Quote:
Originally posted by rainmaker
Jeff, you sound downright cynical! Can't imagine why....
Seriously, though, as a diehard bleeding heart liberal, I have to hope that enough action would bring about some improvement in the situation. At the same time you are right that it's possible nothing will get better. There are still a few (!) jerks and weaklings who wouldn't see this as a huge problem.
I do think that tackling both site management and the school personnel would be the most fruitful possibility. As you say, it's possible that if one of these venues isn't concerned, the other one would be upset enough to get this guy away from kids.
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I have lived long enough in this world and seen many situations like this where nothing was done or comments were disputed. Racial issues are something this country and many people like to sweep under the rug all the time. It happens here most of the time we have a discussion about racial issues. It happens in sports all over the area I live and in many other aspects of life. When these accusations are made many times the accuser is not believed or the motive of the accuser comes into question. This is really the case when the people in charge either feel the same was (as the coach in this case) or they do not want to believe their coach would say such a thing. Remember there are other comments that have racial overtones that do not start with the letter "N." I have been called things that did not start with that word and when I brought it to someone's attention that was not of my race or background. I basically was told that "I was being too sensitive." Then when I talked to other African-Americans, they got the same vibe that I did about the situation. I do not know the race of this parent, but it is possible that that dynamic might just not go anywhere if this person is of color and the people they are trying to convince someone that are not African-American that this coach was out of line. I really think it is silly if we honestly believe someone is going to lose their job over (this might be a teacher or school employee) what a parent writing a letter. It would not hurt, but I think you need more than a letter. You need other individuals to write letters and it would help if the tournament people and officials had some correspondence with that school as well. I would also follow up to make sure there was some contact if it was worth my time.
My main point is we are not going to save the world because this coach is fired or not. I am sure this coach has used that language before, but it might be the first time they did so in this setting. I think a lot of people say things behind closed doors they almost never say in public or around certain people. This is probably just a situation where this coach misspoke and paid for it by getting ejected. But to think something major is going to happen with a letter being written is not very sensible if you ask me.
Peace