought up the idea of them playing for a black coach vs. a white coach. He thinks that they would respect him at least. I said that I feel the opposite is true. Considering many of these young men haven't really been exposed to much black male authority, it was be something new to them. Many of them don't interact with their fathers and most of their teachers were women. The police is white, you grow up seeing so many white men in positions of power. So the idea of "taking orders" from a black man is often foreign to them.

It just reminds me of how disrespectful the Hawks players were to Mike Woodson, as if he wasn't in an authoritative position. Not saying it doesn't happen to coaches of other races but they way they used to cuss that man out during timeouts was really sad.

But what are your thoughts, do you think black coaches have to work harder to get respect from players than white coaches do?

 

[im not you]

John Kuester certainly doesn't agree.

 

[doublejs07]

It's all about reputation...and aside from coaching, you also have to balance egos. I don't think black coaches have to work harder than white coaches to gain the respect of their players. If you have a good program and folks buy in to what you're preaching, you'll be good money.

 

[DCAllAfrican]

Originally Posted by Im Not You

John Kuester certainly doesn't agree.

I know, there are always exceptions to the rule. He did come to mind though.

 

[abovelegit1]

Yeah, I don't think there's a relevant correlation between race and how much your players respect you. Black coaches and white coaches have succeeded on all levels of competition.  Comes down to ethos, coaching style, personality, etc.

Besides, John Thompson Jr. is one of the most respected coaches in the history of college athletics, so yeah.

 

[chamilitary03]

I come from a city where there are only two black coaches in our high school region, I play for one of them, and for the last 5+ years its been the two teams with the black coaches that have succeeded. There haven't been any authority issues on my team, and most likely not on the other team. It doesn't matter if they're black or white, its just whether the coach has disciplined and gained the respect of his/her players

 

[651akathepaul]

Originally Posted by abovelegit1

Yeah, I don't think there's a relevant correlation between race and how much your players respect you. Black coaches and white coaches have succeeded on all levels of competition.  Comes down to ethos, coaching style, personality, etc.   

Pretty much what I was gonna say. That and what DoubleJ's said about reputation. A lot of respect is built into reputation. If there is a lack of reputation, coaches have to earn respect through what abovelegit mentioned. It's not a black or white thing.

 

[cato312]

Originally Posted by abovelegit1

Besides, John Thompson Jr. is one of the most respected coaches in the history of college athletics, so yeah.

In agreement with these points; John Chaney comes to mind as well.