Quote :

"Hiring Lowe is a big deal Barry Saunders, Staff Writer Hey, don't y'all break your arms patting yourselves on the back over there in Wolfpack land. Ever since Sidney Lowe was named head basketball coach at N.C. State University, scores of gloating Wolfpack fans have written or called me, touting the university's open-mindedness. They're about ready to nominate Athletics Director Lee Fowler for the Nobel Prize. Most also suggested that I do something with my computer that might be a felony -- or at least a physical impossibility. Simply because I wrote recently wondering why State standout Dereck Whittenburg didn't get a whiff of an interview for the coaching job, some less-than-discerning readers took that to mean that I was saying Lee Fowler was a racist who'd never hire a black coach. Take Pack backer Bill, who wrote, "You owe Fowler an apology for saying he is a racist who would never hire a black coach." Fellow Wolfpacker Randy wrote, "I believe you owe Lee Fowler and North Carolina State University a public apology for the tripe you wrote." I never wrote such tripe -- nor do I any longer eat tripe, since my blood pressure got high and I'm more discerning about what goes into my mouth. And what comes out of it. Fowler has been an honorable fellow -- a gentleman, even -- each time we've spoken. I've never seen anything from him that would make someone say race colors his decision-making. Sure, Stevie Wonder and Jose Feliciano could have seen through that farce involving UNC legend Phil Ford as a possible replacement for Herb Sendek. The main color blocking Ford's hiring, I suspect, was probably Carolina blue. That's probably why Pack fan Jim wrote, "Well, well, well. If you can pull your head from Roy Williams' butt long enough to see what happened over at NC State this weekend, you may find you have a conflict. I know you are a big UNC fan, but you are also the Triangle's most respected 'race baiter'... How will you deal with this? What color is more important to you, light blue or black?" Gee, Jim. Wouldn't rooting for Lowe simply because he is black be as racist as rooting against him for that reason? Jim and Randy don't want to hear this, but the truth is I've always rooted for the 'Pack -- against everyone except UNC. Duke, on the other hand -- well, I couldn't see rooting for the Blue Devils even against a team from East Hades University. Pack fans are probably like those of most other schools: They'll accept any coach -- as long as he wins. If anyone's decisions are colored by race, it's probably administrators at various universities who feel that alumni and boosters won't accept a black head coach for football, which is most schools' big revenue-maker. How else can one explain there being only five black head coaches among 119 Division 1 schools. That's not a misprint. Perhaps one day soon we'll be past the point of remarking upon "firsts and onlys" when it comes to race. But it is indisputable that State's hiring of Lowe as the first black head basketball coach from the four state ACC schools is a big, historical deal -- regardless of how many coaches rejected N.C. State before Lowe's name was called."

[Edited on May 9, 2006 at 12:12 PM. Reason : woodfoot pointed out that i, too, am an idiot]

5/9/2006 11:53:50 AM

lowe is our football coach too?

5/9/2006 12:00:31 PM

no, hes a star running back.





but seriously..........

5 black head coaches is redonkulous

5/9/2006 12:03:03 PM

why are there no eskimo coaches

5/9/2006 12:03:45 PM

uh

the line preceeding the bold switches the discussion to why its easier to have a black head basketball coach than it is to have a black football coach, which is why he then mentions the bolded stat

5/9/2006 12:03:49 PM

he's just mad we didn't help him get a raise

5/9/2006 12:11:17 PM

i should have read that part then

i tend to scan

he is still an idiot

5/9/2006 12:11:38 PM

i don't really find that article too idiotic...except for the part when he said he pulls for UNC over State...thats about it

5/9/2006 12:15:40 PM

Barry Saunders is a cum guzzling asshole. In his previous article on the State coaching search, he all but said that Whittenburg wasn't being considered because he is black and NC State is a bunch of rednecks. Now he writes this piece of garbage article in which pretends he's Dave Barry by adding random shit to get people to forget that he did call out Fowler and NC State and bring up race.

If this asshole had any class, he would admit his previous article was wrong and that he was trying to make NC State look bad using his old favorite, the race card.

5/9/2006 12:23:36 PM

ok maybe so

but in this particular article i didnt find anything too absurd

though he clearly addressed statements he had made in previous articles that apparently pissed some people off

i just clicked on this thread cause I thought it was about Barry SANDERS

5/9/2006 12:26:54 PM

Good job on attacking the issue without actually addressing it, Barry.

Let's recall what he said, for us "less-than-discerning readers".

Quote :

"Decades ago, when the Republican Party was trying to show how racially progressive it was, just about every presidential candidate declared that Sen. Edward W. Brooke was on his short list for a running mate. Only problem was, Brooke laughed years later, the list never got that short. Brooke, the first black U.S. senator since Reconstruction, knew that he had about as much chance of being asked to run for vice president as I do now and that his name was being floated merely to make the GOP appear more inclusive. He wasn't offered the job because they knew he might've accepted it. That is precisely the reason Fowler isn't offering the Pack job to Whittenburg. "

http://www.newsobserver.com/122/story/433621.html

5/9/2006 12:42:28 PM

^after reading that, i concur much more with this thread

however he does specifically say the reason was that Whittenburg might've taken the job, not that he was black...so I dunno<!--

[Edited on May 9, 2006 at 12:49 PM. Reason : --></]

5/9/2006 12:44:46 PM

Saunders is a douche.

own up asshole

5/9/2006 12:51:58 PM

tha'ts what he wrote...
he compared out coaching search to racism in politics...
and then has the gall to get offended when NC STate fans call him out on it?
if he just wanted to say something about not offering to Whittenburg because he would have accepted i'm sure there are other examples he could have used...
he chose that one...
what a douche...

5/9/2006 12:58:27 PM

It is not like we made an effort to hire a person of color. We went through what, 10 white coaches before Lowe.

5/9/2006 1:16:44 PM

did anyone publicly state Whittenburg wanted the job? maybe he just didn't want it

5/9/2006 1:35:08 PM

what an idiot

how did he get a job working for the news and observer?

he basically pwnts himself by calling our school alum and supporters rednecks when he himself is the actual idiot for making false claims with no basis

he doesn't have the balls to man up to his mistakes

ha

[Edited on May 9, 2006 at 1:56 PM. Reason : ]

5/9/2006 1:47:23 PM

^^^ good... no institution should "make an effort" to hire a person of color... they should hire the best person they can get for the job...

5/9/2006 1:50:53 PM

i've always liked his hat and tie

5/9/2006 1:55:55 PM

maybe there aren't many qualified black coaches ? people wonder why racisimis an issue still :x

5/9/2006 2:04:29 PM